The Big Short

Dustin: 4.5 of 5 stars Nick: 4.5 of 5 stars Average: 4.5 of 5 stars (Tweety canary)

Dustin: The Big Short is the true story about how several groups of savvy investors, including two of the greatest businessmen of all time (Michael Scott and Bruce Wayne), managed to predict the housing market crash and reap massive profits from it.

Nick: I’m not sure if I have ever said this, but this movie deserves to win the Oscar for Best Sound Editing! Or Sound Mixing? There are many scenes where levels of sound drop or add while making way for a new sound that adds another layer for that only to be dropped and add another layer of sound on top of that one. Since the first thing I’m praising is sound editing you might think this movie is a dud, but far from it, and I’m only getting started with the praising.

Dustin: Yeah, when a movie buff praises a technical aspect of a film before the story, normal people can probably guess the movie is awful. But we’ll let that slide. The movie is great in every respect. It takes a dry and confusing topic (finance), and creates a compelling narrative with interesting, relatable characters and an exciting story arch.

Nick: Is anyone better at becoming their character than Christian Bale?

Dustin: I assume that’s a rhetorical question. But the answer is no.

Nick: In every movie he is in this question pops into my head because I stop seeing Bale and start believing he truly is a different person. I love actors like George Clooney, but I never see beyond Clooney. Bale is so phenomenal in this film in such a short and sporadic amount of time it’s somewhat frightening how much depth he is able to give his character.

Dustin: Christian Bale is one of the few actors who can draw me to a movie just by his presence. He immerses himself so completely in his characters, whether he’s shedding pounds (The Machinist), putting on weight (American Hustle), getting ripped (Batman Begins), getting younger (Empire of the Sun), his dedication comes through and you believe him as the character. Like his performance in The Fighter, I totally forgot I was watching the same actor who played Batman.

Nick: Did you like the breaking of the fourth wall (talking to the camera)? How often they used it and how they used it?

Dustin: I think in a movie dealing with a topic average audience members wouldn’t really understand, it was unavoidable to break the fourth wall. Most of the time is was helpful and not very distracting. Ryan Gosling’s character narrates almost the entire time, and this is established early. But other instances were distracting and took me out of the movie. For example, when Selena Gomez explains a sort of stock option by directly addressing the audience as herself seemed a bit gratuitous. This is still better than trying to explain it to the audience through the characters’ dialogue, which would be awkward as they told each other things they already understood for the benefit of some unseen observer (us).

Nick: While I thought it was a funny idea to cut to Margot Robbie in a bathtub to explain the technical jargon of Wall Street, I don’t think it added anything to the film besides being a funny idea. Which, for these cut away scenes, Gosling breaks the fourth wall to get to the next scene for that to break the fourth wall. While it worked, I just think it would have been better if there was an animated clip with Gosling’s character talking over it, using something from everyday life as an example to describe what is going on. The movie goes at such a fast pace and these actors (Robbie, Gomez, etc) talk at such a fast pace to keep that pace alive it was hard for me to follow.  Though it might be that I saw this on Christmas day and the mimosas were catching up to me.

Dustin: The movie did a good job indicting the real villains of the financial crisis. I remember early on pundits were pointing to people like Christian Bale’s character, the people who saw the crash coming and set themselves up to profit from it, as the bad guys. But the movie showed these people went out of their ways to tell the banks, government and accrediting agencies what was going to happen, and they were dismissed, ignored or laughed out of the room. The real villains were the banks who set up the house of cards that came crashing down, and not caring because they knew the government/taxpayers would bail them out, so there would be no real consequences to their actions.

I remember in April 2005, I was sitting with my then-girlfriend on the floor in her apartment listening to talk radio. Some brain donor on the radio pointed out the rising number of first-time homeowners as proof of how great the economy was. I said something like, “Wait until they default on their loans in a few years to see what kind of mess we’re in.” This was just one month after the events depicted at the beginning of this film.

Of course at the time I had no idea how severe the crisis would be, and it didn’t occur to me to place options on the housing market. But I remember in late 2008 mentioning to a friend, How come I could see this coming, but the experts didn’t. Now we know the experts did see it coming, but did nothing about it.

