Only Lovers Left Alive

http://www.sonyclassics.com/onlyloversleftalive/

The second film of the double bill I saw on Friday was the dark and moody vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive. I'd heard rumblings about this movie for some time, and despite my love of all things vampiric (books, films, you name it), it was my lack of love for Tom Hiddleston that was putting me off.

Before the Hiddlestoners descend and start throwing things at me, let me elaborate. It's not that I dislike Mr Hiddleston. From the films I have seen him in and the times I have seen him interviewed, I have witnessed a very fine actor indeed and someone who seems like a perfect gentleman (with a bit of a naughty side). He appears to be an absolute delight. And no-one can deny he is a pretty one. But he just doesn't do it for me. At this point you should really be thanking me, because I am one less fangirl you need to fight off for his affections. 

It took a review of the film by fellow blogger yourturnheather to make me change my mind and go and see the film. Her review described the movie as being something akin to the anti-Twilight, and also prepared me that the film went at a snails pace, achieving very little in the end. However, her description of the stylish directing and the superior performances was enough to convince me I should make the effort to see it, if I could. That was easier said than done as the film was not showing in my local area at all, meaning I had to go out of town, and at that point my friend and I decided to make it a double bill evening, to make the most of the journey.

After the disaster of film 1 - A New York Winter's Tale - film 2 had to be better. And it was. But only marginally. I'm not going to give you a synopsis, because much like August: Osage County, there isn't really a plot to give you a synopsis of. Adam (Hiddleston) and Eve (Swinton) are a married couple of vamps who, for reasons unspecified, live on opposite sides of the globe; he in Detroit, her in Tangier. They come together after around half an hour because he's depressed and she's worried about him. After around another half an hour of the two of them not doing very much of anything, but at least doing it together, Eve's sister Ava (Wasikowska) arrives, much to Adam's annoyance. Just when you think this might spice things up, it doesn't. Ava ends up getting thrown out of Adam's pad for doing something naughty, and then Adam and Eve decide to go back to her place in Tangier, where a change of lifestyle for the two of them is imminent. 

It is here where the film would probably start to have a little more life breathed into it, and yet it is here that the credits role. The thing is, despite all of that, I wasn't really disappointed with what I saw. Yourturnheather's review had prepared me for the fact that not much happened, and not much happened. It looked very stylish, there were fangs (which was something I wanted badly after Twilight) and nobody sparkled. But that fact that I wasn't disappointed does not mean that I wouldn't have been happy with something more. 

Hiddlestoners will no doubt love the movie, if just for the amount of shirtless (and in one scene completely naked) Hiddles on display. Oh and for my Tumblr readers, there is a ridiculous amount of hand porn in this movie. For those uninitiated, that does not mean masterbation, just that there are lots of close ups of Tom's very pretty hands and long fingers. He also plays a number of guitars, a violin and the drums (I have a thing for drummers). So hard core Hiddlestoners are going to be very happy indeed, even if they don't particularly enjoy the film overall, there is a LOT for them to like. 

Gratuitous appreciations aside, Tom is also very good at being undead and depressed, and he and Tilda have a lot of chemistry together. The best scenes are undoubtedly when they are sharing screen time, because they fit so well together that you have no difficulty in imagining they have been lovers for centuries. Nothing they do seems forced, which, for a movie about creatures of the night, is something of a victory really. 

The support from John Hurt, Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin, is all top notch, as we have come to expect from these actors. It's just a shame there wasn't more for them to do. Definitely one for fans of Hiddleston or Swinton, or those enamoured with the idea of a more old school vampire movie. 7 out of 10.

 

Viewing Date - 21st February 2014

UK Release Date - 21st February 2014

Cast Overview:
Adam ~ Tom Hiddleston
Eve ~ Tilda Swinton
Ava ~ Mia Wasikowska
Marlowe ~ John Hurt
Ian ~ Anton Yelchin
Dr Watson ~ Jeffrey Wright

Director/Writer ~ Jim Jarmusch

A New York Winter's Tale

http://www.winterstalemovie.com/

As a long time fan of Mr Farrell, my immediate reaction to this movie was that I wanted to see it. I still had reservations about it, for one I thought it looked cheesy, for two it had Russell Crowe putting on an Irish accent and for three, Akiva Goldsman. But more of that later.

