The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - ★★★★½

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Terence Winter (screenplay), Jordan Belfort (book)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Joanna Lumley, Jean Dujardin, Jon Bernthal

The Wolf of Wall Street is easily one of the best films of 2013. Scorsese's newest flick is a breath of fresh air! It's an electric, roaringly fun movie that manages to make its 3 hour running time just fly by. It's nice to see DiCaprio shake a leg and play an eccentric, despicable man. What was even better for me was seeing Jonah Hill flex his acting chops and establish himself as a big player in the world of supporting actors. I'm not gonna lie, movies like this usually aren't my sort of thing. I go for substance, character development, and true portrayals of the human condition. Here we mostly see Scorsese's signature flare for the dramatic and a penchant for over-the-top entertainment. Wolf of Wall Street one-ups American Hustle by paying equal attention to its story and characters, making it a consistently brilliant work of cinema.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) - ★★★★

Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Writers: Peter Hedges
Stars: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, Mary Steenburgen, Laura Harrington, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Kevin Tighe, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover

I loved What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Watching the lives of these people unfold was both humbling and entertaining. It contains what is arguably Leonardo DiCaprio's greatest performance to date. More importantly, it's just a magnificently crafted film. The cinematography and music tells a story in itself and adds an extra layer of understanding to the characters. At times I felt they could have toned down the cheesiness of certain scenes, and other times I felt overcome with emotion. My special shout out goes to Darlene Cates who played Mama Grape. Her performance, her character, and Leonardo DiCaprio truly raise the film to greatness.

The Great Gatsby (2013) - ★½

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce (Screenplay), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Novel)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton

To me, Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' is as much of a  train-wreck as his other critically panned film, Romeo and Juliet.  I have not read the novel, but I will hazard to guess that this movie does not do the emotion of the story justice. You can see potential there, but Luhrmann focuses more on the visuals rather than the important stuff (once again). Yes, it's filled with amazing actors and a soundtrack that promised to be great. Instead, it contains uninspired performances and some of the most irritating songs to ever hit a 1920s themed movie. To me, this film was almost completely terrible.

Django Unchained (2012) - ★★★★½

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington

I don't know how Tarantino does it, but the more films he makes, the more entertaining they get. Django Unchained is a brilliant film. It has a strange mix of western, classical and hip-hop music, which generally describes the film itself. Sometimes it feels like a spaghetti-western, sometimes it feels like an old classic, and amazingly it has some ghetto elements incorporated too. Somehow, it all worked so fantasticly well.

Gangs of New York (2002) - ★★★★

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Jay Cocks
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Liam Neeson

Gangs of New York is a film about the 'hands that built America.' It's visually stunning and riveting from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, except for one key component. That is DiCaprio's performance as the main character Amsterdam Vallon. 

Set in 1863 and during the time of the American Civil War, Gangs of New York shows that America was born in the streets. It begins with a brutal battle between rival gangs, one side led by 'Priest' Vallon (Liam Neeson), the other Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis). After Bill wins the battle and kills Vallon, his son Amsterdam returns to the Five Points seeking vengeance against the psychotic gangland kingpin. Along the way he falls for pickpocket Jenny (Cameron Diaz), who stays by his side as he creates a whole new army. With the Civil War affecting New York and thousands of Irish immigrants pouring into the streets, the fight for vengeance is much more complicated for Vallon. 

Daniel Day-Lewis absolutely shines in one of his greatest performances as Bill the Butcher. He lit up every scene with his superior skills in acting, turning this good movie into a great one. It is easy to like him, but even easier to hate him, with his racist beliefs and the blood that is on his hands. With that said, he made DiCaprio's so-so performance fade into the background.

For a film that follows his character's story, there was nothing DiCaprio could do to save him from becoming almost obsolete in the grand scheme of things. I was rooting for his character, yet put off by one major issue. I think DiCaprio is pretty good at accents, but he was very inconsistent with maintaining his Irish accent. In the voice-over scenes he sounded Irish enough, but when the time came for him to speak on screen, it faded into his usual American accent. He had the same trouble with the film Blood Diamond, which unfortunately takes away from the film.

The supporting cast however did a phenomenal job. Diaz turned out a good performance as Jenny, who was both likable and believable as an Irish woman. Brendan Gleeson commanded much screen presence as Walter McGinn, a man who hates Bill with a fiery passion. Jim Broadbent also gave a great performance as William Tweed, a politician that exchanges favors with the gang bosses of New York.

The cinematography throughout the film was truly magnificent. It was incredible to see the detail and effort that went into the making of old New York. This was one of the most important parts of the film, and Michael Ballhaus did a masterful job at reconstructing the great city. I also liked the music that accompanied many scenes in the film, albeit unorthodox for such a film as this. I say this because it is quite modern, considering the period that Gangs of New York is set it.

What truly made this film great for me was the build up towards the ending, and of course the ending itself. It was thrilling to see the backlash that conscription during the Civil War caused in New York at the time. The war that was about to happen between Vallon and Bill was almost as thrilling, but seemed secondary in comparison to the historic significance of the riots.

