The Big Short (9/10): Economics for Dummies

"Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of the world to come."

The Big Short is such a refreshing and surprising film because it manages to perfectly balance a difficult subject matter and make it entertaining. It is perhaps one of the most important films made this year reminding us of the worldwide economic breakdown that began in 2007 and left millions of people without their life savings. Many of us don't understand much about economics or how it works, and that is why we have been so eager to forget what happened and continue moving on as if nothing ever happened. This film refreshes our memory and reminds us of what a terrible crime was committed during the housing bubble collapse. The film centers on the few men who recognized the problem early on and took advantage of the situation. The Big Short is a dramatic movie, there is no doubt about it, but it also manages to include some comedic moments by breaking the fourth wall and including pop culture figures to explain some of the more complicated financial terms. It does it in a brilliant way and it's been a while since I've seen a film break the fourth wall as well as this one did. I've seen many documentaries on this subject, but this film manages to explain things better and open our eyes to the dangers we might face again in the future because we've ignored the real problem and seem to be repeating the same mistakes once again. Mckay manages to infuriate and open our eyes while entertaining us at the same time with an engaging film thanks to a witty adapted script which he helped co-write with Charles Randolph.

It's not the first time that a film based on a Micheal Lewis novel manages to draw in an audience that doesn't necessarily need to comprehend the subject matter. You could be clueless about baseball, but in Moneyball the story still managed to engage a worldwide audience. The same can be said about this film because the economic terms are explained in a simple way. That is why I believe this is one of the most important films of the year because it allows even those that never seemed interested in economics to understand how it still affects them. It is an eye opening film for those that felt uninterested in trying to understand what happened in 2007. If there is one film that audiences should see this year then this might just be the one (not for its technical or artistic value, but for the importance of its subject matter). 

The Big Short is Adam McKay's dramatic directorial debut and his background in comedy is what probably helped this film become more accesible. The man who brought us Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys, now brings us a thought provoking film. He's received two Oscar nominations (directing and writing) for his work here and what an impressive film he has crafted. The film is heavy on dialogue, but the script is so perfectly written that each character in this film becomes memorable. The performances are outstanding which simply proves what a key element writing is for an actor. It was refreshing to see Ryan Gosling back again after his retirement from the big screen for two years. He plays the charismatic character he could easily play in his sleep, but he is still a delight to watch. He delivers a solid role, but out of the four big names it was Steve Carell who stood out. He gets the best dramatic moments and lights up each scene he enters in. Brad Pitt has a smaller role but he makes perfect use of his screen time with an understated performance. Christian Bale is the only actor who received a nomination for his performance in this film and it is well deserved. He plays a socially awkward character and totally sells it. There are films where there are so many big names that no one really gets to shine, but this film manages to make every character memorable thanks to the wonderful script. 

Exodus: Gods and Kings (5/10): A disappointing Biblical adaptation from the talented Ridley Scott

“Follow me and you will be free. Stay and you will perish.”

Ridley Scott is always a director to look forward to when it comes to films. I know he has had his series of misses as of late, but with films like Alien and Blade Runner under his belt, you know his next film could become a classic. Alien is one of my favorite sci-fi films of all time and I even enjoyed Scott’s recent prequel, Prometheus, more than most audiences did. Exodus isn’t the first time Scott has tried to make an epic film because it is similar in scope to what he did with Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood. Unfortunately, Exodus is the weakest of the four in my opinion. Scott has also experimented with different genres and last year’s The Counselor was proof of that. He’s even made some smaller films which I really enjoyed such as Matchstick Men which I was a huge fan of. I appreciate these smaller scale films more than when he tries to make these grandiose and epic ones. My major issue with this film revolves around the pacing because it felt so long and dull for most parts. It was as if Scott was aiming to direct an ambitious epic film and was trying to make it so grand that he got lost with the production and visuals of it and left out the actual narrative. There are several things I’d like to get out of the way before I actually review this film. First of all, if you are expecting a faithful adaptation to the Biblical story then Exodus isn’t a movie for you because Scott and the screenwriters took several liberties of their own (especially in the way Moses interacted with God and the Pharaoh). This is the second big budget film based on the Old Testament to come out last year, after Aronofsky directed Noah, which both took liberties from the original source material but in my opinion at least Aronofsky did something fresh and unique with the material, while Scott never manages to do so. Second, I don’t understand why we complaint so much about the casting of white actors and forget about the fact that the characters are all speaking in English. What is the point of casting all Egyptian and Hebrew actors and have them speak in English? At least Scott went all in and just cast famous actors without considering anything else.

