MOVIE REVIEW: MONEY MONSTER (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

In the real-time, high stakes thriller Money Monster, George Clooney and Julia Roberts star as financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty, who are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything (Jack O'Connell) forcefully takes over their studio. During a tense standoff broadcast to millions on live TV, Lee and Patty must work furiously against the clock to unravel the mystery behind a conspiracy at the heart of today's fast-paced, high-tech global markets. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment

55 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 91 user | 245 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

Lee Gates is a bombastic TV personality whose popular financial network show has made him the money wiz of Wall Street. But after he hawks a high tech stock that mysteriously crashes, an irate investor takes Gates, his crew, and his ace producer Patty Fenn hostage live on air. Unfolding in real time, Gates and Fenn must find a way to keep themselves alive while simultaneously uncovering the truth behind a tangle of big money lies.

Rating: R (for language throughout, some sexuality and brief violence)

Genre: Drama

Directed By: Jodie Foster

Written By: Alan DiFiore , Jamie Linden ,Jim Kouf

In Theaters: May 13, 2016 wide

Box Office: $179332

Runtime: 90 minutes

Smokehouse Pictures - Official Site

TOMATOMETER 55%

Average Rating: 5.9/10 | Reviews Counted: 220

Fresh: 122 | Rotten: 98

Critics Consensus: Money Monster's strong cast and solidly written story ride a timely wave of socioeconomic anger that's powerful enough to overcome an occasionally muddled approach to its worthy themes.

AUDIENCE SCORE 59 liked it

Average Rating: 3.4/5 | User Ratings: 18,194

I'm not too sure about taking money advice from someone who dances like that. ©TriStar Pictures

Another movie that reflects the opinions and scepticism that some of us have about Wall Street, the Economy, etc, etc, etc,...

Okay, so I saw this movie a little over a week ago, I think, and by now it's probably not playing anymore in most cinemas anywhere around the world save for some countries. So this review or whatever you want to call it will be a very short one. 

So with the dancing all done it's time to tell people where to put their money. ©TriStar Pictures

So as you know by now I'm sure this movie stars George Clooney as Lee Gates a TV show host who's show deals with things like the stock market, investments and things associated with those things. His character and show is roughly modeled after an actual show and person namely Jim Cramer and his show Mad Money on CNBC. On one fine day and on the day that would be his producer Patty Fenn's (Julia Robert) last day as his producer on the show they receive a surprise guest by the name of Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell). 

So that's how they do it. ©TriStar Pictures

Kyle is unhappy. Kyle is peeved. Kyle is frothing at the mouth with anger. Kyle listened to Mr. Gates advice on a particular investment and lost all his money. Kyle wants Mr. Gates to answer some questions. Kyle wants the world to listen to Mr. Gates explain how the investment he said would be as safe as putting money in a fixed deposit somehow managed to lose not only his own money but lost everyone else's for a total lost of over $800 million dollars due to a computer 'glitch'. Kyle not only wants Mr. Gates to explain it but also the founder of the company that owns the investment a Mr. Walt Camby (Dominic West) to explain it as well as apologise to everyone who lost their money. And to make them do it, Kyle has brought a gun and a vest covered with explosives which can be triggered to explode with a button that he has his thumb on.

Her expressions seems quite appropriate. ©TriStar Pictures

Anyway so here's a list of things I like and not like so much.

The likes.

1. The story. It reflects what I'm guessing quite a few of us think about Wall Street and it's associated institutions and investment companies that deal there, especially since the 2008 crisis. It's probably hits a little close to home for some who had their money suddenly disappear due to a bad investment that they thought was a solid one based on the opinions of those TV pundits.
2. The cast. The three main cast delivered pretty solid performances in general. Of course the one that really shone was George Clooney. 
3. Camera work and editing was tight and the film was paced nicely.
4. The tension was definitely felt.

This is Kyle. He lost all his money. I think we all know how he feels. ©TriStar Pictures

The not like so much.

The way the story unfolds and how a little humor is interjected between scenes to sort of lighten the mood or situation. At times it interrupts the scene in such a way that you lose the momentum of the drama and tension. Sometimes it even makes you feel like the subject matter is not being taken seriously. For most of the film you think you're watching a serious drama but the humorous moments in between makes you feel at times otherwise. Unlike another film that recently tried to take on the subject of investments gone wrong The Big Short (2015) which right from the get-go you know is a comedy. This movie's mood and tone is sort of spoiled by those moments.

Anyway that's what I think of Money Monsters. It's a good movie and worth watching butI think it could have been a lot better than it currently is. I'm going to give it a 3 out of 5.

Here's the trailer.