Showing posts with label Rom-coms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rom-coms. Show all posts

Saturday, October 21, 2023

"Dumb Money" and the Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Dumb Money" and the Netflix rom-com "Love at First Sight." The Book of the Week is Kerry Washington's new memoir "Thicker Than Water"]


Dumb Money (2023)


The true story of how individual investors turned the video gaming store, GameStop, into one of the hottest stocks in the world and disrupted Wall Street.

During the height of the Pandemic, you might remember the big brouhaha over regular investors driving up the price of GameStop stock, but you probably don't really remember the details of it all because you were more concerned with not catching COVID.  And even if you did know the details, you might not have really understood it all. I know I didn't because I am not particularly savvy when it comes to the machinations of Wall Street and investing, but this film, in addition to being entertaining was very enlightening about the investment world and just what happened.

Here is what I learned:

  • Hedge Fund investorsa limited partnership of investors that uses high risk methods, such as investing with borrowed money, in hopes of realizing large capital gains. They like to sell short.
  • Selling shortsell stock or other securities or commodities which one does not own at the time, in the hope of buying at a lower price later. Can get tricky.
  • Short Squeezea situation in which the price of a stock rises to such an extent that investors who have sold short purchase the stock in order to limit their losses, causing the price to rise further. Oops.
  • Diamond Handsa slang term that refers to holding a volatile investment even when there is pressure to sell. 
  • Dumb Money - that's what those hedge fund guys and Wall Street fat cats call individual investors - the little guys - us.

So now you have the basics for this David and Goliath story of a little guy and his followers who took on the big guys.

And lest you worry that this is a dry film about investing, remember I said it's entertaining?  It is.

Based on the book "The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street To Its Knees" by Ben Mezrich, adapted by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo and directed by Craig Gillespie, this is the story of Keith Gill (Paul Dano), a young guy in Brockton, Massachusetts, working at a bank as a financial analyst, and spending his free time on a sub-Reddit site called WallStreetBets, posting his opinions on it via YouTube live streams under the name "Roaring Kitty."

During the height of the COVID Pandemic, Gill notices that the stock for the video game retailer GameStop is undervalued so he invests what little money he has in it and keeps his viewers updated on how he is doing.  At first, his followers (what few he has) and his brother, Kevin (Pete Davidson), make fun of him but soon other individual investors start investing: Nurse Jennifer (America Ferrera), GameStop employee Marcus (Anthony Ramos) and college couple Riri (Myha'la Herrold) and Harmony (Talia Ryder) and the price of the stock goes up.  

All of a sudden GameStop stock is making a ton of money for its investors. Earlier, hedge funders Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) of Melvin Capital Management and Ken Griffin (Nick Offerman) had started short selling with the the idea that the online stock buyers would pull out and GameStop would fail. That's how the hedge fund fat cats make their money - betting that a company will fail and then profiting from the failure. But not this time. As the stock prices goes up and up and up and the little guys get richer and richer, they don't sell.  They hang tough with their Diamond Hands (see glossary above).

With me so far?

Things get crazy when WallStreetBets shuts down and RobinHood, the commission-free stock trading website, screws up and all purchasing of GameStop stock is halted in an attempt to drive down the price.  This works but then the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services notices the shenanigans, gets involved and everyone is subpoenaed.

And can you believe it?  This all happened when we were in lockdown during the Pandemic!

So what ultimately happened? Does anyone get rich? Does Dumb Money win? You will have to see the film to find out!  

The film does a good job pointing out the differences between us regular folks and the big money fat cats.  In counterpoint to our hardworking regular folks, we have the spoiled Plotkin, arrogant Vlad Tenev (Sebastian Stan) of RobinHood, rich hedge funder Steven Cohen (Vincent D'Onofrio) and the cold as ice Ken Griffin.  Paul Dano is great as Gill and handily carries this entertaining film along with the star-studded cast that also includes Shailene Woodley as Gill's supportive wife (haven't seen Woodley much lately). 

All of the actors were just wonderful and did their bit to make this thrilling story come to life. Yes, I said thrilling. There is an awesome epilogue that will make you cheer!

Rosy the Reviewer says...a smart, fast-paced, often funny, film with a great ensemble cast.  If you liked "The Big Short (I loved it!)," you will enjoy this. (In theatres)


Love at First Sight (2023)


Love blossoms on a flight to London.  What are the odds?

Twenty-year old American student Hadley Sullivan (Haley Lu Richardson) misses her flight to London to attend her Dad's wedding by four minutes.  However, that's not exactly a new thing.  She is known for being late and not keeping her phone charged. She also doesn't like small spaces, dentists or mayonnaise.  So with time on her hands until her next flight, she goes to charge her phone and meets twenty-two-year old Oliver Jones (Ben Hardy), a Yale student majoring in statistics. The two have an instant connection - he doesn't like mayonnaise either. He also doesn't like surprises so he uses statistics to structure his life and make sure that doesn't happen.

Turns out they are on the same plane to London.  What are the odds?

When Oliver's seat belt doesn't work, he is moved to another seat on the plane...and it's next to Hadley.  What are the odds?

They spend the night falling in love.  What are the odds?

When they get off the plane, there is a rush and Oliver quickly puts his phone number in Hadley's phone and then they are separated.  Did I also mention that Hadley is a klutz?  She drops the phone, it breaks and there goes Oliver's phone number. She now has no way to reach him.

But, hey, this is a rom-com.  Of course they will meet again.  How they get back together and find each other in one of the biggest cities in the world, is part of the fun.  In the meantime, Hadley attends her Dad's (Rob Delaney) wedding, comes to reconcile her feelings with it and Oliver realizes he can't measure his life in statistics.

Based on the 2011 book "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight" by Jennifer E. Smith, adapted by Katie Lovejoy, and directed by Vanessa Caswill,  this is one of those little 90 minute rom-coms with interesting characters and a quirky plot that the Brits are so good at.  Richardson and Hardy are a believable and engaging couple. She is a lovely young actress and he is totally my type, er, I mean a handsome young actor.  There is also a sort of Greek Chorus element at work with Jameela Jamil narrating the story but also showing up at various points as a flight attendant, a customs officer, a bartender, a bus driver, a wedding guest and a passerby.  Not exactly sure what that was all about, but like I said, these little British rom-coms often have their quirks and that was kind of a fun one.  I started wondering, what are the odds she will show up again?

Rosy the Reviewer says...in this terrible time of world turmoil, we all need a little love and this charming film will make you forget your troubles for awhile. (Netflix)



***The Book of the Week***


"Thicker Than Water" by Kerry Washington (2023)


The once very private star of "Scandal" is no longer private.

SPOILER ALERT:  Well, there is not exactly a spoiler here.  Kerry Washington has been on every talk show imaginable hyping her book and talking about this (but don't read further if you are going to get mad at me):  She discovered that she was the product of artificial insemination and the man she thought was her Dad for 40 years was not her biological father.  

You see, Washington was slated to be on "Finding Your Roots," a PBS show that explores the genetics and family trees of celebrities, and when her parents found out she was going to be on that show, they thought they had better tell her.  Good idea!

So this memoir is all about what that revelation meant to her and how it affected her life.  But there is much more than that here.  In addition to the specifics of her career, she opens up about her personal life: her parents' turbulent relationship and her father's struggle with alcohol; sexual abuse she endured as a young girl; an abortion; and her struggle with anorexia.

But this is not a "woe is me" memoir by any means.  It is a book about success and finding one's true self.

Born in the Bronx with African and Jamaican roots, Washington's mother was a professor and her father was a real estate broker. She was active in the arts from an early age and her career was launched with back-to-back successful movies, "Our Song" and "Save the Last Dance."  Further acclaim followed with roles in "Ray" and "Django Unchained."  But it was her role as Olivia Pope in the TV show "Scandal" that has made her one of the most successful women on TV with nine Emmy nominations and countless other awards.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a Washington fan, you will find this enlightening and you celebrity mavens will find this a candid insider account of an actor's life and career. Check it out at your local library.