It took me a while to get over the silliness of the opening sequences. On the one hand, Scott made a huge effort of recreating the Egyptian empire with huge production sets, but on the other the familiar faces of the actors kind of took me out of the film. Having John Turturro playing the Pharaoh and Sigourney Weaver his wife was difficult to visualize. I think Joel Edgerton is a great actor, but he wasn’t the right man for the role of Ramses. Christian Bale delivers as Moses and Ben Mendelssohn has the most campy scenes in the film but I think they helped to break the tedious tone of the film. Aaron Paul and Ben Kingsley are inexplicably underused. Despite the nice visuals (I don’t think they were groundbreaking), the story was poorly written and that is perhaps why some of these incredible actors didn’t have much to work with. There are some moments in the film where Moses is given some humanity, but whatever depth they tried to give the characters got lost in the visuals and the narrative. We know the story and have seen it played out several times in films before, so that is perhaps why I found some of the engaging scenes rather tedious because Scott doesn’t really do anything unique with the material. By the time the plagues take place we really don’t care for the characters and aren’t emotionally invested in them either. Yes, the scenes look great but there is nothing more there. I also expected a lot more from the parting of the Red Sea, but it simply was a forgettable scene. The only moment I felt some sort of emotion toward this dull film was with the dedication to his brother Tony during the end credits, but the film didn’t actually do anything for me. I was more emotionally engaged with the animated film The Prince of Egypt than I was with this. Skip the movie, read Exodus instead. 

My Review: American Hustle (8/10)

"She was the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate."

American Hustle is an entertaining and fun film with the best performance from an ensemble cast all year. Director David O. Russell delivers a solid comedy and brings out the best from his actors which in my opinion really are the highlight of this film. I think American Hustle has been overhyped a bit, and perhaps I went to see it with way too high expectations, but despite being entertained and enjoying this I still felt like this was a bit of a let down for Russell compared with his other films. The comedy worked really well thanks to a slick and clever script, but the crime elements lacked some thrills. I also had some issues with the pacing of this film; it started off really slow and didn't pick up until halfway through the film when the science oven scene took place. A lot of credit has to be given however to the attention to detail because it really felt like a groovy 70's film. It had a lot of style and the hair and makeup in this film deserves an Oscar. In the opening scene where you see Bale's character getting a comb over you know you are in for a ride. American Hustle is an ambitious film that explores the American Dream and the need to reinvent oneself through some very memorable characters. The characters are the real center of this film.

The film is very loosely based on the Abscam political scandal that took place during the 70's in New Jersey. Irving (Christian Bale) is a successful con man who has survived thanks to keeping a low profile. He immediately falls in love with Sydney (Amy Adams) when he meets her at a party and introduces her to his world. She actually helps him thrive in his business thanks to her seductive powers, but they get into trouble with the law when an FBI agent named Richie DiMaso catches up with their illegal actions. Being the ambitious agent that he is, Richie doesn't want to settle for these small crooks and forces them to help him catch bigger fish like corrupt politicians and power-brokers. Sydney tries to convince Irving to flee the country together, but he doesn't want to leave his son with his unpredictable wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) who would never let him take the boy. Things get dangerous when the mafia get involved in the scam and Irving befriends the local Mayor, Carmine (Jeremy Renner), who despite having good intentions gets caught up in the middle of the mess. Irving and Sydney will have to pull out their greatest con job if they want to come out of this alive.

