Margin Call

This is about financial crisis hitting a big wall street company. Most of it happens during two days, starting with some major downsizing happening, than a rocket scientist (no, really) figuring out that something has been going very wrong lately and is about to hit the company in a big way, the ones earning the really big bucks dusting themselves off by distributing their potential losses down to their buyers and then they all suck it up for a few months and go back to business as usual.

Sounds dry?

Well, it could be with the financial humbug that none of the so-called 'little' people don't understand (this means the average movie goer). Luckily, the cast in Margin Call is stellar and makes this much more interesting than one might expect.

And when I say stellar I mean it.

Here are Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker, Jeremy Irons and Stanley Tucci. I love every single one of these men individually and love them even more in an ensemble. There is also Demi Moore, who is brilliant in her own right, of course, but my love for her is limited.

You know what else? This is a directorial (feature length) debut. J. C. Chandoor had one short film to his credit before this and has since made the equally impressive All Is Lost.

Bonus - beautiful shots of New York City by night.

8/10

All Is Lost

"13th of July, 4:50 pm. I'm sorry... I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried, I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be right. But I wasn't. And I know you knew this. In each of your ways. And I am sorry. All is lost here... except for soul and body... that is, what's left of them... and a half-day's ration. It's inexcusable really, I know that now. How it could have taken this long to admit that I'm not sure... but it did. I fought 'til the end, I'm not sure what this worth, but know that I did. I have always hoped for more for you all... I will miss you. I'm sorry."

So says 'Our Man' at the beginning of the film. Save for an SOS call and a few cries of help and agony, this is all the dialogue we get.

'Our Man' in this case is an elderly guy (played magnificently by the elderly Robert Redford) lost at see. His boat suffers a leak after colliding with a shipping container at sea. Although he initially is lucky enough to have a few days of sunshine and quiet sea - giving him time and opportunity to fix the leak as best he can, after the first of occasional rough days, the boat suffers more damage. Eventually, he has to leave the wreck behind and try to survive on the life raft, drifting in open sea. The goal can only be to stay alive long enough for a ship to come near enough to see and rescue him.

This is all the film is - a man in a boat or raft, trying to survive. I am not the world's greatest Robert Redford fan, but as I said, he is magnificent in All Is Lost.

He has yet to win an Oscar in an acting category. Just saying.

8/10