From the trailer this just looks like a tale of doomed love, and potentially of a man reborn with the hopes of getting a second chance. This is not what the movie is about, at all. I will include the trailer below as I always do, but do not allow this to make your decision about this movie. What the film is actually about is the long standing feud between good and evil. With some doomed love thrown in on the side and a creepy bit involving a little girl that's been tacked on the end for good measure.

*There be spoilers ahead but no more so than in the trailer really*

Colin Farrell plays your average human thief Peter Lake, who meets Beverly (Brown Findlay) by chance whilst he's robbing her father's house. The year is 1916 and they fall in love, somehow with the blessing of her father, but they know that this can never last as she is terminally ill with consumption (what we would now call Tuberculosis). As they search for a way to save Beverly, Peter discovers that all humans have a miracle that they can give to someone, and he decides he will give his to Beverly and save her life. However, whilst there are humans with miracles to give, there are also demons, who's sole purpose is to stop the humans from giving away their miracle. Enter Russell Crowe as one such demon Pearly Soames. He manages to stop Peter from giving his miracle to Beverly, but not before Beverly gives her miracle to Peter, in the form of eternal life. Still following? Good. Soames then tries to dispose of Peter once and for all by throwing him off the Brooklyn Bridge, but all he manages to do is make Peter lose his memory. We then move to the present day where Peter has evaded Pearly and his men, but when he finds who his miracle is meant for, it puts him back in Pearly's sights, and he isn't going to let Peter go for a second time without a fight to the death. *End spoilers*

You may think my synopsis reads like a bit of a car crash. Well let me tell you, that is nothing compared to what a car crash this movie is. Let me preface by saying that I have not read the book on which the film was based. I imagine it reads a lot better than the script for the movie. It seems to me that the filmmakers decided to play down the mystical aspect of the film entirely, by not really showing any of that in the trailer, and instead presenting it as an old fashioned doomed romance. But then when those mystical elements pop up in the film it just seems all the more ludicrous. 

I said at the start that one of the things that put me off was Russell Crowe's accent. It's actually a lot worse in the film than it is in the trailer, and only made more disappointing by the fact that he is acting opposite a genuine Irish man. There is no excuse Russell Crowe. No excuse at all.

The final element that really put me off the film was the fact that it was written and directed by Akiva Goldsman. A fact which I'd actually forgotten until the credits rolled, at which point I said aloud, 'ah, that explains it'. If you are unfamiliar with Mr Goldsman's career (if you can call it that), allow me to elaborate, he wrote Batman Forever, Batman & Robin AND the atrocious Lost In Space. As well as several other below average vehicles starring both Russell Crowe and Will Smith. Which I suppose explains the presence of both actors in this movie.

I don't care how badly Colin and co needed to pay their rent, they should never have made this steaming crap heap of a movie. 3 out of 10. (This would be a 2 but I'm awarding an extra point for Farrell and the New York setting).

Viewing Date - 21st February 2014

UK Release Date - 21st February 2014

Cast Overview:

Peter Lake ~ Colin Farrell

Beverly Penn ~ Jessica Brown Findlay

Virginia Gamely ~ Jennifer Connelly

Pearly Soames ~ Russell Crowe

Young Willa ~ Mckayla Twiggs

Adult Willa ~ Eva Marie Saint

Judge ~ Will Smith

Isaac Penn ~ William Hurt

Abby ~ Ripley Sobo

Peter's Father ~ Matt Bomer

Peter's Mother ~ Lucy Griffiths

Gabriel ~ Finn Wittrock

Horse ~ Listo

Director/Writer ~ Akiva Goldsman

Her

http://www.herthemovie.com/

As is my valentine tradition, I spent the evening with my best friend, having dinner and watching a movie; which on this particular valentines day was Her, a Spike Jonze love story. It seemed oddly appropriate for the day.

The film follows the life of writer Theodore (Phoenix), in the not too distant but never specified future. He is on the cusp of finalising his divorce and decides to purchase a new artificially intelligent operating system, which, as the advert tells him, will cater for all of his needs. He never dreamed that would include his OS, Samantha, falling in love with him (and he her), and the two of them entering into a relationship. But if Theodore's wife could not be all that he needed, and she was a flesh and blood person, how will he fare with a woman he cannot see or touch?

