Month: September 2019

If you haven’t watched The Big Short yet, I strongly recommend you to do. It’s a great movie concerning trading and the global financial crisis (2007-2008). You’d be amazed at the storyline and suspense that this movie has to offer.

But if you have watched this amazing movie, however, then we have four other similar movies to recommend you. Movies that you should definitely put on your must-watch list.

Boiler room

Box office – $28 million

Directed and written by – Ben Younger

(If you are – or if you want to become a broker one day – this is the perfect movie for you)

Plot:
Even though he is a college dropout, the nineteen-year-old Seth Davis manages to make a living by running an illegal and small local casino in his home. Something that his father, Marty (A federal judge), doesn’t approve at all.

But one night, a wealthy person named Greg Weinstein comes by the casino to play blackjack. That night Greg offers Seth to join a brokerage company called J. T. Marlin. Seth accepts the offer. But later on, Seth finds out that J. T. Marlin is corrupted and that it uses its brokers to allure buyers into  investing in companies that never or no longer exist.

Seth is devastated when he is tricked into tricking one of the stock market buyers, Harry Reynard, who thanks to Seth, loses everything he has. Then Seth confesses everything to his father and wants them both to reveal the fraud of J. T. Marlin.

At first, Seth’s father seems reluctant to accept, for he is afraid that he might lose his job as a federal judge if something goes wrong. But then he accepts. Both Seth and his father succeed in closing down J. T. Marlin, though not alone, the FBI gets involved in the case as well.

Margin Call

Box office – $19.5 million

Directed and written by – J. C. Chandor

(A great finance-based movie that will keep you excited and thrilled from the very begging till the end. Besides, you’ll learn something more about the global financial crisis too)

Plot:
A company starts to fall in the abyss of the global financial crisis (2007-2008). During the beginning of the movie, no one is aware of any lurking financial menace. Eric Dale from the department of risk management – is the first person who is on the edge of discovering that the company is moving straight towards bankrupt, but his project isn’t finished.

At first, no one believes in his project, and he is flanked by security out of the building for good. But on his way out, he stumbles across one of his colleagues, Peter Sullivan – also from the department of risk management. Eric hands over a USB stick to Peter by casting him a furtive you-have-to-finish-this look.

Peter, working late at night on finishing Peter’s project, uncovers some shocking facts. The value of the company’s mortgage-backed securities is rapidly decreasing. Peter informs posthaste some of his colleagues about the financial instability that they’re facing. The bad information spreads fast and reaches to the division head, Jared. There is an emergency meeting.

The firm makes some plans on how to financially survive – and Eric is called to be part of those plans at the threat that he’d lose his severance payment, among other things, if he doesn’t agree to do it.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Box office – $392 million

Directed by – Martin Scorsese
Written by – Terence Winter

(This is the greatest stockbroking movie of all times. And even if you don’t have any knowledge in stockbroking, you’ll still enjoy and watch this movie with rapt attention)

Plot:
Jordan Belfort starts as a stockbroker. Something that provides him enough money to fall in the dirty hands of sex, nightlife, and drugs. But rather sooner than later, his career ends. Still, he manages to find a new job at a brokerage firm, and he is so good at what he does that he even makes a  small fortune. But that isn’t enough for Jordan.

And after getting acquainted with the deceitful talents of his neighbor, Donnie Azoff, both he and Donnie decide to open their own company – Stratton Oakmont. They even hire some of Jordan’s friends to work for them by teaching them some fraud methods that, later on, generate huge amounts of money for the company.

Nevertheless, Jordan becomes so rich that he starts to care only for himself. He even divorces his wife to marry another woman named Naomi, but their marriage doesn’t have a happy ending. At any rate, the biggest problems for Jordan begin when he makes dozens of millions in just several hours. Jordan transfers his money in a Swiss bank to hide them, but that doesn’t help him in appearing any less fraudulent in the eyes of the FBI.

He travels abroad to escape justice, but, eventually, he gets caught by the FBI. And after being sentenced by the court, he is given a chance to serve only three years in prison, though under one condition. He has to testify against his criminal colleagues, which he does.

MoneyBall

Box office – $110 million

Directed by – Bennett Miller
Written by – Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian

(If you love baseball and some real (Go from zero to hero) team-management actions – MoneyBall is the movie that you don’t want to skip)

Plot:
The 2001 American League Division doesn’t end well for the Oakland Athletics. Their general manager, Billy Beane, feels down in the dumps. And with several leading players on the brink of leaving the team, there seems to be no hope for the Oakland Athletics at all.

But fortunately, Billy meets this young graduate – Peter Brand. Peter approaches Billy with some forward-looking strategies that might transform the whole downfall prospect of the Athletics into victory. Billy likes Peter’s words and puts him on an aptitude test by asking him what steps he would take concerning a game of a past major league.

Peter answers the question, and Billy hires him almost at once. Billy’s assertions to victory are based on sabermetrics that would evaluate the quality of underestimated players. And since the Athletics have a small budget to operate with, this seems like a great plan to Billy. So, after hiring three underestimated players, including an injured catcher, Billy and Peter get nothing but bad criticism from Oakland scouts and hostile opposition from Art Howe (The manager of the team).

