sandwichjohnfilms

The 2007 housing crisis is viscerally played out in this bittersweet, memorizing, and terrific ensemble piece. Review by Matt Cummings As a person intimately aware of the 2007 housing crisis, the story behind The Big Short has served as a narrative for too many of my friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Lured by the promise of cheap money that could be refinanced in a over-priced housing market, many lost their homes when the rates became too high and home values began to plunge. The ensemble drama/comedy The Big Short analyzes both the back and front end of the crisis, hoping to finally get people interested in a topic that still demands our full attention. Set in the years leading up to the 2007 housing crisis, The Big Short follows three stories of investors trying to make money for their clients. The housing market has boomed, allowing literally everyone the chance to own a home. As a result, those who have sought to open the doors to de-regulation have made trem

The Woody Allen comedy Magic in the Moonlight is finally a work we can be proud of. Writer/Director Woody Allen is not a favorite of mine; in fact, I consider him to be the most overrated of Hollywood's old school. I've never forgiven him for Annie Hall somehow beating out Star Wars for Best Picture in the 1977 Oscars, and his more recent personal choices are personally offensive. Screening his films is equal to the most unpleasant experiences I can consider, right up there with dentist visits and drawing blood. But Magic in the Moonlight is something else, something far better than anything he's ever done, and it's about damn time. Set among the flappers and 'hot music' of the 1920's, professional illusionist Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) is at the height of his game masquerading as Wei Ling Soo. He thrills audiences with his disappearing tricks and fantastic trickery, until he's recruited by old friend and fellow illusionist Howard