THE BIG SHORT (2016)

Genre: Comedy / Drama
Running Length: 2:12

Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, John Magaro, Finn Wittrock, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, Jeremy Strong

Director: Adam McKay

Screenplay: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, based on the book by Michael Lewis

"Three great forces rule the world; stupidity, fear and greed." Albert Einstein

THE BIG SHORT is one of those rare films which fuses comedy and drama so effectively. And we're not talking about a light subject matter here. It's about the burst of the housing credit bubble in 2008 which brought about the devastating global financial meltdown where tens of thousands of people lost their homes and jobs. To be fair, the comedy showcased here is of the sharp comedic edge and wit genre and not the silly LOL humour one has come to expect from McKay's work. All in all, this is a serious comedy presented in an unconventional filmmaking technique. And it works brilliantly. 

This movie (which is based on true events) tells the story of a few group of investors which saw the opportunity to profit off the imminent collapse of the housing market. This interesting narrative is merged flawlessly with a semi-documentary presentation of what happened leading to the crash. Usually for movies with an ensemble cast, the character development will suffer as there's just too many things happening. But not for this film, as the main characters (Bale and Carell) are fully fleshed out and is ably supported by the other big-name actors. Speaking of the two actors, Carell's performance is equally compelling as Bale's. 

Credit is given to the screenplay for successfully explaining something so complicated ("credit default swaps", "collateralized debt obligations") using object lessons and cameo appearances such as Anthony Bordain and Selena Gomez - employed in a hilarious way. And yet, movie goers are also caught up with the lives of these individual characters. 

With so many things happening, it's a miracle that The Big Short emerges triumphant and didn't fall apart. It's educational, highly engaging and energetic. And I couldn't help but to feel a deep anger when I walked out of the cinema hall as lo and behold, how little has changed today since the devastation of 2008. Oh, and did I say this was a comedy? 

Rating: 9/10

ANT-MAN (2015)

 
Genre: Action/Science fiction
Running Length: 1:57
Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Peña, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, T.I., David Dastmalchian
Director: Peyton Reed
Screenplay: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd

Marvel's ANT-MAN is a tight and smaller scale movie (see what I just did there...) compared to the other epic and god-like superhero movies. And it packs a lot of heart too. In fact, it seems to share the same template as last year's surprise hit Guardians of the Galaxy:

• It goes for fun over dark brooding drama. 
• It's bright and uses a similar bold color palette. 
• Just like Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd is a likeable and humorous hero (heck, there's even a similar ripped six pack abs side profile shot of the actors in their respective movie trailers)      

I was a little skeptical when I watched the first trailer and not knowing much about the comic book, I thought the name "Ant-Man" was a tad too goofy. But boy was I wrong! The ability to shrink to a size of an insect is actually brilliant and lethal at the same time. The idea is so dangerous that if this technology falls into the hands of the wrong people, it would have serious global consequences. And that's actually the premise of the movie; to break into a high security premise to steal and destroy this technology before our main villain sells it to a bigger bad-der organization. Think of it like the Ocean's Eleven heist of Marvel movies.

What worked in this movie is its great cast. Rudd's comic timing is perfect and he's generally a nice guy who's trying to do the right thing for his daughter. Evangeline Lilly gets me everytime whenever she plays a strong character with scenes where she breaks down emotionally. Michael Pena steals every scene he’s in. And of course, there's Michael Douglas. He still has charisma and he oozes personality. And the action scenes are never too loud and bombastic. The climatic fight scene between Ant-Man and the baddie is ingenious as it switches between their perspective and that of normal-size human scale (and it also involves Thomas The Tank Engine Train). And kudos to the effective use of effects. When our hero shrinks down to size, his surroundings look unbelievably detailed and real.

Indeed, less is more.

Rating: 7.5/10