The Big Short takes a look back at the housing bubble collapse which happened in 2008, the thing is though some very unexpected people actually predicted it happening a couple of years before it all eventually imploded.
Now this film managed to do things in two very good and different ways. At times well mainly the start you had no idea what they were talking about or what was going on all of the different terms related to the housing market might have well been in a different language. But with that it was also extremely interesting and therefore engaging, as in all honesty I don’t really remember paying massive attention at the time to what was going on, I just remember being told it was a recession . . .
The film certainly put together an incredible cast who put in some fantastic performances really bringing the story to life. Christian Bale is easily the standout performer in my opinion I really thought he become his character in such a fantastic way. Steve Carrell also continuing to show that he is so much more than comedy in this one as well. Ryan Gosling more than holding his own with these actors as well, Brad Pitt in a pretty small role does steal some scenes.
I think the brilliance with this film is that it will be one of them that you are still thinking about days later. I think this is mainly because it was not long ago that it happened and had a massive knock on effect to the whole worlds economy. Something that has changed a lot of things and we are still trying to recover from it.
With all of that though and I did find parts of the film to be very engaging and interesting I also found parts to be very strange and odd. With the random video clips and photos from different events that happened over the years. As well as some celebrity cameos to help explain different terms and events. I just didn’t really get the whole point of them and thought it took the film on some strange turns, which made me wonder how it has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
Michael Burry (Bale) was the first man to figure out that the housing market is not as stable as it seems with an increase of people not being able to make their mortgage payments on time, he put in plenty of research and manages to predict that it is going to happen. This is when the shorts against it are created, the banks well pretty much think he is crazy. Which was good to watch considering we had witnessed the research he was putting in to it all. So from that moment is when everyone then linked together as a few more people also decided to get in on the short, I guess it was good to keep everyone engaged especially with the fact that we knew it was all going to collapse.
The character development over the course of the film was probably the biggest highlight as we begin to wonder if these men will actually become exactly like the bankers they despise and are working against. The bigger picture of winning the bet as such does not bode well for well all the hard working class people. This was good to see the different characters really coming up against that.
So in all honesty I cannot really say if I massively enjoyed this film on the whole or not. It was very strange at times but yet engaging. How did you take this one?
I saw the film on Christmas day and I thought it was intense. Bale and Carrell were my two favorite actors in this movie, especially since I am so used to seeing Carrell in a comedy setting.
Overall, it’s a good film, especially if you like watching movies based on real events. I did not want to see it, but my stepdad and brother wanted to and I winded up enjoying it. I thought they did a good job explaining certain parts so they could be easily understood.
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I see your point about explaining, I just found it took quite a while to get used to that in all honesty. I don’t think I’ll be rushing to watch it again soon, maybe my expectations were too high with the Oscar nominations known before I seen it.
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Understandable. Not a movie I would want to watch again either, just because I have my own taste in movies and while it was a good film, it wasn’t my favorite.
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Yeah I totally understand what you mean 🙂
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Excellent review! I too very much enjoyed this film and feel strongly that it will come down to this one or “Spotlight” for the Best Picture Oscar. Thanks for sharing your critical analysis!!
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It’s going to be interesting to see which film will get the Best Picture Oscar!
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I didn’t find the brilliance in the style too. I thought MacKay’s direction was either hit or miss. The scenes with random break the fourth walls were super awkward and random. But I loved Carell’s performance, surely one of the best of the year. Nice review Caz!
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I think Carell could have easily been nominated for an Oscar he was outstanding the more I think about it!
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His character was the most complete. I was laughing so much! But at the same time, he delivered a serious performance as well…which makes it so good
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Yeah he had so much growth at the end.
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[…] THE BIG SHORT: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt BRIDGE OF SPIES: Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, Steven Spielberg CAROL: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley THE REVENANT: Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon SPOTLIGHT: Steve Golin, Blye Pagon Faust, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar […]
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