SAG, PGA, & DGA. What on Earth is happening.

One of the closest races in Oscar memory (allegedly) has just entered a new frontier. Our Guild Awards (Screen Actors', Producers', and Directors') are almost weighed in, and in just a few short days, the Oscar race should be in full focus and our front-runners locked in. Either way, our Best Picture & Best Director winners will be one (or a few) of the following films: Gravity. American Hustle. 12 Years a Slave. In a few short days, we'll have a good idea of who will win what. 

Allegedly...

SAG

The first major race of the guilds - a close call between American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave. American Hustle won Ensemble (the equivalent of Best Picture), and 12 Years a Slave won Best Supporting Actress (Lupita N'yongo's second-consecutive victory and her guarantee as Oscar-front runner from here on out). While this award generally favors Best Picture (Argo, The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire), it just as frequently awards the eventual non-Best Picture winner (The Help, Inlourious Basterds, Little Miss Sunshine). 12 Years losing was not the end, but it was a sure boost for American Hustle. 

PGA

Last night's un-televised awards that went well into the night culminated in this year's most baffling and improbably winner: a tie between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave. Perhaps it doesn't sound too crazy. After all, there was a tie at last year's Oscars alone (Best Sound Editing). It happens... Right? 

Mathematically, it's improbable to say the least. The PGA (like the Oscars) are voted on by means of a 'preferential ballot,' meaning each member ranks the 10 nominees from best to worst. This means your #9 spot is just as influential as your #1 spot. A film needs at least 50% of the final first-place votes to win. In order to do this, the film with the least number of first place votes is eliminated, and the rest of the films on those ballots are distributed (Let's say I vote for 'Blue Jasmine' as my #1 pick. If that film received the least amount of first place votes, my vote is discarded. If I had 12 Years a Slave in #2, then, it would be the equivalent of a #1 (since my original first place vote is void) and the process continues). Depending on how many votes there are, this process continues until one film is left victorious. 

Allegedly. 

The fact that Gravity and 12 Years a Slave tied means that of the 5,000 members who voted (according to the PGA website, and assuming they all voted), Gravity and 12 Years a Slave each received the exact same number of first, second, third, fourth, etc place votes! How is that possible? I'm not sure it is. But it happened. The PGA is perhaps the second-best forecaster of the Best Picture winner, so American Hustle not even being in the top two almost forces me to rule out its chances for the top prize. 

DGA

The DGA's (come January 25th) are notoriously the best predictor of the Oscars for Best Picture & Director. Forget the Oscars in March - a week from now, the race may be over. There are 3 potential outcomes of these awards: 

1) Gravity wins. This will cement it as Best Picture front-runner until the Oscars, when it will invariably win Best Director and Best Picture. The race will be over. 

2) 12 Years a Slave wins. This will lock 12 Years a Slave into the Best Picture Oscar, leaving a tiny margin of error. Best Director will be almost locked, but Alfonso Cuaron will still have the slightest chance of winning. (This award is more accurate in predicting Best Picture over Best Director, and since Cuaron is the season's front runner for Directing, he will still have a fighting chance). 

3) American Hustle wins. This seems improbable. American Hustle would surge to the front of the race, and with its SAG Ensemble award in hand, it would easily snag Best Picture, though I feel as if Gravity or 12 Years a Slave would eventually win the Directing Oscar. 

Whatever the outcome, this year's race is delicate to say the least. As of now, 12 Years a Slave is my DGA prediction. The suspense is dreadful...

SAG Predictions

SAG Awards. The best precursor to the Oscars in terms of acting races. If you win Best Ensemble, you've heightened your chances to win Best Picture. If you win here, Oscar is all but in your forecast (unless you're Christoph Waltz, that is....) We've got a quick breakdown of categories and who seems poised to take home the statue tonight!

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi / Muse – "Captain Phillips"
Daniel Brühl / Niki Lauda – "Rush"
Michael Fassbender / Edwin Epps – "12 Years a Slave"
James Gandolfini / Albert – "Enough Said"
Jared Leto / Rayon – "Dallas Buyers Club"

This is one of the few categories that is all but locked up.

