One of the Best of 2013....

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2015)

Not to be confused with that 1929 film (LOL); I saw this awhile back off Netflix, and can't believe I forgot to review this, considering it was one of my fav. films of 2013???!!! I would call this "Goodfellas" meets "Boiler Room"!
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort(Leonardo DiCaprio), from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. If you've ever seen the 2000 film "Boiler Room", the Tom Everett Scott character in that film was also based on Belfort. I heard he received $1 million for the sell of his work to be made into a movie- wow!, that is just so wrong-??
As I was watching this, with DiCaprio's narration, and the pacing and music and everything, I couldn't help think of "Goodfellas" (of course, also directed by Martin Scorsese) - in fact, DiCaprio's voice almost sounded like he was intending for it to echo Ray Liotta's in that film-??
And wow!- what an all-star cast??!- no less than Jonah Hill (who I heard wanted to be in this film so bad, accepted a $60,000 salary compared to Leo's $10 million! LOL), Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal (TV's "The Walking Dead"), Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin ("The Artist"), Joanna Lumley, and Matthew McConaughey in a key role as Belfort's mentor.
And the running time- just under THREE hours!?? No matter, the film just flies by. I will say it is refreshing to see what is basically a comedy come in at that length. DiCaprio and Scorsese, who ten years ago I would've thought it was a joke comparing the actor/filmmaker duo to DeNiro/Scorsese; however, with this film being their fifth collaboration after the likes of "Gangs of New York", "The Aviator", "The Departed" and "Shutter Island", I will have no problem putting those two collabs in the same group...