a gift wrapped in barbed wire

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2014)

There are a lot of reasons not to like this movie: Its run time, its celebration of bad-boy, animalistic greed, its revel in sexism and related isms. But this is a movie of moments. It reminds me a lot of Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, there are scenes of ridiculous excess (I'd say the author of the true story behind 'Wolf' exaggerated quite a bit), scenes of intense drama, and then unforgettable scenes that are so well crafted you'll want to own it just to replay the scenes again. The board meeting brainstorm session over dwarf tossing, the Quaalude-fueled car chasethere are scenes that are amazing comedic gems, and genius in crafting. It is difficult to fully recommend this movie, because unlike "Wall Street," the "Greed is good" motto here does not seem to be villainous or ironic at all. Dramatic scenes aside, many people will come out of this wanting to bilk investors on Wall Street during the 'Lude era and reap crazy rewards. The celebration of the bro workplace is like a modern "Mad Men" with nudity. At times, this looks to have been written as a dystopian sci fi novel by a feminist set in a future where the basest men run the economy. Even at three hours, I was alternately entertained, horrified, thrilled, at the edge of my seat. Sure, it could have lost some material. Maybe the consequences could have been amped up. But this is a work of unclassifiable genius.