Admit One 12/25

The Big Short

Starring: Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Karen Gillan, Marisa Tomei

Directed by: Adam McKay

Plot: A group of outsiders decides to bet against the banks in the lead up the housing credit bubble of the early 2000’s.

Rotten Tomatoes Freshness: 86%

Critic Consensus: “The Big Short approaches a serious, complicated subject with an impressive attention to detail — and manages to deliver a well-acted, scathingly funny indictment of its real-life villains in the bargain”

Joy

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Bradley Cooper, Diane Ladd, Edgar Ramirez, Virginia Madsen

Directed by: David O. Russell

Plot: JOY is the wild story of a family across four generations centered on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right

RT Freshness: 58%

Critic Consensus: “Joy is anchored by a strong performance from Jennifer Lawrence, although director David O. Russell’s uncertain approach to its fascinating fact-based tale only sporadically sparks bursts of the titular emotion”

Point Break

Starring: Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo, Ray Winstone

Directed by: Ericson Core

Plot: A young FBI agent infiltrates a group of extreme athletes who he believes are behind a series of massive heists.

RT Freshness: N/A

Critic Consensus: N/A

Daddy’s Home

Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Hannibal Burress

Directed by: Sean Anders

Plot: A mild mannered step-dad finds himself fighting for his new family’s love and attention when their bad ass real dad arrives back home.

RT Freshness: 26%

Critic Consensus: “Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have proven comedic chemistry, but Daddy’s Home suffers from a dearth of genuinely funny ideas – and lacks enough guts or imagination to explore the satirical possibilities of its premise”

Concussion

Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Albert Brooks, David Morse

Directed by: Peter Landesman

Plot: Dr. Bennet Omalu discovers that many football players suffer from Chronic traumatic encephalopathy due to head impacts but he faces off against the NFL, who want to hide his findings.

RT Freshness: 61%

Critic Consensus: “Concussion lands a solid, well-acted hit on its impressively timely subject matter, even if its traditional sports drama structure is a little too safe to deserve a full-on dance in the end zone”