The King of Comedy (1982)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer:    Paul D. Zimmerman
Cast:       Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott

Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin wants to achieve success in show biz by stalking his idol, a late night talk show host who craves his own privacy.

I was aware that it was not really a straight up comedy film even though the title might suggest otherwise. The first half of film is really creepy and is almost in the mold of a horror film while the second half reminded me of Dog Day afternoon. It is a black comedy on the celebrity culture and stalking associated with it. We are never made to sympathize with the Pupkin character but still we wish nothing bad happens to him at the end. I was really wishing that it was not based on any real life event and was glad to find it wasn't. That makes it even more brilliant because that is exactly how it would have panned out in real life with him also becoming a celebrity and probably ending up in fucking Big Brother. 

In the film there are plenty of sequences where we are being shown what is happening inside Pupkin's head and it could be argued that the entire last act was just him imagining things after his meeting with the talk show host turn out to be futile. I might have to see it again to check if the director is alluding to it but Scorsese himself told he was influenced by Michael Powell's film where the fantasy sequences are not differentiated from reality. Scorsese plants this idea on our minds by making the fantasy sequences very obvious in the first half hour of the film. 

The film is a great watch and I guess the best from Scorsese in the 80s from what I have seen (After Hours, Last Temptation of Christ & Color of Money). Fuck I haven't still seen Raging Bull in full. 

Rating: 5/5

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers:  Terence Winter, Jordan Belfort
Cast:       Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of Jordan Belfort, a wall street broker, who used pump and dump tactics to make money through his clients by dealing in penny stocks. He was a drug and sex addict and its a no holds barred film from Scorsese after his tame children's film that was 'Hugo'. 

Even though the film is three hours long, you won't feel the length as it is hilarious all the way through. There are number of great set-piece scenes like the McConaughey one, cerebral palsy phase scene, FBI in the Yacht scene etc. The entire film is driven by Belfort's narration especially the first hour and you can see him breaking the fourth wall frequently like in 'House of Cards' and it is done seamlessly without feeling too expositionary. It is a great watch but I don't think it is one which people will feel the need to re-watch anytime soon. Loved the nod to Godfather with him having two guards named Rocco.

Many people have questioned the morality depicted in the film. Well they can do one as the film is not in anyways required to take a stand or send a message.

Rating: 4/5

After Hours (1985)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer:    Joseph Minion
Cast:      Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom

An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho whom he met that evening at a coffee shop.

The film is a comedy and you can see the flourishes in cinematography that Scorsese uses in his subsequent films like Goodfellas, Cape Fear and so on. The film gets a bit tiresome towards the end but is a good watch nonetheless. 

Rating: 3/5

The Age of Innocence (1993)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writers:  Edith Wharton (novel), Martin Scorsese, Jay Cocks

Cast:      Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder

Tale of the  19th century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.

Didn't really think this period was really gonna engross me but  it did. Good to see Daniel Day-Lewis playing a character with subtle emotions compared to the showy for which he gets much praise. Still would like to see him playing a normal role in a contemporary picture.

Rating: 4.5/5

Hugo (2011)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers:  John Logan, Brian Selznick
Cast:      Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley
Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

Film is incredibly shit with stale script and very wooden acting which makes the two hours unbearably long. Scorsese might have concentrated too hard on 3D elements forgetting the basic elements of a good film. James Cameroon was supposedly impressed. He would be as his Avatar was equally shit.

Rating:1.5/5

Mean Streets (1973)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers:  Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin
Cast:      Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, David Proval
A small-time hood struggles to succeed on the 'Mean Streets' of Little Italy.

This is Martin's first collaboration with De Niro and has a very raw feel to it which is very suitable. Up there with Scorsese's best.

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodfellas (1990)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers:  Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
Cast:      Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci 
Its the story of Henry Hill and his friends working their way up through the mob hierarchy. Its an adaptation of Pileggi non fiction book 'Wiseguy'.

One of the best mob film of all time, Goodfellas, sits somewhere between Godfather and City of God in terms of the glamorization of the lifestyle. The characters are great the narration style is excellent. There are some great single tracking shots and the story moves really  fast.

Rating: 5/5

The Snowman (201?)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer:    Adapted from novel by Jo Nesbo
Martin Scorsese is set to return to the crime genre with 'The Snowman', an adaptation of the seventh book in Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo's series of novels about hardboiled Oslo detective Harry Hole.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/nov/22/martin-scorsese-direct-thriller-snowman

Hugo (2011)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers:  John Logan, Brain Selznick(Book)
Cast:      Johnny Depp, Chloe Mortez, Jude Law, Ben Kingsley
Martin Scorsese's adaptation of historical fiction book 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' is set for release November this year. It was filmed in London and Paris.

Silence (2013)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Shusaku Endo (Novel), Jay Cocks
Cast:     Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Day Lewis, Gael Garcia Bernal
The film will be an adaptation from the Japanese historical fiction novel 'Silence'. It is the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to seventeenth century Japan during a time in which Japanese Christians were persecuted by their own government thats set out to wipe off the western influence. I very much liked Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ and have high hopes for this film. What an incredible set of actors signed up for the film!!! The film is in pre production and tentatively set for a 2013 release.

Scorsese's Hugo Cabret is  set to come out late this year starring Johnny Depp and Chloe Moretz.