Weekend Watch: The Creator, Dumb Money
Sweeping sci-fi and shocking stock swaps
Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Gareth Edwards returns to the sci-fi sphere and the GameStop short squeeze comes to screens. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite and Threads/Instagram: @jammerwhite
Even given his less-than-satisfying experience with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (I don’t need to reheat that particular issue, but when Tony Gilroy is the person in charge of prequel series Andor, you don’t have to guess what happened), it’s good to see that Gareth Edwards hasn’t given up on the idea of sweeping science fiction cinema. And while The Creator isn’t quite as original from a scriptwriting standpoint, it is perhaps the most beautiful genre film you will see this year.
This is perhaps not a surprise, given that his breakthrough, Monsters, was visually stunning on a thrifty budget, and his blockbuster efforts, Godzilla and the aforementioned Rogue One both had elements to recommend them. The Creator has as its base a conflict between humanity and AI, which we’ve seen many times before, but is ever more resonant these days. And in a fresh twist, it’s not all of humanity –– while a nuclear attack on Los Angeles has put America and the Western World on the offensive against the machines, they find sanctuary and support in New Asia, where they are considered sacred.
Into this situation steps troubled soldier Joshua (John David Washington) who, still mourning the apparent death of his wife in a US assault on an AI base, is tempted with the idea that she may yet be alive and tasked with tracking down a super weapon that the machines have developed. But when he tracks it down, Joshua discovers that it’s in the form of a young AI child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), and things only get more complicated from there.
If the skeleton of the movie is a little familiar (you can see the DNA of Blade Runner, The Terminator, Aliens and more in the bones of The Creator), the flesh of the film is in Edwards’ shooting style, which saw him and his crew film guerrilla-style, in beautiful natural locations across Asia.
Despite the familiar frame, there is plenty to enjoy in Edwards’ latest –– Washington and Voyles work well together, and the director has stacked the supporting cast with the proven likes of Ken Watanabe, Amar Chadha-Patel and Allison Janney, who gets to play a tough-nut military type who has no love for the machines.
Definitely worth seeing on a giant screen, The Creator overcomes its issues thanks to lush visuals and interesting themes.
The Creator is in UK and US cinemas now.
Image Credit: Sony Pictures
While Dumb Money is already technically in cinemas, I waited until it was widely available in the States and Britain to talk about how entertaining this film has turned out.
Directed by Craig Gillespie (who already delivered fun strange-but-true tales with I, Tonya and last year’s series Pam & Tommy), it’s the comedy-drama retelling of the GameStop short squeeze.
You might remember the story, but here are the basics. In early 2021, hedge fund types looked to take advantage of the struggling fortunes of video game retailer GameStop by “shorting” the stock, betting against its price. But, partly thanks to a financial analyst named Keith Gill, who posted on YouTube and Reddit, amateur investors began buying the shares, driving up the price and causing the wealthy Wall St. types to panic as they scrambled to cover potential losses in the billions. The price rose as more and more members of the public bought stock, memes spreading across the internet about it and the news hitting beyond the financial news shows.
I won’t tell you exactly how it ended, since that’s what the movie drives towards (and you can google it if you want to know), but Gillespie and writers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, adapting Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network, turn the event into a funny, thrilling and utterly entertaining movie.
With Paul Dano anchoring the narrative as Gill, Dumb Money (named for the insult levelled at amateur investors by the rich and powerful hedge fund types) spreads the story around various characters, either real people or composites to help fuel the plot. We’re introduced to various people involved, including wealthy Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) who sees his business threatened, struggling nurse Jenny (America Ferrera), who invests her savings in the hope of winning big and college students Harmony (Talia Ryder) and Riri (Myha’la), who devoutly follow Keith’s posts as they look to solve their own education loan debts.
Gillespie handles the whole thing with wit and style, letting Dano and the memes drive the exposition in a way that doesn’t overload the experience of watching it. The film also unearths some fascinating truths about the whole affair and will leave you feeling both hopeful that people can change things and frustrated that those with wealth and influence can still get away with whatever they want. Call it a bittersweet wrap-up, but one I’m happy to recommend.
Dumb Money is on wide release in US cinemas now and is already out in the UK.