Will win: Jared Leto
Should win: Jared Leto



Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Lawrence / Rosalyn Rosenfeld – "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o / Patsey – "12 Years a Slave"
Julia Roberts / Barbara Weston – "August: Osage County"
June Squibb / Kate Grant – "Nebraska"
Oprah Winfrey / Gloria Gaines – "Lee Daniels' The Butler"

Oh no. Lupita vs Jennifer. Star power vs raw talent. As of now, Jennifer Lawrence seems unstoppable. If there is any chance for Lupita to stay in contention for the Oscar, she needs to win this award tonight.  She just won at the Critics Choice and gave a beautiful speech, but SAG votes had already been submitted. As of now, it's an incredibly close race, and this will ensure the upper hand for the rest of the awards season. Poor Oprah, she'll get her Oscar one day...

Will win: Jennifer Lawrence
Should win: Lupita N'yongo



Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett / Jasmine – "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock / Ryan Stone – "Gravity"
Judi Dench / Philomena Lee – "Philomena"
Meryl Streep / Violet Weston – "August: Osage County"
Emma Thompson / P.L. Travers – "Saving Mr. Banks"

Locked and loaded. The only TRUE acting lock of the night. And so deserved, as well. Cate had better start drafting some more acceptance speeches.

Will win: Cate Blanchett
Should win: Cate Blanchett



Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bruce Dern / Woody Grant – "Nebraska"
Chiwetel Ejiofor / Solomon Northup – "12 Years a Slave"
Tom Hanks / Capt. Richard Phillips – "Captain Phillips"
Matthew McConaughey / Ron Woodroof – "Dallas Buyers Club"
Forest Whitaker / Cecil Gaines – "Lee Daniels' The Butler"

This is the race that has done a 180 in the past week. With Matthew winning the Globe and the Critics Choice Award, it seems like he's out front to win it all. And on paper, it makes sense. Weight loss, true story, AID's-related topic. In my heart, Mr. Ejiofor still has the best acted role hands down. Again, if we want to keep him in the Oscar talk, he must win. This is starting to look more and more like the 2009 race when Sandra Bullock began to sweep everything. McConaughey has the star power and likability. If McConaughey wins, I think Best Actor is all over.

Will win: Matthew McConaughey
Should win: Chiwetel Ejiofor



Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniels' The Butler

As we have said in years past, there are certain rules to follow when predicting. Keep it cold and calculated. Don't put emotion into it. Yes, everyone thinks American Hustle is locked to win, but historically speaking, the film with the most nominated actors in the cast usually wins. Argo won this category last year. Do you remember more than 2 actors from that movie? No. But it had the most individual nominations - leading to a more universal support - leading to a win. Generally speaking. This year, the movie with the largest cast is The Butler. However, SAG doesn't want to look outdated or 'off-trend.' They've been very good at predicting Best Picture before, and they'll want this award to seem important. Last year, everyone thought Silver Linings Playbook was locked to win this same award (another David O. Russell movie), but it was shut out. Sometimes, it's not always the most obvious choice in this category, especially considering that the film with the next-largest cast is 12 Years a Slave.

Will win: 12 Years a Slave
Should win: 12 Years a Slave

Oscar Nominations - What's the state of this Oscar race?

They're here.... At long last, no more waiting, no more suspense, all bets are off, predictions for the PREDICTIONS of the Oscar nominees have come to fruition. And in many cases, we were left with some surprises, some good, some bad (depending on how much you liked "Saving Mr Banks"). The grand total: "American Hustle" and "Gravity" tie for most nominations at 10 each, "12 Years A Slave" trails behind at 9. "12 Years" was originally forcasted to get double-digit nominations and lead the race. Not the case, it seems. Let's take a look and see what's going on, what missed, what made it, what could win. (We'll have them ranked in terms of likeliness to win)


BEST PICTURE

Another year of 9 nominees. The only surprising shut-out was "Inside Llewyn Davis" in place of "Philomena," and if you're were an active champion of Walt Disney, the "Saving Mr Banks" snub (which was pretty easy to forecast). We won't know the winner until the DGA (Director's Guild) announces their winner, because overlap between this category and their pick is almost always unanimous. Based on these nominations, though, there's a great love of one film in particular:

1. "American Hustle"
2. "12 Years a Slave"
3. "Gravity"
4. "Nebraska"
5. "The Wolf of Wall Street"
6. "Captain Phillips"
7. "Dallas Buyers Club"
8. "Philomena"
9. "Her"


BEST DIRECTOR

I knew I should have posted my predictions for these awards a few nights ago. The general thought was that Paul Greengrass would be a shoe-in for "Captain Phillips." However, it seems that historically speaking, the love for Alexander Payne trumps all. It was a shame for anyone not to see his nomination coming. Very solid list of men in this category:

1. Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
2. Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"
3. David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
4. Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
5. Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"


BEST ACTOR

My favorite surprise of the nominations this morning: Christian Bale sneaking in for his absolutely spot-on performance. If I would have known it would come at the cost of Tom Hanks, I would have second thoughts, especially because Hanks was considered a front-runner for most of the season. So was Robert Redford! Anyways, let's take this time to give Leo a round of applause on his 4th nomination and congratulate him on being Master of the Universe.

1. Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"
3. Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
4. Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
5. Christian Bale, "American Hustle"


BEST ACTRESS

For about 5 days, people began thinking Meryl Streep would miss on a nomination for her work, mainly because she lost to Amy Adams at the Golden Globes. I started to believe them, but people must realize, Oscar voters had already submitted their picks for nominations before the Globes on Sunday. Also, what would a world be without Miss Streep as a nominee? The shocking snub here, then, was Emma Thompson, who literally was a lock on everyone's radar. Very well-deserved Amy Adams nomination, though (her first in Lead Actress and the only woman in the bunch to have never won an Oscar).

1. Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
2. Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
3. Amy Adams, "American Hustle"
4. Judi Dench, "Philomena"
5. Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

2-time Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill. Quite a surprise, but richly deserved! The 'snub' here was possibly Daniel Bruhl or James Gandolfini, but their miss didn't pack as hard of a punch. Michael Fassbender finally gets his first Oscar nomination, and Barkhad Abdi stands as the only acting nomination from "Captain Phillips." Who knew??

1. Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
2. Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"
3. Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"
4. Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle"
5. Jonah Hill, "The Wolf of Wall Street"


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

I'm sure Oprah woke up a little hurt having been snubbed by Oscar voters. Out of any acting category this year, her nomination has been guaranteed for the longest. But in Academy defense, these 5 women are stellar and I would happily take any of them over Oprah any day. Sally Hawkins might have to watch her back from now on, but she, too, should be thrilled with her first (and due) Oscar nomination! (We should also note that this is the second consecutive year that a David O. Russell movie has received acting nominations in all 4 categories - which is an insanely rare achievement).

1. Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"
2. Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave"
3. June Squibb, "Nebraska"
4. Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"
5. Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

No Coen Brothers, but this is an otherwise great list.

1. "American Hustle"
2. "Her"
3. "Nebraska"
4. "Blue Jasmine"
5. "Dallas Buyers Club"


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

No surprises here. The easiest 'lock' we have on an Oscar so far this year:

1. "12 Years a Slave"
2. "Before Midnight"
3. "Philomena"
4. "The Wolf of Wall Street"
5. "Captain Phillips"


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

More to come on this category. 

1. "The Great Beauty"
2. "Omar"
3. "The Hunt"
4. "The Missing Picture'
5. "The Broken Circle Breakdown"


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

No Pixar!

1. "Frozen"
2. "The Wind Rises"
3. "The Croods"
4. "Despicable Me 2"
5. "Ernest and Celestine"


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

No "Blackfish," but that's not too shocking of a snub...

1. "The Act of Killing"
2. "Cutie and the Boxer"
3. "Dirty Wars"
4. "The Square"
5. "20 Feet From Stardom"


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Here's where I start to get worried about "12 Years A Slave." It missed several technical categories (Original Score is another) where it was presumedly locked. Does that show less love for the film than we thought? It very well might be the case.