Nick: There were many parts in the film where you didn’t know whether to laugh or feel an insight of terror. When Brad Pitt’s character yelled at the young uns about their gleeful celebrating on becoming rich because they didn’t understand what that meant for millions of Americans. Though that part also made me laugh because it made me think of Pitt’s character in 12 Years a Slave where he is the one insightful white man who wants nothing to do with the sad plot of the film he is in, and I wondered at this moment in The Big Short if Pitt was a producer of the movie (like 12 Years a Slave) and sure enough he is. Brad Pitt starring as The Voice of Reason.

Dustin: I thought the same thing, but then I thought it was kind of funny, because I saw Pitt’s character here as something of a parody of himself/other characters in his recent films. His character is an insightful do-gooder, but portrayed as a little too neurotic and a little too out there compared to his character in 12 Years a Slave. I wonder if it was unintentional, or he was doing a parody of himself.

The Big Short is a great movie--Adam McKay’s best film about shady financial affairs since Get Hard.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Dustin: 4 of 5 stars Nick: 3 of 5 stars Average: 3.5 of 5 stars (Live canary)

Dustin: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is the long-awaited sequel to 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This time around, Burgundy and his plucky news team have landed themselves a slot on GNN, the world’s first 24-hour news channel, and are instantly launched to stardom.

Nick, how would you say this sequel compares to the first?

Nick: When I saw Anchorman in theaters it marked my first and last time of falling out of my seat from laughing too hard. Then I didn't see the film again for five years because everyone quoted it enough to make me never want to watch it again. In the world of Anime there is a term known as “fan service.” This film is wholly fan service. It seems almost every set-up from the original is rehashed here and sometimes that worked and sometimes it fell flat--large fight among news teams, Brian Fantana’s random extensive collection of womanizing items, and, of course, some good ol’ jazz flute (pronounced with a soft J).

Dustin: There was some fan service here, the epic battle being the most noticeable. But I felt like this stuff didn't really come in until the third act. The first two parts of the movie were still original enough. And being a fan of the first film, I enjoyed the callbacks to it, and didn't think it was overdone.

Nick: The callbacks didn't bother me until the fight scene because it felt so forced and was so out of place for what Burgundy was trying to achieve at that moment. Maybe if the fight was 30 minutes earlier in the film when Harry Lime is the actual antagonist. Also, the joke about Lime being forced to change his name to Lame went on way too long with little actually coming from the situation.

Dustin: I liked how long that joke got played out. It was mildly amusing at first, got old quickly, then after awhile, it became funny again, especially as Ron Burgundy refused to budge on letting him change his name back to Lime.

I agree as a viewer I had kind of moved on from Harry Lame by the time he showed up for the battle, and I recognized that battle as being included as a somehow even more overblown version of the original. It was one of several sequences from the movie that could have been cut without missing much. The other being the dinner with his black boss/girlfriend’s family. While funny, but it didn't advance the story in the slightest, it felt like an interlude that broke up the scene between Burgundy and his girlfriend in the taxi.

Nick: Most of this movie were scenes that didn't add up to anything, but that’s how you know it’s made purely for the fans of the original. Although I feel this wasn't that good of a movie and I probably won’t watch it again, I found it extremely enjoyable. The scene where he assembles the news team is as good if not better than the sequence in the original. Champ is a fast food restaurant owner whose chicken might not actually be chicken.

Dustin: I really loved the “assembling the team” sequence. They take their time reintroducing each member of the news team, making each introduction special. You feel like you are inviting old friends into your home again.

I thought this movie was every bit as good as the first, even though it went too far at times. I definitely laughed a lot this time, and enjoyed it more upon first viewing.

I actually didn't much care for the original when I first saw it. I thought it was strange and only mildly amusing. Then, a few days later, something strange happened. I found I kept quoting the movie and couldn't get the characters out of my head. Since then, I've seen it more times than I care to admit on cable, and really love it.

