The Big Short 2015

     This film is based on a book with the same title and it shows three stories of the U.S. mortgage-housing crisis of 2007-10.  Michael Burry is a genius at numbers but not at people pleasing.  He operates Scion Capital as a hedge fund manager.  He is sure the US housing market is built on a bubble that will burst within the next few years.  He does what he knows how to do, in 2005 he bets against the market with as much money as he has at his disposal.  All the banks are happy to do business with him and they think he is delusional.  Jared Vennett hears about Michael Burry and he decides to get into the game.  Mark Baum gets this information accidentally and he gets into the action.  Ben Rickert is also involved and he is a former master trader but he left trading because of disgust over ethics.

     Banking became the top industry in the United States and the banks turned more and more greedy.  Their entire aim was to make the rich richer and pull the wool over the eyes of the little guy.  Home ownership was the big carrot and how you got the house and what you could pay didn’t matter.  If you were breathing, you could get a loan.  I had a difficult time keeping interesting in all the fast-talking and numbers? 

130 min, Bio directed by Adam McKay with Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Karen Gillan, Marisa Tomei, John Magaro, Finn Wittrock, Hamish Linklater, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Adepero Oduye.

Note:  Imdb 7.8 out of 10, 88% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 2552 reviews.

Special Note:  In his role as Dr. Michael Burry, Christian Bale wore Burry’s cargo shorts and t-shirt.