1. "Gravity"
2. "The Grandmaster"
3. "Inside Llewyn Davis"
4. "Prisoners"
5. "Nebraska"


BEST COSTUME DESIGN

All the usual nominees (although "The Grandmaster" got a lot more love than we initially thought). I still see this going the way of the 70's:

1. "American Hustle"
2. "12 Years a Slave"
3. "The Grandmaster"
4. "The Great Gatsby"
5. "The Invisible Woman"


BEST EDITING

Another shocking snub: Thelma Schoonmaker for "Wolf of Wall Street." And it was replaced by "Dallas Buyers Club??" That's bizarre. Also a little shocked we didn't see more action films - "Rush" was another potential candidate here that just missed it.

1. "Gravity"
2. "American Hustle"
3. "Captain Phillips"
4. "12 Years a Slave"
5. "Dallas Buyers Club"


BEST MAKEUP

Interestingly that "American Hustle" missed here. I think that hurts a little too much, especially considering it was snubbed by the likes of "Bad Grandpa" and "The Lone Ranger." That was the safe front-runner, and now it's anyone's guess.

1. "The Lone Ranger"
2. "Dallas Buyers Club"
3. "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa"


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

All the usual nominees, including "Gravity," which I thought would have missed due to its computer animation and lack of actual 'built' sets. So exciting to see "Her" nominated here!

1. "The Great Gatsby"
2. "American Hustle"
3. "12 Years a Slave"
4. "Gravity"
5. "Her"


BEST SCORE

"12 Years A Slave" where are you? "Her" was a major upset here, and I'm starting to think this movie might have the support to win an award or two... "Saving Mr. Banks" sole nomination.

1. "Gravity"
2. "Philomena"
3. "The Book Thief"
4. "Saving Mr. Banks"
5. "Her"


BEST SONG

And here's that "Her" nomination again, completely unexpected and almost bizarre. After the Golden Globes, I wouldn't be surprised to see U2 win an Oscar.

1. "Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
2. "Let it Go" from "Frozen"
3. "Alone, Yet Not Alone" from "Alone, Yet Not Alone"
4. "The Moon Song" from "Her"
5. "Happy" from "Despicable Me 2"


BEST SOUND EDITING

Strong showing for "The Hobbit" in tech categories, as well as "Lone Survivor" getting both sound nominations.

1. "Gravity"
2. "All is Lost"
3. "Lone Survivor"
4. "Captain Phillips"
5. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"


BEST SOUND MIXING

"Inside Llewyn Davis's" second nomination:

1. "Gravity"
2. "Lone Survivor"
3. "Captain Phillips"
4. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
5. "Inside Llewyn Davis"



BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Duh.

1. "Gravity"
5. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
5. "Iron Man 3"
5. "The Lone Ranger"
5. "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

Golden Globe Predictions

Perhaps not our favorite night of the year, perhaps not even the second.... Regardless, some feel that the Golden Globes hold some weight when it comes to final Oscar outcome. Meaning: Globe winners influence Academy voters. 

Wrong. 

Regardless, this Sunday (January 12th), the Golden Globes will officially kick off the televised awards season, and with some excitement, we can finally see some speeches, dresses, snubs, and triumphs. As they are one of the first major awards to be presented, predicting a winner is oftentimes a shot in the dark. Regardless, these are the official picks of MoJo. 

Best Picture, Drama

1. 12 Years A Slave

2. Gravity

3. Captain Phillips

4. Philomena

5. Rush

A stark lineup of films. In 'normal' situations, the film with the most nominations (12 Years A Slave = 7) is the front-runner. With the Globes, anything is fair game. Gravity has some supporters, but the Hollywood Foreign Press (who votes for these awards) might have a hard time turning down the largely British ensemble that made up "12 Years." 

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

 1. American Hustle

2. Nebraska

3. Inside Llewyn Davis

4. The Wolf of Wall Street

5. Her

Wow! What a lineup. Without a doubt the strongest grouping of "comedy/musical" films the Globes has ever collected (remember when "The Tourist" was a nominee?). Reaction to "Wall Street" was slim, and with "Hustle" receiving the most nominations (7), and with David O. Russell due from last year, this would make sense. 

