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A Smart Comedy About “Dumb Money”

A Smart Comedy About “Dumb Money”

Apparently in the investing world, “dumb money” refers to the money the common man invests. The idea is that these “retail investors” don’t have the knowledge or resources to fully understand the complex world of high finance and thus don’t make wise investment decisions. Thus, hedge funds, investment banks, etc., can exploit these investors to make a profit by betting against the dumb money. And that’s how it typically goes. But not always. In 2020, the dumb money struck back in support of GameStop, sparking a revolution of sorts against the allegedly smart money. It is this story that Dumb Money, a fun, sharp, and yes, smart comedy about the whole affair.

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Mill Valley Film Festival Day 3: “La Chimera” Doesn’t Know What It Is

In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. The term has become shorthand for any creature that is made up of the parts of different animals as well as a term referring to something hoped for that can never be obtained. While writer/director Alice Rohrwacher’s new film, La Chimera, was probably going for that latter meaning, its the former that seems more The apropos. At times it’s a character study, a crime caper, a romance, a comedy, an argument for feminist collectivism, and a mediation on life and love. In trying to be too many things, however, La Chimera fails to be effective at almost all of them.

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Mill Valley Film Festival Day 2: “Anatomy of a Fall” is an Autopsy of a Marriage

Massive traffic on the bridge leading from Marin County to Berkeley kept me from seeing my second film of the day, so I only saw one. It was a marquee title, though. Anatomy of a Fall won the Palme d’Or (the top award) at the Cannes Film Festival this year, so anticipation was high and the theater was packed. While I think it the Palme d’Or was a little bit of a reach, it was a satisfying courtroom drama about peering into the the darkest corners of a relationship.

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True/False 2023: Friday

True/False 2023: Friday

As I said in my last post, I’m attending the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri this weekend. The fest has become one of the foremost documentary festivals, having an impressive mix of titles coming out of Sundance, early stops for films headed to the fall festivals, and its own set of world premieres and off-the-beaten-track docs. While the festival started on Thursday afternoon, I got started on Friday attending a panel discussion on film criticism. I then got to see the following three movies:

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True/False 2023: Getting Underway

True/False 2023: Getting Underway

This weekend, I’m attending the True/False Film Festival in nearby Columbia, Missouri. I’ve been honored to attend the several times over the last several years. In doing so, I’ve gotten to enjoy new films from such masters of the documentary craft as Errol Morris, Morgan Neville, Robert Greene, and Matthew Heineman. Over the last 20 years, the folks in Columbia and the Ragtag Film Society have figured out how to put on quite a festival. I’m glad to be a part of it.

I’ll be seeing films on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My plan is to post each morning summarizing the previous day. For a few of you, it’s a preview of docs you’ll want to catch up on later this year. For others, I hope it’s just a peek at how exciting and beautiful the world of documentary filmmaking can be.

The Top 10 Films of 2022 – #8 – “Cha Cha Real Smooth”

The Top 10 Films of 2022 – #8 – “Cha Cha Real Smooth”

Cooper Raiff is really very charming. To adults. And by adults I mean Jewish parents. Raiff’s Andrew is having a twentysomething early life crisis; a flailing relationship and failure to launch provide the setup for what looks like a standard slacker making good story. It’s not not a slacker making good story, but it’s not all that standard. Raiff’s breezy charisma and a twist on the relationship that helps him grow up turn Cha Cha Real Smooth into a real charmer.

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