THE BIG SHORT  3.8****

    The film begins with narration by Ryan Gosling’s character that addresses the biggest problem the film has, that being that the Housing Market Crash of 2008 was an extremely complicated issue, which is why so few saw it coming. The story is  complicated, because it requires some understanding of how the housing/mortgage system worked at the time, which apparently most of the people running the system at the time didn't understand or even care about so long as they were making huge amounts of money. So  the film ends up teaching the audience how the crash happened. That sounds boring, but the film does a brilliant job by using  hilarious cameos and lacing the overly informational pieces with humor. The film accomplishes the very hard task of making the mess understandable and even teaching  how it went so horribly wrong.

The movie focuses on a group of individuals that foresaw the housing and economic bubble bursts and decided to take advantage of it by buying “short” in  HUGE amounts ( here the “short” was betting that there would be housing market crash)  Among them are a savvy, but socially awkward hedge fund manager (Christian Bale), a short-tempered, no-nonsense trader (Steve Carell), a banker seeking a huge payday (Ryan Gosling) and two young investors that want to make it big (John Margo & Finn Wittrock) — who enlist the help of a retired trader (Brad Pitt).

The Big Short has a great script, with dialogue that just rolls, but in such a complicated movie the acting had to be good. Christian Bale is excellent as the wacky Dr. Michael Burry, embodying the odd personality of the man, and even handling the task of showing a misunderstood genius. The other performer who was terrific was Steve Carell, who has consistently proved that he's not just a great comedy actor. The Big Short proves that he can give a performance with emotional depth, and a sense of humanity.

In the end, The Big Short is a funny, intelligent, well-acted, and interesting view of the few men able to make money when everybody else was losing money hand over fist. The entire ensemble of talented  actors carry their own weight, and some even rise above expectations. Everybody should watch this film because it tells the ever important story of how ignorance and lack of government oversight caused a worldwide meltdown, and that we're apt to do it again if we don't learn from our mistakes.

Rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity 

Clark

NOTE: This movie has 5 Oscar Nominations including Best Picture and Best Director along with Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actor. In my opinion it is contending with REVENANT and SPOTLIGHT for Best Picture and probably is the favorite to win.

STAR WARS: The Force Awakens  4****

       JOY. I don't believe many people realize just how hard it is, what kind of skill it takes, or how rare it is for someone to create a work that truly gives people a sense of true joy. Something that transports them out of their lives  and makes them feel good, something that makes audiences laugh with delight and marvel at the sheer excitement. Director JJ Abrams and crew have pulled off the most rare of magic tricks. The true “feel good “of JOY.

SPOILER-FREE. Don't worry I won’t give anything away and DON”T read other reviews. You should go in with as little knowledge about the movie as possible so you can be surprised and thrilled.

"Star Wars" has been a way of life in any film lover's life. It has been around for two generations now, and JJ Abrams brings us the beginning of a third generation of Star Wars films, and the first installment of the new trilogy is easily the best since the original trilogy, and is perhaps better than some of the originals. Starting with the acting, we are given four new main characters: Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy RIdley) and Kilo Ren (Adam Driver).  Starting with Oscar Isaac, he delivers a fun role and brings tons of energy to the screen. Next is John Boyega, who in the role of Finn, is one of the young new actors, but makes himself known with a very involved performance, showcasing the perfect amount of humor, strength, and distress. . Daisy Ridley as Rey is not only beautiful to look at, but delivers genuine emotion and passion to her role. It hasn't been since we met Ridley in “Alien” that we have seen such a badass female character  and she is easily the best surprise in the film. .The villain, Kilo Ren ( a look-a-like to Darth Vader in all black and head mask), played by Adam Driver, is excellent and gives a great new energy to the dark side. These four main characters are perfectly cast.  As for returning characters, I'm sure that anyone would be lying if they said that they didn't enjoy seeing Luke (Mark Hamill),Princess Leia ( Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Chewbacca on the big screen again after so many years. Their performances are excellent in so many ways, and their talent has only grown with their age. Also, C3PO and R2D2 are there with the same amount of joy and fun that they brought to the earlier movies. But there's still one more character that is not only one of the best parts of the film, but will surely be selling off the shelves once the kids see him, and it's BB-8. The design of the droid is incredible, and it's just such an adorable character that brings some of the best humor and fun to the film.

As you can see, a lot of the movie has to give its credit to the acting, but there's still more to this film that makes it one of the best of the year. JJ Abrams is the true quarterback of this production, and this film has the stunning JJ-style, but also keeps its roots in the original George Lucas design. Unlike the prequels, the visual effects seem natural and real, and CGI is only used in the most necessary cases. The practical effects are great, and proves that films don't need big computer effects to be brilliantly gorgeous and action-packed.  The dialogue is understandable, but still real and not overdone like in the prequels, and the score written beautifully by John Williams is flawless as always.  There are numerous parallels and recurring themes between this movie and the original trilogy. You'll notice Rey's desert-like home world reminiscent of Luke’s Tatooine, a bar scene so similar to amazing one in the 1^st “Star Wars”, BB8 as the lovable successor to R2D2  also happens to carry important information. There's the destructive evil super-weapon that must be destroyed much like the Death Star of old, and of course, the eternal struggle between good and evil that is the light side versus the dark side. However, the parallel that makes the biggest impact is the family affair between a father and his son which has a shocking outcome. 

