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. 

THE HUNGER GAMES MOCKINGJAY PT 2 REVIEW

Its over! The epic finale to the "Hunger Games," saga is here! One of the most anticipated movies of 2015 has finally arrived. Now is it explosive conclusion we were all hoping for ? Here's the story.

When we last saw Katniss, she was being hospitalized for a deadly attack by the newly freed Peeta. Part 2 starts off right after that event. Katniss is bruised and afraid and Peeta, who has clearly been poisoned, reminds her that his life would not be this bad if he hadn't chosen to help her all those years ago. Ouch. Katniss chooses to be a part of the invasion squad to the capital as what the president did to Peeta and her family make it impossible for her to choose anything else.

 The movies a bit too long. I found myself saying the words, "get to the point, get to the point," over and over. Which isn't good. As for the acting, for the most part the performances are excellent, and what we've expected, but Juliane Moore's president Alma Coin, is written about as generically as you can get. Moore seems "pulse less." Like nothing phases her. It makes her transition in the end ring false.  Lastly because of the instance on doing two stories out of one book, characters seem under developed which makes in some cases their eventual deaths seem harder because we didn't get enough screen time with them.  However I did enjoy Lawrence, Hutchenson and Hemsworth. They have been playing these characters for so long, their performances are very layered. Sutherland and Harrelson also turn in good solid performances. And as for Phillip Seymore Hoffmans last  performance, this movie is a good movie to end on. Although the sight of him is quite melancholy. Harrelson delivers a speech in reference to Hoffmans character Plutarch Heavensbee,  a section filled with references to making better choices, and you could think they were talking about Hoffman himself.  

The action was superb. It seemed very real and you can see the danger they were all in very well. It also gets very intense. While I had a few problems with the first act, the second act is the weakest.  I loved the entire third act. Sure some people will say they could've cut the ending down, but overall I enjoyed it. 

THE VERDICT

"The Hunger Games; Mockingjay Part 2" may seem long and generic at times, but its acting and action keep you entertained. I give it a B. 

SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

"Spotlight," is a movie that when I heard about it,  the cast alone excited me. It has great charachter actors like Michael Keaton, John Slattery, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schrieber, and Rachel McAdams.  The fact that the movie is based on the events that led to the arrest of abusive priests in the catholic church left me even more intrigued. How could something like that happen? Well heres the story.

" Spotlight," is the investigative section of the Boston Globe news paper and when we first meet the team, they are on the verge of getting a new editor. One who is liable to cut jobs, and who does not seem impressed by how long it takes for Spotlight to do a story. It can take up to a year to investigate a story. The new Editor, played by Schrieber, challenges Spotlight to take on a case involving Father John Gagan, an abusive priest who seemed to get away with abusing hundreds of children because once the church found out, they would just move him to a new parish. Spotlight starts to dig, and discovers that 6% of the priests in Boston were abusers. At first they cannot believe it could be. Then they cannot believe that given the abuse, and how big it was, that the people in power continued to cover it up.

I loved this movie. For the bravery of telling this story. For the way these men and women went after the abusers and made sure that there was a "Spotlight," on it so that it wouldn't get swept under the rug. I loved the cast, especially Stanley Tucci, who plays the plantifs lawyer, and Mark Ruffallo, a reporter who seems most affected by the church's keeping this quiet. " They did this to kids!" he shouts. It seems only till then in such a plain and simple way, do we realize these men were monsters. And the ones who covered it up, accomplices. It will probably win a boatload of awards. The script is well written and moves at a good pace. And Keaton, as the SPOTLIGHT editor, shines as he realizes how little people did for these poor children. It is a terrific film, but it is not a walk in the park. You will feel angry and sad and frustrated that people used religion so easily to cover up crime.

I also started thinking, given the bombings this week in France, people are lucky to have social media. Its been a way of confirming to loved ones that they are safe. What would these abused children been able to do if they could report to all they knew on Facebook, or Twitter that the priests in their church were vipers? Thank god the paper took up the cause.

                                               
                                                        THE VERDICT
Spotlight is incredible, from performances to writing, to directing. I give Spotlight an A.