If you're looking for another book to add to your summer reading list, I would recommend Age of Cage: Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career. Check out my latest book review for Birmingham Public Library!
Cover design is well on the way! #yampuff #yampuffart #coloring #coloringlife #coloringpage #coloringbook #dreamscollection https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeYHv5Da6t/?igshid=8hjsbthsqxw1
Two and a half years. I waited two and a half years for Electric Forest. It was absolutely worth the wait!! It was four days of positive vibes, an abundance of house/EDM music, and some fun jam bands. Here are my top 10 pictures that I'm the most proud of taking!
Here’s my latest movie review for Birmingham Public Library! Everything Everywhere All at Once is easily my number one movie of 2022! It is perfect and immaculate!
I’m dusting the cobwebs off my Facebook account to, of course, rank my favorite albums of the year. When I look back on 2022, it’s safe to say that my concert attendance is back to a pre-pandemic level of frequent activity. I attribute a part of this accomplishment to revenge travel. My most exciting, memorable event of this past year was, without a doubt, going to Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan. I waited two years for four days of camping, non-stop EDM, and some fun jam bands. I caught up with some old friends and made new ones along the way. 2022 reminded me that if you have a chance to see live music, just go. You will thank yourself later.
Here are my top 10 albums of 2022:
1. Ants from Up There by Black Country, New Road
2. A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile
3. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief
Here is my latest film review for Birmingham Public Library! The Holdovers is one of my favorite films of 2023. It is worth rewatching, especially during the holidays.
I revisited The Wolf of Wall Street for the first time since I last saw it in theaters almost 10 years ago. All the Caligula-esque hedonism and debauchery tailor-made for a modern-day capitalist society spare us no mercy. Jordan Belfort and his cronies raise the bar for working hard and playing hard. I laughed during the most outrageous scenes. It is apparent that Jonah Hill is trying to go 200 miles an hour as Donnie Azoff. When he mocked and berated a bow-tie-wearing, naïve stockbroker by swallowing his pet goldfish whole, it had me in stitches. Oh, let’s not forget the Quaaludes episode that ends in a severely damaged Lamborghini and a choking incident that parallels a Popeye episode. I cried during scenes that hit me harder than I anticipated. In my opinion, one of the most disturbing scenes was towards the end. During a heartbreaking argument with Margot Robbie’s Naomi Lapaglia about getting a divorce, Belfort resorts to cutting up a cushion on one of his nice sofas just to retrieve a bag of cocaine. There was no hope during this moment. My jaw hit the floor during the most bizarre and shocking moments that arguably weren’t necessary to show. There is a Dante’s Inferno vibe during the house or yacht parties and celebrations at the workplace.
Of course, The Wolf of Wall Street is wildly entertaining and edited in a manner that makes its three-hour runtime feel like one hour. Most of the good ol’ boys, who watch this movie, will probably cheer and feel inspired. At the end of the day, however, this movie should make you angry. After all the fun is done, the consequences won’t magically vanish. Everyone has to face them eventually. It’s an ongoing theme that Martin Scorsese never fails to address when he wrapped up his more aggressive stories such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino.
Unfortunately, Jordan Belfort just got a slap on the wrist for his whirlwind adventures fueled by drugs, sex, luxuries, and all the stock fraud that spoon-fed him this lifestyle in the first place. Remember, The Wolf of Wall Street is a mirror that wants you to wake up and reevaluate your motives in your chosen career, not an escape from reality that makes you feel invincible for an entire afternoon. When the final scene where Belfort is speaking at a conference abruptly ends, it’s like waking up with a hangover after a fun night out on the town. Sure, there are the crazy memories, but that searing headache will make you rethink certain choices that you made.
To quote a friend of mine, The Wolf of Wall Street is simply Scorsese making his vision of an Oliver Stone film. Belfort’s 2007 memoir is the right template for this approach.