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The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short (2015)  

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The movie so often hints at a deeper, more nuanced presentation of the events that led to the 2008 crash that it's really disappointing to see it fall back on the same old broad cynicism and condescending "BANKERS ARE EVIL!!!!!" asides. It never seems certain of what sort of message it's trying to send or what action it's wanting to call us to make. Mashing up the tones of Inside Job and The Wolf of Wall Street results in a lesser impact than either of those films.

Edited by tribefan695
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Wow.  This was a great movie, and although I can understand a lot of the criticisms I've heard (especially since, I went into the movie already understanding much of what it was going to tell me, so it was easy to grasp all of the business jargon because I'm used to it) I respectfully disagree in my case.

 

I loved Adam McKay's style, it was tight, claustrophobic, and the editing was very tight.  My favorite film, from an editing stand point, of the year.  The ensemble is fantastic, and it's material that any other director (who didn't know what they were doing) could have easily made it all become disjointed and confusing (even to those who understand the jargon).  He always kept the film moving, which for some might be a problem with how much information is packed into it, however that worked great for me.  There were hilarious moments, there were insightful moments, and there were moments where your stomach shrunk in horror of the fact that this actually happened (like the film continually reminds you).

 

I really liked the breaking the fourth wall, there were a few moments where it didn't work as well as it should have, but I thought it was very needed, and it made the film feel very fresh and different.  The style felt innovative, and I thought the close-up, documentary-cinematic hybrid worked brilliantly.  

 

More specifically on the ensemble, I loved Carell and Bale, both of them are standouts and some of the best performances of the year.  Both deserve nominations, and I honestly think Bale deserves to win the thing.  The performances feel like real people (aside from Gosling, which is on purpose), it feels as if Ryan Gosling is actually giving you the inside scoop on everything that happened.  It doesn't feel like you're watching a piece of cinema that McKay has put together, it feels like your watching real events.  It's done so well that it makes the impact of the end hit even harder.  

 

I went in this film with high expectations, it looked right up my ally, and in many ways this film exceeded all of them.  Really, really loved this movie.  A+

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felt a bit let down , i keep hearing this or spotlight might be winning best picture so i guess i was expecting more ...movie was ok but just there i wasn't blown away by the performances , bale was ok but carrell was a bit over the top , pitt was there !

could be i have such a low opinions of banks and their minions that i can't find it in me to sympathise with them on any level ,at the end of the day they just screwed the screwers (who somehow as we know didn't get screwed as much as they deserved to ) and i'm not sure they're any better than those they were trashtalking ...

gotta say though its scary to know its a merry go around scenario , i'm not convinced they've learned anything except for getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar but sure enough there they are stealing cookie or figuring out a new way to do so find dead angle so the camera doesn't catch them

 

B

 

PS: frankly i also saw spotlight trailer and both these films feel like deja vu or a decade late topic , not relevant ! i feel like both these topic happened a while back but perhaps there was a need for the things to settle before visiting them in movie format ! maybe i'm just not in mood for realism /based on fact movies , i need escapism!

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I'm not sure I completely understood all of the banking lingo and whatnot, but The Big Short is simultaneously riveting, angering, and amusing. Adam McKay approaches the film with a similar rapid fire pace as he did with his Will Ferrell comedies, and it works (loved the use of the celebrity cameos lol). Not a single beat is missed among the stellar ensemble: the ever-transformative Christian Bale is great in a role that could've easily relied on character quirks, Steve Carell gives his best performance to date, Ryan Gosling is an even better comedic actor than a dramatic one, Finn Wittrock and John Magaro steal all of their scenes, while seasoned vets like Brad Pitt and Marisa Tomei make the most of minimal screen time. This makes for a good companion piece to The Wolf of Wall Street in that it's accessible to those who don't have any rooted interest or knowledge in the subject matter. A-

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The Big Short is a film that's necessary to watch. I learned so much from this about the financial crisis that I didn't know otherwise, and I've seen Inside Man! What this film has going for it that film doesn't is simple; The Big Short doesn't forget to entertain while it's educating. The direction and editing in this film is astounding as it makes concepts of banking that it even recognizes as boring incredibly intriguing. It draws from documentary style editing and clever cutaways to do so. The script is always enticing; every single character is one we want to follow, and it smartly keeps any non-financial subplots to a bare minimum. It's funny too, both in the documentary-esque asides and in general situations the plot gives us. Carell and Bale are both brilliant, but Gosling steals the show as a smarmy banker narrator that's always got a big grin on his face. McKay has flirted with making great films before, but by finally embracing his directorial style and going for a dramedy, he has finally made one worthy of that praise. The Big Short is a revelation in film editing and direction, and an overall fantastic movie. A

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Great film. Loved little details like Gosling's fake tan to remind us what a douchebag his character is. Carrell is great. The fourth wall breaking and info dump cameos worked really well. I was entertained and horrified. I still need to watch Spotlight but I'd be pleased with this as Best Picture winner.

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Definitely worth a watch. I'd read the book but was still impressed by the adaptation choices the script made and the performances were all solid. I liked how the end wasn't triumphalist at all: these guys all knew the system was fucked and they weren't rejoicing their brief advantage.

 

It's a movie every investor and analyst should see. Not because it'll stop them wanting to make lots of money, but just to prove that yes, a lot of people believing in something doesn't necessarily make it so.

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On 25/12/2015 at 5:45 PM, tribefan695 said:

 

The movie so often hints at a deeper, more nuanced presentation of the events that led to the 2008 crash that it's really disappointing to see it fall back on the same old broad cynicism and condescending "BANKERS ARE EVIL!!!!!" asides. It never seems certain of what sort of message it's trying to send or what action it's wanting to call us to make. Mashing up the tones of Inside Job and The Wolf of Wall Street results in a lesser impact than either of those films.

 

Its message was simple: bankers aren't EVIL, they're mostly just narrow-minded morons - and their hive-mind mentality was destructive.

 

 

 

Edited by Hatebox
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Every person needs to watch this film. Makes you wonder if 2008 was just a warning shot of much worse to come. The system is every bit as corrupt as it's ever been and we have way too much debt in numerous industries (student loans, oil exploration, still in housing, and on and on). Too Big To Fail is still in place even though the banks should have been split up to help lower the risk of crashing the entire economy.

 

I enjoyed the sense of humor, acting, and choices of music (GN'R, Metallica, and Zeppelin fuck yeah!!!). Bale's character is awesome, especially since it's a real life guy who figured out all this stuff before anyone else. People like him should be Treasury Secretary or Federal Reserve chairman instead of these mega bank executives like Henry Paulson.

 

A

 

 

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 9:13 PM, MrPink said:

When the Levee Breaks plays over the end credits, perfect.

 

Maybe a little sad too.

 

 

 

I loved that. The only bad thing was I stayed until the very end and noticed that they misspelled Izzy Stradlin's name on Sweet Child O' Mine. They left out the "L" in Stradlin. How the hell that happens on a big movie is beyond me, lol.

Edited by redfirebird2008
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