Cross Hairs Report - "Inside Job" Movie Review

'Inside Job' movie review: Documenting the political influence of wall street

Tired of trying to figure out what happened when Wall Street Blew Up?  Here is a movie with answers that will knock you down before you even sit down!

As liberal-minded and biased as Matt Damon is politically, he really did an excellent job narrating what was done by both parties, Republican and Democrat. 

The movie review by Stephan Whitty, The Star-Ledger, was a fair-handed assessment.  Whitty added an insightful comment toward the end of his review, "Director Charles Ferguson is too quick to blame our institutions, rather than us.  After all, someone had to sign up for all those sub-prime loans..." There was equal blame on both sides of the loan papers to go around for this bailout mess.

The classic "Earth Day" Pogo cartoon about pollution mess still says it best for this "Wall Street" political mess too: "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Anyone got a mirror?

This movie is now on Time Warner Cable On Demand at No Charge.        It is a Must See -  Very Riveting!

~ Inside Job ~

  The U.S. Treasury Players

Photo by Representational Pictures, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. Left to Right: Henry Paulson (Former US Secretary of the Treasury), Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the US Federal Reserve) and Timothy Geithner (US Secretary of the Treasury; former President of the Federal Bank of New York)

 By Stephen Whitty/The Star-Ledger

Review Published: Friday, October 08, 2010, 8:30 AM

Greed is a nonpartisan issue.

Both parties are in favor of it.

That’s the most depressing thing you may take away from “Inside Job,” a documentary about the Wall Street meltdown and home-equity catastrophe of the last few years.

Political policies wax and wane. Candidacies catch fire, or flame out on the trail. Different people occupy the White House. And still, the rich get rich and the poor get furloughed.

Not much money, oh but honey — ain’t we got fun?

Well, maybe if you’re a Wall Street mogul, or a presidential “economic adviser” — which, for years, has pretty much meant the same thing. But for the rest of us saps? Tough luck.

“Inside Job,” a fairly opinionated — but mostly fair — nonfiction film, makes it all easy to understand.

Over the last 30 or 40 years, you see, Wall Street firms have become incredibly wealthy. Simultaneously, political campaigns have become incredibly expensive.

The result? You don’t even need to listen to Matt Damon’s weary narration. Just look at the parade of faces — the same faces — as a never-changing flock of vultures circling whomever is (nominally) in power.

The presidents — Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama — differ. The problems remain the same, as each executive rolls back even more restrictions, or simply turns the whole job over to Wall Street itself.

Movie Review

Inside Job
(PG-13) Sony Pictures Classics (120 min.)

Directed by Charles Ferguson. Narrated by Matt Damon. Now playing in New York.

Ratings note: The film contains some strong language and adult subject matter.
Stephen Whitty's review: THREE STARS

Director Charles Ferguson is very bright, and very angry, which makes for a riveting combination. He’s able to explain just how derivatives work (or don’t), and why bonus-blessed executives don’t have to worry about risky, bet-the-firm investments. Ferguson’s also happy to express frank, I-can’t-believe-you-just-said-that wonder when an interview subject plays dumb.

Unfortunately — if not surprisingly — none of the too-big-to-fail execs or permanent government gurus would sit down with him. Like Michael Moore, he mostly ends up talking to people he agrees with.

Also — although not nearly as egregiously as Moore — he’s too quick to blame our institutions, rather than us. After all, someone had to sign up for all those subprime loans and too-good-to-be-true investments; if there were no get-rich-quick schemers, there’d be no Ponzi schemes. Which is why “Inside Job” may be even more depressing than Ferguson realizes. 
He ends it with a call to action against the corporate profiteers, and a stirring shot of Lady Liberty lifting her beacon high. We can reform our stacked financial game if we only have the will, Damon intones.

Well, yes. If.

But if you think we’re going to get rid of political spinelessness, voter apathy and endless greed and ignorance anytime soon — well, give me a call. I’ve got this really amazing investment opportunity, and I’d love to get you in on the ground floor…

~  REMEMBER... 

VOTE 2012!  ~