I Watched Some Movies, For You
"The Student Body"
starring: Bailey Webber
written and directed by: Bailey Webber and Michael Webber
Here's an interesting documentary, independently made by a high school girl and I believe her parents, who are behind the camera.
A determined young woman takes on the state government in this new documentary in part about the obesity epidemic.
Bailey Webber was a quiet, accomplished high school student who didn't try to make waves until she found a reason to do so. At first it was the dismissal of her principal, but then an even bigger issue arose. The state legislature of Ohio started sending letters with report cards if a student was deemed to have an unhealthy BMI. BMI is not the most accurate indicator of a student's overall health, so this letter reached some kids that it did more harm than good. Plus, the kids weren't told that this would happen when they were tested in their schools. Or at least that is what Webber is claiming.
So Webber sets out to figure out why this was happening. She goes to the school board, and finds out it was a initiative passed by the state legislature. She spends part of her time talking to people affected by the measure, many of which had no business receiving a letter, and the other part trying to talk to the people that passed it, something those people aren't very willing to talk about, specifically the sponsor.
It's interesting because this young girl takes on her state government one determined step at a time, but there are definitely some parts and points that she makes where she just comes off as not necessarily an inquisitive adolescent, but rather a spoiled millenial brat who feels entitled to change adults' minds about things she doesn't believe in.
I don't think anyone can argue that obesity isn't a problem and I do think, as a teacher myself, schools are often put in tough positions to be politically correct and to "teach" the parents how to parent. I think the information that the school sent out was valuable, but I think they could have presented in a different fashion.
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"Money"
starring: Jesse Williams, Kellan Lutz, Jamie Bamber, Jess Weixler, Frederic Lehne, Lucia Guerrero, Joe Lanza, Kit Lang, Nanda Abella, Illya Konstantin, Gonzalo Bouza
written by: Joseph Ciutat
directed by: Martin Rosete
I really dug this film and it's concept. It's a dialogue-driven story that essentially takes place in one location. It could very well have been staged as a play and been succesful. The acting was pretty decent, especially the two lead female actresses (Jess Weixler and Lucia Guerrero).
Set over the course of one evening, Money essentially has five characters, with one supporting player that has been obviously planted in the screenplay to help provide a final twist that can be seen long before it arrives. Mark (Kellan Lutz) and Sylvia (Jess Weiler) are a wealthy young couple hosting a dinner for Mark’s co-worker, Sean (Jesse Williams), and his new girlfriend, Christina (Lucía Guerrero), when a stranger arrives at the door. John (Jamie Bamber) introduces himself as their new neighbor, but once invited inside, the two couples discover that he is actually a criminal with inside information about the illegal selling of trade secrets that have recently landed Mark and Sean a major payday.
I love a good cat-and-mouse game between characters who are essentially evil-motivated, selfish and narcissistic in nature. In this film, it's the men who are driven by money, which leads to ill intentions, back-stabbing and double-crossing. The women are side effects and unfortunate victims to the men's actions. Too bad, because the women in the roles are strong actresses and should the tables have turned, or a red herring or two thrown in, I would've liked seeing them make more of an impact in the film. Without giving too much away, of course, because the design of these films is meant to make quick turns.
“Money” is a tale of two friends who decide it’s a bright idea to sell big pharma trade secrets to the highest bidders. They get a $5 million payday and split it. It’s a secret they keep to themselves, or so they think. The film primarily takes place at a dinner party at Mark’s (Kellan Lutz) very modern home. The type of home that takes interest in sustainability as well as art. Airs of being “cultured” linger heavy in the air. This is mostly thanks to Mark’s wife, Sylvia (Jess Weixler), who takes pleasure in art and perceives herself making waves with her modest concerns for the health of people and the planet. She’s steeped in her own deeply ingrained moral authority. Sean (Jesse Williams), co-worker and co-conspirator to Mark, arrives with his current girlfriend, Christina (Lucia Guerrero) to the dinner party that will soon go awry.