Thanks for reading!


See you next time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)




Sunday, August 14, 2022

"The Gray Man" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new Netflix original movie "The Gray Man" and Sandra Bullock's latest film "The Lost City" as well as a local theatre production of "Mary Poppins"]


The Gray Man (2022)


When a CIA operative discovers agency corruption, international assassins come after him. An around the world cat and mouse game ensues.

What do Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Billy Bob Thornton, Rege-Jean Page (yes, the very hunky Duke from "Bridgerton," Season One - I wondered where he went!), and Ana de Armas all have in common?  They are all in this new Netflix thriller that isn't very good.

It's 2003 and a man (Gosling) is being interviewed in prison by Donald Fitzroy (Thornton). The man is in prison for murdering his Dad, though he was just a kid trying to protect his brother. That's his defense, anyway. Fitzroy is there to commute his sentence if he will come to work for him and "kill bad guys."  You see, Fitzroy is from the CIA and it seems the CIA likes to recruit from the prison pool for their Sierra program, a unit of men who "exist in the gray."  It's one of those movies where a supposed bad guy gets recruited for the CIA.  If you watch enough of these kinds of movies you would think that everyone in the CIA is an ex-con.

Fast forward, 18 years and our guy is now called Sierra Six, Six for short.

Six is now on a mission to assassinate a target suspected of selling off national security secrets. This is when we learn that Six isn't really a bad guy after all.  He  has a conscience. He is a sniper and killer but he won't take a shot at a bad guy if a little kid could possibly get hurt. He is finally able to hit the target, but before the target dies, he reveals to Six that he also worked in the Sierra program as Sierra Four, and gives Six an encrypted thumb drive that proves that CIA official Denny Carmichael (Page) is corrupt. 

Carmichael finds out about the incriminating thumb drive and hires mercenary Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former CIA agent kicked out of the agency for being a nutter to track down Six and retrieve the drive. Hansen does so by kidnapping Fitzroy's niece Claire (Julia Butters) and then blackmailing Fitzroy to authorize Six's murder.

Now Six has to save Claire and wouldn't you know. Conveniently for Six, Claire has a pacemaker. Did you know once you have the serial number for a pacemaker, you can follow it anywhere?  I didn't.  So Six heads to Croatia to save Claire, all the while playing a cat and mouse game to escape Hanson and his goons who want him dead.

Sigh.

I admit that my mind isn't what it used to be, and I often have problems following intricate spy movie plots, but this one was ridiculously convoluted and far-fetched.

Based on the book by Mark Greaney with a screenplay written by Joe Russo, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo (the Russo Brothers are also responsible for "Avengers: Endgame"), there is the usual macho snappy dialogue between the good guy and the bad guy especially when the good guy is tied up and about to be killed. Why are you exchanging snappy dialogue? Kill him already! Do you remember how many times the bad guys in the James Bond films could have killed James if they had just stopped talking?  It's like that. And spy movie tropes abound here - family member in jeopardy (it helps if it's a kid), can't tell who is the bad guy and who is the good guy (sometimes they are both), a bad ass woman or two, beautiful European locations and torture. This time lack of character development so I didn't care about any of these people, and fingernails being pulled out with pliers. Didn't like that.

Sometimes there just isn't anything playing in the theatres so when I don't feel like watching "The Bachelorette" or the cooking shows I often have on my DVR, I am happy to see that Netflix has released a new "original" feature film.  There was a lot of hype around this film because it was to be Netflix's big summer blockbuster (they spent a ton of money on it) starring Ryan Gosling, so even though I have vowed to stop promoting revenge movies that glorify gun violence, I thought I would give this one a try in case it was just the usual car chase, bomb-throwing knife wielding spy thriller. I do enjoy the occasional spy thriller, and was curious what usually intense and sensitive Gosling would do with this role as a badass action star. I also usually like Chris Evans but here he looks more like Freddie Mercury than Captain America and, for being an ex-CIA villain, he is surprisingly incompetent.

Did I enjoy this? Is Ryan Gosling our next big action star?  To quote from a movie I saw recently that I actually liked, "Nope."

