Concussion Preview

Mike Webster was a center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1974 to 1990.  Nicknamed "Iron Mike", some say Webster is the best center in NFL history.  He died at the age of 50 and was the first NFL player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by multiple concussions.  Concussion focuses on Nigerian pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) who first diagnosed Webster (David Morse) and embarked on a study of other NFL players.  The results of his findings put him at odds with the NFL and some of his fellow doctors as his efforts to bring light to the problem are met with stiff competition to keep him quiet.

Omalu, under the supervision of Dr. Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks), believed the NFL would be pleased to hear of his discovery so they could prevent it from happening any more.  Wecht believed Omalu would ultimately become an American hero.  Instead, he was met with opposition from the NFL, from fellow doctors including Dr. Julian Bailes (Alec Baldwin), and even received death threats against himself and his family, forcing Omalu to make the impossible decision to continue pressing for his findings to become public knowledge or to retreat for his safety and the safety of those he loves.  

Webster's death was officially reported as being due to heart failure.  Omalu commented that "cardiac arrest may be how he died, but not why".  More players died, but the NFL continued to silence and shun Omalu until 2009 when Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver Chris Henry was diagnosed with CTE after his death at the age of 26.

Movies like Concussion are tough.  It's based on a true story, but without significant digging, it's hard to know how much of the movie is true and how much has been embellished or changed to make it more of a movie-going draw.  The all-star cast would indicate that enough of Hollywood's big hitters felt this was a good enough story to tell.  It's a story that has the NFL vigorously figuring out new equipment, new training methods, new treatment and new rules to help prevent CTE from continuing to take lives.  I'm predicting 3.5 stars.  A movie I'll enjoy, hopefully be able to discern between fact and fiction, and may or may not make it to my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

The Big Short Review

3.0 Stars

Based on the same housing economic meltdown in 2008, The Big Short covers the story from the different viewpoint of a few who saw it coming.  Michael Burry (Christian Bale), was a physician and hedge fund manager, creator of Scion Capital LLC.  He was the first to recognize the impending doom of the careless practices by financial institutions and bet heavy on the housing market bubble to burst in a big way.  He was so confident in his analysis that he used $1 Billion of his investors money.  Some of his investors were more than displeased and pulled out in 2006 and 2007.  When the market crashed in 2008, Burry profited $100 million for himself and another $700 for his remaining investors.  He was quoted as saying, "I don't go out looking for good shorts.  I'm spending my time looking for good longs."

Banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gossling) and another hedge fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell) caught wind of what Burry was up to and jumped in as well.  Some young investors accidentally discovered what Vennett was up to and talked Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), an ex stocks trader, into taking part. 

The Big Short was nominated for Best Picture of the Year and Bale was nominated for his supporting role.  It won for Best Adapted Screenplay.  The preview looks to be a stinging look at the corporate greed that rocked the world with a bit of humor as a small group forms a bit of a financial coup.  However, the humor is either going to be one of those "it's funnier because it's true" situations, or it will illicit a sort of "ha-ha-ouch" at just how crippling their ignorance and greed was, and still remains today.

I anticipated rating this 3.5 stars.  Throughout the movie, I dropped down to 2.5, but raised it up to a final verdict of 3.0 stars.  It's entertaining, well-acted, but sometimes hard to follow.  What helped me raise it up was that the movie self-admits that it's own subject matter is boring and confusing.  It takes breaks from the film in unique ways to help those of us not in the know what exactly is going on.  I was still confused at parts during the film, but those moments of "banking for dummies" definitely helped.  These breaks are done through an artistic method called "breaking the fourth wall".  In theatre and in film, when you as an audience member are looking at a scene with 3 walls in a room, the fourth wall is assumed to be where the camera is positioned.  You take it for granted that there is a fourth wall and don't think about the cameras and cables and directors and monitors, etc that are actually there.  When an actor on stage acknowledges the audience by speaking directly to them, or in a movie when you are addressed by the actor breaking away from the movie, they are ultimately admitting that there is no fourth wall, that this is just a play or a movie and that there are people watching in one way or another.  Gossling's character helps to drive the story much like a narrator in a Shakespearean play who introduces the plot with a prologue, has a couple recapping monologues and then sums it up with a prologue.  