Her was a very interesting and unique take on the love story, and one which I found to be quite thought provoking. As a society we seem to be headed further and further down the path of communicating via smart phones and tablets etc, and I could honestly imagine the future depicted in Her becoming our future. Similarly, the amount of single people I know who would be quite happy to enter into a relationship with someone they never had to physically see, or who wouldn't judge them for their own appearance, would be very appealing. The imagination is a wonderful thing, and a disembodied voice that you could imagine to look like whoever you wanted, would probably be the ideal for some people.

The story ambles along at a leisurely pace, never feeling as though it is hurrying to get to it's point, but I liked that about it. You felt as though Theodore and Samantha actually did fall in love over time, and not just in the space of minutes, which I felt recently with another film I saw. It didn't feel rushed, and when they eventually consummated their love, I found it to be both sweet and alluring. It was a scene to divide opinion though, as my friend hated it and found the whole thing embarrassing. 

Considering Joaquin Phoenix announced only a few years ago that he was retiring from acting, I was surprised to see him headline this film, but after seeing the movie I am glad that he decided to do it, and that the studios supported his casting, as he really does a great job of carrying the movie. The supporting cast is sparse, a great supporting cast to be sure, headed by Amy Adams, but sparsely present and only for short scenes, and the majority of scenes are of Theodore interacting with Samantha. Whilst Johansson is fantastic as the voice of Samantha, it must have been difficult for Phoenix to pull off the emotion of some of those scenes with no physical person to act against.

I can see that Her would definitely be a Marmite film, one that you will either love or hate. I personally fell into the love category and I hope you will too. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 14th February 2014

UK Release Date - 14th February 2014

Cast Overview:

Theodore ~ Joaquin Phoenix

Amy ~ Amy Adams

Catherine ~ Rooney Mara

Paul ~ Chris Pratt

Charles ~ Matt Letscher

Blind Date ~ Olivia Wilde

Samantha ~ Scarlett Johansson (voice)

Sexy Kitten ~ Kristen Wiig (voice)

Alan Watts ~ Brian Cox (voice)

Director/Writer ~ Spike Jonze

Dallas Buyers Club

http://www.focusfeatures.com/dallas_buyers_club

If you read my review for The Lego Movie, you will know that I was very keen to see Dallas Buyers Club instead. As it was I got to see it the very next day so it wasn't a long wait. As a fan of Mr McConaughey (in more serious roles such as A Time To Kill and Mud), I was very keen to see this film that he championed for so long and for which he made major - Christian Bale style - changes to his physical appearance, along with co-star Jared Leto.

The film tells the true story of rodeo electrician, Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), a man who likes nothing more than betting on bull riding cowboys, having sex with women in the stands behind the bullring, and taking as much coke and alcohol as his body can handle. That is until his body tells him no more. He collapses, and when he awakes in the hospital he is given the prognosis that he has HIV and will be dead within 30 days. Being the kind of pigheaded man that he is, he simply tells the doctors that there is nothing that can kill him within 30 days and he storms out of the hospital. It's everything that happens after this point in the film that changes your mind about this man and makes you root for him. And to find out what that is, you will have to see the film because I don't want to spoil a single minute.

Dallas Buyers Club made me laugh, it made me cry, but most importantly, for me at least, it succeeded in showing me a man who by all accounts is pretty much a total jerk, he's rude, he's obnoxious, he's homophobic, he takes recreational drugs and has casual sex, and it made me care about him and what happened to him. Martin Scorsese take note, this is how it's done.

The characters in Dallas Buyers Club may not be perfect, but they are all the more rich for it. Their story touches you because of the lengths they go to in order to just stay alive, in order to give their lives some meaning. In order to love and be loved in return. McConaughey is superb, drawing the audience in, making you wonder why you should give a damn what happens to Ron Woodroof, and then turning the tables so flawlessly that you don't even realise when it was you started to care, you just know that you do. He is only as good as his supporting players of course, but thankfully he has a cast of more than competent actors backing him up, Jennifer Garner, Steve Zahn and Dallas Roberts, to name but a few of the talented individuals who have small but substantial roles. The shining star of the supporting cast is Jared Leto, who gives a performance the like of which I have never seen from him. He is simply stunning.