Nick: The original was the beginning of the new irreverent comedy regime. Most people didn't get it, although it eventually became one of the highest selling DVDs of all time. The new film couldn't feel original and that hurt it, but at the same time I’m not sure if it’s any worse. The one thing that was detracting was that the scenes had no particular order. Most scenes after assembling the team just seemed to be forced into a certain time slot within the film. Especially the “Black Family” dinner scene you mentioned earlier. Also, I wish Harris Ford was in this movie more! He would have been a good antagonist.

Dustin: I agree Harrison Ford was a cameo at best. He shows up again later in the film, but I won’t say when to avoid spoilers, but even then he doesn't get much to do.

I still thought this one was original enough. One sequence that could have been cut from this two-hour comedy without missing a beat was when Ron Burgundy goes blind and has to adjust to a new way of life, and even nurses a captured shark back to health. It was mostly pointless, but it was also my favorite part of the movie. I've been singing “The Ballad of Doby” ever since.

Nick: That was also my favorite part of the film and one I thought should have contained a jazz flute solo. Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) was a major part of the original film while being mostly unimportant in the follow up. Applegate did such a wonderful job in the original it was a disappointment for me she lost screentime.

Dustin: I thought she got enough screen time here, but she didn't drive the plot as much as she did in the original.

One character I thought got too much screentime here was Brick. Steve Carell was a little too over-the-top this time around, screaming and yelling. He got obnoxious at times, wooing Kristen Wiig for the second time this year (see Despicable Me 2).

Nick: COMPLETELY AGREED. Brick Tamland is a secondary character at best, standing in the back and saying or doing something unusual, and that works, but giving his character a love interest really hurt the pace of the film.

Dustin: I liked Brick because we had our own Brick in Kansas City: Don Harman from Fox 4 WDAF-TV, who unfortunately committed suicide.

The first film was like an affectionate send-up of goofy local news teams. This one was more of a criticism of sensational 24-hour news and commercial interests controlling content. I thought it may have been more relevant in that sense than the first one.

Nick: The film could have been something more if it explored the negatives of Ron reporting unimportant news and the owner wanting to control the news to his own means, but the film never gets to anywhere. It always starts a new sub-plot that never gets summed up.

Dustin: I was expecting that to become the plot, given the gravity of the situation. But it gets resolved in a very easy manner and quickly brushed aside.

Did you hear a lot of people walking out of the theater at the end saying, “That was stupid?”

Nick: Nope. The audience gave the film an overwhelmingly positive response.

Dustin: I heard about a half dozen people saying, “That was stupid,” “That sure got stupid in a hurry,” “Why did you drag me to that?”

Anchorman 2, like its predecessor, is an aggressively original comedy, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a laugh who appreciates Will Ferrell’s brand of humor.

Despicable Me 2

Dustin: 3.5 of 5 stars Nick: 3.5 of 5 stars Average: 3.5 of 5 stars (Live canary)

Nick: Gru and his Minions return in Despicable Me 2, but this time as heroes. I honestly didn't catch what they were trying to stop, some sort of purple goo that turns cute bunnies into giant purple bunnies that growl, but the lack of plot won’t hurt the enjoyment you will have while watching the film.

Dustin: I also had a hard time trying to figure out the villain’s plan. He wants to take over the world, but by using a chemical that turns living organisms into mindless monsters who aren't really under his control. It’s kind of like the underpants gnomes from South Park. A: Turn animals into purple monsters. B: ? C: Take over the world.

Nick: Nice. Since Robot Chicken and Family Guy have grown in popularity there has been a shift in not caring about showing how A gets to B and then how B gets to C. I was watching This Is 40 the other day, and it just goes from scene to scene making you laugh, but the scene before rarely sets up the scene after. The same can be said here. Every scene solely exists to make you laugh.

Dustin: I think that was my main problem with this film. It did have a plot and twists, but there were some random gags that didn't advance the story or develop character. They were just pointless asides. As fun as they were, they shouldn't have been included.

Nick: This film really did feel more like the proposed Minions spin-off than it did a sequel to Despicable Me.

Dustin: I haven’t seen the first film, so I didn't really get the Minions. I understood Gru (Steve Carell) was a bad guy who’s now good, and I didn't have trouble understanding what was going on. The Minions just didn't do much for me, but I could understand the movie makers’ intent was to spotlight them. Their antics were funny at times, but I thought they could also be irritating and got too many scenes to themselves.