In the end we find that the quarrels between two men don't amount "to a hill of beans." The violent and destructive riots of the Civil War swallow up the main story of vengeance, leaving the audience with the premise that in the grand scheme of things, the grievances between Vallon and Bill are insignificant. What I truly loved about this film is that it admits that the story isn't as big as the events surrounding it at the time. This is one of Scorsese's best films.

Inception (2010) - ★★★★½

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine

Inception is a film that one has to see more than once to fully understand and appreciate the genius behind the plot. It has some of the best and most challenging visual effects in cinematic history and world class actors playing difficult roles well. Although the story was admittedly hard to follow for me at first, there was more than enough happening on screen to keep me entertained. Dialogue was necessary to keep me in the loop of the story, however this film is one of the few that can be enjoyed simply by watching the screen.

Christopher Nolan's Inception is set in a world where technology is available to invade the minds of people and extract information from their dreams. It beautifully visualises what a sub-conscious world looks like to a person dreaming and how they can manipulate it to change according to their vision. Leonardo Dicaprio plays Cobb, the best dream invader in the world and outlaw in America due to the suspicious death of his wife Mal, played by the wonderful Marion Cotillard. 

In order to see his kids again, he must perform a job for Saito, an intelligent and powerful businessman that promises Cobb that he can clear his name back in the USA. The proposition they have arranged with each other involves the process of planting an idea deep into someone's mind, and making them think that it is their own. This is called inception. What Saito asks of Cobb is to plant a thought in his big business rival's mind, one which would destroy their empire. In order to do this, Cobb assembles a crack team consisting of a creative student, a master thief, an experienced chemist, his best friend and Saito. Together they attempt inception on the mind of the businessmen through creating dreams within his dream.

Inception is a film that I believe will be remembered for many years. It's effects are mind-boggling and breath-taking. They will still be incredible even next to the technology of the future. The acting on all accounts is believable and the stellar cast really completes the film. The ending leaves the viewer to make a choice. Whether the hero made it home and got to see his kids, or whether he is stuck in limbo. It doesn't specify where he ended up, but leaves us hopeful that he made it through all the adversity. From start to finish, I was sucked into this movie. I highly recommend this to anyone, but I warn you. This is not the kind of movie you can leave for 5 minutes and come back to pick it up. You have to watch carefully, or else you may miss a vital piece of information. Remember, this movie is best watched the second time.

Titanic (1997) - ★★★★★

Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet, Gloria Stuart, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bill Paxton

Titanic is a movie that has been described by many people as an epic, heart-wrenching, beautiful masterpiece. I for one absolutely agree with them. This movie is one of the finest crafted cinematic experiences that has ever been created.

The film starts with a shot of the ocean swaying in the moonlight to the beautiful theme of the movie. We then see the real Titanic submerged underwater which is an experience worth the price of a movie ticket in itself. The eerie yet beautiful shots of the halls and bedrooms of the former passengers are a sight to behold.

Throughout the movie we follow a young woman named Rose and a young man named Jack. Rose looks like a refined woman yet she's not afraid to ask questions or get her hands dirty. She's engaged to Caledon Hockley, a chauvinistic, snobby heir to a steel fortune that at first seems to try to love Rose. Jack is a man that Rose describes as having "limited means." He travels with his friend Fabrizio from country to country, barely scraping by. He has an impeccable talent for drawing and an admirable outlook on life.

The story turns into a classic forbidden love triangle between Jack, Rose and Cal which while it may not be an original plot, it is acted with such purity and fluidity that it's as if we're sucked right into the situation with them. With incredible CGI affects of the ship and outstanding hand built replicates of parts of the ship, The Titanic is recreated breathtakingly. Iconic moments such as the 'flying' scene during a pink and orange sunset with Jack and Rose are upon the most recognizable scenes in movie history, and arguably the most beautiful.

When the ship hits the ice-berg and begins to sink, Cameron's true genius shines as the panic sets in among the passengers. The most incredible thing about the sinking scene is that they actually built half of the ship so it could be used for the part when the ships rises and falls. Seeing all of the passengers, some we've seen throughout the movie, run for their lives to the railings of the ship as it starts tilting truly make your heart race.

It is scenes like these that make this movie saw raw and powerful. There have been previous movies made about the Titanic, all legendary in their own right, but none of them displayed the panic of the sinking as honestly and brutally as James Cameron's version of events. Once the ship has been submerged and the screams of the those freezing have all but died, Jack and Rose's love affair is over, and we are all left gutted even though we knew that the story ends with tragedy.

However that is not how the story ends for Jack and Rose, for the true end to their story can only be described as one of the most divine movie endings I have ever seen. Truly, this movie had me fascinated from start to finish. With brilliant performances from Kate Winslet, Leonardo Dicaprio, Billy Zane and Gloria Stuart, Titanic is a movie for the ages and will forever be one of the all time greatest movies ever made. Let's face it, this movie is almost guaranteed to make anyone tear up.