Adam McKay, the director of Will Ferrell movies such as Anchorman, might not appear at first glance to be the man for the job of adapting Michael Lewis's book about the events leading to the 2008 financial crisis for the screen. But, thanks to an excellent ensemble cast, a smart script and a careful balancing act between empathy and anger, The Big Short is one of the year's most intelligent and enjoyable films.Pitched somewhere between the earnest, bleak outlook of JC Chandor's Margin Call and the baroque high jinks of Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street, McKay's film takes us into the world of the men who saw the financial crisis coming and who, like decent human beings, decided to quietly make money betting against the US housing market.It cost them their morals, but it also made them a lot of money much to the incredulity of everyone around them.It's also a study of outsiders and the personal ticks that it took for them to bet against the market. We have Michael Burry (Christian Bale), the maths genius LA fund manager with a glass eye who dresses like a beach bum and has a penchant for hardcore punk, which he likes to drum along to in his office. Burry was one of the first people to see the warning signs that led him to risk his fund's capital by "shorting" the housing market which he knew would have to collapse. In New York there is Mark Baum (Steve Baum) a righteous fund manager trying to get over his brother's suicide who isn't afraid to tell the financial world what he thinks of their crooked ways but ultimately makes the same bet as his beach- bum counterpart. He's aided in this endeavour by Deutsche Bank employee Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), a man who knows how stupid bankers are and bets against them accordingly. Lastly, there are up and coming hedge fund founders Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley who, with the help of an eccentric former Wall Streeter Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), fight for a seat at the table with the big boys.With stellar performances from everyone involved McKay teases out the contradictions in his characters - men who knew the system was rotten but used this to their advantage. It's both a funny and moving look at bankers and their arrogance.Like Lewis's book the film succeeds in explaining difficult financial concepts with clever devices like cameos from real-life celebrities and straight-to-camera soliloquies that bring home the almost universal impact of the crisis. It leaves you crying - first with laughter and then out of anger at the sheer injustice.What others sayEqual parts goofy crime caper and cold-blooded rage against the machine that created the Global Financial Crisis.New Zealand HeraldA hell of a hilarious time at the movies if you're up for laughs that stick in your throat. rollingstone.comAlso openingRIDE ALONG 2If you rode along with the original, you may be fine riding along with the sequel. But don't expect more than a long ride. Backwards. Bill Wine, philadelphia.cbslocal.comSUFFRAGETTEScant minutes in, the film is already calling its shots, telling the audience what's so important about itself, rather than trusting the viewers to understand it. Jesse Hassenger, AV Club..