What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 9th December 2021.

The 24th British Independent Film Awards were presented on Sunday 5th December to highlight and reward the best, most innovative, and creative independent filmmaking and filmmakers in the UK. Identifying and encouraging emerging talent, the BIFA supports and celebrates the independent film community and promotes British film and talent to the public. Each year, the BIFA voters view the 300+ entered films. After a rigorous discussion-based selection process the long list and nominations are decided by confidential vote. The winners in most categories are decided by independent juries, newly appointed each year and not involved in the nominations process. These juries, comprised of leading professionals and talent from the British film industry, meet to discuss the nominated films and the winners are decided by secret ballot.

The winners, grinners and nominees in each category, are as given below :-

Best British Independent Film

* Awarded to 'AFTER LOVE', beating out 'Ali & Ava', 'Boiling Point', 'The Nest' and 'The Souvenir Part II'. 

Best Director

* Awarded to ALEEM KHAN for 'After Love', beating out Clio Barnard for 'Ali & Ava', Philip Barantini for 'Boiling Point', Sean Durkin for 'The Nest' and Joanna Hogg for 'The Souvenir Part II'.

Best Actor

* Awarded to ADEEL AKHTAR for 'Ali & Ava', beating out Riz Ahmed for 'Encounter', Stephen Graham for 'Boiling Point', Jude Law for 'The Nest' and James Norton for 'Nowhere Special'.

Best Actress

* Awarded to JOANNA SCANLAN for 'After Love', beating out Caitriona Balfe for 'Belfast',  Carrie Coon for 'The Nest', Claire Rushbrook for 'Ali & Ava' and Ruth Wilson for 'True Things'.

Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to TALID ARISS for 'After Love', beating out Richard Ayoade for 'The Souvenir Part II', Lucian River-Chauhan for 'Encounter', Ciaran Hinds for 'Belfast' and Ray Panthaki for 'Boiling Point'.

Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to VINETTE ROBINSON for 'Boiling Point', beating out Judi Dench for 'Belfast', Jo Hartley for 'Sweetheart', Nathalie Richard for 'After Love' and Tilda Swinton for 'The Souvenir Part II'.

Breakthrough Performance

* Awarded to NELL BARLOW for 'Sweetheart', beating out Lauryn Ajufo for 'Boiling Point', Max Harwood for 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie', Jude Hill for 'Belfast' and Ellora Torchia for 'IN THE EARTH'.

Best Screenplay

* Awarded to 'AFTER LOVE' by Aleem Khan, beating out 'Ali & Ava' by Clio Barnard, 'The Nest' by Sean Durkin, 'Benediction' by Terence Davis and 'The Souvenir Part II' by Joanna Hogg.

Best Documentary

* Awarded to 'POLY STYRENE : I AM A CLICHE', beating out 'Cow', 'Dying to Divorce', 'I Am Belmaya' and 'Keyboard Fantasies'. 

Best International Independent Film

* Awarded to 'FLEE', beating out 'Compartment No. 6', 'First Cow', 'Petite Maman' and 'Pleasure'. 

Cinematography

* Awarded to MATTHEW LEWIS for 'Boiling Point', beating out Matyas Erdely for 'The Nest', Magda Kowalczyk for 'Cow', Annika Summerson for 'Censor' and Haris Zambarloukos for 'Belfast'.

Best Editing

* Awarded to HELLE LE FEVRE for 'The Souvenir Part II', beating out 'Cow, 'Belfast', 'Censor' and 'IN THE EARTH'.  

Best Effects

* Awarded to STEVEN BRAY and MIKE KNIGHTS for 'DASHCAM', beating out 'Censor' and 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain'. 

Best Music

* Awarded to CONNIE FARR and HARRY ESCOTT for 'Ali & Ava', beating out 'Pirates', 'Encounter', 'IN THE EARTH' and 'Belfast'.

Best Sound

* Awarded to JAMES DRAKE, ROB ENTWISTLE and KIFF MCMANUS for 'Boling Point', beating out 'Cow', 'Censor', 'IN THE EARTH' and 'Encounter'.