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"Creep 2"
starring: Mark Duplass, Karan Soni, Desiree Akhavan, Kyle Field, Caveh Zahedi, Jeff Man, Patrick Brice
written by: Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass
directed by: Patrick Brice
I thought the first "Creep" was an incredible indie horror film, very psychological and an interesting turn for Mark Duplass- playing a serial killer. I honestly did not really see how they could extend the story with a sequel, but somehow they've managed to, sort of in the same way that "The Human Centipede" film became a 3 film franchise, borrowing from its original and feeding off the idea that films create copycats and idols.
The original Creep sort of turned the concept of "found footage" horror films on its head, in an interesting way. Filmmaker Patrick Brice does for the found footage sequel the same way that the "Scream" sequel exposed the idea of horror sequels. Brice sort of makes fun of the whole jump-scares in horror films, and exposes them as predictable.
It's an interesting idea of a film, but I think I'd stick with the original, so that you don't get disappointed.
.....................................................................
"The Big Short"
starring: Ryan Gosling, Rudy Eisenzopf, Casey Groves, Charlie Talbert, Christian Bale, Hunter Burke, Peter Epstein, Steve Carell, Leslie Castay, Tracy Letts, Marisa Tomei, Adepero Oduye, Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater, Jeremy Strong, Brad Pitt, Anthony Bourdain, John Magaro, Finn Whittock, Max Greenfield, Melissa Leo, Karen Gillan, Selena Gomez, Margot Robbie
written by: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
directed by: Adam McKay
Everyone knows about the housing and credit crisis that happened between 2007-2010, which led to one of the largest global financial crises of all time, which was all based on lies and deception. Michael Lewis (famous for "Moneyball" which exposed how the Oakland A's attempted to change the game of baseball in how they approached scouting) wrote the book exposes the truth behind the crisis and Adam McKay (most famous for comedies like "Anchorman" and "Old School") adapted it for the screen, in a rather unconventional and entertaining way.
"The Big Short" begins with a quote from Mark Twain: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." As both writer and director, McKay doesn't rely upon realism here; that would be too boring. Instead, we are guided through the world of finance by an unreliable narrator, Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling). Vennett is based on a real person (Greg Lippmann) and breaks the fourth wall as do many of the other characters, even informing us what is convenient Hollywood contrivances and explaining to us what the reality was.
starring: Bailey Webber
written and directed by: Bailey Webber and Michael Webber
Here's an interesting documentary, independently made by a high school girl and I believe her parents, who are behind the camera.
A determined young woman takes on the state government in this new documentary in part about the obesity epidemic.
Bailey Webber was a quiet, accomplished high school student who didn't try to make waves until she found a reason to do so. At first it was the dismissal of her principal, but then an even bigger issue arose. The state legislature of Ohio started sending letters with report cards if a student was deemed to have an unhealthy BMI. BMI is not the most accurate indicator of a student's overall health, so this letter reached some kids that it did more harm than good. Plus, the kids weren't told that this would happen when they were tested in their schools. Or at least that is what Webber is claiming.
So Webber sets out to figure out why this was happening. She goes to the school board, and finds out it was a initiative passed by the state legislature. She spends part of her time talking to people affected by the measure, many of which had no business receiving a letter, and the other part trying to talk to the people that passed it, something those people aren't very willing to talk about, specifically the sponsor.
It's interesting because this young girl takes on her state government one determined step at a time, but there are definitely some parts and points that she makes where she just comes off as not necessarily an inquisitive adolescent, but rather a spoiled millenial brat who feels entitled to change adults' minds about things she doesn't believe in.
I don't think anyone can argue that obesity isn't a problem and I do think, as a teacher myself, schools are often put in tough positions to be politically correct and to "teach" the parents how to parent. I think the information that the school sent out was valuable, but I think they could have presented in a different fashion.
.................................................................
"Money"
starring: Jesse Williams, Kellan Lutz, Jamie Bamber, Jess Weixler, Frederic Lehne, Lucia Guerrero, Joe Lanza, Kit Lang, Nanda Abella, Illya Konstantin, Gonzalo Bouza
written by: Joseph Ciutat
directed by: Martin Rosete
I really dug this film and it's concept. It's a dialogue-driven story that essentially takes place in one location. It could very well have been staged as a play and been succesful. The acting was pretty decent, especially the two lead female actresses (Jess Weixler and Lucia Guerrero).
