184 Movies Like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) (Page 10)

As Nicole Holofcener's directorial debut, Walking and Talking stands out not only for its honest dialogue and wonderful performance from the young Catherine Keener, but also for its portrayal of female friendship in a genre which too often portrays mindless cliches. The movie focuses on two best friends as one of them gets engaged and the other fears their friendship is getting lost in the middle of the excitement around her friend's marriage. Catherine Keener does a brilliant job as the likable but depressed friend and Anne Heche does an equally as good job playing her sympathetic half. A great movie if you're in the mood for something sweet, honest and sometimes sad.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Alice Drummond, Allison Janney, Amy Braverman, Anne Heche, Bettina Skye, Brenda Denmark, Catherine Keener, Harold Ramis, Heather Gottlieb, Joseph Siravo, Kevin Corrigan, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Cohen, Miranda Rhyne, Rafa Alvarez, Randall Batinkoff, Todd Field, Vincent Pastore

Director: Nicole Holofcener

Rating: R

When a student is accused of stealing something as small as a five shilling postal order, it just seems so miniscule that expelling the child, and the child’s family suing the college, can seem all rather ridiculous. And yet, that is exactly what happened in London just before the world war, a nationwide viral case that ended up to be depicted in The Winslow Boy. The mail order may seem small, and the court proceedings do feel sometimes tedious, but The Winslow Boy shines through its performances, the style, and the insistence to stand up for the truth, even when it means going against societal pressures and hierarchies to have truth recognized.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Aden Gillett, Alan Polonsky, Colin Stinton, Gemma Jones, Jeremy Northam, Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca Pidgeon, Sara Stewart, Sarah Flind

Director: David Mamet

Rating: G

There are people in life that have a one of a kind voice that you can’t help but listen to, as they provide different perspectives that challenge your own in compelling ways. The Whole Wide World tries to capture the fairly elusive pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, but through the perspective of the one love he once had, Novalyne Price. It’s a unique perspective, one that contrasts the choices the real life couple made that diverged their paths– pursuing the road less travelled over what’s socially expected– and director Dan Ireland crafts some pulp-like moments, especially with the rousing score and the excellent performances. That being said, Ireland does play it safe with his debut, as The Whole Wide World leaves things as vague as Howard did in his relationship with Price.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Ann Wedgeworth, Antonia Bogdanovich, Benjamin Mouton, Harve Presnell, Helen Cates, Libby Villari, Marion Eaton, Michael Corbett, Renée Zellweger, Vincent D'Onofrio

Director: Dan Ireland

If you’ve seen the bone-chilling Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, then The Commandant's Shadow isn’t just supplementary but necessary viewing. It interviews and interrogates the son of SS officer Rudolf Höss, who describes his childhood in Auschwitz as “idyllic,” and parallels his life with that of an Auschwitz survivor and her family. They’re not asked “gotcha” questions, though there are some moments where Höss’s family members’ insularity shocks you. Instead, everyone is given the time and space to reflect honestly about the pain and trauma that continues to live on in their families. It’s a difficult film to sit through, but insightful and ever-so-resonant in an age where mass torture and genocide continue in many parts of the world.

Genre: Documentary, History, War

Actor: Adolf Hitler, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, Hans-Jürgen Höss, Kai Höss, Maya Lasker-Wallfisch

Director: Daniela Völker

Rating: PG-13

The documentary offers a simplified, reflective look at the origins of meme culture and hive mind, and how online anonymity has led to toxic beliefs and behaviors in real life. It features a nostalgic collection of 2000s memes and references that awaken the sleeping cringe, as well as valuable insights from people who have contributed to or lived through the destructive milestones that ironic memes created. At best, it is an informative work that doesn't waste time or become so overwhelming—it even comes with short, entrancing animations that serve as a respite from the depressing subject. At worst, it's preaching to the choir.

Genre: Documentary

Director: Arthur Jones, Giorgio Angelini

Rating: R

This funny and charming movie is about a Palestinian slacker named Salam who works on a famous Israeli soap opera. Each day, he has to pass a tough Israeli checkpoint to get to work and in an attempt to make things easier for himself, he agrees to change the ending of the soap opera to please the officer in charge of the checkpoint. At the same time, a temperamental French actress and his Palestinian love interest wish for opposite endings to the show. Stuck between love and politics, Salam has to navigate a complex situation to please all sides. There are a lot of hummus jokes.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Amer Hlehel, Ashraf Farah, Kais Nashif, Laëtitia Eïdo, Lobna Azabal, Lubna Azabal, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Nadim Sawalha, Qais Nashif, Salim Dau, Salim Daw, Ula Tabari, Yaniv Biton, Yousef Sweid

Director: Sameh Zoabi

This documentary is about the life of New York rapper Nas around the time of the release of his first album, Illmatic.

It spans a quick and summarized 74 minutes and, while embellished by the direction of street artist One9, it remains a great snippet of recent American history. Nas’s album was a reflection of many realities that characterized his upbringing, while the movie serves to further explore those very realities.

Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Cornel West, DJ Premier, Fab 5 Freddy, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., M.C. Serch, Marley Marl, Mrs. Braconi, Nas, Pete Rock, Pharrell Williams, Q-Tip, Skip Gates, Jr., Swizz Beatz

Director: One9

Rating: TV-14

When it comes to romance films, Hollywood casts young women with older men so often that this age gap is rarely questioned, even when the characters are supposed to be around the same age range. Murphy’s Romance does have an age gap, but it’s one of the few romances that actually cares to examine the age difference, having the age dynamic in canon and with casting intentionally reflecting it. It’s also one of the few that justifies it with the folksy, old-fashioned charm exuded by James Garner, the stability, wisdom, and kindness Emma isn’t used to, and good ol’ chemistry between two leads that’s more heartwarming than heartracing. Murphy’s Romance won’t be the feet-sweeping romance that Hollywood placed on the pedestal, but it’s just the right two people finding each other at the right time, albeit interstitched with randomly added saxophone and a lot of barn-fixing scenes.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Anna Thomson, Brian Kerwin, Bruce French, Carole King, Charles Lane, Corey Haim, Dennis Burkley, Dortha Duckworth, Gene Blakely, Georgann Johnson, Henry Slate, Irving Ravetch, James Garner, Michael Crabtree, Michael Hungerford, Peggy McCay, Sally Field, Ted Gehring

Director: Martin Ritt

Rating: PG-13

In Tina Mabry’s first full length feature film Mississippi Damned she tells the story of three poor, Black adolescents as they advance into adulthood. The story is mostly centered on Kari Peterson, portrayed by Tessa Thompson, who has fallen witness and victim to violence/abuse since her childhood. As she navigates her trauma while facing poverty and familial issues, we begin to understand the inner machinations of Kari and those who have harmed her.

While Mississippi Damned isn’t particularly easy to digest, I consider it essential. As unflinchingly brutal as this film is, it taught me a lot about trauma and how to navigate my own. With performances as powerful as these, it’s impossible to forget this film.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adam Clark, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, D.B. Woodside, Malcolm David Kelley, Malcolm Goodwin, Michael Hyatt, Simbi Khali, Tessa Thompson

Director: Tina Mabry

Rating: TV-MA

In the Gloaming has the expected constraints of a made-for-TV movie. It is set in only a handful of places, features even fewer characters, and utilizes that all-too-familiar cheesy soundtrack present in (I swear) every family drama produced in the ‘90s. That said, In the Gloaming feels more like a precious indie than a cheap TV movie. Mostly, it has the leading performances of Glenn Close and Robert Sean Leonard to thank for that. The two don’t have the big performances you’d expect from a film about AIDS, but their simple and subtle approach works even better than that. First-time director Christopher Reeve (yes, Superman) does well to stay on Close’s face for a few beats longer to show how much pain and doubt she’s hiding beneath her facade of calm. I only wish the film could’ve tied its many loose ends and that we got to know more about Leondard’s character—really know him, beyond his being gay. This would’ve made the film stronger, though it is already a moving watch.

Genre: Drama, TV Movie

Actor: Bridget Fonda, David Strathairn, Glenn Close, Robert Sean Leonard, Roger Anthony, Whoopi Goldberg, Will Reeve

Director: Christopher Reeve

Rating: PG

You would think that a film made with Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek and Cher would be a major theatrical release, but even in 1996, the topic of abortion rights was still quite controversial. If These Walls Could Talk may be relegated to the small screen because of this, or because of being an anthology of shorts, but with each lead starring each segment, the film outlines real experiences with abortion, from the dangerous ways women had to resort to without it, to the way, that even with the Court’s support, these rights were actively suppressed. Of course, it’s a harrowing, unsubtle watch, and it would have been great to have a segment depicting the safety of modern day procedures, but if you have a friend that’s unconvinced of the procedure’s necessity, or if they’re entirely new to the conversation, If These Walls Could Talk is a place to start.

Genre: Drama, TV Movie

Actor: Aaron James Cash, Aaron Lustig, Anne Heche, Ben Marley, Brendan Ford, Carmen Thomas, Catherine Keener, CCH Pounder, Cher, Chris Ellis, Christine Avila, Craig T. Nelson, Demi Moore, Diana Scarwid, Eileen Brennan, Geoffrey Nauffts, Georganne LaPiere, Harris Yulin, Hedy Burress, Ian Bohen, Jack Kehler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Janna Michaels, Jason London, Joanna Gleason, Jordana Spiro, Judith Drake, Kevin Cooney, Lindsay Crouse, Lorna Scott, Lorraine Toussaint, Mary Portser, Matthew Lillard, Phyllis Lyons, Rita Wilson, Rob Camilletti, Robert Wisdom, Robin Gammell, Rusty Schwimmer, Sally Murphy, Sarah Koskoff, Shirley Knight, Sissy Spacek, Susie Spear Purcell, Tim DeKay, Vaughn Armstrong, Xander Berkeley, Zack Eginton

Director: Cher, Nancy Savoca

Rating: R

An indigenous language is dying, and the last two people who speak it have not spoken to each other in 50 years. In this calm drama from Mexico, linguists are sent to try to get them to talk so they can document the language. 

The story goes that two men have stopped talking because they fell in love with the same woman, so there is a romance wrapped neatly within the linguistic story. What truly steals the show, however, is the breathtaking nature in which it's all set - the stunning region of Chiapas.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Eligio Meléndez, Fátima Molina, Gabriela Cartol, Héctor Jiménez, Hoze Meléndez, José Manuel Poncelis, Juan Pablo de Santiago, Mónica Miguel, Nicolasa Ortíz Monasterio, Norma Angélica

Director: Ernesto Contreras

Rating: Unrated