Best Production Design

* Awarded to STEPHANE COLLONGE for 'The Souvenir Part II', beating out 'Boiling Point', 'Belfast', 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' and 'Censor'. 

The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director

* Presented to ALEEM KHAN for 'After Love', beating out Prano Bailey-Bond for 'Censor', Cathy Brady for 'Wildfire', Celeste Bell for 'Poly Styrene : I Am a Cliche' and Marley Morrison for 'Sweetheart'.

Best Debut Screenwriter

* Awarded to CATHY BRADY for 'Wildfire', beating out Prano Bailey-Bond for 'Censor', Aleem Khan for 'After Love', Marley Morrison for 'Sweetheart' and Reggie Yates for 'Pirates'.

In addition RIZ AHMED was named the recipient of the Richard Harris Award back in late November. The Richard Harris Award honours an Actor or Actress who has contributed significantly to British films throughout their career. It has previously been bestowed upon, amongst others, Kristin Scott Thomas, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent and Glenda Jackson.

For further details and the complete list of all winners and nominees, you can go to the official website at : https://www.bifa.film/

Turning attention to this weeks five new films coming to an Odeon near you, we kick off with an anthology story set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional twentieth century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in a magazine. Next up is a coming of age tale about a high school senior who embarks on a journey of self-discovery when a letter he wrote for a writing exercise falls into the hands of a grieving couple whose son took his own life. This is followed by a film based on truly possible events as two low-level astronomers embark on a grand scale media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet heading directly for Earth. Then there is a reboot of a highly successful action horror franchise set in 1998, and exploring the secrets of the mysterious Spencer Mansion and the ill-fated Raccoon City. And closing out the week we have a Japanese anime film about a high school student who struggles to survive with a young swordsman after it's revealed that she is trapped inside an online game, where if your hit points drop to zero, your brain will be destroyed in real life.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'THE FRENCH DISPATCH' (Rated M) - is an anthology comedy film Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Wes Anderson whose previous film making credits take in his feature length debut with 'Bottle Rocket' in 1996, then 'The Royal Tenenbaums', 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou', 'The Darjeeling Limited', 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', 'Moonrise Kingdom', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and 'Isle of Dogs'. Following a delay from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film saw its World Premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-July this year, and was released in the US in late October. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and has thus far grossed US$38M exceeding its production budget of US$25M.

A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper - Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun - in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in 'The French Dispatch' where Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), the editor of the newspaper dies suddenly of a heart attack. According to the wishes expressed in his will, publication of the newspaper is immediately suspended following one final farewell issue, in which three articles from past editions of the paper are republished, along with an obituary. The film stars an ensemble cast taking in Owen Wilson, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Lea Seydoux, Henry Winkler, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Cecile de France, Christoph Waltz, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe and Saoirse Ronan. 

'DEAR EVAN HANSEN' (Rated M) - is an American coming of age musical film Directed by Stephen Chbosky whose previous film making credits take in 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' in 2012 and 'Wonder' in 2017, and is based on the 2015 stage musical of the same name by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. The film saw is World Premier at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September as the opening night film and was released in the US later on that same month having received negative reviews from critics, who compared it unfavourably to the stage musical. Here then, Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt reprises his role from the successful Broadway stage show as Evan Hansen, a high school senior with Social Anxiety disorder who aches for understanding and belonging following the suicide of a classmate amid the chaos and cruelty of the social-media era. Also starring Julianne Moore, Amy Adams and Kaitlyn Dever, the film has so far grossed US$17M off the back of a US$28M production budget. 

'DON'T LOOK UP' (Rated M) - this American satirical Sci-Fi black comedy is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Adam McKay whose prior film making credits include 'Anchorman : The Legend of Ron Burgundy' and its sequel 'Anchorman 2 : The Legend Continues', 'Talladega Nights : The Ballad of Ricky Bobby', 'Step Brothers', 'The Other Guys' and then a change of tack to more dramatic territory with 'The Big Short' and 'Vice'. Here then, two low level astronomers Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Dr. Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) attempt to bring to the attention of mankind, via a media tour to raise awareness, of an impending disaster that will destroy Earth, by way of an approaching comet. The film stars an ensemble cast taking in Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Timothee Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Tyler Perry, Ron Perlman, Matthew Perry, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Himesh Patel, Ariana Grande and Gina Gershon. This has a limited cinema release from this week before streaming on Netflix from 24th December, and cost somewhere in the region of US$75M.

