Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Peter Rainer, Charles Solomon, and Amy Nicholson review this week's new movie releases including the star-studded cast in "The Big Short," the Ron Howard directed whale tale "In the Heart of the Sea," the animated feature "The Boy and the World" and more. TGI-Filmweek!
FilmWeek: ‘The Big Short,’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Peter Rainer, Charles Solomon, and Amy Nicholson review this week's new movie releases including the star-studded cast in "The Big Short," the Ron Howard directed whale tale "In the Heart of the Sea," the animated feature "The Boy and the World" and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Guests:
Amy Nicholson , Film Critic for KPCC and Chief Film Critic, LA Weekly; Amy tweets from
Charles Solomon , film critic for KPCC and Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
'The Big Short' movie aims for accuracy and entertainment
Director Adam McKay wants audiences to learn entertaining lessons about the 2008 financial crisis featured in "The Big Short," and as "Wall Street Journal" columnist Greg Ip writes, "[McKay's] movie goes a long way [in explaining] the financial engineering behind the mortgage bubble, such as how mortgage-backed securities are constructed and how vulnerable they were to default."
However, Ip says the movie provides an incomplete picture and underplays the more complex economic forces that were at work. Still, could any movie pull off that feat?
Movies based on true stories are under increased scrutiny as audiences can readily search online for the ugly truth. Last year's "American Sniper" starring Bradley Cooper was being called into question even before it hit theaters because the memoir written by Chris Kyle was found to be rife with embellishments and unsubstantiated facts.
This year's "Spotlight" is a sober retelling of "The Boston Globe's" expose of the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal. It's been praised for sticking to the facts.
The Charlize Theron movie "North Country" was a dramatization of the sexual harassment class action lawsuit that the women of EVTAC mines in Minnesota filed in the 1980s. Some critics said the true story needed to be simplified for the big screen.
How important is it you that movies based on true stories adhere to accuracy? Or should filmmakers follow the age-old advice to "never let the truth get in the way of a good story?"
Guests:
Amy Nicholson , Film Critic for KPCC and Chief Film Critic, LA Weekly; Amy tweets from
Charles Solomon , film critic for KPCC and Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor