After reading a couple of negative reviews about this movie, I get the impression that the people who found it insufficient or boring completely lost the point. Levinson didn't try to pull a "Fincher" with this one. In other words, "Wizard of Lies" is not a documentary, touching on each and every aspect of this infamous case in every detail. This is more of a psychogram (i.e. character portrayal) of the members of the Madoff family. With that in mind, the movie touches wonderfully on the dynamics of an ultimately patriarchal family; the "castration" of the sons, the absolute dependence of every member of the family on the father, and on what happens when this father goes down in a big, BIG way. If you are interested in learning about the greatest financial fraud in the history of the USA (some say of all time), then visit the Wikipedia page or watch a documentary. This movie will not cover your needs. If you want to watch a beautifully directed, acted and edited psychological drama, then "The Wizard of Lies" is right up your alley.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Stranger Things
(2016–2025)
An amazing homage to '80s Steven Spielberg movies
25 August 2016
I'm sure by now everyone knows about this show, so instead of writing the same stuff you've probably read already, I just want to focus on three things: 1. Yes, they did manage to give it an awesome '80s vibe, from the opening sequence to the end credits. Having grown up with these movies myself, I can attest to that. However, I think it will appeal to younger audiences as well. After all, there must be reasons that movies such as "The Goonies" and "E.T." remain memorable even now, other than the "'80s vibe". 2. The creators of the show (the Duffer brothers) have somewhat regretted having Winona Ryder's character acting so hysterically from the start. I disagree with that. That's EXACTLY how a real person would act if *spoiler* happened to her. I hate it when in most movies e.g. the hero loses someone very close to them, then they cry for a brief moment and then it's back to the action. That's ridiculous. 3. I liked how they gradually revealed pieces of the puzzle in every episode. No matter how clever your plot twist/secret is, if the building up period exceeds a certain point, then you'll have created too high expectations and it will be impossible to impress your viewers after that. I'm afraid that this will be a one off deal. I'm sure that the incredible success of the first season will lead to a second one, but given the plot and the ending, I doubt they'll be able to keep it to as high a level. In my honest opinion, the best case scenario would be if they wrote a similar story with a similar setting and maybe even have the same actors play different roles. I really, really wish they'll prove me wrong, but I'm afraid that a direct sequel is doomed to fail. Especially since this was supposed to be a one season show and they only discuss about making a second one because of all its unexpected success.
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