This entertaining and ambitious film succeeds thanks to a wonderful cast. Christian Bale and Amy Adams give outstanding performances in the lead role. Bale went through an extreme physical change gaining several pounds for his role and Adams looks sexier than ever with all the 70's glamour. They are completely believable in their roles and share several funny moments on screen. Bradley Cooper is also great as the wild and impulsive FBI agent who wants to get to the top as quick as possible. The scenes he shares with Louis C.K. are hilarious. Jeremy Renner is probably the weakest character in this film, but his quiet performance is solid. Despite all these great performances no one stands out the most as Jennifer Lawrence. She truly shines in this film and deserves an Oscar for her supporting performance. She's unstable and volatile while being very manipulative and she's just extremely funny in this movie. It is a memorable performance and Lawrence is turning out to be one of the best actresses of our generation. The cast are responsible for making this film such a fun and entertaining one. The film may not be original or groundbreaking but it is a near perfect imitation of other great films kind of like the replicas of the paintings that Irving sold. "Now who is the master, the painter or the forger?" That's Russell's question for the audience for the audience to decide.

My Review: Out of the Furnace (5/10)

"Am I supposed to be scared of him because he sucks on a lollipop?"

I had high expectations for Out of the Furnace considering it had a very strong cast and I enjoyed Scott Cooper's previous film, Crazy Heart, but I was really disappointed with this movie which never managed to engage me and had some serious pacing issues. The depressive tone of the film and the dark atmosphere was a bit over the top and the story also has many manipulative moments. The performances were solid and actually make this film worth the watch despite its many flaws. The tone of the film reminded me a lot of Prisoners, but that movie worked much better and was way more engaging. This isn't your typical revenge movie, I wouldn't consider this an action film or a thriller; it's more of a drama about this economically depressed town where two brothers are struggling to find a way out and move on in life, a life which hasn't been very kind to them and has dealt them some terrible cards. Many may argue that the performances were enough to save this film, but for me the weak script brings it down by making several scenes feel forced and out of place.

Russell (Christian Bale) and Rodney (Casey Affleck) are two brothers that have grown up in economically depressed Rust Belt, Pennsylvania. Russell has followed his father's footsteps working at the local steel mill and seems content with his life as he cares for his ill father and finds comfort in his relationship with Lena (Zoe Saldana). He also looks out for his brother who gets into small gambling debts with John Petty  (Willem Defoe) and ends up paying off those debts for him. Russell's life takes an unexpected twist one night when he suffers a car accident killing a child in the other vehicle. He is sent to prison for five years while his brother who served in the Iraq war comes to visit him. They both go through traumatic experiences, but when Russell is released from jail he is determined to turn their lives around despite that he no longer has the comfort he had in Lena who has left him for the local sheriff, Barnes (Forest Whittaker), and his father past away during his time in prison. To make matters worse, Rodney has entered the underworld of street fighting and got involved with a violent crime ring leader named Harlan (Woody Harrelson). When Rodney goes missing and the police can't seem to do anything about it, Russell decides to take things into his own hands and avenge his brother.

Christian Bale and Casey Affleck both give great performances. Bale's character, Russell, is portrayed as a very nice guy who seems to be a victim of the circumstances that surround him. I think he was portrayed in a far too light way, so the audience could identify with him and feel sorry for what he was going through. Harrelson also looked menacing as the villain, but at times his character was also a bit too cartoonish and always tried to have some funny remark. These elements didn't play out too well for me considering the dark tone of the film. The cinematography was really good and it did capture that depressing mood very well. There is one specific scene where I can point out how manipulative and forceful the story was trying to be and it has to do with the moment in which we discover Rodney's fate while Russell reads a letter that he has left for him telling him how he is planning on changing his life and is convinced that this will be his last fight. That was just an example of how manipulative the screenplay was trying to be and I found several moments like that. Instead of drawing me in, it only took me out of the movie. The film was gritty, but I just didn't like the way in which they tried to trap the audience. It may have some important social commentary and interesting metaphors, but those forced moments took me out of it and made me feel it lacked substance.

