Patronising, gimmicky, self-righteous. Over-use of direct to camera monologues by characters. Inexcusable inserted celebrity explanations of terms. I hate the attitude that suggests its OK for Hollywood to make a movie that makes a profit but which movie decries other people for doing their jobs in order to make a profit. Sort of like when a millionaire tells us all to give money for the poor. All of it screamed that here's a director with no faith in how interesting the story is nor his ability to tell it interestingly. So he feels he has to resort to film-makers' tricks (massive CGI being out of the question for a non-fantasy film set in a real place) and uses them in an extremely jarring technique with monologue scripting that emphasises how jarring they are and how void his story-telling abilities. That's cynical and a little like a poor magician bungling his slight of hand and then showing you well its all a trick anyway so surely it doesn't matter. Well it does. I was so disappointed not to enjoy this. Great episode from global history, tragically self-important film-making.
This is my last post on the subject, because well, I am right and you are wrong... Patronizing? Oh boy, you misread the whole movie. First, they had to introduce an incredibly complex subject to the average American viewer and they had to do it in a quick AND not boring way. If you have any other idea how to do that Hollywood is open for you. Just take my word, the movie did an excellent job at that. And that is why the inserted celebrity explanations were there, that was the way to do it, dumb it down as simple as it can be but still stay entertaining. Excellent job. You criticize the move for judging people trying to make money? There was nothing like that in the movie. Unless you are referring to strip dancers owning 5 apartments, without even understanding adjustable mortgage rates. And the movie didn't judge them, they were simply just shown how it happened. Anyway, nothing I will say would make you love the movie, so just take my word, it is just YOU. Don't take my word for it... " The film was a commercial success, grossing $133 million against a $50 million budget. The film was also highly praised by critics,...The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in addition to nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Bale), and Best Film Editing."
I cannot think of anyone who believes the guys were wrong to have made a profit by shorting the housing crisis. They saw an opportunity, were eventually correct and made a shit load of money. Good for them. They were the real brilliant people, not the so called experts at major investment banks who did not understand Mortgage backed securities or leveraged debt (dumbasses).
Yes, it was patronising to me, so I rate it as patronising. The celebrities performed their scripts which were actually pretty good summaries of what they had to explain, but their use was gimmicky and just looked like celeb endorsements, a string of infomercials, for the very movie they were appearing in. The movie was very negative towards the banks, the regulators, the exchanges, national central banks and governments internationally, and - by implication - the acquiescent voters, investors and home-owners. I feel its distasteful and disingenuous for a Hollywood film of all enterprises to take a superior moral position against anyone trying to make money (even if they balls it up). As for commercial success, have there never been some stinking rotten successful movies? We should start a thread for the worst blockbusters ever made. The Big Short would not be Number 1, Titanic might. As I said, Christian Bale was great to watch. The rest of the act were sleep-walking or celebrity talking heads. I hope to hell I never see another Adam McKay film.
Changing the subject, from the same director and actors: https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...y-biopic?CMP=twt_gu&__twitter_impression=true
Looks good. (I couldn't have told anyone before watching this trailer who Dick Cheney was so I might not have time to go and watch this.)
The guys at the investment banks understood what was going on. That didn’t stop them because the only thing that matters is their call option on their December bonuses.
This is a good feature of capitalism, its blind. I mean its blind in the way that the statue of Justice is blindfolded. So companies don't set out to make a certain type of person rich (or poor), they set out to make money for everyone who's involved. And to be a trader or a shareholder, the company doesn't care what colour is your skin or what religion you are. Its just interested in making money. Its completely egalitarian and so blind that it is completely moral. So both the investment banks and Michael Burry and the guys alongside him were doing what they were supposed to. The industry regulators of course were asleep at the wheel. Actually, they were drunk at the wheel, intoxicated by the economic good news which they could claim was down to their good supervision. Hah! Calls for bankers to go to jail have died down now, but there should never be amnesty for those regulators. Also, I still hope Adam McKay will be charged soon......