Netflix, you let me down.  If I want to experience torture, I will stick with "The Bachelorette."

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like Ryan or Chris, lots of violence, a very convoluted, far-fetched plot and characters you won't care about or you are just in the mood for a travelogue on Vienna, Prague and Croatia with some torture thrown in, this is for you.  Otherwise, you can skip this. (Netflix)


The Lost City (2022)

A reclusive romance writer finds herself living through a real life romance novel plot.

Usually when a movie is free on Amazon Prime soon after it's release in the theatres, that's not a good sign, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Dr. Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a reclusive best-selling romance writer who is losing her mojo since the death of her husband. She is depressed and wants to be left alone, but she has a new book to promote - she writes a series about Dr. Angela Lovemore and her lover, Dash McMahan -  and Beth (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), her agent, tells her she has to do a book tour. So off she goes with her cover model, Dash, whose real name is Alan (Channing Tatum), a Fabio look-alike who graces the covers of her books and is the real draw on this tour, that is, until his wig falls off. Turns out Alan is kind of a dork. 

The tour is not going well and Loretta and Alan are not getting along.  Gee.  I wonder how that's going to turn out.  But then Loretta is kidnapped by Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), a rich man (yes, you heard me, a man named Abigail), who believes Loretta can translate an ancient language (he found out she had studied dead languages in college) and lead him to the Crown of Fire, a priceless treasure located in a lost city on an island in the Atlantic.  

Alan, who has a crush on Loretta, witnesses the kidnapping so he recruits Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt), a former Navy SEAL turned CIA operative, to help him rescue Loretta. Jack is immediately on the case and doing all of the work. In fact, Jack is a one-man wrecking crew, beating up three or four guys at a time, while Alan is more of a liability than a help. But then Jack gets shot and Alan has to go on alone. He may be a dork but he wants to prove to Loretta that he is the brave romantic hero she has portrayed him as in her books, because he really cares about her.  Many hijinks ensue with lots of witty banter between Alan and Loretta, as Alan tries to save Loretta, and the two try to escape the island before a volcano erupts. Loretta finds herself the heroine in her own real life romance novel.  And Alan must prove to her that he is in fact Dash-ing.

If you were around in 1984, and this story by Seth Gordon and screenplay by Oren Uziel, Dana Fox, Adam Nee and Aaron Neeseems strangely familiar, you are not imagining it.  This could be a remake of "Romancing the Stone," though it's not. But even though it feels like a "Romancing the Stone" derivative, it's still enjoyable and hey, "Romancing the Stone" was 38 years ago.  You aren't supposed to be able to remember that far back.

Watching this film also reminded me of how much I liked Sandra Bullock from the moment she made a big splash in "Speed."  She embodied the girl next door, a regular girl who was funny and quick-witted and not afraid to look silly now and then. We regular girls could relate to her.  But now Sandra Bullock is a superstar but, alas, an aging superstar, and it seems she is going to semi-retire and that's a shame because as this film shows, she's still got it.  She may be 58, but she looks wonderful and still has that regular girl thing, with the witty repartee and that klutzy physical humor that we other 58 year olds, er, older regular girls can relate to. Sandra, don't go!

I also remember the first time I saw Channing Tatum do his thing in "Magic Mike."  Yikes. What a specimen. A true romantic hero in real life.  I don't mean to objectify Channing.  Well, I kinda do.  Sorry.  And he certainly turns on the sex appeal during a dance that he does with Sandra in this film - ooh la la.  My little ancient heart was pounding.  But Channing also has personality and he is not above making fun of himself, too, which makes him even more lovable.

And then there is Brad, the Grand Old Man of Romantic Heroes, a real life Fabio,  who is also not afraid to make fun of himself and his image.  I think he is the one having the most fun here.

Kudos also to Randolph and Radcliffe (our little Harry Potter is all grown up).  They also add to the fun.