'RESIDENT EVIL : WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY' (Rated MA15+) - this action horror film is Written and Directed by Johannes Roberts whose previous films include 2016's 'The Other Side of the Door', 2017's '47 Metres Down', and 2019's '47 Metres Down : Uncaged'. This film serves as a reboot of the 'Resident Evil' film series and the seventh live-action film overall, which was loosely based on the video game series of the same name. Since 'Resident Evil' first appeared in 2002, this franchise has seen 'Apocalypse' in 2004, 'Extinction' in 2007, 'Afterlife' in 2010, 'Retribution' in 2012 and 'The Final Chapter' in 2017, and together with this latest instalment the series has so far racked up US$1.253B at the global Box Office from combined production budgets of US$313M. Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland, with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, a group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night. Starring Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper and Neal McDonough, the film saw its World Premier in Paris in mid-November, went on release in the US on 24th November, in the UK last week, has so far grossed US$25M off the back of a US$25M production budget and has garnered mixed Reviews. 

'SWORD ART ONLINE PROGRESSIVE : ARIA OF A STARLESS NIGHT' (Rated M) - is a Japanese animated science fiction action adventure film based on the 'Sword Art Online : Progressive' light novels written by Reki Kawahara which serve as an expanded retelling of Sword Art Online's Aincrad storyline. The film is Directed by Ayako Kono, and is the second film after 'Sword Art Online The Movie : Ordinal Scale' of the Sword Art Online series. The film depicts the story of the encounter between young swordsman Kirito and high school student Asuna, covering the events on Aincrad's first floor, and in particular Asuna's initial struggle to cope with the realities of being trapped inside her new world - that of the game of Sword Art Online where thousands of players have already died. The film Premiered in Japan in late October. 

With five new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Wednesday 26th December 2018.

As 2018 draws to a close and thoughts turn to a happy, healthy and successful New Year for everyone, it is also that time of year when Awards Season goes into overdrive, well & truly! The first two months of 2019 sees more notable film and television awards than you could possibly poke a stick at, and its a wonder that the movie and TV business functions at all with all the pomp and ceremony, back slapping, acceptance speeches and lavish gala presentations, dinners and glitzy gatherings that the who's who of the industry seem to attend at this time of year. In the meantime, to all my readers, Best Wishes to you all for a very Happy New Year, thanks for your support in 2018, and let's do it all over again in 2019!

So mark up in your diary, the count down to the mother of them all, The Oscar's at the back end of February, and look out for the following awards ceremonies in the meantime :-
* 4th January 2019 - the 8th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) International Awards from the Mondrian Hotel, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
* 6th January 2019 - the 76th Golden Globe Awards hosted by Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg from the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California.
* 13th January 2019 - the 24th Critics Choice Awards from the Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, California.
* 19th January 2019 - the 30th Producers Guild of America Awards from the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California.
* 27th January 2019 - the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards hosted by Megan Mullally from the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California.
* 2nd February 2019 - the 71st Directors Guild of America Awards from the Hollywood & Highland Centre, Los Angeles, California.
* 2nd February 2019 - the 46th Annie Awards from the UCLA Royce Hall, Burbank, California.
* 10th February 2018 - the 72nd British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
* 17th February 2019 - the 71st Writers Guild of America Awards hosted by Chelsea Peretti from the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California.
* 19th February 2019 - the 23rd Satellite Awards from the InterContinental Hotel, Century City, Los Angeles, California.
* 23rd February 2019 - the 34th Independent Spirit Awards hosted by Aubrey Plaza from Santa Monica Beach, California.
* 24th February 2019 - the 91st Academy Awards from the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A host is yet to be confirmed following Kevin Hart's swift departure in early December.