 

Unfortunately for The Big Short, if you watched any television at all or were on the internet or picked up a paper in late 2008, most of the things covered in the movie, we already knew.  The banks started making more money off of mortgages by clumping them into bundles.  They were secure with the best ratings meaning that there was almost no chance the mortgages wouldn't be paid back.  The banks made a ton of money.  Eventually, housing for the qualified homeowners started to dry up and the bonuses started to shrink.  That's when they started lumping in some riskier mortgages in to the bundle.  No one did background checks and the mortgages written were only for a short introductory period that would then balloon into 200 to 300 per cent of the original payback rate.  When the introductory period ended and millions found they couldn't afford their payments, millions lost their homes and even more lost their jobs and the banks covered it all up.  When the truth was finally discovered, it was too late and the US Government saw no other way to limit and reverse the damages than to shell out billions in taxpayer money to the banks.  This money was used to then pay out big bonuses and only one person ever went to jail.  And the banks are still doing it today,  just with different names.  

 

The Big Short was very well-acted, entertaining, confusing, upsetting, but seeing it once was enough for me.  I might catch it on tv someday, but it won't be making it to my home collected, hence the 3.0 star rating.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

The Big Short Preview

In May of 2011, HBO Films released Too Big to Fail chronicling the bailout of the greedy and irresponsible financial institutions that brought about the biggest economic disaster in world history since the Great Depression.  In the fall of 2008, the market in the US fell over 700 points closing at below 10,000 for the first time in over 4 years.  On the same day, Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Iceland reported large economic losses as well.  President George Bush signed a TARP law (Troubled Asset Relief Program) as orchestrated by the US Treasury that gave over 700 Billion dollars to the top financial institutions.  To date, 958 companies received a piece of the taxpayer's money; of which, approximately $390 Billion has been repaid.

Based on the same economic meltdown, The Big Short covers the story from a different viewpoint.  Michael Burry (Christian Bale), was a physician and hedge fund manager, creator of Scion Capital LLC.  He was the first to recognize the impending doom of the careless practices by financial institutions and bet heavy on the housing market bubble to burst in a big way.  He was so confident in his analysis that he used $1 Billion of his investors money.  Some of his investors were more than displeased and pulled out in 2006 and 2007.  When the market crashed in 2008, Burry profited $100 million for himself and another $700 for his remaining investors.  He was quoted as saying, "I don't go out looking for good shorts.  I'm spending my time looking for good longs."

Banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gossling) and another hedge fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell) caught wind of what Burry was up to and jumped in as well.  Some young investors accidentally discovered what Vennett was up to and talked Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) into taking part.  The group collaborates and ultimately agrees on 3 things: First, what the banks had been doing was wrong both legally and morally; second, that the government and the banks are too caught up in the greed and profit and short term success that they don't see the fall coming; and finally, that they can take advantage of the banks' stupidity.

The Big Short was nominated for Best Picture of the Year and Bale was nominated for his supporting role.  It won for Best Adapted Screenplay.  The preview looks to be a stinging look at the corporate greed that rocked the world with a bit of humor as a small group forms a bit of a financial coup.  However, the humor is either going to be one of those "it's funnier because it's true" situations, or it will illicit a sort of "ha-ha-ouch" at just how crippling their ignorance and greed was, and still remains today.

I'm anticipating 3.5 stars.  It looks very well-written and superbly acted by an all-star cast.  It's a fascinating and upsetting story, but I also have a feeling that this will not be one I'm rushing out to add to my personal home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Spotlight Review

3.0 Stars

Spotlight refers to the group of investigative reporters who work for The Boston Globe.  The group has been there since the 1970 and will often spend months working on a single story.  In 2001, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) comes in from Florida as their new editor-in-chief and asks the current team to put their latest investigation on hold and look into allegations of a Catholic priest's sexual abuse against a minor and the potential cover-up.  Retiring editor Walter "Robbie" Robinson (Michael Keaton) and his team of reporters are hesitant at first, considering Baron to be an outsider just trying to stir things up.  Eventually Robbie and his investigators Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d'Arcy James) agree to the story and find the truth is much worse than one priest and one child.