As I said, I did not have high hopes for this film going in, but nothing warms the heart of an avid movie fan more than starting with low expectations and being pleasantly surprised. There aren't enough rom-coms these days, so this was a breath of fresh air and a lot of fun. If you watch, be sure to hang in through the credits because there is a very cute epilogue.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you have been missing rom-coms or just need something light to help you get away from it all, this is a very fun rom-com adventure, a romance novel come to life.


Important Note: But...it's not all about going out to the movies or Netflix and Chillin' - there is a whole other world out there waiting for you and that is local theatre.

You all know that I am a big movie and TV lover, but what you might not know is that my first love was the theatre.  I was an aspiring actress from the age of, oh, when I first saw "Gone With the Wind" at the age of 5 - and no, I didn't see it when it first came out in 1939. I'm not that old. You younguns out there might not realize that before the one million TV stations you now have, there were just three and when a movie came to your local theatre, if you missed it, you missed it - never to be seen again unless it was re-released and that's what would happen with "Gone With the Wind." It would be re-released every ten years or so. I saw it in the 1950's. So there.

Anyway, back to the theatre. I had a small student career as an actress that spanned about ten years. 


Aristophanes "The Birds" 

The highest moment of my pseudo-acting career was when Karl Malden directed a play I was in at my college. Sadly, that might have been the moment I decided I wasn't going to become a professional actress - when he didn't say, "Rosy, I'm going to make you a star."  Hey, I was 21.  What did I know? I thought that's how it worked. Famous guy saw how awesome I was, he made me a star.  That's all I had to do.  Anyway, needless to say, here I am, a retired librarian - long story - but I have always maintained my love of the theatre and all things acting and that is why you find me now writing this blog.

But despite the fact that I had only an amateur career as an actress, I have nothing but respect for those who went on to actually pursue their careers, and I am still totally in that world, if only in my mind.


Mary Poppins at the Forest Theatre

So that said, I had the pleasure this week of attending the musical, "Mary Poppins," at the Forest Theatre in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, a place very near to where I live and very near to the heart of this once-aspiring actress.  The Forest Theatre productions are in a beautiful outdoor theatre (you can bring a picnic, and best of all, wine!), and they are professional productions with wonderfully talented actors and technical staff.

You probably all know the basic story about Mary Poppins, but what you might not know is that this musical production came after the Disney movie starring Julie Andrews and the story varies somewhat from that. The Disney movie was in 1964 and the stage musical opened in the West End in London in 2004, and you "Downton Abbey" fans will be happy to know the script was written by none other than Julian Fellowes, the creator of "Downton Abbey." 

In this wonderful Forest Theatre production, Mary Poppins is played by Malinda DeRouen, who, as Mary sings about herself, is "practically perfect."  I could listen to her gorgeous voice forever.  And Corey Wright guides us through the production as Bert, his dancing a major highlight.  The rest of the cast are also wonderful.  It's a huge cast so kudos to director and choreographer Lara Devlin and vocal director Janice Marotta-Perl. 

This version of the Mary Poppins story focuses more on the children, Jane and Michael (sharing the roles: Heidi Witten-Forsythe, Zoe Ushakoff, Caden Devlin and Daisy Pearl Ashby), and what brats they are, and the problems George (Rob Devlin) and Winifred Banks (Chrissy Brooks) are having in their marriage until Mary Poppins arrives to show them the way. There are also some new songs and other differences from the film, but if you love the character of Mary Poppins and her magical way of transforming a family, you will love this magical production produced by Stephen Moorer and the Pacific Repertory Company. The sets (Patrick McEvoy) and costumes (Ziona Goren) are amazing and that wonderful music is enhanced by sound designer, Tony Nocita. There are even special effects by ZFX.

When it comes to entertainment, it's not all about TV and movies. Don't forget you have live theatre.  There is nothing like sitting there watching it all happen live before you with your fellow humans. Theatre promotes community.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you live on the Monterey Peninsula or in the Bay Area and want to have a lovely, magical weekend, don't miss this wonderful production.  It's "practically perfect!" (playing Thursday-Sunday through September 18.  For tickets)

It's important to support local theatre, so if you can't see this production, check to see what is playing in your community.


Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)