This week there are five new release movies coming to your local Odeon on Boxing Day. Kicking off with the next instalment in the DCEU that sees our amphibious hero go head to head and toe to toe (or should that be tail to tail and fin to fin) against his brother and another mortal enemy for his right to rule over the seven seas and his ancestral home. We then have a change of pace and turn to a love story against the odds set amidst political upheaval in 1950's Poland in this highly acclaimed and much awarded foreign language offering. Attention then turns to a bio-pic of the very recent past concerning the Vice President of the USA and his political manoeuvrings that still resonate to this day. Next up is a mystery comedic film concerning a dynamic English super-sleuthing duo of yesteryear who get caught up in a murderous plot involving Queen Victoria. We then wrap up the week with a CGI animated sequel to a 2012 film that sees our titular hero enter the rabbit hole that is the interweb to fix and on-line game, and almost cause a meltdown in the process.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'AQUAMAN' (Rated M) - here comes the much hyped, eagerly awaited and keenly anticipated sixth film in the DC Extended Universe, the third live action film starring 'Aquaman' after 2016's 'Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice' and 2017's 'The Justice League', and the first film in which this title character gets his own feature length outing. Development for an 'Aquaman' film first began way back in 2004 but eventually amounted to nothing until ten years later when a script was commissioned and the following year Aussie James Wan was hired to Direct. The character incidentally first appeared in 'More Fun Comics' in 1941 as a back up feature but later in the '50's and '60's due to his rising popularity became a founding member of 'The Justice League' and in the '90's he was taken a lot more seriously again by those writers depicting his role as the head of Atlantis and King of the Seven Seas. This film saw its London World Premier at the end of November, went on release in China in early December breaking various records, has so far grossed US$489M having been released in the US on 21st December, off the back of a Budget at circa US$180M, and has generated mixed or average Reviews so far. A sequel is already in the early stages of development.

At some point in the very dim and distant past, the city of Atlantis was once home to the most advanced civilisation on Earth. Now submerged beneath the ocean, Atlantis is an underwater kingdom ruled by the power-hungry King Orm (Patrick Wilson). With a vast army at his disposal, Orm plans to unite the seven underwater kingdoms by force if necessary, and then declare war on the surface world out of the belief that humanity is responsible for polluting the seas (seems like a reasonable enough belief to me!!) Standing in his way is Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), Orm's half-human, half-Atlantean brother and true heir to the throne. With help from royal counselor Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Aquaman must retrieve the legendary Trident of Atlan and embrace his destiny as protector of the oceans deep. Also starring Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Graham McTavish, Temuera Morrison and Julie Andrews lends her voice talents.

'COLD WAR' (Rated M) - here we have a highly acclaimed Polish foreign language film that is Directed and Co-Written by Pawel Pawlikowski, and said to be loosely inspired by the lives of the Director's parents during the Cold War years of the 1950's in Poland. So far the film has won 15 awards and been nominated for a further 24 including being screened in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where Pawlikowski took out the award for Best Director. It has also been selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards to be held in late February 2019. For its brief running time of just 85 minutes, the film is set against a backdrop of the Cold War years in Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris, depicting an impossible love story in impossible times between a musical director Wiktor Warski (Tomasz Kot) who discovers a young singer Zuzanna Lichon (Joanna Kulig), and follows their subsequent love story over the years. The film was made for under US$5M, has so far grossed US11M and has received widespread Critical acclaim.

'VICE' (Rated M) - this American biographical comedy offering is helmed by Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Actor Adam McKay and has already created a certain amount of buzz around the awards circuit having so far picked up five award wins, six nominations and a further 26 nods of yet to be announced awards including six Golden Globe nominations to be awarded in early January 2019. The story here starts with Governor George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) of Texas who chooses Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 American Presidential election. Cheney's impressive resume takes in time as White House Chief of Staff, House Minority Whip and Defence Secretary, and as such is no stranger to the political arena. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country . . .  and the world in ways which still resonate to this day. Also starring Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Tyler Perry as Colin Powell, Bill Pullman as Nelson Rockefeller, Bill Camp as Gerald Ford with Jesse Plemmons, Amy Adams, Alison Pill, Eddie Marsan, Shea Whigham and LisaGay Hamilton. The film cost US$60M to produce, and is released in the US this week too.