My only concern was the potential for deep lulls in the movie pulling the investigation and interviews together for their story over the course of the 2 hour and 8 minute film.  The "lulls" of the investigation were actually the driving points of the film.  Each stone the team overturned revealed more abuses, more victims and more cover-up on what turned out to be a global scale.  I gave Spotlight an anticipatory 3.5 stars  as I had a feeling it would be entertaining, moving and bold, but probably one of those films that seeing it once or twice would be enough without feeling the need or desire to own it.  I actually lowered it half a star.  Again, it's tough to rate these movies on their creative license when they are based on true stories, however, the main purpose of these reviews is to gauge how accurately the film as portrayed in the preview.  The preview for Spotlight made it seem like religious leaders, politicians, lawyers and more would be vehemently blocking the team's investigation and story at every turn.  In truth, it really wasn't that difficult for them to find attorneys, victims, and even perpetrators who were willing to come forward to help them piece their story together.  There was a lot of talk about how powerful the church was and the reach of their control with friends in influential places, but little action to that effect throughout their digging.

Spotlight was, as anticipated, disgustingly moving and disturbing.  It was well-written and brilliantly acted by the entire team, but a bit less dramatic than the preview lead me to believe.  I enjoyed it, might watch it again, but most likely won't be making it to my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Spotlight Preview

In February 2016, Spotlight beat out The Revenant, Martian, Room, Mad Max, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn and The Big Short for Best Picture of the Year at the Oscars.  Spotlight refers to the group of investigative reporters who work for The Boston Globe.  The group has been there since the 1970 and will often spend months working on a single story.  In 2001, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) comes in from Florida as their new editor-in-chief and asks the current team to put their latest investigation on hold and look into allegations of a Catholic priest's sexual abuse against a minor and the potential cover-up.  Retiring editor Walter "Robbie" Robinson (Michael Keaton) and his team of reporters are hesitant at first, considering Baron to be an outsider just trying to stir things up.  Eventually Robbie and his investigators Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d'Arcy James) agree to the story and find the truth is much worse than one priest and one child.

In their pursuit of the truth, the Spotlight team must dig deeper and reach higher to discover just how much the Archdiocese knows about the scandal and what has, or more importantly has not, been done to eliminate such abuses.  While doing so, they try desperately to keep their findings a secret until they are ready to release their story so as not to be beat to the punch by competing agencies.  Their challenge grows as it's not just other news organizations they have to worry about, but powerful religious and political forces that will try to shut down their story.

Ruffalo and McAdams earned Oscar nominations for their supporting roles and Tom McCarthy was nominated for his work as the film's Director.  McCarthy and partner Josh Singer won the Oscar for best original screenplay.  The preview looks powerful, disturbing and awful.  The all-star cast looks like they will not disappoint in their performances and the story is one that would tear at anyone with a heart.  My only concern is the potential for deep lulls in the movie pulling the investigation and interviews together for their story over the course of the 2 hour and 8 minute film.  I'm giving Spotlight an anticipatory 3.5 stars.  I have a feeling it will be entertaining, moving and bold, but probably one of those films that seeing it once or twice is enough without feeling the need or desire to own it.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Creed Review

3.0 Stars

Creed is the 7th movie in the Rocky franchise and this time the Italian Stallion is training the son of his former enemy turned best friend, Apollo Creed.  Apollo died in Rocky IV during an exhibition match with a steroid-enhanced Soviet monster Ivan Drago.  His son, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), wasn't even born.  Today, he wants to follow in his late father's footsteps as a professional boxer.  He seeks the help of the man his father fought, the man his father trained, the man who beat his father and the man who beat the Russian who killed his father, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).  After some reluctance, Balboa agrees to train and mentor Adonis.

