The best film I have seen in a long time!

Rating: 10/10 (3 January 2014)

When I initially saw 'The Wolf of Wall Street' was to be three hours long, I was disappointed. I had looked forward to it for a little while, but usually struggle with films pushing over the two and half hour mark. Finally tonight I worked up the courage to go in there and endure the three hours. Little did I know it wouldn't be an issue in the slightest. In fact the next three hours would be some of the quickest of my life.
What a movie! The direction, the writing, the acting - all beyond belief good. Scorsese has outdone himself, DiCaprio has outdone himself, in fact the whole cast outdid themselves. Jonah Hill, in far and away his best performance yet (miles better than 'Moneyball'), was Oscar-worthy good. He and DiCaprio battled for scene dominance time, after time, after time and the winner was the audience. Matthew McConaughey was also brilliant in his brief cameo. His appearance is so early in the film that some could be forgiven for forgetting he even appeared by the end (three hours is still a long time no matter how fast it goes by).
The movie is hilarious from start to finish. It tells the story of Jordan Belfort and his rise to fame and fortune through stockbroking. I hear it's creating a little controversy (especially in the United States), and it has to be admitted it does push boundaries. The levels of drug use throughout the film are quite amazing at times and the amount of sex and nudity are admittedly high. But that's why this works so well. It seems Scorsese had almost complete freedom to tell the story the way he wanted, something I wish so many more directors had the opportunity to do.
It takes brilliant pacing from a director and editor to make a film go by so quickly, and I can't remember a case of it being done this well since 'The Dark Knight' in 2008. Let's hope DiCaprio and Scorsese collaborate many more times in the future because when they do it's pure gold.