Tag: leonardo dicaprio

Don’t Look Up (2021)

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A sadly accurate depiction of the times. The brilliant writing makes it appear like satire, an SNL sketch of sorts, but it is REAL. It is what we have endured and continue to endure with the polarisation and ignorance of society.

There are references aplenty and they make for a shudder down your spine, nervous laugh, head shaking variety. A commentary on the current and future trends and what we as a society tend to focus on needs a lot of attention, which is what the cast is attempting to highlight. Either by their action or wilful delusion.

We have had multiple wake up calls and are in the midst of one currently. But the truth is often harder to digest and address than the ‘alternative facts’. The ensemble cast is superlative in presenting us these perspectives which beg for logic and alarm.

Thoroughly disturbing, eye opening and humbling.

4/5

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Once upon a time in Hollywood (2019)

A classic and authentic take about a time in Hollywood where careers were changing and being challenged. We get perspectives from an aging TV star, Leonardo Di Caprio and his stunt man, Brad Pitt.

Both leads have given impeccable performances, one who is very sure and confident about himself, the other has to accept a changing future and challenging present. We are treated to a complete vintage experience, enjoying the era and the pace. At 161 minutes you soak in everything you have to.

I was waiting for the classic Quentin Tarantino scene which doesn’t disappoint. The film depicts a large slice of ‘what could have been’ and you leave entertained having seen it.

3.5/5

The Revenant (2015)

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Leonardo DiCaprio is proof why fine actors shouldn’t be given Oscars. Not that an Oscar is the pinnacle of achievement, but maybe the fact that he hasn’t won made him push every boundary in so many of his previous films, this being the jewel in the crown. His grit and agony ooze from every pore of his being as Hugh Glass.

Director Alejandro Innaritu chose a set of impossible circumstances to tell a story so difficult that it created awe and shock in equal measure. The terrain though sub-zero, was oddly hopeful, with life fighting to survive and the force fuelling it a mixture of grief, revenge and humanity.

While Tom Hardy makes the perfect antagonist as John Fitzgerald, his performance is remarkable to say the least. All cast have the appropriate accent and the director recreates 1823 with unobtrusive camera work. He shot everything in highly abrasive conditions. Almost everything you see is real and believable. We are captured by Nature this time round, the rest I leave for you to see and experience. Subtitles and translations make it easier to comprehend and digest the proceedings.

A grisly tale of survival, which leaves you tense, horrified, fulfilled and astounded. Having won all major awards, this might just break the jinx that surrounds Leonardo. Do us a favour though… Continue doing projects which are synonymous with you.

4/5

The Wolf of Wall Street (2014)

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Excessive, shocking, loud, crass, filthy rich, mind numbing, sense dumbing are the words that come to mind when I think of this film. I wanted to check into rehab after it, that’s how abusive it was, along with its 3 hour length.

Martin Scorcese is such a crafty story teller, that not only has he captured the essence of the story and era, but he makes you feel it with all your senses. The end result may not be entertainment, or a film where you enjoyed every scene, but EVERYONE will take one, or more scene(s) home with them.

Leonardo Di Caprio has done a variety of roles in the past, but this one surely stands out as one of his best. Exceptionally unpredictable, he does with ease what we couldn’t even imagine as a fantasy for ourselves. Other actors lend able support as the many elements in his life, ranging from crazy and eccentric to the loyal girl next door.

There were many scenes that were censored, but there was enough to let you guess what you missed, mostly because of their graphic nature. One very erotic scene was surprisingly not cut, as it was important to the story.

Watch it only if you can see it for what it is, a real story which is as far removed from reality as possible. I could not digest the fact that this is not fiction 🙂

3/5

The Great Gatsby

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The excess, success and progress of America come alive on screen in a vivid, almost poetic form by director Baz Luhrmann.

Its in the many details of the film that you will find the various forms of love. The love that can endure, wait and persevere is present alongside love that can sway, be short lived and is perhaps fickle.

The irony here is not love itself, but the grand stage one sets for something which is always intended to be a personal moment. Its the balance that the film strikes between the noise and the silence, the grandeur and the pain, the selfishness and the selflessness that you step back and question your own belief of love.

Leonardo has once again walked the tight rope and shown the complexity of an ambitious man in love. Carey Mulligan is a victim of her own choices, showing wondrous fleeting moments of love, amongst her spoils. Tobey Maguire plays the fine narrator of a quixotic tale he didn’t want to be a part off, but was swept away by it like the rest of us.

Its artistic treatment and sparks of brilliance indeed make it ‘Great’.

Indulge yourself, old sport!

4/5