Quick Movie Review: Money Monster (2016)

It's a common theme in films that Wall Street is largely corrupt. We've seen it played out countless times. Especially lately. And many of these films mesh together to become indistinguishable from each other. Money Monster may feel different. But is it maybe due to the ridiculously large ad campaign or because it says things that the others don't?

The former is most likely true, but it doesn't mean this film should be tossed aside. There's a lot to like about it.

George Clooney plays Lee Gates, the host of a stock market show where he advises people on what to stocks to buy and sell. In one situation, he advises everyone to buy shares of a specific company, saying it's a surefire bet. So many viewers do, but when the company's stock plummets, costing investors $800 million, everyone wants answers.

Most specifically, a young man named Kyle (Jack O'Connell), who sneaks onto the show's set and threatens everyone. Flailing a gun around and strapping a bomb around Gates' chest, he goes into a rant about losing his entire $60,000 life savings on the company because of Gates' advice.

Kyle and the script have a lot to say, but never quite hit the nail on the head in a grand way. It's well thought out, but doesn't play as so, instead giving us popcorn thrills and adrenaline rushes. Which, by no means, is a bad thing.

Bordering on transparent and cheesy a few times, its wittiness jumps back out of it quickly--and fortunately.

At a little over 90 minutes, the film is paced well. It keeps us awake on the edge of our seats pretty much the whole time, which is interesting considering almost the whole thing takes place on a television set with just a couple of people.

This may have to do with the fact that the point of view is all over the place--an odd decision for a thriller. We see what the filmmakers conveniently need us to see--not always what makes sense for us to.

Though not as big or impactful as it wants to be, it stands as a microcosm of the financial stresses most of the country is constantly going through. It's an important movie, but there are others that are slightly more important. Although, it doesn't hurt to watch this one and be thoroughly entertained in the process.

Twizard Rating: 85

Quick Movie Review: Ocean's Twelve

Ocean's Twelve is less direct than its predecessor and has you questioning if it's ever going to get pieced together. In the end it does, but it makes one feel as though they could have come up with a better story.

I understand that they weren't trying to have the same storyline as the first film, but this one couldn't figure out where it was going. The dialogue made it fun, but good dialogue doesn't always equal a good script. Although the first understandably lacked character depth (as do most big group caper films) this movie barely had any. This one focused more on Rusty's backstory, as the last focused more on Danny.

While the first film demonstrates exactly what a final act should be, this one shows you how to make the first two almost obsolete. But somehow it fits into the entire irony of the film. The heist happened in the second act, and the movie could have just ended after an hour. I mean, they could have just picked any moment for when they so easily snatched the egg. They weren't constricted to the limitations within their created world. Instead, they created a world that could or could not have had any relevance to how they accomplished their feat. When it's explained there is no feeling of amazement, but you just end up with a ton of questions. 

There weren't as many memorable moments as the first, however, the dialogue and characters were still entertaining enough to keep me interested. Although the Julia Roberts/Bruce Willis scene was a highlight of the film.

It doesn't have the glitz and glamour of 2001's Ocean's Eleven, nor the sting-like final act, but it's entertaining all the way through. You just can't daydream for a second or you'll miss a detail. It's extremely confusing at times and I'm still not sure why some of the things happened or even WHAT happened. It calls for way more explaining than it should. It makes you feel dumb for not understanding things, whereas the first film made you feel like you were helping out with the heist yourself. 

Throw in a couple of cool twists and the film really isn't all that bad as a standalone. It's just really really hard to compete with the one that came before it.

Twizard Rating: 79