Nick: The Minions were understated in the first film, so they worked. In this film they are front and center, but don’t carry the plot at all, so they go unused. In the first film they were also used for their antics, but the film didn't focus on them. Now we have the minions Dave and Stuart, who the film follows as much as Gru's girls, but, like the girls, lack depth. I hope for the Minions spin-off they are able to develop an actual story and not just have cute creatures, that are meant to sell toys, doing adorable things.

Dustin: It sounds like I might like the first film better. Not only did this spend too much time on the Minions, it also relied too heavily on slapstick humor, which young children will laugh at, but adults taking them to the movies will find tedious. I don’t think kids’ movies need lowest-common-denominator humor to appeal to kids. Toy Story didn't have much of that, but it was still enjoyable and humorous.

Nick: To be honest, I enjoyed this film as much as I did Despicable Me, but for different reasons entirely. Despicable Me 2 has more laughs, while the original has an endearing plot that had me fall for it. My biggest problem, and this might be considered nit-picking, with animated films outside of Pixar and Studio Ghibli is lack of attention to detail. In this film, when Gru turns off the light after saying goodnight to the kids, I looked for the switch and didn't see it. While in the first film they did what lazy filmmakers do and forgo spatial awareness like when Gru is about to be killed he jumps into an air vent yet there was no vent there in the scene before. Maybe that just annoys me because I grew up admiring Pixar and, especially, Studio Ghibli.

Dustin: I agree the animation isn't quite as good in non-Disney/Pixar films. But it was still good here. I saw it in 2-D, but I could tell what was supposed to be 3-D, and I imagine it probably looked good in 3-D too.

Nick: The animation looks wonderful, but depth of detail is appreciated.

Dustin: I liked the characters and the animation of the characters for the most part. Gru's daughters were cute and enjoyable, and the relationship between Gru and Lucy developed nicely as well.  The studio made a good choice to make the characters look cartoonish and not too realistic, so we never got the “uncanny valley” feeling of Polar Express.

Nick: The relationship between Gru and his daughters was fantastic in the first film, but in this one, at least to me, they felt more like Minions. His oldest daughter, Margo, is in love with a boy, his second oldest, Edith, is a ninja in training, and his youngest, Agnes, just loves cuddly things. They don’t have much depth in this film. It was funny to realize while watching the second film that they all have what one would assume are “old lady” names. While I enjoyed the development of Gru and Lucy’s love story, I didn't really enjoy Kristen Wiig's voice work as Lucy.

Illustrating the theme that change is difficult, the filmmakers had Gru do some minor evil things that probably brought out the biggest laughs from me. His constant dismissal of his neighbor who kept trying to set him up with her friends was a nice touch to show him assimilating to normal suburban life.

Dustin: One thing I appreciated about this film that would be lost on the child demographic is that this movie played out a bit like a spy/techno thriller. They used some visual cues from Bond films, such as the submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me, and the cat-stroking villain from You Only Live Twice (although it’s not a cat here). There was also an especially funny callback to Entrapment.

Nick: The Sean Connery film? Which scene are you referring to?

Dustin: When Gru and Lucy break into the Eduardo’s restaurant, she suspects there may be a laser-triggered alarm, like in Entrapment, and blows smoke around the room to reveal the lasers. Gru correctly tells her a Mexican restaurant isn't going to have a laser-triggered alarm system. She blows around the smoke anyway, revealing nothing. The steady, distant angle made it look even more ridiculous, and it played well.

Nick: Was there not a scene in Steve Carell’s Get Smart that did the same thing? I feel as if that scene has been done a lot before, though I agree that it plays well here.

Dustin: They might have parodied it in Get Smart, and paid tribute to Steve Carell’s other movie by parodying it here too, but the first time I saw it was in Entrapment.

Would you recommend this movie?

Nick: Most assuredly. Film is first and foremost about entertaining, and Despicable Me 2 delivers that, but maybe with too much focus on minor characters such as the Minions.

Dustin: I would recommend it for children. The kids in the audience laughed a lot more than I did, and they aren't so demanding on things like plot. But this is a film the parents will enjoy sitting through as well.