Set over the course of one evening, Money essentially has five characters, with one supporting player that has been obviously planted in the screenplay to help provide a final twist that can be seen long before it arrives. Mark (Kellan Lutz) and Sylvia (Jess Weiler) are a wealthy young couple hosting a dinner for Mark’s co-worker, Sean (Jesse Williams), and his new girlfriend, Christina (Lucía Guerrero), when a stranger arrives at the door. John (Jamie Bamber) introduces himself as their new neighbor, but once invited inside, the two couples discover that he is actually a criminal with inside information about the illegal selling of trade secrets that have recently landed Mark and Sean a major payday.
I love a good cat-and-mouse game between characters who are essentially evil-motivated, selfish and narcissistic in nature. In this film, it's the men who are driven by money, which leads to ill intentions, back-stabbing and double-crossing. The women are side effects and unfortunate victims to the men's actions. Too bad, because the women in the roles are strong actresses and should the tables have turned, or a red herring or two thrown in, I would've liked seeing them make more of an impact in the film. Without giving too much away, of course, because the design of these films is meant to make quick turns.
“Money” is a tale of two friends who decide it’s a bright idea to sell big pharma trade secrets to the highest bidders. They get a $5 million payday and split it. It’s a secret they keep to themselves, or so they think. The film primarily takes place at a dinner party at Mark’s (Kellan Lutz) very modern home. The type of home that takes interest in sustainability as well as art. Airs of being “cultured” linger heavy in the air. This is mostly thanks to Mark’s wife, Sylvia (Jess Weixler), who takes pleasure in art and perceives herself making waves with her modest concerns for the health of people and the planet. She’s steeped in her own deeply ingrained moral authority. Sean (Jesse Williams), co-worker and co-conspirator to Mark, arrives with his current girlfriend, Christina (Lucia Guerrero) to the dinner party that will soon go awry.
Here enters John (Jamie Bamber). He’s an English con-man posing as a new neighbor and slithers his way into the small gathering thanks to Sylvia’s good nature and good manners. Shit hits the fan when John makes his intentions known while waving a gun and threatening the removal of digits. He knows about the money and he knows everything about Mark, Sean, Sylvia, and gathers at least the personality of Christina. The women are innocent, having no knowledge of the seedy business their men have been up to. It’s between John, Mark, and Sean.
The film goes on as a game of inciting paranoia amongst its players and creating ever-shifting alliances. Sean is a coked-out hot-headed brute. Christina is bitter. Mark is pathetic. And Sylvia, in all her “goodness” is continuously shocked and appalled. The bottom line is there will be winners and losers, and some will win more than others and some will go beyond losing. You find out just how much money really does count to some.
The characters are interesting but not fully developed, which makes it hard to root for anyone in particular in the end...................................................................
"Creep 2"
starring: Mark Duplass, Karan Soni, Desiree Akhavan, Kyle Field, Caveh Zahedi, Jeff Man, Patrick Brice
written by: Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass
directed by: Patrick Brice
I thought the first "Creep" was an incredible indie horror film, very psychological and an interesting turn for Mark Duplass- playing a serial killer. I honestly did not really see how they could extend the story with a sequel, but somehow they've managed to, sort of in the same way that "The Human Centipede" film became a 3 film franchise, borrowing from its original and feeding off the idea that films create copycats and idols.
The original Creep sort of turned the concept of "found footage" horror films on its head, in an interesting way. Filmmaker Patrick Brice does for the found footage sequel the same way that the "Scream" sequel exposed the idea of horror sequels. Brice sort of makes fun of the whole jump-scares in horror films, and exposes them as predictable.
Whenever our returning murderer, now calling himself Aaron (Duplass), tries one on his latest cameraperson, Sara (Desiree Akhavan), it fails miserably. Maybe that sort of thing worked once upon a time, but the audience is made of sterner stuff now. Even if jumping out and yelling "boo" manages to startle, it's fleeting at best.
And when it comes right down to it, Aaron knows it too. He's made 39 of these movies so far, and it's starting to feel like he's just going through the motions. So, as his serial-killer's mid-life crisis looms, he decides to change it up a bit.
