“The Big Short”
It’s a lot to ask to take something like the housing crisis of 2007-08 and boil it down into two hours of entertainment, but Adam McKay's "The Big Short" accomplishes that task in a gritty mix of comedy and drama that proves to be informative, shocking, and a heck
of a lot of fun.
The story, based on the Michael Lewis book, follows the discovery by a succession of hedge fund managers, traders and investors that the big banks have been betting on an increasingly unstable housing market. Those investors, in turn, bet against the banks based on the prediction that the housing market will fail. Like peeling the layers of an onion, the protagonists learn of the complicity that exists between the banks, credit rating organizations and regulatory agencies that allow the exploitation of the mortgage industry. As the housing market teeters on the brink, banks are making money hand
over fist on the backs of homeowners.
“The Big Short” uses comedy as an entry to that mystical financial world as we discover the insanity of it all, and eases our way into picking heroes and villains when, in reality, everyone is chasing huge profits based on the failure of a major sector of the economy. Along the way, the film employs celebrity cameos to explain, in layman’s terms, what all the financial mumbo jumbo means. It is a highly effective device, and a big part of why
this film works.
Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt are the heavy hitters, but “The Big Short” is truly an ensemble effort, and the A-Listers do an excellent job of disappearing into their roles for the benefit of the tale.
It was impossible for me to watch the film without thinking of “American Hustle,” another financial scam film starring a heavily made up Christian Bale, but while that film was all the glitz and glamour of the '70s (and a highly entertaining ride, as well), “The Big Short” has a faux-documentary quality that helps bring home its morality lesson. All in all, pretty impressive from the guy who brought us films like “Anchorman,” “The Other Guys” and “Talladega Nights,” and I mean that as a compliment -- this was a heavy task to take on.
“The Big Short” is nominated for ve Academy Awards, including best director, best supporting actor (Bale) and best adapted screenplay.
- Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
"Spectre"
For me, the James Bond films featuring Daniel Craig as 007 have walked a strange line — both a reboot and an embrace of 50 years of history — but there is no denying that the Sam Mendes-directed “Skyfall” was quite possibly the best film of the modern era. It is reassuring Mendes is back to helm “Spectre” (Nov. 6, PG-13), and handling the reintroduction of Bond’s greatest enemy, the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, which, due to a copyright dispute, has not been heard from since 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever.” Christoph Waltz should make a worthy adversary for Craig, whether he is playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, or some other member of SPECTRE, and the film promises all the action and flash one has come to expect from the series. But more than that, “Skyfall” had an epic quality beyond the scope of the tried-and-true Bond formula, and I’m hoping “Spectre” can continue in that vein.
— Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
"Creed"
In this spinoff of the Rocky movies, the son of Apollo Creed (Michael B. Jordan) seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train him. It is an intriguing way to continue a saga which, to me, was satisfactorily concluded by 2006’s “Rocky Balboa.” By focusing the film on the son of Rocky’s legendary opponent and friend, “Creed” (Nov. 25) could give the underdog story a reboot without throwing away 40 years of Rocky mythology. It is easy to forget after all the sequels that “Rocky” won the Oscar for best picture in 1976. While it might be too much to ask for the film to rise to that standard, with original producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff on board, and under the direction of Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”), who also co-wrote “Creed,” the movie has the potential to be more than just a spinoff or another sequel.
— Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
What happens when an aging actor, famous for playing a larger-than-life comic book hero, attempts to find redemption as an artist and relevance in the September of his years while simultaneously trying to do the same in his personal life and keep a grip on his sanity?
That’s the focus of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s dark comedy “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” a beautifully shot film that moves seamlessly from scene to scene in much the way it moves between fantasy and reality.
The plot follows Michael Keaton’s Riggan Thomson in the days leading up to the debut of a Broadway play he has adapted, is directing and stars in. It is clearly an impending disaster, until Thomson replaces his lead supporting male actor. Keaton proves again to be one of the great underrated actors of his generation. No doubt his own experience in a cape and cowl added a personal aspect to his work. His performance will resonate with anyone once at the top of their game but now trying to find a sense of purpose later in life.
Edward Norton is a joy as the brilliant -- but unpredictable -- method actor who injects life into the play, and Emma Stone turns in an equally strong performance as Riggan’s damaged and recovering daughter Sam.
