As he did with the mob in 1990's Goodfellas and with the gambling world in 1995's Casino, Scorsese again grants us an epic peek at another world's process; in this case, Wall Street's repeated fleecing of Main Street. It's yet another Scorsese masterpiece.
Leonardo DiCaprio never has been better — and that's really saying something — than playing Jordan Belfort, a little-fish stockbroker who developed into a Great White once he perfected the penny-stock scam. Based on a story so insane it must be true, the film follows his meteoric, coke-fueled rise and meteoric, coke-fueled fall. At any given point, the trajectory touches prostitutes, more drugs and enough illegal activity to attract FBI investigation.
The Wolf of Wall Street has been criticized as glorifying this lifestyle of debauchery; did those people see the same film? At no point did I want to trade the $3 in my wallet for Belfort's miserable millions, although I'll admit watching him piss it all away made for the most entertaining three hours in recent memory. —Rod Lott

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