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is Hollywood at its absolute best and J.J. Abrams has definitely brought us back into that Galaxy Far, Far Away, in more ways than  we could have ever asked for. I can praise the hell out of this film all day, because that is just what this film is. A crowd pleaser all around. It welcomes newcomers with its fresh characters, and it will blow the minds of the diehard fans (of which I am one).  It is amazing entertainment . Oh the JOY of seeing a terrific movie.

You MUST see this on the BIG screen. Too much will be lost to watch it on TV.

Clark

THE HATEFUL EIGHT   3.2***

     Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaker  with a unique style and voice. Above all else he carefully writes his characters into the story and they are often created as oddballs so that they are capable of doing most anything given their circumstance.  His inspiration for this movie obviously comes from spaghetti westerns like “A Fist Full of Dollars” and “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, which contain the same slow pace with lots of dialogue.. Impatient people may see that as a bad thing, but the best stories are the ones that are being told by  fascinating characters who have their own pace.. He further connects with those westers by using Ennio Morricone for the film score and shooting the film in glorious 70mm using in fact the same 70mm camera that they used to film “Ben Hur” .

Some time after the Civil War, bounty hunter, ,retired Union Major Marquis Warren (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is trying to get his 3 dead fugitive bodies to  Red Rock, Wyoming so he can collect the bounty ( remember in those days it was dead or alive) It's cold and a huge blizzard is approaching, so when a stagecoach approaches, he asks for a ride. Inside the stagecoach is another bounty hunter, John "The Hangman" Ruth (played by Kurt Russell) who has captured fugitive Daisy Domergue (played by Jenifer Jason Leigh) and is taking her to Red Rock to hang. Soon after another  man Chris Mannix (played by Walton Goggins) also asks for a ride claiming  to be the new sheriff of Red Rock. The blizzard is about to catch them. So they stop at a large cabin which is a stagecoach stop called Minnie's Haberdashery. Strangely Minnie is not there and Mexican Bob (played by Demián Bichir)  says he was left in charge while the owner is out visiting her mother. Also in the Haberdashery is British hangman Oswaldo Mobray (played by Tim Roth) quiet cowboy Joe Gage (played by Michael Madsen) and former Confederate General Sandy Smithers (played by Bruce Dern). These eight rugged and suspicions individuals are throw together for what could be a couple of days until the blizzard blows over. These despicable human beings who might not be whom they claim to be spend a good 2 hours of this almost 3 hour movie engaging in biting exchanges ,full of sarcasm and even hate, laced with lots of profanity and abundant use of the “N word”. This is typical Tarantino.

Just like Tarantino's previous movies, The” Hateful Eight's” biggest strength is the characters and the dialogue.. They have  to be interesting, unusual characters, given that most of the movie is set inside a cabin .. Every one of these people are so well constructed that they seem like they have come from other stories and somehow managed to find themselves in this one.  With the characters comes a sort of a classic "who-done-it" mystery that is a fascinating scenario and  I won’t give anything away.. I can say that the movie feels like two halves; the first being the introduction and the back stories with the classic Tarantino dialogue while the second half is the bloody, violent reaction to the reveals. Parts of the first half felt a little too slow  but it all pays off later on when things are revealed and the action starts with sudden startling  twists and turns.

It’s rated “R” and that is a hard “R” for profanity and heavy use of the “N word”, sexual content, and bloody violence and gore including repeated beatings of the lady fugitive…excessive in my opinion. Despite all that I liked the movie but then I’m not bothered by the “R” factors and respect Tarantino for his boldness.

CLARK

JOY…  2.8***

      "Joy" marks the third film that director David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence have joined forces, following on  2012's brilliant "Silver Linings Playbook", and  "American Hustle" a year later. With this latest offering, O. Russell decides to explore the story of Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano and her attempts to rise from struggling Mother with dire money problems to a successful business woman.  

O. Russell's strength usually lies in his writing but here it eludes him, making for a story that can never be fully realized. He seems to get caught in between two minds with what to tell and how to tell it. There's a lot of unnecessary scenarios and needless sub-plots wedged into the main narrative, which is  the film's downfall. In addition to that, the slew of characters don't particularly add anything notable. O. Russell has always had a knack for creating memorable roles for his actors but the talented cast which includes Robert DeNiro, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd & Bradley Cooper feel almost like filler parts, with none of them able to really make much of a lasting impression.

The film's most redeeming quality however is the star herself. Lawrence gives a lively and unwavering performance, doing just about enough to make us give a damn about Joy Mangano. But like her co-stars, the script stifles her from doing more with the character. Great work from Lawrence, but it's a missed opportunity because she could have been great.

There's not much to write home about when it comes to "Joy" . We've seen these tales of people in hardship striving to turn their life around told many a time. This film doesn't stand out in any way from the others due to the sloppiness of the screenplay and pacing.  Lawrence is the only saving grace in an otherwise rather “joyless” movie.

Clark