Money Monster

Rated R / 1 hr 38 min / Drama - Thriller

What is it about?

George Clooney is a financial show wizard from the world of Harry Potter. His patronus is a dollar bill folded into an origami butterfly. He recommended that people buy a stock and then the stock tanked. He then told people to grow some balls and buy more of the same stock. Clooney is to interview the CEO, but they got held up in an epic Pokemon tournament and couldn't make it. Instead they send a lady who only wants to remotely cosplay Sailor Moon. Before he gets a chance to interview her a man holds him at gunpoint to force him to become a suicide bomber for the man's jihad against capitalism. Now the Money Monster has to find out what happened to the man's money or die trying.

You will like it if...

You like straightforward thrillers based in the financial world starring George Clooney. Clooney does a serviceable job as usual, but his dancing is pretty hokey at the beginning intro of his fake TV show. His performance is about what you would expect from him at this point in his career. Julia Roberts does an adequate job of playing his producer as well. While there are many tense moments that help push the film, you never feel like any of the characters are really in danger. The man with his finger on the detonator is kind of a tragic hero that pulls sympathy from the audience. The script takes a predictable track that eventually leads exactly where you would expect. While the main theme has to do with corporate fraud, the story stays firmly planted into its fictional world. In other words the story doesn't feel realistic in today's world. What you get in the end with Money Monster isn't a monster at all. More like a small dog in a tutu growling at a wadded up dollar bill. Money Monster is a lightly entertaining thriller that doesn't really thrill much. If you are interested and like George Clooney then I would suggest watching it on Redbox/Netflix when it is available there.

Next Week

Godzilla will choose between The Nice Guys, The Angry Birds Movie, and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. As always the movie selection is subject to change based on what is showing here in theaters.

Upcoming to DVD on May 17

• The Witch - Horror with lots of tension, but few scares
• Dirty Grandpa - Someone thought it would be a good idea to use Robert Deniro in a gross out comedy, it's worth a few laughs but not very good.