Gold (Matthew McConaughey, Édgar Ramírez)

[Holmes]

I could not find a thread for this film. Apologies if there is one; please delete this; etc.

My review -

The story of a hard-living Reno prospector saved from financial calamity by the unexpected discovery of gold in an Indonesian jungle, the simply titled Gold is an energetic and often stylish film without a center, without enough soul. It is a contemporary treasure-hunt film which transforms into American Hustle or The Wolf of Wall Street lite, but neither pole is particularly well-developed; as a story of financial chicanery in the mining industry, it is undermined by the decision to include an enormous twist in the third act, requiring a significant amount of coy obfuscation and outright misdirection during the first hour and a half. Behind the camera, Stephen Gaghan is game, but misguided. He tries, broadly, to play Martin Scorsese, madly winding his camera through ballrooms and boardrooms and destroyed hotel rooms as 1980s pop music roars, when it would be more novel and intriguing if he explored minerals and mining the way he did the petroleum industry in the excellent Syriana (or illegal narcotics in his award-winning screenplay for Traffic): from diverse perspectives and with a stately, journalism-meets-John le Carré tone.

In the lead role, Matthew McConaughey is clearly committed, ravenous even, as he dials down any movie-star glamor—the underpants! the sweat! the erosive receding hairline! the paunch!—and savors every piece of egotistical, rapid-fire, this-is-a-curdled-metaphor-for-the-American-Dream dialogue. It is a high-wire, maximum-volume piece of acting, at once riveting and arguably pushed too far to the fore (at the expense of the other characters and even the story itself). Worthy of at least modest praise are Bryce Dallas Howard, infusing a rather archetypal concerned-love-interest role with sensitivity and sensuality, and the smoldering Édgar Ramírez as a character perhaps more worthy of being the protagonist, an almost mythic British-Venezuelan geologist with an adventurer's spirit and a complicated master plan.

C+

[Talleyrand]

A bit of fun, but not the great film I was hoping for. McConaughey is awesome though.

[ManBeast]

I had to leave less than 5 minutes in because a group of teenagers couldn't stop messing around and climbing over the seats...looks like I'll have to find the time to watch it again!

[Chaotic]

I'm surprised a group of teenagers went to see this.

[Leonidas King]

Wait, people actually went to see this?

[ManBeast]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

I'm surprised a group of teenagers went to see this.

They were probably at least 18 so towards the upper end. Who knows they could have all been 23 and they'd still look like kids to me!

[civiclx]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

They were probably at least 18 so towards the upper end. Who knows they could have all been 23 and they'd still look like kids to me!

That sucks you spent your money only to leave 5 minutes in? I don't suppose you got your money back did you?

[drush9999]

I have an unlimited pass so wouldn't pay to see this, but it misfires on half it's cylinders and is just ok but not terrible