The Big Short
Let me get right to the point: The Big Short is as sharp as a serrated 100$ bill. Ever reminiscent of The Wolf Of Wall Street (with much less sexual exploitation), The Big Short tackles serious themes with flare without ever forgetting to bring the viewer along for the ride. Just as Jordan Belfort would interject witty remarks to keep Wall Street fresh and as beautifully self indulgent as its protagonist, The Big Short allows the great Ryan Gosling to narrate and keep you up to date with the help of some impeccable celebrity cameos. It services the film in a big way. It keeps it snapping from one character of its talented ensemble to the next without letting you get bored and it lets the audience in on the joke ("hey we're making a movie to
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For those of you who don't know, The Big Short focuses on the largely felt 2008 economic collapse of the housing market, but rather than show us a story of the people suffering from the collapse or the bank greed that caused it (there are elements of both throughout the story, but they are not the key focus), The Big Short tells the story of the people who were able to foresee the collapse and bet against the housing market inevitably leading to their wealth. Michael Burry, played by the unlimitedly talented Christian Bale, is depicted as being the first to catch on to the scam. Burry, with his prosthetic eye and social insecurity, weaves his way through the files that everyone else seems to have overlooked and becomes 100% certain of the ticking time bomb lying within the mortgage market. His certainty leads him to invest his clients' money in a bet against the banks which causes an uproar within the investment community. The bankers laugh in his face and gladly accept his money while all of his clients scorn him for his seemingly rash and ridiculous decision. This of course begins the word of mouth that leads our other key characters to follow Burry's lead and invest against the market themselves, picking up just as much flack along the way. Among them are Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and his team (strung along by Jared Vennett played by Gosling), and the wannabe millionaires (currently working out of a garage) Charlie Gellar (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) who enlist the help of retired investor Ben Rickert (Brad
For those of you who don't know, The Big Short focuses on the largely felt 2008 economic collapse of the housing market, but rather than show us a story of the people suffering from the collapse or the bank greed that caused it (there are elements of both throughout the story, but they are not the key focus), The Big Short tells the story of the people who were able to foresee the collapse and bet against the housing market inevitably leading to their wealth. Michael Burry, played by the unlimitedly talented Christian Bale, is depicted as being the first to catch on to the scam. Burry, with his prosthetic eye and social insecurity, weaves his way through the files that everyone else seems to have overlooked and becomes 100% certain of the ticking time bomb lying within the mortgage market. His certainty leads him to invest his clients' money in a bet against the banks which causes an uproar within the investment community. The bankers laugh in his face and gladly accept his money while all of his clients scorn him for his seemingly rash and ridiculous decision. This of course begins the word of mouth that leads our other key characters to follow Burry's lead and invest against the market themselves, picking up just as much flack along the way. Among them are Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and his team (strung along by Jared Vennett played by Gosling), and the wannabe millionaires (currently working out of a garage) Charlie Gellar (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) who enlist the help of retired investor Ben Rickert (Brad