The Big Short

A socially awkward, non practicing MD, and current investor (Christian Bale) foresees the housing crash and plunges his client's capital in betting against that market to their great chagrin. This perceived lunatic scheme is grasped by several members of the financial sector (including a Wall Street hotshot (Ryan Gosling), a moralizing hedge fund manager (Steve Carell), and two greenhorn investors who gain the ear of an financial guru (Brad Pitt)), who piggyback on the idea and profit enormously off the country's devastation. Adam McKay begins The Big Short with an approach as shaky as the housing market it describes with an inexplicable, uncinematic mumblecore approach while going to too great of lengths to make its material accessible including characters breaking the fourth wall, asides, cameos, drawings, graphs, onscreen dictionary entries, and other docu-style gimmicks used to enhance boring subject matter. However, as the film grows closer and closer to the market collapse, it dials down the gimmickry and its minimalist approach gains traction and begins to complement the material and the angry sentiment quite well. The cast is excellent with the exception of Pitt, who again exists solely for delivering a culminating sermon. Bale and especially Carell are standouts.

*** out of ****

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

70s TV anchor Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) rules San Diego's nightly ratings with his trusty news team (Paul Rudd, David Koehner, and Steve Carrell) and seems destined for primetime until an ambitious reporter (Christina Applegate) seeks to break the sex barrier and become the nation's first female coanchor. Director Adam McKay along with Ferrell, who collaborated on the screenplay, go after an easy satirical target and stretch their scant idea about as far as it will go and pad their film with several throwaway sequences and a number of lackluster cameos (exception Jack Black, who's a highlight). That being said, this remains one of the most quotable movies in recent memory with Ferrell in rare form, particularly in his crash and burn scenes. Although not feeling compelled to check out the sequel, as was initially planned, Anchorman has at least enough laughs to match its lame gags.

The Other Guys

When Will Ferrell collaborates with Adam McKay we expect to laugh. The Other Guys delivers on that regard, but there may be something more here that wasn’t present in the previous films the duo worked on. We open with a sloppily filmed car chase involving two of NYC’s top cops (Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock) who throw caution to the wind and act like they have never heard of the word procedure. A seriously funny misjudgment opens the door for two disgraced cops to save the day and become heros. One is Ferrell, an accountant for the department who gradually reveals the reasons he has chosen such a protected, uptight lifestyle. His partner is played by Mark Wahlberg, an action hungry cop who hates Ferrell with a passion, and was put on desk duty after accidentally shooting probably the worst person to shoot in New York. The two begin investigating a shady Brit billionaire (Steve Coogan) who has swindled some bad people and now is concocting another scheme to pay them back. People often complain about getting the same performance from Will Ferrell, but here we get a (primarily) reserved and surprisingly effective one. Mark Wahlberg is also surprisingly good as he gets to show off his acting chops. It is also worth mentioning the presence of Michael Keaton, he is a riot as the police captain. I also liked the directorial touches McKay adds in some of the chase and action scenes. A montage summarizing a night of drinking at a bar is also wonderfully created. The film is not perfect. Many gags go on to long or do not work and the movie felt long to me. The corporate crime statistics that run during the credits also felt out of place. Still, McKay and Ferrell know what makes us laugh, and I hope they reteam again soon.

***