I only hope that after McConaughey and co have shown how good they can be when given such fantastic material, they will continue to search for roles like this, and be given the opportunity to make films with meaning and heart. It's an absolute travesty that this film missed out on being nominated at the Bafta's, don't you miss it too. 9.5 out of 10.

 

Viewing Date - 9th February 2014

UK Release Date - 7th February 2014

Cast Overview:

Ron Woodroof ~ Matthew McConaughey

Eve ~ Jennifer Garner

Rayon ~ Jared Leto

Dr Sevard ~ Denis O'Hare

Tucker ~ Steve Zahn

David Wayne ~ Dallas Roberts

Director ~ Jean-Marc Vallee

Writer(s) ~ Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

The Lego Movie

http://www.thelegomovie.com/

Yes, I saw The Lego Movie, but before you write me off, allow me to explain my reason for doing so. 

It was recently my cinema buddy's 40th Birthday. As such a HUGE cinema and film fan, he of course wanted to see a birthday movie to mark the occasion. He had already seen the other films that were released that day and decided to go with a preview of The Lego Movie. Figuring it would be more fun than going to see Dallas Buyers Club. You can't argue with that. 

So off we went to watch a movie based on the brick toy that hurts like hell when you stand on it in bare feet, and which I always got bored with as a child because I was never very good at building things. I really wasn't expecting it to be any good.

The story is a relatively easy one to follow. Emmet is your average, run of the mill construction worker, living his normal everyday life like everyone else. That is until he gets left behind on site one evening and stumbles across Wyldstyle, the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. She is looking for the piece of resistance, in the hope of becoming the 'special', a person of significance who will save the universe from the evil President Business. There is only one flaw to her plan, she hadn't anticipated Emmet accidentally falling down a hole and finding the piece of resistance first, thus making him the 'special'. Wyldstyle must work with Emmet to utilize the skills he does have in order to save the day.

I'll be honest, I wanted to see Dallas Buyers Club and I thought this would be an absolute pile of poop. My expectations were incredibly low, but taking it at face value, I actually liked it, a lot. 

Emmet is a really likable character, he's just so nice. I kept turning to my cinema buddy at the beginning of the film and saying "it's you", because he's just as chirpy as Emmet. The other characters all have their own quirks that mean there will be something for everyone.  The story ambles along at a good pace and the main song WILL get stuck in your head. The animation may not look as flashy as Pixar or Disney but it serves it's purpose, which is to tell a fun and enjoyable story. 

It's school holiday this week in the UK. If you've got a kid, or can borrow one easily (I mean by way of a nephew or niece, not stealing one off the street), then take them to see this, I'm sure you'll find yourself smiling, if not singing, by the end. 7.5 out of 10.

 

Viewing Date - 8th February 2014

UK Release Date - 14th February 2014

Cast Overview:

(If you don't like knowing who the voices are DON'T SCROLL DOWN! ;0)) 

Emmet Brickowoski ~ Chris Pratt

Batman/Bruce Wayne ~ Will Arnett

Wyldstyle/Lucy ~ Elizabeth Banks

Lord Business/President Business/The Man Upstairs ~ Will Ferrell

Good Cop/Bad Cop/Pa Cop ~ Liam Neeson

Benny ~ Charlie Day

Unikitty ~ Alison Brie

Vitruvius ~ Morgan Freeman

Wally ~ Dave Franco

Superman ~ Channing Tatum

Wonder Woman ~ Cobie Smulders

Green Lantern ~ Jonah Hill

Barry ~ Jake Johnson

Lando ~ Billy Dee Williams

C-3PO ~ Anthony Daniels

Director(s) ~ Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Writer ~ Dan Hageman (Story), Kevin Hageman (Story), Phil Lord (Screenplay and Story) and Christopher Miller (Screenplay and Story)

August: Osage County

http://augustosagecountyfilm.com/

Don't you just love Oscar Season? Where all the films have such wonderful acting, but really have very little in the way of a meaningful plot. I am of course referring to films like The Wolf Of Wall Street, but also to this movie. Never before have I seen so many fantastic actors gathered together to tell such a pointless story.

I recall when I saw the trailer with one of my friends and they said 'but what is it about'? And all I could say in response was 'well it seems to be a family drama'. And yes, family drama it is. But my friend was also right, it isn't actually 'about' anything in particular.

