5 For: Money Monster (2016)

In this Movie Memory Machine: Five For mini-episode, Landen and Truman dig into five films that handle hostage standoffs, media critique, and moral panic with more precision, depth, and directorial vision than Money Monster. Whether it's Ned Beatty yelling about the gods of commerce or Denzel outwitting a hostage scenario in style, these films ask big questions about what media shows, what it hides, and who gets hurt in the process.

Films Discussed:

1. Network (1976)

2. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

3. Inside Man (2006)

4. Little Fish (2020)

5. Medium Cool (1969)

Topics Covered:

• Live TV as a weapon, prophecy, and punchline (Network)

• Al Pacino’s iconic standoff in Dog Day Afternoon and its gritty realism

• Spike Lee's sleek social heist in Inside Man

• Jack O’Connell’s emotional intensity in the underseen Little Fish

• Haskell Wexler’s cinéma vérité masterpiece Medium Cool and its confrontation with media complicity

Key Takeaways:

• Money Monster is a 2010s Hollywood remix of better 70s thrillers

• Sidney Lumet remains the gold standard for confined tension and character realism

• Denzel could outdance Clooney any day

• Little Fish proves Jack O’Connell’s talent wasn’t a fluke

• Sometimes, media ethics are better tackled in experimental cinema than mainstream thrillers

Listener Prompt:
What’s your favorite movie about media, money, or moral standoffs? Let us know using #MovieMemoryMachine.

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