My Review: The Dark Knight Rises (10/10)

¨ We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil... rises. The Batman has to come back. ¨

The Dark Knight films have made other superhero movies look like a joke. These films have transcended its genre and created a different type of superhero. The film works more as a perfectly crafted thriller than an actual superhero film. For me The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises are way above the rest of superhero movies, but it`s a little unfair to compare them because this seems like a completely different genre, and a much darker one. When I first saw The Dark Knight I was completely in love with it, and it ranked among my favorite all time movies. I had high expectations for The Dark Knight Rises, but I thought there was no way this film could equal the greatness of its predecessor, especially because what I loved the most about the first one was Heath Ledger`s memorable performance as the Joker. Without the Joker I thought it would be impossible for this film to match it, but I was overwhelmed once again by the direction of Christopher Nolan and the great script that he and his brother Jonathan created. The movie is spectacular, highly entertaining, and it`s as good as its predecessor. When the movie ended, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of tremendous satisfaction and joy. It was a perfect ending to what is in my opinion the best film trilogy. Batman Begins was a great movie in itself, but compared to The Dark Knight sequels it falls way behind. This shows how much Christopher Nolan has matured as a director. I think he is without a doubt the best modern day director of big budget blockbusters. It will be hard for any other superhero movie to match the success of this franchise.

Batman (Christian Bale) hasn`t appeared in Gotham City for eight years after he accepted to take the fall for the Harvey Dent incident in the previous film. He is a fugitive from the law and isn’t needed anymore because the city has lived in peace after being inspired by the heroism of Harvey Dent. Under the new Harvey Dent law all the important criminals in Gotham have been arrested. Bruce Wayne has also disappeared from the public eye and is still mourning Rachel`s death. He has given up on life and lives secluded in his mansion without having contact with anyone except his faithful servant, Alfred (Michael Caine). But the peaceful days in Gotham seem to be reaching its end when a new threat arises. A masked man named Bane (Tom Hardy) has been building an army to destroy the city. He`s a former disciple of Ra Al Ghul and a great threat to the city. Meanwhile Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) continues to be on his guard and feels that the truth about Harvey Dent needs to be told. A young police officer named Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) follows a lead about a missing Congressman, who has been kidnapped by Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), an evasive jewelry thief who has dozens of criminal records and is known as the Cat. He follows the lead along with Gordon and together they discover about Bane`s underground army. It is time for the Batman to come out of retirement and defend the city once again. Morgan Freeman reprises his role as Mr. Fox and Marion Cotillard is introduced as Miranda Tate, a philanthropist and possible love interest for Bruce Wayne.  

The three hours the film almost lasts go by so fast that you think only a few minutes have passed by the time the credits begin to role. It is just that good. I`ve asked for my time back in many movies that I felt dragged for such a long time, but for this film I have to admit I wish every hour in my life was as sensational as the three hours I experienced with The Dark Knight Rises. This thriller works more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a traditional superhero movie. It makes the ridiculous premise feel as real and authentic as possible and takes a lot of elements from classical stories such as Dickens` A Tale of Two Cities. I`m not a fan boy, I don’t know anything about the Batman comics, but I was completely hooked and enamored with this franchise. The introduction of several new characters gave the film some freshness and I didn’t think they slowed down the story; on the other hand they made it much more interesting. Bane might not be as memorable a villain as the Joker was, but he is a different kind of threat for an aging Batman. Bane is Batman`s match in terms of physical power. He might not be as great of a schemer as the Joker, but Bane is powerful and presents an even greater threat to Batman. The other actors who had worked with Nolan in Inception all had important roles here; Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were great on screen. Gordon-Levitt is such an underrated actor, but he has proven time after time that he`s a real movie star. There are some truly great performances and in my opinion this is the best film of 2012. I doubt any movie will equal its greatness and Dark Knight fans shouldn’t worry about this movie failing to fulfill expectations because it lives up to its predecessor. There are so many symbolisms in this movie that we could spend hours talking about them.

