At the Cinema - November 2010

Inside Job – 10
You’ll like this documentary if you
a. Didn’t like TARP or the Bailout
b. Want to be infuriated
c. Just want to know more about what happened.
In the first ten minutes, as this well-made documentary picks apart the fall of Iceland’s financial system, you’ll begin to recognize the symptoms. As the filmmakers delve into the events leading up to the crash of 2008, one can’t help but be infuriated about the actions of the banks, and the lack of government oversight. It is educational to say the least.
Going into the movie, I had my own viewpoints, but this movie puts your blood pressure on a roller coaster as it reveals the market manipulation and how the American taxpayer had to pick up the bill. There are no hero’s here, and you can play pick-a-villain for 2 hours.

The Next Three Days – 8
You’ll like this movie if you
a. like Russell Crowe
b. like Elizabeth Banks
c. like some credible twists and turns.
So, we’d just been to the big wedding in Pittsburgh and thought it would be a good idea to go see a rare movie set in this highly picturesque city. Lara Brennan (Banks) has been convicted of murder. Her husband believes she is innocent, and after all legal remedies fail, her husband, college professor John Brennan (Crowe), begins to consider non-legal ones. He sets up a careful plan to break her out of the county jail before she is transferred to the state prison. Its fun to watch the plan fall into place, helped along by some lucky breaks and geographies that are a little stretchy. The pace quickens nicely when the escape begins and Brennan’s ingenuity is on display. While the outcome is never really in doubt, it’s the trip that’s fun.

Unstoppable – 8
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Denzel Washington, old star
b. Chris Pine, new star
c. Action
We often lament in America that we don’t export anything anymore. Well, one of our few remaining exports is the over-the-top action movie, done only the way we Americans can finance and execute them. Director Tony Scott specializes in telling these types of fast-paced stories, and this one is typical.

It’s elevated because it’s allegedly based on a true story, it’s well acted, and it’s actually believable. Denzel and Chris are properly heroic and the action moves crisply.
The problem is that for me at least, for some reason I just didn’t get involved until the last 20 minutes. But, it could just be me. The audience was definitely into the “based on a true story” aspect, and it’s a very good action piece.