Understanding American Crisis
Movies to understand the American crisis and briefly the American capitalist system.
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15 titles
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsDaniel Day-LewisPaul DanoCiarán HindsA story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.That's how it started: oil and religion.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsAl PacinoJack LemmonAlec BaldwinAn examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.In the 90s, this movie shows the change: what is your name? My BMW is my name. A salesman used to flatter the client and sell him one car per year. In the new system, he sells as much as he can to the client and leaves behind a wasteland. Essential. And a terrific part of Jack Lemmon.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsMarty Van HoeScott SchwartzMahlon RichmondKids start a fertilizer company only to see it almost destroyed by pesky adults. An inspirational story for enterprising children.Capitalism, finances and jurisdiction for kids.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenMichael DouglasTamara TunieAn impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.That goes as "Capitalism I: the essential".
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsAaron EckhartMatt MalloyStacy EdwardsTwo business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.Mysoginist, competitive, unethical, immoral: a look into 90s corporate culture.
- DirectorMary HarronStarsChristian BaleJustin TherouxJosh LucasA wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.A really disturbing look into the mind of a corporate vice-president.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJohn BeardTim BeldenBarbara BoxerA documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.That's a wise and gripping little movie that kickstarted the revival of documentary films in the 2000s, along with works from Michael Moore and others. A great insight in how the system works from fraud to court.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsShia LaBeoufMichael DouglasCarey MulliganNow out of prison but still disgraced by his peers, Gordon Gekko works his future son-in-law, an idealistic stock broker, when he sees an opportunity to take down a Wall Street enemy and rebuild his empire.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.That's pretty much of an x-ray of the crisis, giving out how it happened: the bubble, AIG, Goldman Sachs etc. That's pretty much the gravity center of this list. It might get confusing, but endure: once you grasp how it happened, it all unfolds before your eyes.
- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsZachary QuintoStanley TucciKevin SpaceyFollows the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.That's a riveting flick about the hours just before the ***** hit the fan. The tension, the catharsis, the nerve-wrecking journey into the night. Don't miss it.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsJames WoodsJohn HeardWilliam HurtChronicles the financial meltdown of 2008 and centers on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.Like Margin Call, it shows the time before the crisis, but from the Secretary of Treasure point of view. The movie excuses him a bit (as if it was all honest mistakes).
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsGeorge ClooneyVera FarmigaAnna KendrickRyan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.A sugar-coated, Hollywood-faces film showing a bit of the emotional side of the crisis: everyone is being fired -- and companies of America will appreciate a client's loyalty. This movie had hope: hope that it could keep people believing, and boost confidence in American market.
- DirectorJohn WellsStarsBen AffleckChris CooperTommy Lee JonesThe story centers on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company - and how that affects them, their families, and their communities.That's what everyone wanted to see: suit executives working in construction. Does it mean things went like this? No. But the suit man is also every enterpreneur, big or small. And it was time to work.
- DirectorMarc H. SimonBobby LeighStarsMarc DreierBobby LeighA documentary on Marc Dreier, the once-prominent Manhattan attorney who was arrested for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that netted over 700 million dollars from hedge funds.I haven't seen it yet. The mixed reviews made it more appealing to me, even: how was it to be so close to one of the guiltiest guys in the financial crisis? What did he have to say?
- DirectorGareth EdwardsStarsScoot McNairyWhitney AbleMario Zuniga BenavidesSix years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.A precise metaphor for the crisis: a wasteland of aimless people trying to get to a better place in a corrupt environment. Youngsters will love it, and learn from it -- even if it seems just a(n awesome) monster movie.