Thursday, July 7, 2016

MONEY MON$TER$  3.0***


           Jodie Foster ( yes the Academy Award winning actress in “Silence of the Lambs”) directs this suspenseful hostage drama set in a live-to-air television studio in New York City.  George Clooney plays Lee Gates, a flippant host of a tacky infotainment show for Wall Street watchers. Soon after the morning show goes on air a disgruntled young shareholder, Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell), bursts into the studio and threatens to shot  Clooney who had recently highly recommended the stock of an investment company whose stock  has since plummeted by more than $800 million. The furious Kyle lost $60,000, all his savings and that of his Moms..

Under threats from the gunman the producer, Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts), orders the film crew to continue filming, and to contain the situation, she fits out Kyle with a collar mic "so people can hear you properly", effectively giving him a voice as the show beams into bars and cafés across the country.. The film cleverly juggles the fear of a loose cannon with the growing sympathy for Kyle, the battler who has a legitimate grievance and simply wants to know what happened to the $800 million beyond the glib answer that it was a “computer glitch” or a faulty algorithm.

To buy time, the producer investigates the claims made by Kyle and the film develops into an on air "real time" investigation into the background of the company's $800 million loss. It is probably  first time this show has ever produced journalism of any worth in its glitzy life and it now has an audience of millions watching. The movie concerns itself with the reveal of those investigations.

Along the way of the film we learn a little about algorithms for high frequency trading, share price basics, the kind of outrageous speculations bankers make with investors' money; and a whole lot about the baloney that the media puts out, especially TV.

The performances make the movie. Clooney and Roberts are outstanding in their roles and Jack O’Connell is spectacular as Patty Fenn  He showcases a wide mix of emotions in his on the spot portrayal of a conflicted character.

Rated R for language throughout, some sexuality and brief violence. 

Clark


PS: This movie came out earlier this year and would be hard to find in the theaters,,,so check TV, Netflix, Red box or streaming.

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