Creed has several pieces of all the previous Rocky movies.  The son of Apollo's glove man is now running Creed's gym.  There's running down the streets of Philadelphia.  Adonis has to deal with being the underdog and a much smaller opponent like in Rocky IV.  He trains like Rocky did in Rocky I.  He deals with adversity with his trainer like in Rocky III.  He starts his training in Mickey's old gym in Philly and winds up completing his training in a rougher part of town, also a la Rocky III.  

Most of Creed is predictable except for three pretty big things, without giving too much away: First, Adonis is the son of Apollo, though not how you might initially think; second, Rocky is given a surprising twist in the movie; and finally, the big final fight.  The most impressive part of the movie is Adonis' first professional fight with Rocky in his corner as his trainer.  From the moment he walks into the ring, through the entire first round, through the break between rounds, and until the fight is over midway through the second round is all one continues camera shot.  To get the action sequences and dialogue just right in one single take was extremely impressive.

Creed is a really good continuation of the Rocky franchise.  It was an enjoyable modern take on a 40 year classic.  It didn't win any Oscars, though Stallone earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination.  One could have made an argument for Johnson to be nominated for Best Actor, but this year was all about Leonardo finally getting his trophy anyway.  It was worth the money to watch, entertaining, and I'll probably watch it again on TV, but most likely won't be making it to my home collection, so I'm sticking with my 3.0 Stars.  What movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Creed Preview

Back in 1987, Mel Brooks released an intergalactic spoof called Spaceballs in which a news segment jokingly reports on the movie Rocky 5000.  At that time, Rocky IV was 2 years old and Rocky V was 3 years away from being released.  Creed is the 7th movie in the Rocky franchise and this time the Italian Stallion is training the son of his former enemy turned best friend, Apollo Creed.  

Rocky previously dipped his toe in the training waters when he attempted to mentor an up-and-comer named Tommy Gunn in Rocky V.  His efforts created a rift between he and his family and ultimately lead to a street brawl when Gunn felt he could never get out of Rocky's shadow.  Of course, Rocky was able to repair his relationship with his wife and son; and, of course, he beat Gunn in the fist fight.  In the next Rocky installment, Rocky Balboa, the former Heavyweight Champ took on the current Champ when a sports computer ran a predictive simulation bout between the two boxers with Balboa theoretically being the better fighter. In the battle between age and youth, the current Champ won in a split decision.

Apollo Creed died in Rocky IV during an exhibition match with a steroid-enhanced Soviet monster Ivan Drago.  His son, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), wasn't even born.  Today, he wants to follow in his late father's footsteps as a professional boxer.  He seeks the help of the man his father fought, the man his father trained, the man who beat his father and the man who beat the Russian who killed his father, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).  After some reluctance, Balboa agrees to train and mentor Adonis.

We don't get too much from the preview for Creed except that Rocky is training Apollo's son, but we can assume a few things: first, Rocky will have some unusual training techniques combined from his own training and his former trainer Mickey and of course Apollo himself.  Second, Rocky's training won't be limited to boxing skills in the ring, but life lessons outside of the ring to make Adonis a better man.  Third, there will be some cheesy jokes that help make Rocky such an endearing character.  And finally, we can assume Stallone gives a rousing performance in the revival of the character who hasn't been on film in 9 years as he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Stallone wrote the first 5 movies in the Rocky franchise and has directed 4 of them.  Creed is directed by Ryan Coogler and it's only his second feature film as director.  He also directed Fruitvale Station in 2013 which also starred Michael B. Jordan.  Though Coogler and Jordan and their 2013 movie were absent from Oscar nominations, they were nominated for 52 other awards and won 39 of them.

I'm predicting Creed will be another enjoyable movie in the Rocky franchise.  I think it will be warm and touching and sincere with some really good boxing scenes.  However, I also think seeing once will be enough until it comes out in a year on cable and will be worth watching again with nothing better on.  I'm predicting 3 stars.  Am I right?  We shall see.