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

The Words

This is a story about a book about a book.

Let me explain:
Author Dennis Quaid wore a book about wannabe author Bradley Cooper who found a manuskript inside a leather bag his wife bought for him while on honeymoon in Paris. The manuskript is, of course, awesome. Bradley Cooper, not scheming or anything, types it into his computer (like you do). His wife Zoe Salander 'finds' it and tells him how wonderful it is.

It finally gets him an agent and success. The original author, Jeremy Irsons, one day walks into a bookstore and stumbles upon the book that he wrote. He follows Copper into Central Park one day to talk to him about the hi-jacked book. Or rather, he tells him his life story (the story in the book). Why? Not sure. It's not like he wants anything for it, it seems.

And Dennis Quaid reads all this to an audience that includes grad student Olivia Wilde, who is, like, totally intrigued by the tale and ends up in Quaid's apartment (of course). When he tells her the ending (Cooper comes clean to his wife and publisher, but they all keep mum and enjoy the money reaped fromt he stolen book), Wilde is for some reason unhappy with it, because that is not what she expected or wanted.

Whatever.

3/10