Director Jodie Foster gets a big return on her investment in George Clooney and Julia Roberts with “Money Monster,” an intense hostage drama clearly inspired by the hype and hysteria surrounding real-life “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer and the hypothetical effects his advise has on would-be investors.
The stakes are higher in Foster’s cinematic Wall Street world, however, as blue-collar working stiff Kyle Budwell (Jack Reynor) pulls a gun on and attaches a bomb to “Money Monster” host Lee Gates (Clooney) during a live broadcast. With his thumb on a detonator, Budwell isn’t interested in recouping his $60,000 investment in a tech company that disappears overnight in a shady, high-frequency trade deal; but simply wants to know how his and other investors’ money – to the tune of $800 million – could go “poof” due to a technical glitch. Not only does Budwell want answers from Gates, but from megalomaniac trader Walt Camby (Dominic West), who’s mysteriously MIA during his company’s most dire hours.
While Clooney, Reynor and Roberts (as Gates’ producer who tries to navigate her boss out of the hostage crisis) are impressive in the leads, the true star of “Money Monster” is Foster, who in her fourth turn behind the camera expertly constructs a sharp thriller that finds balance with unexpected bits of humor throughout. While “Money Monster” is far from a perfect movie – the plot becomes far-fetched, if not silly as it unfolds – it’s an entertaining film nonetheless.
Just because the Loki isn’t in the latest Marvel superhero movie chapter “Captain America: Civil War,” it doesn’t mean that Tom Hiddleston can’t have a little fun contemplating a one-on-one battle between the God of Mischief and say, someone like Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) at some point in the movie saga.
Hiddleston and Olsen, who recently co-starred in the Hank Williams biopic “I Saw the Light,” appeared to like the suggestion offered in recent interviews with the actors.
“It would be interesting because both have magic powers,” Hiddleston told me, laughing. “I’d love to play Loki’s freak-of-nature arrogance in the company of Scarlet Witch. I think Loki would be incredibly patronizing towards her, and probably would be wrong-footed a couple times by her deftness and subtlety. It’d genuinely be fun.”
Marvel’s “Avengers” series takes a new and exciting turn with “Captain America: Civil War,” a brilliant mix of action, emotion and effective storytelling that’s not undermined by the film’s thrilling visual effects. It’s the third film (and best) in the “Captain America” movie arc, and arguably one of the best in the entire “Avengers” saga.
Expertly directed by brother Joe and Anthony Russo, “Civil War” is grounded in real-world storytelling that infuses contemporary issues. Following the fallout over collateral damage by the superheroes during a mission in South Africa, the story finds Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) at odds over an international accord that would impose government oversight on the Avengers’ actions. Cap doesn’t think the team needs policing, while Iron Man signs the accord after a personal encounter with the mother of a victim of the Sokovia tragedy (in “Age of Ultron) that rocks his fragile psyche.
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“Civil War” features the return of virtually every character from “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (sans Thor and the Hulk), and introduces Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who are both terrific in their Disney Marvel debuts (Spidey is on loan from Sony). Those going into the film with a fear it will be overstuffed with superheroes will be happy to know that all the members of Team Cap and Team Iron Man only occupy the screen together for about a half-hour, but in an epic battle royale that easily ranks among the best scenes in film series.
Completely different in tone, “Civil War” is far and away better than “Batman v Superman,” showing off a sense of humor in the midst of the madness that the DC “Justice League” intro film sorely needed. It’s an invigorating shot of adrenaline the superhero genre sorely needed following the lukewarm reception to Marvel rival’s answer to the “Avengers” series.
Since her debut in 2005, acclaimed actress Amanda Crew has benefit of doing both film and television, and better yet has had several opportunities to play across the spectrum of genres. Lucky for Crew, her latest gig — the hit HBO series “Silicon Valley” – continues that winning streak in that at heart it’s a comedy, but has some wicked dramatic edges as well.
Season 3 of the series, which debuted last month, picks up with the momentous firing of Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch) as CEO from his own company, a storyline not unfamiliar in the landscape of the real Silicon Valley. Crew is back as Monica Hall, the assistant to the main investor of the company, who still has a soft spot for Richard and his cohorts even though creative control has been wrestled from them.
Crew thinks her fascination with the tech industry and part of the reason “Silicon Valley” has resonated so much with viewers is that, while not all of us are a part of the industry, most of us certainly are an extension of it through the devices and applications they produce whether we realize it or not.
“We’re all consumers – we’re all users of it,” Crew said. “Before I started on the show I didn’t know anything about it, but now I’m so fascinated by it. You hear about these headlines, like ‘Snapchat was offered $3 billion but turned it down,’ and you’re like, ‘Who is this Evan guy and what the f—?’ or read about Steve Jobs getting kicked out of his own company and wondering how could that happen. Getting to explore this world and see all this money thrown around — to see how people can one minute be the hottest thing and they’re like God and the next minute they’re nothing — is fascinating.”
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In an odd sort of way, Crew, 29, said she can also relate to the tech industry because the film and television industry is just as fickle.
“It makes me think of these big franchises and how you can be part of this huge movie that pops out of nowhere, where yesterday you were nobody and today everybody wants a piece of you,” Crew said. “That can mess with your head, because a year later, the heat can fizzle out no one will care about you anymore and you have to deal with those feelings.”
Crew said that real-life narrative actually mirrors Richard’s dilemma in “Silicon Valley.”
“Everyone was throwing money at him and everyone wanted to work with him, but then all of a sudden, no one could touch him because he was being sued,” Crew said. “It’s like, one minute you’re being offered millions of dollars, and now you might not be able to keep your company afloat for another month.”
While Crew ultimately can walk away from the set of “Silicon Valley” at the end of each day and thank the heavens she’s not a part of the cut-throat tech world, part of her heart remains with Monica, because she’s a person you can aspire to be.
“I really the love character of Monica because she’s such a great role model. She’s really an intelligent, well-spoken, educated and successful businesswoman who has a moral compass,” Crew said. “A lot of business people are just sharks. They’re just after the money and they don’t care if people hate them or if they damage someone’s life … What I really like about her is that she’s not this shark who has no heart. She really genuinely cares about these guys. I think that’s why she’s successful, because she really fights for what she believes in.”
Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
