Good: 7.5

Rating: 7/10 (28 July 2019)

Second only to Tim Burton-Johnny Depp, the DiCarpio-Scorsese partnership is the most well-known in Hollywood, dating all the way back to 2004 with Gangs of New York. So while The Wolf of Wall Street may not be their best collaboration, it's definitely the pair at their most playful, which shows in every scene. The actual subject matter is anything but. In the late eighties, stock broker Jordan Belfort (whose autobiographical book is the basis for the film) managed to sell millions of stocks at premium prices. And when the stocks crashed (as planned), Belfort and co. reaped the rewards while the buyers suffered financially. He left dozens almost penniless. But hey, he had millions upon millions, a hot wife, a fancy car, and a multiacre mansion, so who cares? The FBI did, incidentally. Though they should probably have gotten involved sooner, rest assured that Belfort does eventually get what's coming to him, though this is admittedly the least entertaining part of the film. I'll put it this way: this is the most hard-R movie I've seen in a while. But in spite (or perhaps because) of this, it is also hugely entertaining, with enthusiastically flamboyant direction and what is perhaps DiCaprio's finest performance yet.