'HOLMES AND WATSON' (Rated M) - here we have another take on that famed 19th Century British sleuth pairing created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. This time, this American mystery comedy offering is Directed and Written for the screen by Etan Cohen and stars Will Ferrell as Holmes and John C. Reilly as Watson. Costing US$42M to make, the film is released in the US on 25th December, and the story here surrounds our intrepid Super Sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his trusted sidekick Dr. Watson as they investigate a murder at Buckingham Palace. They quickly learn that the clock is counting down on four days in which they have to crack the case, before Queen Victoria herself becomes the next victim of criminal mastermind James Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes). Also starring Rob Brydon, Hugh Laurie, Rebecca Hall, Kelly Macdonald, Pam Ferris and Lauren Lapkus.

'RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET' (Rated PG) - in 2012 Walt Disney released 'Wreck it Ralph' - a computer animated comedy film that went onto receive 33 award wins and another 42 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, as well as collecting a US$471M Box Office haul off the back of a US$165M budget outlay. Now in late 2018 we have the sequel as Directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston who also Co-Wrote the story. Starring much of the voice cast reprising their roles plus new voice talent this time around, the film here centers around video game bad guy Ralph (John C. Reilly) and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) who must risk it all by traveling into the World Wide Web in search of a replacement part to save Vanellope's video game, 'Sugar Rush'. Finding themselves way in over their heads, Ralph and Vanellope rely on the citizens of the internet (aka 'the netizens') to help navigate their way, including an entrepreneur named Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), who is the head algorithm and the heart and soul of trend-making site BuzzzTube. Also starring the voice work of Gal Gadot, Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Ed O'Neill, Jane Lynch, Hamish Blake and numerous others, this film also cost US$175M to Produce and has so far taken US$308M and has received generally positive Critical acclaim.

With five new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE BIG SHORT : Saturday 6th February 2016

I saw 'THE BIG SHORT' over the weekend and loved this quirky fascinating insight into the financial crisis that rocked world economies back in late 2008 - the effects of which have only begun to subside in more recent years. This is a biographical tongue in cheek comedy drama written for the big screen and Directed by Adam McKay, and based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis about the build up of the housing market from 2006 to 2008 and the mortgage bubble wrapped around it. The film cost US$28M to make and so far has grossed US$105M since its release at Christmas time, and here in Australia on 14th January. 'The Big Short' is nominated for five Academy Awards and five BAFTA's in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale, Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay, with decisions pending. It was nominated for four Golden Globes but failed to win any amidst stiff competition.

To the average man in the street the financial crisis and the events leading up to it eight or so years ago now will be a fading memory and a bunch of financial gobbledegook that would be almost impossible to get your head around, or understand the banking speak that goes with the territory down on Wall Street. What Director and scribe Adam McKay has done though is bring together a strong ensemble cast, witty dialogue, and almost a beginners guide to the financial crisis delivered by an overarching narration delivered by one of the central characters, Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), and several guest appearances delivered by named personalities to explain things in lay-mans terms when it all begins to get too much - Margot Robbie in a bath tub sipping Champagne, Anthony Bourdain in his kitchen cooking fish off-cuts, and Selena Gomez at a blackjack table. Cleverly done!

What we have here is Dr. Michael Burry (Christian Bale) playing a no-personality, anti-social, eccentric glass eyed hedge fund manager who is a whizz with numbers but little else and from behind his computer screens in 2005 determined that at some near future date the U.S. housing market propped up on sub-prime loans would collapse with catastrophic effects. Realising that he could potentially make big profits when that day inevitably comes, he persuades the big banks and financial institutions up & down Wall Street, to bet against the housing market when the bottom drops out of it as he predicts. He lobbies six financial institutions who all laugh and scoff at the absurdity of his proposals believing that the housing market is 'the bedrock upon which our great nation is built', and such an event has never occurred before in all of American history. Thinking that this is easy money the six firms all take his money amounting to a collective US$1.3B. All that Burry now has to do is sit back and wait for that day to come, all the while defending his actions to his Clients and his Board who have no faith at all in a housing market collapse and begin to withdraw their investments from his funds as he sees the value of his business steadily decline over the ensuing months.

