"Too Big To Fail" :the HBO movie

Hi

I liked Paul Giamatti portrayal of Bernanke. He is the same guy who played John Adams in that HBO mini series.

Socialist: Yes, he was great. Amazing cast!

Best scene in the movie: Every one with James Woods.
He gets less scenes than most of the others, but makes the most of them.

He is the finest actor in the biz.
Paul Giamatti takes second place. They are the top two.
I've never seen them give a bad performance.

Sounds like someone is upset that his mommy didn't breast feed him.

I couldnt disagree more. And let me say I Love James Woods.
But he's always playing a version of James Woods.
Dare I say, everyone was so good, Woods came in last for me.

And big mistake by HBO. This should have been an 8 episode mini series.
Of course HBO has dropped the ball long ago, handing over the crown to Showtime.

On content,at least kudos for starting with the clip of Clinton's speech on the deregulation and not being to politically anti right as HBO is.
Killing mainly the bank chiefs (rightly so),SEC a bit, but giving government officials too much the victim card, but of course it's not news....it's HBO.

Nice to see a Mathew Modine comeback....where's he been??

"Nice to see a Mathew Modine comeback....where's he been??"

W. 25th st., from what I've been seeing.

truthskr: See: "The Virgin Suicides".
He plays the father. Could NOT be more different than the other movies you've seen him in.
What's your fave James Woods movie?

Who's first? Paul Giamatti always does exasperation. He was in fine form,and had the better bald make-up in the cast.

SunnyD :Modine likes to wear a white suit with brown sandals. He works that look in the city. Big dry cleaning bill.

huntersburg: What's that baby crying about now? He trolls me, I don't read him; but he seems to just get more angry.

Don't really have a favorite, like I said, I like all his work, but for the most part he's almost always playing a version of himself. I know that may sound silly but some actors are just too much of themselves....Walter Mathau, Jack Nicholson, Alan Arkin, etc.

But off the top of my head, Against All Odds, Joshua Then and Now, Diggstown, and the drug movie with Melanie Griffith.

Everyone was great but it felt like everyone was just a cameo.
A heavyweight Scorcese'sque cast but not enough movie.
Woods did not get less scenes than everybody. Everybody was a guest appearance for William Hurt.
The movie was basically " A month or two in the times of Henry Paulson."

"Who's first?"

geoffrey rush

also, people don't think of him that way because he's just so gorgeous, but george clooney is always excellent.

"for the most part he's almost always playing a version of himself"

that's really true of almost all actors though.

"that's really true of almost all actors though."
Id say half.
Christian Bale has great range. He stole the show in Fighter.

Loved Runkel from Californication playing Blanfein. For someone who does a lot of talking in his other roles, his role here was predominately facial expressions and he was great.

(On Mathew Modine) Im a fan for life just for Memphis Belle.

"Christian Bale"

ooh, he's great, i forgot about him. he beats out GR but only because his looks allow him more range.

O.K., truthskr:
"always" is different from "almost always".
And if you consider the range between those roles and Woods playing the father in the Virgin Suicides - Woods is a masterful actor. Check out his scenes in Too Big To Fail, and you will see him acting a wide range of expressions, without any lines to read.

I give credit to HBO for pre throgh post - production. Woods' last scene was filmed Halloween night. The movie aired just 6 months later. The editing alone is excellent. The screenplay is too.

lucille: That's right: Bale has the advantage of youth and looks. Woods is in his 60's.
If any of you ever saw him in his early days, acting onstage (Broadway) he had that range even then.
He's no pretty boy actor. He brings it every time.

I threw in "almost" because of your passion for his role in Virgin Suicides. Im taking your word for it.

james woods is my dad's favorite actor. he'll go on about how great he is and always end with "did you know he went to mit? very smart guy!"

truthskr: Don't miss it, worth renting the dvd!

lucille: LOL!
Woods is very smart.

The movie was good in that it didn't put forth this ridicilouis idea that the great recession was all the fault of greedy bankers (who supposedly knew what they were doing). For a 90 minute film it doled out the blame appropriately: reckless deregulation, inept oversight, predatory lending, ABS bankers, and maybe most of all the american public who fueled the meltdown by trying to live way beyong their means.