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My Review: The Fighter (8/10)

¨I´m the one who`s fighting. Not you, not you, and not you.¨

It`s a good thing Mark Wahlberg`s character reminds us about this near the end of the film because you could think that he wasn`t the central theme of David O. Russell`s movie due to the fact that the rest of the performances from the ensemble cast outshine him. Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and Amy Adams give such great performances that Wahlberg`s character gets kind of lost in the midst of the story, but I don`t think that`s a negative critique for the film because it kind of summarizes the way his character has felt his entire life. Sidelined by his mother and seven sisters who have always shown preference toward his older half-brother (played by Christian Bale), who is sort of the local hero of a small town in Massachusetts called Lowell. Russell, who hadn`t directed a film in 6 years (I Heart Huckabees), does a great job with the direction of this film thanks to a powerful script written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson. It is based on a true story, but of course has probably been modified by Hollywood for more dramatic effects. It follows the boxing career of ¨Irish¨ Micky Ward and his rise to the top against all odds. The plot may sound familiar and sort of follows the same premise every other sport movie does, however the performance from the ensemble cast makes this movie stand out from the rest. It also has a powerful screenplay and focuses on Ward`s family as much as it does with his boxing career so it makes for a good balanced dramatic sports film.

The movie takes place during the 90`s in Lowell, Massachusetts and opens with an HBO interview of Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale), a former boxer known as ¨the pride of Lowell¨ who once knocked down the great Sugar Ray Leonard. He lost the fight, but survived all ten rounds in the ring with him. He is a retired boxer who is now training his younger half brother, Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) along with their mother, Alice (Melissa Leo), who is his manager. Dicky`s convinced that HBO is making a documentary about his comeback, but the truth of the matter is that it’s about crack addiction and how it can destroy people´s lives. Dicky is in his 40`s and consumed by his drug addiction. He spends most of his days locked up in a friend`s house getting high or in prison, although he still doesn`t seem to acknowledge the fact that it`s slowly ruining his life. His entire family knows about his addiction, but can`t seem to help him with it. Just like the rest of the people in Lowell, Micky admires his brother and listens to everything he has to say about boxing. Micky sometimes waits hours in the gym for his brother to show up and help him train, but his addiction and time in prison is hurting Micky`s career as well. His mother doesn`t help him very much as his manager either as she sometime pins him up in fights against boxers who are twenty pounds heavier than him. Micky is about to give up on his career until he meets Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams), a sexy bartender who teaches him to stand up against his family and not give up on his dream. When Dicky is sentenced to 15 years in prison it is time for Micky to find a new trainer and fulfill his dream.

Russell`s picture received 7 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. It had been a long time since his latest film (six years) and the wait was worth the while. His most acclaimed film up to this point had been Three Kings (in which he also worked with Wahlberg), but I have a feeling most people will remember him for this movie now on. The Fighter is a good film. It is more than just another boxing movie; it`s a film about family and rising to the challenge. The film is so well balanced mixing boxing and family drama that I don`t know if the title is referring to Wahlberg`s character as a boxer, or Bale`s character as a drug addict. Both of them have to fight extremely difficult odds in order to survive (Micky as a boxer and Dicky as a free junkie). The family also has to go through difficult times in order to survive, but somehow they manage to stick together despite all the differences. Christian Bale is truly the star of this film. He is so energetic and loud, that one wouldn`t recognize this guy as being Batman or Sean Connor from the Terminator. The physical and emotional transformation he goes through in this film is just impressive. Melisa Leo (Frozen River) is also excellent in her role as Alice, as well as Amy Adams who also plays a different role in this film from what she has us used too.  All three actors have been nominated for the Oscars, and Bale is a favorite to win. Wahlberg, as I said, sort of gets sidelined by the rest of the cast, but his performance is strong and powerful nonetheless. The Fighter isn`t among my top ten films of the year, but it still is a very well balanced sports drama which I strongly recommend.

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