In the meantime, Vennett is providing us with voice-over narrative to explain to us mere mortals what is going on here. Vennett however, has caught wind of Burry's actions one night in a bar from a banker celebrating a great win earlier that day from a client wanting to bet against the housing market . . . can you imagine the absurdity of that, and easy money as far as the Banker is concerned, so pass the Dom! Vennett, though can see that there is more to this than meets the eye and so digs further and realises that Burry is right. He then decides to take a piece of that pie too and invests for himself. As a result of a misplaced call to the offices of hedge fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell, putting in another great turn playing is straight and serious as in 'Foxcatcher'), Vennett pitches what he knows to Baum for a potential bonus come pay day which could be huge if Baum is prepared to invest and go large. Baum does some further digging and realises too that there is something in this and jumps in with both feet having realised that groups of low level dodgy housing loans are lumped together and awarded AAA ratings because the rating agencies are dishonest fraudsters themselves who have no integrity what so ever and are also driven by greed and profits just like the banks, investors and financiers.

Meanwhile, two novice investors Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Geller (John Magaro), who operate out of their garage office at home have successfully turned US$110K four years ago into US$30M today, pick up a paper of Vennett's by coincidence when they pitch themselves to one of the Wall Street's big six and get knocked back very unceremoniously. They study Vennett's unsuccessful pitch to the bank and realise too that there is something in it, and so enlist the support of friend and mentor Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), an eccentric banker who became disillusioned with Wall Street and turned his back on that system several years earlier. Rickert can see it too, and so agrees to help the two investor friends and opens some doors on Wall Street for them, and provide the advice & guidance needed.

As 2007 comes and goes the default on the sub-prime market begins to escalate with the writing on the wall becoming more clear for our four key protagonists, although all does not going according to plan as the power brokers on Wall Street and the Ratings Agencies seem to ignore the inevitable. They begin to feel increasingly uneasy but hold their ground as more stupidity, absurdity and denial on the part of the banks is realised too. At the same time though, they all begin to realise that when the inevitable crash does come they are set to profit immensely whilst millions of others will not. And so within a few short months the proverbial brown stuff hits the fan with the demise of several long standing Wall Street financial institutions and many of its fat cat investment bankers, mortgage brokers, and hedge fund managers now joining the unemployment queue.

In the final scenes we learn that following September 2008 when the financial crash came eight million people across the U.S.lost their homes and six million lost their jobs. Burry turned a 489% profit from his investment as the market did exactly what he had predicted three years earlier. Baum made US$1B for his company and US$200M personally, Shipley and Geller made US$80M and Vennett received his US$47M bonus cheque, thanks very much. Do we applaud their efforts and their foresight in the light of such a crisis - no, we do not; and do we feel sorry for them - no, we do not. Those few that profited do not celebrate their good fortune here having seen it coming while 99.99% of others could not, or chose not to. The weight & magnitude of the crisis had such far reaching consequences that no one could have foreshadowed what a messed up, stupid, absurd and corrupt system they work in at the expense of the millions in that mortgage sector who were for the most part largely unsuspecting and ignorant of what they were buying into.

A compelling film that grabbed my attention from the opening scenes. Bale, Carell and Gosling are standouts here with sound support from others in lesser roles including Marisa Tomei and Rafe Spall. Fascinating insights into what otherwise could have been a very dry, dull documentary style film, that McKay and his strong assembled cast deliver with relatively easy to follow narrative, relateable characters who all have their flaws, sharp and witty dialogue that helps the flow of understanding, and an engaging, entertaining engrossing take on a subject that touched us all in some way in very recent memory. I wonder what lessons were really learned from it!

   

-Steve, at Odeon Online-