The Big Short (2015)

the audience applauded

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This movie felt like a blend of a film and documentary. It has a great narration by Ryan Gosling. Great acting too. The movie is made in such a way that the information reaches to all. All jargons explained and simplified in a very original way I must say - through 'real' celebrities in the movie - so that it is appealing to most of the viewers. It was very original in my opinion.Steve Carell is as always very good. And he is especially very good in his character. I loved his character and one could see him delivering the pain and emotions very sincerely towards the end of the movie. Christian Bale made me do a double take when his character came on screen. I mean, I know he has two fully functional eyes then how did he pull this off? How? It was incredible. This I think was an exceptional piece of acting. This is the definition of living the character in the movie. As far as direction is considered, it was very good. Not very unique because some elements I think is borrowed from Woody Allen where he makes the characters talk to us through the screen but the effect and timing is really nice. I have seen 'The Other Guys' by Adams and I found that entertaining too. More than the other I believe. And I found this movie thoroughly entertaining too.

For those who lived through it, we all knew how this ended so the story really is the why did it hsppen? And there is plenty of explanation here. Except the government is almost totally left out of the story. I read somewhere Clinton's deregulation in the '90s led to the subprime crisis in 2007/08. Anyhow, well worth a watch especially for those who didn't live through it.

The movie wasn't entirely accurate some average people did know that subprime mortgages, balloon mortgages (5 year balloons which proves this happened entirely on Bush II's watch), etc. were a ticking time bomb. I was one of them, in 2005 when I invested in the mortgage business specifically in an outfit called American Home Mortgage, I only invested in them because they did not engage in subprimes or other risky loan practices, but guess what while on vacation in Orlando with my family, summer 2007, I saw my position and my kids positions in American Home Mortgage disappear via a Treo phone. American Home Mortgage was the 10th largest mortgage company in the country and it was the first to go! Anyone with half a brain saw the bubble but virtually everyone I knew, including my fat redneck boss, hung on every word spoken by Alan Greenspan and Alan was telling everyone to stay the course and all was well. This movie shows the criminal dealings of Goldman Sachs but they got bailed out and no one went to jail. This will happen again! This country is nothing more than a criminal enterprise! Kudos to Iceland for jailing the banksters and helping out the homeowners! By the way words right out of the idiots mouth: "We can put light where there's darkness, and hope where there's despondency in this country. And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home." - President George W. Bush, Oct. 15, 2002... Bush gave the green light, through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to risky lending practices, and that's a freaking fact!

Based on the true story of how the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) came about from 2005-2008, 'The Big Short' tells the story really well by mixing humour, facts (delivered in an unconventional way by celebrities) and following four tenuously-linked groups who have skin in the game. Vennett (Gosling) introduces us at the start of 2005, via a unique fourth-wall-breaking monologue, placing the players on the field - I'm using this terminology, as most of the film (and Wall Street in general) can be likened to gambling. It may sound boring on the surface - a film about banking and finance - but it does a great job of explaining the terminology in simple terms, whilst not being condescending about it.The groups involved are Burry (Bale), a fund manager and prodigy of sorts, who first sees the housing bubble and notices that the big banks have been over-valuing mortgages (sub-prime). Baum (Carell) and his small company are offered the opportunity to "short" the banks' mortgages by Vennett. Geller (Magaro) & Shipley (Wittrock), two young entrepreneurs, who seek help from their mentor, retired Wall St mogul Rickert (Pitt) also pick up on what' happening and get in on the action. It's great to see the banks gleefully taking their money, being so cocky and greedy, only to have it all blow up in their faces two years later.I think Carell, not Bale, should have been Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor! Baum serves as the film's moral centre and calls everyone on their fraudulent behaviour. The film almost acts as a documentary when it delves down to the individual family level and makes you truly realise how little these large corporations care for other humans. The most bittersweet part is the ending - "and then the crooks went to jail, Congress brought in reform and the fraudulent system was overhauled - just joking! They didn't go to jail, Congress was lobbied so no reform was passed and the big banks were bailed out by the taxpayers" - funny, sad, and true. Really makes you think, but is also a well-made film with excellent acting.