The focus of the movie is definitely Meryl Streep's matriarch, Vi, who loses her husband, literally, at the start of the movie, when he ups and disappears and no-one knows where he's gone. From this starting point, unfolds a family drama like no other, and before the end of the movie we have dealt with some very grim topics indeed, such as suicide, incest and paedophilia.

In a nutshell I would describe this movie as a lot of very good actors basically having an argument for the whole film. Which definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea. Certainly there were a couple of people who walked out of the showing I was in.

One thing I will say in the movie's favour is that Julia Roberts shines in this film. I'd be hard pushed to say when she's been better (possibly only in Erin Brockovich). When you see her character for the first time I was thinking 'here we go again, Julia Roberts playing another unrealistic character, with dark hair even though she is probably supposed to be in her 40s, would it kill her to have a few greys in there?' But then you see her in the light. She has grey roots, a middle aged mum tum, and bags under her eyes. It's the most normal, most real person she has ever played. And she's brilliant. And in my humble opinion, all the more beautiful for her appearance. I felt like her character was someone I could go for a drink with. Which I actually said to my cinema buddy. His response was, yes but would you want to? My answer is a resounding yes. I identified with her character a lot, the child that moved away, but is somehow the most relied upon because she is the 'strong' one. But in reality, she is probably the one most in need of someone to be strong for her for a change.

Streep will no doubt get all the praise for this film, and rightly so as she is brilliant. But then she is always brilliant. I think Roberts is definitely the one who deserves the praise.

Due to an ensemble of fantastic actors all fighting to show how good they are, I am glad I saw August, but due to the lack of purpose, and some unsavoury subject matters, I'm not sure I'd want to see it again. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 29th January 2014

UK Release Date - 24th January 2014

Cast Overview:

Violet Weston ~ Meryl Streep

Barbara Weston ~ Julia Roberts

Charlie Aiken ~ Chris Cooper

Bill Fordham ~ Ewan McGregor

Mattie Fae Aiken ~ Margo Martindale

Beverly Weston ~ Sam Shepard

Steve Huberbrecht ~ Dermot Mulroney

Ivy Weston ~ Julianne Nicholson

Karen Weston ~ Juliette Lewis

Jean Fordham ~ Abigail Breslin

Little Charles Aiken ~ Benedict Cumberbatch

Johnna Monevata ~ Misty Upham

Director ~ John Wells

Writer ~ Tracy Letts (Screenplay - based on her play)

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

http://www.shadowrecruitmovie.co.uk

Having never seen any of the previous incarnations of Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin in The Hunt For Red October - Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger - Ben Affleck in The Sum Of All Fears), my only reason for wanting to see the new movie was that it looked to be the only decent thing out on a Saturday night. Well, that and Chris Pine isn't exactly a chore to watch.

We open on a young Jack Ryan (Pine) as he studies Economics in London in 2001. The day we join him just happens to be September 11th, a date which prompts him to change careers and join the marines. An incident involving a helicopter he was flying in then puts him in the path of his future wife Cathy (Knightley) and his future employer, Thomas Harper (Costner) of the CIA. Ryan takes on an analyst position within the agency and when we fast forward 10 years we see him involved in a case to take down a Russian firm run by Viktor Cherevin (Branagh). Ryan has been gathering intelligence on Cherevin that shows suspicious amounts of US dollars have been going missing, all seemingly related to the Russian company, which could lead to a collapse of the US economy. 

The story isn't all that gripping, and I must admit that I had to piece most of my synopsis together from IMDb and Wikipedia as I couldn't really remember the plot all that well. That probably tells you all you need to know about the movie. It's very stylish, but there isn't an awful lot of substance here. It's what I like to call a pure popcorn movie. Leave your brain at the door and you'll enjoy it just fine.

Which begs the question, why on earth did any of the actors involved want to do it? And moreover, why the hell did Branagh want to not only direct this uninspiring film, but star in it too? Don't even get me started on why he would want to put on a terrible Russian accent in order to give himself a role? The other actors, Pine, Knightley and Costner all do an admirable job of playing it seriously, which just makes me wish this was a better movie for them all. Yes, even Costner is decent. I know, I was shocked too.

It's not terrible, but it won't leave much of a lasting impression. Other than how bad Branagh's accent is. 6.5 out of 10.

 

Viewing Date - 25th January 2014

UK Release Date - 24th January 2014

Cast Overview:

Jack Ryan ~ Chris Pine

Cathy Muller ~ Keira Knightley

Thomas Harper ~ Kevin Costner

Viktor Cherevin ~ Kenneth Branagh

Director ~ Kenneth Branagh

Writer(s) ~ Adam Cozad and David Koepp - Based on characters created by Tom Clancy

The Wolf Of Wall Street

 

http://www.thewolfofwallstreetmovie.co.uk/ 

I think my friends were quite shocked when I said I wanted to see The Wolf Of Wall Street, knowing how anti-drugs I am. The film was clearly going to show gratuitous drug taking and yet I was intrigued by the trailer. All that chanting by Matthew McConaughey for one. And knowing that Martin Scorsese is such a renowned film maker, I had to know what it was about the movie that made him want to make it.

The film is based on a book of the same name, written by and from the perspective of former Wall Street Stockbroker Jordan Belfort. We follow Belfort on his Wall Street journey, starting out as a junior stockbroker, ambitious and naive with a hairdresser wife at home, and we see him through the black monday stock market crash, rebuilding his career, becoming addicted to almost every drug there is, losing his wife and replacing her with a younger model, and returning to success. But as the FBI start to keep a watchful eye on Belfort and his colleagues, the net soon starts to close in on them and their decadent lifestyles.

After seeing the movie, I wasn't all that much clearer on any of the things that intrigued me going in. I only found out what the chanting was all about when I saw McConaughey on Graham Norton's show the other night. And I'm still at a bit of a loss to explain why Scorsese wanted to make this film, other than maybe he felt that as he is in the midst of his twilight years, he should make a movie as gratuitous as possible?

One of the problems I had with the movie is it's length. When I saw American Hustle with one of my friends, a movie that is the average film length at 2 hours (2 and a half with ads and trailers), she told me that she felt at least 40 minutes of that film could have been cut. Personally, I don't see where. I have seen Hustle a number of times since and I don't find it overly long. The Wolf Of Wall Street on the other hand is over 2 and half hours long (3 with ads and trailers). And it felt much longer.

The other, and probably more important failure of this movie is that there is not a single decent character that you can get behind. I apologise for again using American Hustle as a comparison but, although the main characters in Hustle, Irving and Sydney, do some bad things, they do at least have a conscience about those things. And at the heart of Hustle is a character who has nothing but good intentions. The irony being that he is the only one really who suffers in the end. Whereas The Wolf Of Wall Street has maybe one likable character in the whole film, Jordan's father, played by the ever lovable Rob Reiner. The problem is that Reiner's character is only in the film for about 5 minutes. 5 minutes of over 150 minutes of movie. He's not central enough for him to be the emotional heart of the story. And without that, you just find yourself watching horrible people do horrible things for 3 hours.

Also, this is more of a nitpick, but are we really supposed to believe that at the start of the movie, DiCaprio's character is only 26? Because I'm sorry, he may be baby faced but he isn't baby faced enough to pass for 26 anymore.

I can't help but feel like Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are the new Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. And we all know how detrimental that relationship has become, to both careers. Scorsese needs to start making movies with someone other than DiCaprio. Because then maybe both men will make better decisions for their respective careers. If DiCaprio does win the Oscar for this film it will be a crying shame, as it will clearly be a pity vote on behalf of the academy for his failure to win one under his many previous nominations.

A very long, gratuitous tale about a bunch of really unlikable people who do a lot of drugs and not a lot else. 4 out of 10.

Viewing Date -19th January 2014

UK Release Date - 17th January 2014

Cast Overview:

Jordan Belfort ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

Donnie Azoff ~ Jonah Hill

Naomi Lapaglia ~ Margot Robbie

Mark Hanna ~ Matthew McConaughey

Agent Patrick Denham ~ Kyle Chandler

Max Belfort ~ Rob Reiner

Manny Riskin ~ Jon Favreau

Jean Jacques Saurel ~ Jean Dujardin

Aunt Emma ~ Joanna Lumley

Director ~ Martin Scorsese

Writer(s) ~ Terence Winter (Screenplay) and Jordan Belfort (Book)