So, movie reviews please. "Inside Job" is coming

[socialist_n_TN]

to the house this weekend from Netflix. I've heard it's pretty good and I'm looking forward to watching it. For those who have seen it, is there any particular section I should pay stricter attention to?

[montanacowboy]

1. You will never get over

being totally pissed and angry - at the blatant corruption and seemingly bold faced bastards that think they are entitled to do whatever they damn well please

[socialist_n_TN]

4. Was it worse in this area than "Capitalism- A Love Story"?

I know I got pretty pissed off about the "dead peasants" life insurance policies in THAT film.

[Starry Messenger]

2. I've seen it.

Strengths: if you are illiterate (like I am) about our financial system and what broke it (specifically this last time) this film breaks it down into small words and diagrams that are easy to understand.

Minor quibble: the film only mentions capitalism once in passing and seems to concentrate on this single point in time in the failure of the marketplace, heavily implying that all would be well if "evildoers" like the ones in the film were exposed and brought to justice. It's a good muckraking film, but for (socialist) someone who would like to see the whole system changed it can feel a bit frustrating and like an opportunity was lost to heavily underscore why this *keeps happening*.

[socialist_n_TN]

7. Written from a "liberal/reformist" viewpoint then

n'est pas? From this viewpoint, it COULDN'T make that charge about why things "keep's happening" because that would indict the SYSTEM rather than individuals.

Kind of like a lot of people on here. :) They'll blame everything, BUT the system itself.

[Starry Messenger]

11. and narrated by Matt Damon.

:) It's well-filmed, but definitely a product of reformist limitations. I'll be interested to hear your take on it too. It's been a few months since I watched it.

[socialist_n_TN]

12. Well, you know me Starry, I've got an opinion

on EVERYTHING! :rofl: I'll let you know what I think.

I DO like Damon though. He's got a good voice in addition to all of his other talents.

[Starry Messenger]

13. He's very sweet and earnest.

I like him too. I don't see him becoming a red anytime soon though. :D

[socialist_n_TN]

18. Nope, a good liberal though........

He'll cry over our graves when the fascists kill us. I was going to put a smiley face here, but I'm not so sure how much of a joke it is. Or will be soon.

[socialist_n_TN]

19. BTW, earnest? Did you see the Bourne series?

:)

[Starry Messenger]

20. Yes, I did!

Also liked him in the Ocean 11 series. He is very serious in the Bourne films. In the last Ocean film (I think) they do a send-up with him of the camera work in the Bourne movies. It's really hilarious.

[socialist_n_TN]

21. I don't think I've seen the last Ocean movie........

He's IS a good actor though. Very believable in anything he's in.

[hifiguy]

3. Have something to punch or throw that you can't damage

by the end of the film. Saw it in a theatre and was so furious I was ready to start building guillotines by the time it ended. NEeded a couple of drinks to calm down. And I am being serious.

[liberallunatic]

5. It was brutal.. you will come away angry as hell

and if you are a big fan of the Obama administration you might not be as big a fan when the movie is over, as most of the criminals in the film are now working in the Obama administration.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. Not a particularly big fan of the Obama administration

Interesting where most of Obama's financial team came from.

[liberallunatic]

22. Yeah... it's worse than you think...

the foxes are controlling the henhouse.

[socialist_n_TN]

23. I'm a socialist, so I doubt that it's worse than I think

:) But it's always nice to get some confirmation of what I do think. Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it.

[liberallunatic]

25. Hey no problem...

this is the kind of stuff I came here for but I seem to have spent most of my first day going in circles with some kid who thinks everyone is named "dude" :shrug:

Nothing I like better than a 13 year old attempting to school me on politics :)

[PurityOfEssence]

6. A must see. What's often lost is the truly filmic imagery, cutting and use of music and sound

It's a great story, and very well told, but since those two points take such focus, it should also be noted that it simply has flat-out fabulous imagery: good use of ambient cityscapes intercut with licensed news footage, well-lit interviews, and just a tour-de-force of filmmaking. It's very well paced and quite thought through as a whole. There is some ostentation with the cutting and use of music, but it's perfectly suited to the story, and flows really, really well.

Many documentaries simply record events, and even if telling a good story, don't use all of these other elements well or even really think about them.

Yes, it's as good as everyone says.

Enjoy.

[socialist_n_TN]

9. Sounds like a (relatively) big budget film

for a documentary. I don't know if I'll enjoy it :), but I do hope to learn something.

