Money Monster (2016)

A cheesy television financial wizard (George Clooney) with a popular money advice show is taken hostage by a distressed young man (Jack O'Connell, UNBROKEN) who lost everything based on the advice given by the TV host. As everything plays out in real time as his director (Julia Roberts) keeps the show on the air, the background of the financial disaster slowly becomes evident. Jodie Foster's fourth film as a director and her first mainstream film. I've not seen THE BEAVER but her first two films didn't show any indication that she could direct a thriller but she does very nicely here. The film's biggest problem is the script, notably the pure Hollywood ending. But up until then Foster cuts out all the fat and gives us a fast paced slick financial thriller (don't expect THE BIG SHORT). As expected, Clooney and Roberts are fine but O'Connell, who's British, overdoes the New York accent to the point of distracting from his otherwise solid performance. The police don't come off looking very well and, indeed, they almost seem as dark as the film's financial baddie (Dominc West). With Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Denham and Emily Meade.