The Wolf of Wall Street
While Leonardo DiCaprio and his desperate, cash-slobbery pals do their best to redefine debauchery, Scorsese blows the roof off the goddamn place. After Shutter Island, Hugo, and Shine a Light, it was easy to worry that the 71-year-old director was ossifying, but The Wolf of Wall Street annihilates those concerns. This is a movie that’s funny and alive and furious, and it often feels like a live-action cartoon, outsize and ludicrous, but Scorsese’s not content with that: When Terence Winter’s screenplay turns dark and intense, Scorsese doesn’t let up. (ERIK HENRIKSEN)