Film: The Great Gatsby

GENRE: Drama / Romance
RATING: PG for some violence, sexual content & language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 23 minutes
STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, Inception, The Departed)
Tobey Maguire (Spiderman ); Carey Mulligan (An Education)
DIRECTOR: Baz Luhrmann (Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge)
WRITERS: Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge)
PLOT: A writer/bondsman finds himself in the middle of affairs between his rich cousin and his millionaire neighbor Gatsby.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Baz Luhrmann has a way with visuals. Most of this film is stunning in the way the camera moves around the beautifully designed homes and parties. I particularly loved the aerial shots of the rich folks driving through the Valley of Ashes and the ominous billboard showcasing the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg.
2 I hear that DiCaprio and Maguire are good friends in real life. I definitely got that vibe during the film. They play very well off each other and both do fantastic jobs on screen.
3 Love the tea time scene. Brilliantly done.
4 Despite some high energy scenes especially around the parties (not as spastic as Moulin Rouge however), this film does tend to drag at times. There are definitely some slow parts that look pretty conventional.
5 I enjoyed the Jay-Z produced soundtrack. Of course, some of his songs and a Beyonce number get in there but it fits pretty well.

RECOMMENDATION: See it in the theatres (3D unnecessary)
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Office; Star Trek: Into Darkness