Review: 'The Big Short' explains 2007 financial crisis

The cast of "The Big Short" is so star-studded, you will certainly get drawn in by its smart poster, even if you had no idea what that puzzling title was all about. This film is now very high-profile because of the awards buzz surrounding it. In fact, just last week, "The Big Short" had just been named one of the nine nominees for the Oscar for Best Picture. It has also picked up nominations for Best Director (Adam McKay), Supporting Actor (Christian Bale), Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing.

"The Big Short" followed the interconnecting individual stories of a few maverick financial gamblers as they made unusual, high risk yet critical investments in the housing sector which would eventually lead to the US financial crisis of 2007.

Asperger's Syndrome and fake left eye notwithstanding, quirky hedge fund manager Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale), unearthed faults in the mortgage derivatives market and put multimillion dollar bets against it via a credit default swap market. (I still do not really understand what this huge deal was all about. I do not even know what a hedge fund manager is.)

Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), an enterprising employee at Deutsche Bank, got wind of Burry's investment and discovered a goldmine in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). He began selling this idea behind his bank's back. (His presentation using Jenga bars was illustrative, but I did not completely get what those AAAs and BBBs meant.)

Because of a wrong number, Vennett got to pitch for and convince Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and his company to invest in his CDOs. Baum got interested with the big payback potentials, but later his moral conscience realized its far-reaching tragic implications. (I liked the Baum character but frankly I did not fully grasp why he was delaying the "swaps" that was he was delaying or what he hoped to achieve or prevent by delaying it.)

Greenhorn investors Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Geller (John Magaro) also get wind of Vennett's deal from a proposal they incidentally picked up at a bank lobby. They sought the help of retired Wall Street veteran Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) to help them get into the action. (They brought up another concept called an ISDA, which totally eluded me.)

I have to give credit to screenwriter/director Adam McKay for trying his best to explain all the financial gobbledygook involved in this technically complex story. He had some actors break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience. He had some pop icons like top celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and teen idol Selena Gomez to take part in explanatory side videos to discuss about concepts like CDOs, or even more abstract concepts like synthetic CDOs.

Frankly it was difficult for me to get through a huge part of the film precisely because those finance jargon was too alien to me. The bank for me is just for my savings and checking accounts and probably time deposits. But I am totally lost when the discussion goes deeper into loans, stock market, mortgages and the like. I literally tune out when my bank's manager talks to me about these things (but don't tell her about it). I had to look up what the "short" in the title meant, yet I still cannot explain it in my own words and comprehension. I guess there are just those topics that fail to connect with me, and Finance is one of them.

I guess this upbeat chipper tone in the first two acts of this film gave the Hollywood Foreign Press Association the idea to nominate "The Big Short" under the category of Best Comedy or Musical. Sure, Gosling gets to deliver some witty zingers, but this film is really hardly a comedy at all.

My favorite character was Carell's who seemed to see himself as some advocate for morality. For me, it was his Mark Baum who gave this cold and calculating film warmth and accessibility. Carell was this film's heart. Too bad he was not recognized for his performance on the Oscar list. In fact, for me it was these dramatic moments of moral dilemma with Mark Baum that turned my initial opinion around and made me actually like this film by the final act. 7/10

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Review: 'Exodus' is lavish yet lackluster

MANILA -- "Exodus: Gods and Kings" tackles a story that had already been tackled very well in previous films. The most famous of them all is the epic "The Ten Commandments" with Charlton Heston as the definitive Moses. Other filmmakers have tried to replicate this Moses story with different actors or even in animation, but the 1956 classic remains secure in its place.

This year, yet another attempt is made by director Ridley Scott with big star Christian Bale as Moses, a combination that is too promising to ignore. So despite the lukewarm to negative early reviews, I wanted to see and judge this film for myself.

We all know the story of Moses from the book of Exodus. He was a Hebrew who grew up in the Egyptian palace side by side with Pharaoh's own son Rhamses. When Moses' real origin was revealed, he was exiled. There in the wilderness, he obeys God's orders by way of the burning bush to return to Egypt to ask the new Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free from slavery. Only after God sent ten dreadful plagues did Rhamses relent. Moses led the Hebrews across the Red Sea and into the Promised Land of milk and honey.

This film is basically faithful with the biblical story, with the advantage of higher technology in special visual effects to create grander vistas and more realistic plagues. It tried to inject some scientific logic into the supernatural events, particularly the Red Sea crossing. However, the explanation for the turning of water into blood was quite a stretch. This Moses did not have a miraculous staff. The Angel of Death scenes were presented curiously just like the way it was done on "The Ten Commandments"!

The lackluster portrayal by the actors added to the coldness of the film. Despite his reputation as a good actor, Christian Bale did not make a very good Moses. He felt like he was going through the motions here, no passion whatsoever. Joel Edgerton was totally wrong as Rhamses. He looked ill at ease the whole film, and it was obvious from the posters alone! The presence of Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver and Aaron Paul in cast were wasted in small unremarkable roles.

Some people may expect this to be a religious film. However, the whole film felt soul-less, and this made the long 150-minute running time seem so unbearably slow.

The very way God was portrayed did not sit very well with me. God in this film was personified as an imperious young boy who was projected to be mercilessly violent and vindictive. There was no hint of compassion nor magnanimity here. Moses was even arguing with God. The film felt like it had an anti-God undertone, even atheistic, which was uncomfortable for me.

This is yet another disappointing biblical film debacle this year. To be fair though, I would not consider as bad as the total disaster that was "Noah." 4/10

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Christian Bale hanging up his Batman cape

LOS ANGELES - "The Dark Knight Rises" may be Christian Bale's final performance as crime-fighting superhero Batman, the actor told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Set for release in July, the movie is Bale's third stint as Gotham's Caped Crusader for director Christopher Nolan, after "Batman Begins" (2005) and "The Dark Knight" (2008).

"I wrapped a few days ago, so that will be the last time I'm taking that cowl [Batman hood] off," Bale told the newspaper during an interview in Beverly Hills. "I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it's all done. Everything's finished. It's me and Chris -- that will be the end of that Batman era.

The 37-year-old actor's comments, published late last week, weren't his first indication that he might have reached the end of the Batmobile ride. Bale told E! News in November one year ago that "unless Chris says different, this will be the last time I'm playing Batman."

Bale, who received an Oscar last year for his supporting performance in "The Fighter," next appears on the big screen in Zhang Yimou's China-set period drama "The Flowers of War." He'll also star in two films from "Tree of Life" director Terrence Malick.

Joining Bale in "The Dark Knight Rises" are Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway, as Catwoman.

Film actors who have preceded Bale in the dual role of Batman and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, include Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com