We're now deep in Oscar season and sure enough, our Film of the Week is an Oscar-nominated one.
The Big Short is directed by Adam McKay (who's on this week's edition of The Insider Podcast, FYI) and stars Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Steve Carrell and Brad Pitt as a group of Wall Street traders who correctly predicted the 2008 Financial Crisis and decide to make a ton of money from it. Don't let the term 'Financial Crisis' put you off, this is a hugely entertaining film with some fantastic performances by Gosling, Bale and Carrell. Not only that, it's been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at this year's Oscars.
You can read the four-star review right here.
Our Brand Is Crisis stars Sandra Bullock as a retired political strategist who tries to help a sleazy candidate get elected in Bolivia's presidential election. Co-starring Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd and Jaoquim De Almeida, it's along the lines of Wag The Dog and other political comedies, but not as good as we would have hoped for.
You can read the full review right here and decide for yourself.
The 5th Wave is an adaptation of a young adult novel that stars Kick-Ass' Chloe Grace Moretz and It Follow's Maika Monroe. When her hometown is destroyed by a giant alien battleship (really), Moretz has to go into hiding and escape the onslaught of further alien attacks - including aliens who look just like us. Think Red Dawn meets They Live and you're on the right track.
You can read the full review here.
The Brothers-In-Law are back with Ride Along 2, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. Now working as a beat cop, Hart is still trying to impress his wife's brother, Ice Cube, and is desperate to make detective. When they stumble upon a vital piece of evidence that points to Miami, Ice Cube and Hart have to set off to uncover the criminal conspiracy.
You can read our full review here.
And for something more arthouse, The Assassin is a Chinese martial arts period drama set in 7th century China that follows a beautiful woman, trained in martial arts, as she attempts to assassinate the man she was formerly betrothed to. Filled with incredible cinematography and court intrigue, The Assassin was put forward for Taiwan's entry into this year's Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language film.