[canoeist52]

8. And after "Inside Job" you can instantly watch "Plunder"

by Danny Schechter, on Netflix. Then you'll have a complete picture.

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/plunder-the-crime-of-our-time-danny-schechter-takes-on-wall-st-in-new-film/

[NightWatcher]

14. dont keep anything within reach that you can throw at the tv

and be sure to start drinking before you press play

[Bluenorthwest]

15. Related interest recommend for this weekend 'Too Big To Fail'

Narrative adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin's book of the same name, on HBO with a cast the just does not stop. http://www.hbo.com/movies/too-big-to-fail/index.html#

[Bozita]

16. IMHO, "Meltdown" by our neighbors to the north is more thorough. - video link

I watched this 4 part documentary in September, 2010 on my local CBC channel and have since been looking for ways for viewing the series online. The CBC website does not allow viewers in the USA. It won't take long for viewers to figure out why.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/meltdown/about.html

EPISODE GUIDE - HOST
Doc Zone has traveled the world - from Wall Street to Dubai to China - to investigate The Secret History of the Global Financial Collapse. Meltdown is the story of the bankers who crashed the world, the leaders who struggled to save it and the ordinary families who got crushed.

September 2008 launched an extraordinary chain of events:
General Motors, the world’s largest company, went bust.
Washington Mutual became the world’s largest bank failure.
Lehman Brothers became the world’s largest bankruptcy ever:

The damage quickly spread around the world, shattering global confidence in the fundamental structures of the international economy.

The CBC’s Terence McKenna takes viewers behind the headlines and into the backrooms at the highest levels of world governments and banking institutions, revealing the astonishing level of backstabbing and tension behind the scenes as the world came dangerously close to another Great Depression.

Meltdown also tells the stories of desperate foreclosed homeowners in California, disillusioned autoworkers at the end of the line in Ontario and furious workers in France who shocked the world by kidnapping their own bosses.

Since the financial meltdown began, trillions of dollars have been spent rescuing banks and jumpstarting economies, yet recovery remains fragile. Fears abound of a “double-dip” return to recession.

The millions around the world who lost homes and jobs are demanding answers: How did it all go so wrong? Who is to blame? They are angry because to date, only a few smalltime players have been held to account. No major banking, regulatory or government figures have yet been convicted of any wrongdoing.

Meltdown is the first comprehensive documentary portrait of the worst economic crisis of a generation.


HOUR 1: The Men Who Crashed the World
Greed and recklessness by the titans of Wall Street triggers the largest financial crash since the Great Depression. It's left to US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, himself a former Wall Street banker, to try and avert further disaster.

HOUR 2: A Global Tsunami
The meltdown's devastation ripples around the world from California to Iceland and China. Facing economic ruin, desperate world leaders are at each other's throats.

HOUR 3: Paying the Price
The victims of the meltdown fight back. In Iceland, protestors force a government to fall. In Canada, ripped off autoworkers occupy their plant. And in France, furious union members kidnap their bosses.

HOUR 4: After the Fall
Investigators begin to sift through the meltdown's rubble. Shaken world leaders question the very foundations of modern capitalism while asking: could it all happen again?


The first video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xsr_W5JwI
The other three parts show up at the link above.

[marmar]

17. Excellent. Just prepare to get pissed off all over again.

nt

[liam_laddie]

24. HBO's "Too Big to Fail"

based on Andrew Ross Sorkin's book about 2008's disaster, is airing for first time on Monday May 23, 9PM-11PM with immediate repeat.

To whet your appetite, here's the big-name cast:
A shaved-head William Hurt stars as Henry Paulson, Billy Crudup is Timothy Geithner, Paul Giamatti is Ben Bernanke, Edward Asner is Warren Buffett.
James Woods is Dick Fuld of Lehman Bros. Bill Pullman is Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase; Matthew Modine is John Thain of Merrill Lynch; Tony Shalhoub is John Mack of Morgan Stanley; Victor Slezak is Greg Curl, Bank of America; Ajay Mehta is Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup; Evan Handler is Lloyd Blankfein, of Goldman Sachs (Evan is a great choice for this role); and John Heard is Joe Gregory of Lehman Bros.

There's more!
Cynthia Nixon is Michele Davis, assistant secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs; Topher Grace is Jim Wilkinson, Paulson’s chief of staff; Joey Slotnick is Dan Jester, a retired Goldman Sachs banker and new Paulson adviser; Michael O’Keefe is Chris Flowers, a bank-takeover expert; and numerous other actors appear who only get precious few minutes of screen time. This should be a delicious viewing experience!