Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Financial World
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I'm going sans computer today so it will have to be another short post. Plus today is one of those what-was-I-thinking sort of theme. I have only watched 3 movies about the financial world so here they all are.
Wall Street (1987)
Wall Street (1987)
I remember nothing other than yeah it was an entertaining movie. Question - is the sequel worth a watch?
Margin Call (2011)
It follows an investment bank in a 24 hour period as they realise their assets are junk and tries to quickly sell them off before the rest of the world finds it too. Like it's so terrible...a lot of people made a lot of money selling junk. Anyway the movie was really good.
Big Short (2015)
It attempts to tell a story and explain the financial crisis to a layperson...which it does decently I think.Margin Call (2011)
It follows an investment bank in a 24 hour period as they realise their assets are junk and tries to quickly sell them off before the rest of the world finds it too. Like it's so terrible...a lot of people made a lot of money selling junk. Anyway the movie was really good.
Big Short (2015)
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I liked all three of your choices and we match on one of them! I thought Michael Douglas was good in Wall Street but not Best Actor Oscar great, he was that in Wonder Boys which he didn't win for so I suppose it's good he won here.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Short did do a good job of laying out the financial crisis in understandable language and situations. So that was good but since what it was explaining was so vile it was also maddening.
I think Margin Call did much the same thing and I liked it a bit more.
I liked this theme though many financial films tend to be too complex for the average viewer to really understand everything they are portraying. I thought these three did a pretty good job of pulling the viewer in.
Margin Call (2011)-When the head of risk management (Stanley Tucci) of a large Wall Street firm is unexpectedly laid off he tries to alert someone in the company of the project he was in the midst of that showed troubling evidence of an incipient mass failing of many money markets. He is met with total indifference so on his way out the door he hands the info to one of his assistants who is staying (Zachary Quinto). Intrigued at first and then dumbfounded by what he discovers he finally manages to attract the attention of the higher ups. As a series of late night conferences take place the dawning revelation becomes apparent that a global financial meltdown is set to occur and there is not a damn thing that can stop it. A well-directed look at the immediate lead up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Working Girl (1988)-Mike Nichols directed comedy about ambitious Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith-never more appealing) who despite her college degree and keen intelligence has trouble getting ahead. She goes to work as secretary to Ivy League Katharine Parker (a priceless Sigourney Weaver) in mergers and acquisitions at a large Wall Street investment bank. Lulled into a false sense of security when Katharine seems to extend a helping hand she tells her a provocative idea for a merger that she’s come up with. Katharine without a shred of shame steals the idea behind her back. When circumstances allow Tess to become aware of the duplicity she uses subterfuge teaming with the unaware Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford-sprightly and relaxed) to bring the plan to fruition for herself. All does not go as planned. One of the rare comedies about the financial world that works.
The Crash (1932)-Racy pre-code about Geoffrey and Linda Gault (George Brent & Ruth Chatterton-married in real life at the time), a rapacious couple who go to great lengths to accumulate wealth on the stock market up to and including Geoffrey encouraging Linda to pimp herself out for tips that can add to their fortune. She goes along because she can’t bear the thought of returning to the poverty of her youth. However when Geoffrey angers her with a request, she picks the precisely wrong time to hand him bad information and they are wiped out in the stock market crash of ’29. Staying together in name only while he tries to pick up the pieces she, haunted by her fears, continues to have gentleman friends who give her expensive things until a turning point is reached. Brief (only 58 minutes) and candid with a frankness that would vanish for decades with the implementation of the Production Code the next year.
Oh I did see Working Girl. I just didn't remember what type of organization she worked for. I like it too
DeleteAnd I also like Margin Call more than the Big Short.
Finance orientated films have never been my go to but I was interested in seeing Margin call. Not seen the others, but hey maybe one day.
ReplyDeleteSame here...why would I want to watch people in suits make a lot of money.
DeleteI've seen 2 of your films you chose. Wall Street is ok but I wasn't enamoured with it. The Big Short was good although, have to admit, I had. Hard time following it. I have not seen Margin Call
ReplyDeleteI can't remember how much I liked Wall Street...but I just gonna say I probably like Margin Call the most out of my picks so give it a go.
DeleteThe sequel to Wall Street was ok. I saw The Big Short and it wasn't as good as I hoped. It was ok though.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same about The Big Short. It was ok...not something I'll be interested in seeing again.
DeleteI've seen all of these, and The Big Short is my favorite. I wanted to like Margin Call but I was bored.
ReplyDeleteReally...I'm the opposite, I like Margin Call so much more.
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