He places another ad online, looking for someone to "go deep" with "emotional bravery", and comes up with Sara, a videographer who's been struggling to get her passion project off the ground. She visits people who have placed personal ads on the internet, documenting their interests and curiosities, so the prospect of picking up a thousand dollars for what she's trying to do anyway seems like an obvious choice.
This time, when she shows up at the address, Aaron comes right out and tells her that he's a murderer, and promises that if she follows him around, talking and shooting video of his thoughts for the next 24 hours, he won't kill her. And then, in order to promote radical openness, he decides that they have to see each other naked.
That's just one of many points where I could see someone bailing out of this movie. But there's just something so perversely fascinating about this character, and whether anything he says is even true. How did he get started? Why does he do it? And who, exactly, is really in danger here?
It's an interesting idea of a film, but I think I'd stick with the original, so that you don't get disappointed.
.....................................................................
"The Big Short"
starring: Ryan Gosling, Rudy Eisenzopf, Casey Groves, Charlie Talbert, Christian Bale, Hunter Burke, Peter Epstein, Steve Carell, Leslie Castay, Tracy Letts, Marisa Tomei, Adepero Oduye, Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater, Jeremy Strong, Brad Pitt, Anthony Bourdain, John Magaro, Finn Whittock, Max Greenfield, Melissa Leo, Karen Gillan, Selena Gomez, Margot Robbie
written by: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
directed by: Adam McKay
Everyone knows about the housing and credit crisis that happened between 2007-2010, which led to one of the largest global financial crises of all time, which was all based on lies and deception. Michael Lewis (famous for "Moneyball" which exposed how the Oakland A's attempted to change the game of baseball in how they approached scouting) wrote the book exposes the truth behind the crisis and Adam McKay (most famous for comedies like "Anchorman" and "Old School") adapted it for the screen, in a rather unconventional and entertaining way.
"The Big Short" begins with a quote from Mark Twain: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." As both writer and director, McKay doesn't rely upon realism here; that would be too boring. Instead, we are guided through the world of finance by an unreliable narrator, Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling). Vennett is based on a real person (Greg Lippmann) and breaks the fourth wall as do many of the other characters, even informing us what is convenient Hollywood contrivances and explaining to us what the reality was.
The film follows a very interesting, yet deplorable cast of characters, simply hate-worthy solely based on the facts of the real story. These are men that preyed on the weak and bet against these same people, affording them the opportunity to make millions and millions of dollars off their shitty circumstances, all of which they ultimately created or helped contribute to. It is extremely hard to feel any sympathy or empathy for any of these characters, which makes this such a hard-hitting film.
The man who began crunching the numbers was a brilliant, but socially awkward man with a glass eye, Michael Burry (Christian Bale), an American hedge fund manager. Burry was an undergrad, studying economics with a pre-med focus and then went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He did his residency at Stanford, but quit medicine to start Scion Capital. At Scion Capital, he had his people do the research and came to the conclusion that the American housing was built on a bubble that is ready to burst. The title refers to Wall Street slang for going short, betting that the stocks you buy will fail. In this case, the investment is the securitized subprime home mortgages.
Burry's investments come to Vennett's attention but no one at his work place believes him. As a result of a mistake, Vennett brings this financial opportunity to the attention of Mark Baum (Steve Carell) in a presentation with Jenga blocks that will visually simplify the problem for most viewers. Baum is a man suffering from an inability to speak about a personal tragedy for which he's in therapy. He has an anger at a system that takes advantage of regular folks. And there's a lot wrong on Wall Street and in U.S. banks. Baum (based on Steve Eisman of FrontPoint Partners), takes his group which includes Vinny Daniel (Jeremy Strong) to Orlando, Florida to investigate Vennett's assertions. The movie also follows Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock), small-time investors who stumble upon Burry's write-up on his investment strategy while in New York and get a former major Wall Street trader, Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), to help them get in on the action. At one point, the groups converge, but don't actually meet in Las Vegas.
Just like "The Wolf of Wall Street" presented a shitty character in an entertaining and interesting way, so does "The Big Short." This is an incredible film. Entertaining from start to finish.
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