THE BIG SHORT MOVIE REVIEW

The Big Short is a movie I knew nothing about, I mean come on, what do I know about mortgages? All I knew was that it stars some of my favorite actors, including Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, and Steve Carrell, and is directed by Adam McKay, of "Anchorman" fame. And while I enjoyed that, I worried he couldn't handle a movie where so much of it would be about math, and pther stuff that people dont understand. All of this film is based on what really happened to the american Economy during the housing bubble crisis, and some of the men who saw it coming, tried to warn the government, and when they weren't lsitened too, bet against America, making millions when the market crashed.  Its all detailed in Michael Lewis's book, "The Big Short." He also wrote "The Blind Side," and " Moneyball."

                        The trueness of this story is what makes this interesting. This destruction of our economy due to peoples greed and the fraudulant actions of some hit many people hard. What makes this film interesting is how hard these men tried to stop it, and how not listening to them, put American in a spiral for quite a few years economically.

 I can say I really enjoyed this film. With a plot that could have been quite boring, it was actually incredibly entertaining. With Goslings narration, sometimes he would break down explanations by giving the watcher someone to explain it in the easiest terms possible. " Now to explain Morgage Backed Securities is Anthony Bordain!" And as he chopped up fish, Bordain explains in simple terms what the heck is going on. Its a catchy device that works for people like me who know nothing about it.  This we can credit to McKay who lets the audience know they aren't as dumb about this as they think. That coupled with the acting,  makes it a movie worth watching.
My only complaint, is of course, regardless of the moments of explanation, there were still confusing things in it. But, perhaps thats good too. That we are all made to think a little more about it all.

             
                                                                    THE VERDICT
              "The Big Short," may be a little intimidating to take on, but with its excellent performances, hilarious scenes, and a great direction it comes out as an excellent movie. I give The Big Short an A-.

THE NIGHT BEFORE REVIEW

Another Christmas comedy is here! "The Night Before," starring Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Anthony Mackie. Which is a recipe for laughs all around. And since I love Mackie, and since I rated Rogen and Levitts last film together "50/50," one of the best I'd seen, I knew this had the potential of being terrific. 

"The Night Before," tells the story of Ethan(Levitt), who becomes an orphan on Christmas day 2001. To cheer him up, his friends Isaac and Chris(Rogen and Mackie.) start a tradition of taking him to Christmas parties all night, and they make this their tradition for the next 14 years. Yet they reach their 14th year, with Ethan Marrying, Isaac about to have a baby, and Chris a successful NFL player, and they know, this one must be their last. Fate plays a hand in Ethan getting his hands on three tickets to the ultimate Christmas party. Lost of things happen along the way as they get there.... each thing more outrageous then the next.

I gotta be honest I loved it. Its not that its just super funny, its really heartfelt. It tells you what Christmas is all about. Its story being that friends can be family. And that we should never forget that is one I think we could all use about now.  My only complaint is Tracey Morgan is the narrator and while he's terrific... I don't think it adds to the story. Other than that, if you like fun "R" rated Christmas comedy I highly suggest you see this.

                                                              THE VERDICT
"The Night Before," may seem generic and predictable at first, but its a really funny, heartfelt comedy that I absolutely loved. I give "The Night Before," an A.

STAR WARS EPISODE 7: THE FORCE AWAKENS MOVIE REVIEW

The most anticipated movie of the year is here! I finally got to see Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens. Is it everything I wanted....? HECK YEAH! Here's the story...

With a cast that includes Daisey Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Lupita Nyongo, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnhall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Andy Serkis, and Mark Hamill,  I loved "Star Wars VII The Force Awakens." From the acting, to the story, to the action sequences, to the direction, I was never bored. JJ Abrams direction paid attention to the original story, while giving us new characters to believe in who we trust to take us to the next levels. May 26th, 2017 cannot come sooner. (Which is when Star Wars episode 8 comes out.) I love love love this movie!!!! 

                                                                     THE VERDICT

"Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens," has the originality of "A new Hope," and the Stakes of " Empire Strikes Back." Everything about this movie is excellent! I give "Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens," an A++++++++++++++++++++++++++.

TRUMBO REVIEW

Trumbo is a true story I didn't know much about but was very excited for. Its cast and trailer got me hooked. Now how is Trumbo? Better then you might think.

Trumbo is the true story of how a famous movie writer named Dalton Trumbo, who in the 1950's was brought up before the House on Un-American activities committee, and  was blacklisted as a Communist and sent to jail for a year because he refused to name names. The movie shows the consequences of his stand, and how he out maneuvered the system to keep working as a screen writer. And was ultimately responsible for the Academy award winning films " Roman Holiday," and "Spartacus," which were both written when he was still blacklisted.

This is a terrific film, with a great cast including Bryan Cranston and Diane Lane as the Trumbo's, and a great turn from Louis CK as fellow screen writer Arlen Hird. Its so crazy that this happened but if anyone was going to survive it, it would be Dalton Trumbo. He developes a system to keep writing and supporting his family. And in turn, helps his fellow black listed writers stay alive in the industry too.
 While this is an excellent film, and is up on most lists of one of the best of the year,  I have a few problems with it. They don't age the children well. His oldest daughter starts off quite young, but the addition of Elle Fanning as his elder daughter left me a little cold as I don't think she passes for fourteen. (And later appears at a dinner where she would have been about 30 and doesn't pull that off either.)  Some of the scenes were a little slow, and that led me to my last problem. Which was I felt like HBO should have taken this on. Because a two episode mini series would have served it better.  But as a film, it still stands as a great bio pic.

                                                                        THE VERDICT
Trumbo may feel like its for TV at times, but has excellent performances, and a very great story overall. I give Trumbo a A-.
                                                                   

CREED REVIEW

I love Rocky. Well who doesn't really? Big goofy guy who can hit you into next week. And while not all the "Rocky," movies are good, they have a kind of fun in them. So after the last one, "Rocky Balboa," was so good, I was super excited to see "CREED," its successor. I also love Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. How is Creed? Well here's the story..

Creed is about how Adonis Creed ( Michael B Jordan) wants to live the life of a boxer, like his father Apollo Creed, who people in his town say was the greatest boxer of all time. But he thinks he can't do it unless hes trained by the man his fathers greatest rival,  Rocky Balboa. Can he make it and achieve the greatness of his father and Rocky? That's the journey of the movie.
This is simply in the top three  films of the "Rocky," story. The fight sequences and the story arc takes us on a sweaty, running filled journey of what it is to live up to someone who achieved so much and the pressure that goes along with trying to do it yourself. The acting is terrific with both Jordan and Stallone turning in great performances, (And gets Stallone back to acting in the way that we saw him in "COPLAND.") and the direction serving them every step of the way. I was not disappointed at any point. You won't be either.

THE VERDICT

"Creed" is a worthy successor to Rocky, successfully bringing back all the originality from the first movie.   Creed gets an A.