I like to think that I’m pretty smart when it comes to certain things, but when it comes to things like finances and all of the details that come with it, including the various investments, and real estates, and loans, and mortgages and whatever else false into that umbrella, I’m an absolute deer in the headlights. I don’t own a home, but I do have homeowners in my family. I don’t know how I’d react if I knew that they’d have to leave their homes because of shoddy & hidden deathtraps that have been implanted in the economy. I’m sure a lot of people have that same feeling of not wanting to burden that weight of significant loss, but the truth is that millions of Americans had to endure that pain in 2008 and are still feeling the effects all these years later (look at the city of Detroit). The housing market crash was one of the craziest things to ever happen and there were many questions as to why it was happening, but there was one man who did, which then lead to a little group of men, and the rest would be history. This is the story of how they came to find out and capitalize off such an incredible screw up by the United States government & the very many banks that were in control of millions of people’s livelihoods.

Now, when the focus of the movie is focused on Real Estate and finances, 9 times out of 10, my eyes would glaze over in boredom, but because of the great ensemble cast that comprised of Steve Carrell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt (to name a few), it was explained in a way where the novice level financial head (i.e. me) can understand what was going on and why it was such a stressful situation that spanned 2 years until the ultimate collapse. Direction, editing, acting, humour, and even the random cameos to help explain financial concepts & explanations, made me understand why this movie is in consideration for Best Picture awards in the new year. See…this movie was essentially The Wolf Of Wall Street, but not in an obnoxious (and certainly not as lengthy) way. The pace of the movie reflected the way the finance world works – it was fast, the tempo was vigorous, and the dialogue was fantastic. You can’t really point out to where there are weak links, and even Carrell’s performance (whom personally, I’ve never cared for) was really well done.

You don’t have to be a financial expert to watch this movie, although the terminology may leave your head spinning (trust me, it’s explained throughout the movie). You’ll definitely have a great time watching this movie, and I can’t wait to see how it does during awards season. But for now, this is my opinion, this is my review

That’s My Word & It STiXX