Best Actor, Drama

1. Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

2. Robert Redford (All Is Lost)

3. Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

4. Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

5. Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Another impressive lineup. In theory, I think any of the top 4 have a shot. Hanks has the popularity the Globes love, McConaughey had the breakthrough role, Redford has the legacy, and Ejiofor has the best film. My God let's just take this leap and assume Chiwetel will be our guy. 

Best Actress, Drama

1. Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

2. Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

3. Judi Dench (Philomena)

4. Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

5. Kate Winslet (Labor Day)

The most suspense in this category is whether Kate will be seated near Leo.

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical

1. Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

2. Christian Bale (American Hustle)

3. Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street)

4. Inside Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac)

5. Joaquin Phoenix (Her)

If there's a 'funny' performance, the Globes aren't afraid to snatch it, regardless of critical acclaim (Robert Downey in Sherlock Homes, Sasha Baron Cohen in Borat, etc). With this lineup, though, they might just go with their favorite film, and seeing Bruce Dern in stage could be a very touching moment. (Many think Leo has this in the bag. That's difficult for me to see happening, but I may be proven very wrong)

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical

1. Amy Adams (American Hustle)

2. Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

3. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said)

4. Julie Delpy (Before Midnight)

5. Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha)

The Globes LOVE Meryl. LOVE. My God, she has 8 of them already. Her performance isn't even terrible - in fact she may be the only person in this list to receive an Oscar nomination. But what about Amy Adams? I don't know... Hustle is most likely winning the Globe, and Adams isn't a stranger to Globe nominations... Part of me wants to go out on a limb and pick someone like Louis-Dreyfus, and part of me wants Meryl at #1. I may regret this choice...

Best Supporting Actor

1. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

2. Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

3. Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

4. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

5. Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Going back to 2007, this category has lined up with the Oscars every time. Safe bet now would be to pick the current Oscar front-runner.  Lots of buzz surrounding Fassbender, but his character is almost TOO villainous to win. When villains win, they're generally a fun character (The Joker, Hans Landa). A slave-beating Bible-quoting fiend is just too.... heavy....

Best Supporting Actress

1. Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

2. Lupita N'yongo (12 Years a Slave)

3. June Squibb (Nebraska)

4. Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

5. Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)

As of now, I would predict Lupita to have a slight advantage at the Oscars. Again, though, the Globes are first and foremost a spectacle - they want the star power, they want the young viewers, they want popular winners, and who's a more popular actress than Jennifer Lawrence? (She's the only thing that has been universally raved about in the film, too). 

Best Director

1. Gravity: Alfonso Cuarón

2. 12 Years a Slave: Steve McQueen

3. American Hustle: David O. Russell

4. Captain Phillips: Paul Greengrass

5. Nebraska: Alexander Payne

The last time the winner here went on to Oscar glory was Danny Boyle in 2008... By that logic, Gravity seems like a great choice: high-tech, visual, smart. Don't forget that James Cameron won for Avatar and Scorsese won for Hugo. This makes sense. 

Best Screenplay

1. American Hustle

2. Philomena: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope

3. 12 Years a Slave: John Ridley

4. Nebraska: Bob Nelson

5. Her: Spike Jonze 

Gah. We know 12 Years will win Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Shouldn't it win here? American Hustle would make sense, but movies rarely win a sweep at the Globes (here we have it winning 4 awards). Philomena received a good collection of nominations, maybe they'll want to throw it a bone?

Best Original Score

1. Gravity

2. 12 Years a Slave 

3. The Book Thief

4. All Is Lost

5. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Original Song

1. Frozen "Let It Go"

2. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom "Ordinary Love"

3. Inside Llewyn Davis "Please Mr Kennedy" 

4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire "Atlas"

5. One Chance "Sweeter than Fiction"

Best Animated Film

1. Frozen

2. The Croods

3. Despicable Me 2

Best Foreign Language Film

1. The Great Beauty

2. Blue Is the Warmest Color

3. The Wind Rises

4. The Past

5. The Hunt

Happy watching, everyone!

