Movie Review: The Great Gatsby (2013)

The Great Gatsby is such an interesting history lesson on the ‘roaring twenties’ in the States. Even though I personally like the story of the movie, I don’t think that’s what’s most fascinating about it. It is truly unique in the sense that it shows a whole different era, not too long back in the history. It illustrates a different way of life, as it shows not only the extremely rich Gatsby but also some not as fortunate. I think, based on the book by Fitzgerald, this movie could have gone so many different ways in creating the atmosphere of the period; however, the approach taken has come to show really good results. Another very significant feature of the movie is all the emotions that are being transferred from the screen to the viewer – it just has it all: glamour, love, intrigue, fraud, action, and tragedy. It is impressive how clearly the movie shows one’s priorities in life and shows that money isn’t all.

The Great Gatsby is a different world and it is a beautiful escape from ours. Some say that it’s unrealistically glamorous, but I think that’s more or less the point. It’s not a realistic movie after all – it’s a beautiful illusion of the past that one doesn’t need to believe in order to enjoy. 

Movie Review: Boy (2010)

Boy is one of the most touching stories that I have seen in a very long time. It reminds me of those simple childhood days when all that matters is fun and games. The atmosphere of the movie is just beautiful with its simplicity. The movie is somewhat inspiring but it’s also somewhat sad. It follows the story of Boy whose father has left when he was little and his mother has died giving birth to his little brother. He and his brother live with their grandmother and the movie shows what happens when their father comes back with the sole purpose of finding some hidden money and leaving for a second time. It’s a truly unique story, which illustrates a different time and a different place from the craze of the world we’re used to in modern life. It gathers the genius and vision of a single person – Taika Waititi – who wrote, directed and played in the movie. This is perhaps the reason why it is so coherent and manages to pull you into this fully detailed and beautiful story.

It is definitely worth sparing those 87 minutes and watching Boy, as it is a true masterpiece of the cinema art.

Movie Review: Tropic Thunder (2008)

To be honest, I didn’t really expect to like this movie; the weird thing is that I actually did. This is not the typical American comedy – it feels like a strange combination between a dark comedy, a parody, Survivor and a war movie. It follows the creation of the most expensive (and least successful) film about the war in Vietnam to be ever created, and it’s terribly interesting because it has nothing to do with the war in Vietnam. It presents the actors’ and producers’ flaws and faults but lets them have their redemption by outing them in the most unusual situations while filming the movie. Although at times quite disturbing, the movie is thoroughly entertaining and very funny. It’s created by Ben Stiller and the cast is truly impressive including stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. I don’t think it’s an Oscar winner, but it’s definitely worth watching.

Movie Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Do you want to get rich? Well, if you lived in this movie, your answer would have most certainly been YES! So what then? The Wolf of Wall Street is a movie based on the book written by Jordan Belfort himself about the rise and fall of his career as a stock broker on Wall Street. It is a real story, fellows. It is almost a practical handbook on the topic ‘How to Get Rich and How to Do It Now’ and takes you step-by-step through the surprisingly quick process of becoming a millionaire (or a billionaire if you happen to be talented or somewhat lucky). That is if you lived in the 80s, of course. But if you happen to be as misfortunate as to live now, it at least gives you an exclusive insight on the lives of the extremely rich facing the problem of what they should do with their money. You could almost feel sympathy for those poor fellows who have so much cash they don’t know where to put it.

This movie is incredible in the sense that you can actually believe that the story is just a written fiction created to impress you watching it in front of the screen. What is unbelievable is that it is, nevertheless, a true story. And it is a fantastically good story! You have a dream, you have an idea, you have a genius to live up to the idea, you have a fraud, you have romance, you have drugs, and, not to forget, you have FBI interference that will make you sit on the edge of your seat asking yourself what would come next. And all this happens after for years you’ve been told these things happened only in the movies.

There are so many reasons to watch The Wolf of Wall Street and the amazing cast doesn’t even make the top ten. I’ll give you a bit of an off-beat reason, though. You should watch this movie because it is a living example that one can actually live a Hollywood-movie life – and if that’s not inspirational, I don’t know what is.