Sadly, the script doesn’t give Zach Galifianakis or Naomi Watts much to work with, and indeed, all characters fade into the background in the final third as it focuses on the conversation in Riggan’s head. In retrospect, this, as well as a side plot involving a vindictive critic, led to what felt like some odd pacing and the telegraphing of a major plot element early in the film. Still, it is a satisfying exercise.
On a technical level it is brilliant, and the film, particularly in its exterior shots, captures a world you can almost taste in its warmth and grittiness. Accompanied by a powerful jazz drum-based score, the film has an off-beat, indie feel that makes it a wild card on Oscar night. It has been garnering its fair share of awards this season, but in the end might prove a little too “art house” for the Academy.
- Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
"Rush"
Sept. 27, rated R
Great racing films don’t come around often. You can count the good ones on one hand, and for every film like John Frankenheimer’s 1966 tour de force “Grand Prix,” there is one like Sylvester Stallone’s disastrous “Driven.” But Ron Howard’s “Rush,” a dramatic take on the 1976 Formula 1 season, looks likely to become one of the greats.
Starring Chris Hemsworth as the playboy James Hunt and Daniel Brühl as his cool, calculating rival Niki Lauda, “Rush” retells the story of the 1976 season through events leading up to and after Lauda’s near-fatal accident at the German Grand Prix. Howard explores what motivates men to risk everything in an era in which a driver had a limited chance of surviving his motor racing career.
Racing films must always please two masters – the motorheads who know the sport inside and out, and the general filmgoer who simply wants to be entertained. Howard teams again with “Frost/Nixon” writer Peter Morgan, a man with a special touch for telling stories about real people. And the 1976 season has all the ingredients for an engaging story: great characters, fast cars, glamour, triumph and tragedy.
While it plays loosey-goosey with some of the facts, Formula 1 insiders, many of whom had a front-row seat to the events of 1976, have embraced the film. Formula 1 pit reporter Will Buxton in a blog deemed it the best racing film ever. That easily makes “Rush” the most anticipated film on my list.
— Chris Six, photo/graphics editor, Washington, D.C.
It’s a lot to ask to take something like the housing crisis of 2007-08 and boil it down into two hours of entertainment, but Adam McKay's "The Big Short" accomplishes that task in a gritty mix of comedy and drama that proves to be informative, shocking, and a heck
of a lot of fun.
The story, based on the Michael Lewis book, follows the discovery by a succession of hedge fund managers, traders and investors that the big banks have been betting on an increasingly unstable housing market. Those investors, in turn, bet against the banks based on the prediction that the housing market will fail. Like peeling the layers of an onion, the protagonists learn of the complicity that exists between the banks, credit rating organizations and regulatory agencies that allow the exploitation of the mortgage industry. As the housing market teeters on the brink, banks are making money hand
over fist on the backs of homeowners.
“The Big Short” uses comedy as an entry to that mystical financial world as we discover the insanity of it all, and eases our way into picking heroes and villains when, in reality, everyone is chasing huge profits based on the failure of a major sector of the economy. Along the way, the film employs celebrity cameos to explain, in layman’s terms, what all the financial mumbo jumbo means. It is a highly effective device, and a big part of why
this film works.
Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt are the heavy hitters, but “The Big Short” is truly an ensemble effort, and the A-Listers do an excellent job of disappearing into their roles for the benefit of the tale.
It was impossible for me to watch the film without thinking of “American Hustle,” another financial scam film starring a heavily made up Christian Bale, but while that film was all the glitz and glamour of the '70s (and a highly entertaining ride, as well), “The Big Short” has a faux-documentary quality that helps bring home its morality lesson. All in all, pretty impressive from the guy who brought us films like “Anchorman,” “The Other Guys” and “Talladega Nights,” and I mean that as a compliment -- this was a heavy task to take on.
“The Big Short” is nominated for ve Academy Awards, including best director, best supporting actor (Bale) and best adapted screenplay.
- Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
"Spectre"
For me, the James Bond films featuring Daniel Craig as 007 have walked a strange line — both a reboot and an embrace of 50 years of history — but there is no denying that the Sam Mendes-directed “Skyfall” was quite possibly the best film of the modern era. It is reassuring Mendes is back to helm “Spectre” (Nov. 6, PG-13), and handling the reintroduction of Bond’s greatest enemy, the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, which, due to a copyright dispute, has not been heard from since 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever.” Christoph Waltz should make a worthy adversary for Craig, whether he is playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, or some other member of SPECTRE, and the film promises all the action and flash one has come to expect from the series. But more than that, “Skyfall” had an epic quality beyond the scope of the tried-and-true Bond formula, and I’m hoping “Spectre” can continue in that vein.
— Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
"Creed"
In this spinoff of the Rocky movies, the son of Apollo Creed (Michael B. Jordan) seeks out Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train him. It is an intriguing way to continue a saga which, to me, was satisfactorily concluded by 2006’s “Rocky Balboa.” By focusing the film on the son of Rocky’s legendary opponent and friend, “Creed” (Nov. 25) could give the underdog story a reboot without throwing away 40 years of Rocky mythology. It is easy to forget after all the sequels that “Rocky” won the Oscar for best picture in 1976. While it might be too much to ask for the film to rise to that standard, with original producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff on board, and under the direction of Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”), who also co-wrote “Creed,” the movie has the potential to be more than just a spinoff or another sequel.
— Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
What happens when an aging actor, famous for playing a larger-than-life comic book hero, attempts to find redemption as an artist and relevance in the September of his years while simultaneously trying to do the same in his personal life and keep a grip on his sanity?
That’s the focus of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s dark comedy “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” a beautifully shot film that moves seamlessly from scene to scene in much the way it moves between fantasy and reality.
The plot follows Michael Keaton’s Riggan Thomson in the days leading up to the debut of a Broadway play he has adapted, is directing and stars in. It is clearly an impending disaster, until Thomson replaces his lead supporting male actor. Keaton proves again to be one of the great underrated actors of his generation. No doubt his own experience in a cape and cowl added a personal aspect to his work. His performance will resonate with anyone once at the top of their game but now trying to find a sense of purpose later in life.
Edward Norton is a joy as the brilliant -- but unpredictable -- method actor who injects life into the play, and Emma Stone turns in an equally strong performance as Riggan’s damaged and recovering daughter Sam.
Sadly, the script doesn’t give Zach Galifianakis or Naomi Watts much to work with, and indeed, all characters fade into the background in the final third as it focuses on the conversation in Riggan’s head. In retrospect, this, as well as a side plot involving a vindictive critic, led to what felt like some odd pacing and the telegraphing of a major plot element early in the film. Still, it is a satisfying exercise.
On a technical level it is brilliant, and the film, particularly in its exterior shots, captures a world you can almost taste in its warmth and grittiness. Accompanied by a powerful jazz drum-based score, the film has an off-beat, indie feel that makes it a wild card on Oscar night. It has been garnering its fair share of awards this season, but in the end might prove a little too “art house” for the Academy.
- Christopher Six, photo/graphics editor
"Rush"
Sept. 27, rated R
Great racing films don’t come around often. You can count the good ones on one hand, and for every film like John Frankenheimer’s 1966 tour de force “Grand Prix,” there is one like Sylvester Stallone’s disastrous “Driven.” But Ron Howard’s “Rush,” a dramatic take on the 1976 Formula 1 season, looks likely to become one of the greats.
Starring Chris Hemsworth as the playboy James Hunt and Daniel Brühl as his cool, calculating rival Niki Lauda, “Rush” retells the story of the 1976 season through events leading up to and after Lauda’s near-fatal accident at the German Grand Prix. Howard explores what motivates men to risk everything in an era in which a driver had a limited chance of surviving his motor racing career.
Racing films must always please two masters – the motorheads who know the sport inside and out, and the general filmgoer who simply wants to be entertained. Howard teams again with “Frost/Nixon” writer Peter Morgan, a man with a special touch for telling stories about real people. And the 1976 season has all the ingredients for an engaging story: great characters, fast cars, glamour, triumph and tragedy.
While it plays loosey-goosey with some of the facts, Formula 1 insiders, many of whom had a front-row seat to the events of 1976, have embraced the film. Formula 1 pit reporter Will Buxton in a blog deemed it the best racing film ever. That easily makes “Rush” the most anticipated film on my list.
— Chris Six, photo/graphics editor, Washington, D.C.