The Wolf of Wall Street (*****)

3 hours long and I wore a smile on my face the entire time. A Scorsese movie that is his greatest achievement since "Goodfellas," over 20 years ago. A stellar cast, an explosive screen experience, powerful, extremely funny, and far too controversial for its own good, I dare you to try and find a fault with "The Wolf of Wall Street." Go ahead, try me.

Cinema, yes, has its roots in characters, and it seems like most characters in modern film find their roots in Martin Scorsese. From "Raging Bull" to "Taxi Driver" to "The Departed," the films become less about plot and more about the on-screen portrayal of something transcendent, whether it's a violent boxer or a gangster or Howard Hughes. It's not always easy to pinpoint a Scorsese movie outside of the fast cuts and nostalgic soundtrack. Each of his films are as varied as they come, and on the heels of his recent triumph that is "Hugo," "Wolf" is a burst of energy into the comedy genre, full and grand and smart.

The story concerns Jordan Belfort, a broker who narrates his story (in a similar style to Ray Liotta's character in Goodfellas). He ascends the Wall Street ladder, moving to New York, only to form his own brokerage when his first job goes belly up. He tells us how he made $49 million his first year, which annoyed him because it was just shy of $1 million a week. If that doesn't surmise a character in one sentence, then I don't know what will.

He meets Donnie Azoff (played by the incomparable Jonah Hill), a heavy, bleached-tooth guy with a passion for money. My God, he drops his job the second Belfort is able to show him one of his own paystubs. He is driven yet no less eccentric.

The underbellies of the stock market are spelled out plainly in the first act by Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey in yet another stellar (if short) performance), Belfort's first boss. Jordan's idea is to please the customer, make them money, do a service to the community. Hanna's advice? Jerk off twice a day and capitalize on greed. The scene, which takes place over lunch in a fancy New York City restaurant, is one of the best of the film - sharply written and perfectly balanced between comedy and the darker elements at play.

And capitalize Jordan does. Pretty soon, his company "Stratton Oakmont" (how professional sounding) moves from selling penny stocks (literally 3 cents a share) to being featured as a headline in Forbes Magazine. The money is rolling in, but so is the suspicion of the FBI, and in true Scorsese form, crime is always coupled with some sort of balance in the end.

What a ride. As a person inpartial to Leonardo DiCaprio's more recent work, his performance shows flashes of brilliance, echoing elements of Charles Foster Kane and Jake LaMotta. He has power in his position, and Jordan Belfort is a man I would believe could start up a successful brokerage. There are two scenes in which he addresses the company on stage with a microphone, and the level of focus he has in delivering the message is staggering. I was almost taken back by the power of the words he was saying, and though we know him to be a con man, he was someone I would follow right off a cliff.

His interactions with Jonah Hill as Donnie are classic, slapstick routines, and it is clear that the level of craftsmanship in filmmaking was matched toe-for-toe with on screen chemistry. Donnie is about as memorable a character as any I have seen this year, and though he is reprehensible to the bone, it's all the more admirable a performance. Does Scorsese know how to cast, or what.

From "American Hustle," to "Nebraska," and now "Wolf," 2013 might become the year of the unconventional comedy. How to decide on a favorite movie in a year as diverse as this is becoming all the more complicated. The more I reflect on this film, the more I appreciate. We see a man essentially living the American Dream, yet through illicit means, is his fulfillment of the dream any less real? His company has brought so many good people wealth, but since he is a criminal, is it all void? Perhaps Gordon Gekk has a point when he figured that 'greed is good.' Afterall, these men are not prone to charity...

The movie shocks viewers with its level of graphic content (think office party orgies, heaps of cocaine in the air, language that would turn your mother's cheeks red), and for sure this is a film that will throw off many viewers and offend that many more. No one ever said characters in films had to be likable. They just have to be real. And through lines of cocaine and prostitutes and bottles of quaaludes, there is truth to be found at the heart of "The Wolf of Wall Street." Whether or not any modicum of it can relate to us is debatable. I don't care. My God, after all this movie put me through, getting rich quick still sounds like a pretty good deal.....

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Sound Mixing)