Film: Money Monster

GENRE: Drama, Thriller

RATING: R for language, some violence, brief sexuality
RUNTIME: 1 hours and 38 minutes

STARRING: George Clooney (Descendants, Michael Clayton, ER)

Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich); Jack O’Connell (Unbroken)

DIRECTOR: Jodie Foster (Little Man Tate, The Beaver)

WRITERS: Jamie Linden (Dear John, We Are Marshall)

Alan DiFiore (Grimm, The Bridge); Jim Kouf (National Treasure)

PLOT: A man with nothing to lose takes a financial TV host hostage when the stock market takes a large dip.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was sucked in by the big names. Also, having just taught it in my Business class, I understood some of the stock market lingo used in the film.

STORY STUFF: I found the story and energy less Network-ish as many critics cited and more like a film called Mad City which starred Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta. The story kept me invested (sorry, bad pun) for most of the time but the ending felt flat and left me unsatisfied. Also, there were some police procedures that seemed highly questionable. The story also made me roll my eyes at the New York public and their selfishness.

ACTING STUFF: Great acting all around but I come to expect that from Clooney and Roberts. It was nice to see O’Connell hold his own with these A-list stars.   

ARTISTIC STUFF: There’s not much to focus on creatively. Foster does a fine job but nothing amazing. I guess I like the real-time aspect of the movie.     

VERDICT: Three stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Clooney and understand stocks a bit.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: X-Men: Apocalypse; Popstar