But despite the resistance to their strategy, Billy and Peter prove that they are right. And the Athletics even make twenty consecutive wins, which is a new record to the American League Record Board.

I hope that our list of four movies similar to The Big Short has been interesting to you. Now, all you have to do is relax, sit down, and watch some of the greatest finance-based movies of all times.

Besides, no matter which of these four movies you chose to watch, you won’t make a mistake.

There is no doubting that Martin Scorcese’s 2013 biopic of Jordan Belfort’s crazy real-life story, was a huge success. Whenever I speak to people about this movie, I always get the same response. It’s just too hard to find that person who thinks it’s a bad film. Despite only being six-years-old, it is regarded as a modern day classic, which continues to grow in popularity.

This article aims to give you 10 movies that are like “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

The Big Short

This movie just has to make the list. Just like the “The Wolf of Wall Street”, the film is based around a group of characters who work within the wall street industry. What these characters foresee, is the collapse of the housing market, and all they want is to take advantage of it, despite their clients’ growing outrage.

The Social Network

Just like “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “The Social Network” is a critically acclaimed movie that is directed by a cinematic giant. It is David Fincher who is responsible for creating this piece of art back in 2011. Another similarity is that both movies are based on true stories that involve deceit and corruption. “The Social Network” portrays the issues surrounding the creation of Facebook.

American Psycho

If you’re a fan of “The Wolf of Wall Street” then there is no reason why you should not like “American Psycho”. They are two movies based on young, charming men working in sales who have over excessive characters wanting to achieve their goals. Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) is a sociopath waiting to be unleashed in this pulsating thriller.

Casino

Another Scorsese classic which also holds similarities. Driven by an all-star cast, “Casino” portrays life as a mob gangster running a Vegas Casino. One thing about this movie that has to be said, is that Sharon Stone’s portrayal of Ginger is nothing short of wonderfully breathtaking. In addition, her character can be compared to Margot Robbie’s, Naomi Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Both women have equal tendencies to be with a man for money and power, and won’t think twice in backstabbing them when the time is right. The infamous Robert De Niro stars as the mob boss in this scintillating gangster movie. When his business is affected by serious competition, life becomes a matter of survival as lives are teared apart in this cinematic masterpiece.

Wall Street

Despite the obvious, “Wall Street” is most certainly a movie to watch after “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Not just because both stories are based around the culture of Wall Street, but how they are set in different eras that show us the corruption involving the financial world. “Wall Street” is set in a time that is before the 1987 crash, and this is right before what takes place at the beginning of “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

American Hustle

This is a fictional film that portrays an impressive scandal you’ll never forget. Led by another all-star cast, “American Hustle” tells a story of con-artists, FBI agents, and the Mafia all rolled up in one glorious feature. The plot is intelligent as well as entertaining, and each character gifts you with something worthwhile of your time. Like “The Wolf of Wall Street”, the movie is thrilling and entertaining, and similarly uses pop songs during emotional moments.

Catch Me if You Can

If you want a movie to take you on a pulsating chase of cat and mouse, look no further than “Catch Me if You Can”. This is another movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays as Frank Abagnale jr, although he is much younger in this feature. Just like his Jordan Belfort character, DiCaprio’s Abagnale is intelligent and highly skilled to fool the FBI for numerous years. Abagnale is just a teenager, but he manages to disguise himself as a lawyer, a doctor, and a co-captain of a major airline within this movie. To think that this movie is based on a true story just blows your mind.

The Departed

You cannot deny that “The Departed” has to be on this list. Like the majority of the films listed here, it holds a fantastic cast that delivers one of the greatest mob dramas of our era. It earned Scorsese his one and only surprising Academy Award for Best Picture, but when you see it, you will know exactly why. It portrays one man working undercover in the mob, and another who is a mole among the cops. What this story brings, is a battle between the mob and the cops, showing brave individuals as pawns to win it for their establishments. If you haven’t seen this movie, it is a must-see today.

Boiler Room

In this drama, there is a portrayal of American Business at it’s most corrupt worst. Although it doesn’t boast a strong enough script to be on par with “The Wolf of Wall Street”, there are still so many comparisons between the pair. Both movies involve young men who all become millionaires overnight within the world of sales. “Boiler Room” shows these young men working at a brokerage firm who, just like those in “The Wolf of Wall Street”, achieve in making their money by fooling their clients over the phone.

War Dogs

Firstly, “War Dogs” compares to “The Wolf of Wall Street” because both of them contain Jonah Hill. However, the comparison doesn’t stop there. Both of these movies contain young men who strive to earn millions of bucks in quick succession. In this movie, Jonah Hill aims to convince his friend to be an international arms dealer, and the amount of comedic moments that come with it makes you know you are watching a similar movie to “The Wolf of Wall Street”. It is a solid movie which is driven by a compelling true story. It is an underrated movie that could perhaps gain a stronger following.

There you go, the ten movies that can be strongly compared to “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Each and every one of them hold at least some similarities. Some more than others, of course, but it’s easy to suggest that they all compare is some way.

Whether it’s a plot involving the same business culture, or perhaps a mob drama that holds similar characters with similar purposes, there are enough movies out there that can be compared with the popular biopic.

If you’re a fan of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, then each and every movie on this list has to be watched either now or in the future.