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Capone Gets MAXED OUT!!
Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here. The first great horror film of 2007 does not feature a raving lunatic with a knife or buckets of blood, but it does deliver a devastating sense of dread and an impressive death toll. What is the masterpiece of terror? It's a documentary about the American way of debt called Maxed Out, and it comes complete with all of its monsters ready to scare the shit out of you.
The monsters in question are the much-maligned credit card companies who will send applications for cards to the people least likely to pay them off in a timely fashion. If you make a habit of paying off your credit cards in full every month, these monsters don't care about you. College kids, the handicapped, the poverty stricken, these are their victims. And the result is sometimes suicide, homelessness, or a lifetime of harassment by debt collectors. Maxed Out seeks out to tell the story of both individuals ruined by debt and our country as an out-of-control debtor nation.
These banking institutions that issue credit cards are barely held accountable for their tactics in recruiting cardholders who are clearly high-risk candidates. Most legislative attempts to limit the companies' access to the young and the poor have been met with an army of lobbyists and easily bought politicians (including our president) fighting against such regulation. So college kids accrue so much debt so young that they see a lifetime of suffering ahead of them resort to suicide, and middle-aged women hide their massive debt from their families and go missing suddenly, only to have their cars (with their bodies inside) pulled from the nearby river.
Maxed Out may change the way your view your own spending or your attitudes about those who spend beyond their means. Unfortunately, it probably won't change the way you view our government or corporate America. But whatever you opinion of on these subjects by the end of the film, it's impossible to come out the other side unmoved. This is an expertly researched and finely constructed essay on the United States that every American carrying a balance needs to see. The film peppers its serious message with dark humor and cleverly used stand-up footage of Louis C.K.'s classic routine about his bank calling him to tell him he had insufficient funds. It's a great bit, and it underscores the film's resounding themes all too well. Take a deep breath, take stock of your financial situation, and take the plunge into this one, folks. It's worth it.
Capone
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so easy to spend on plastic when you gotta eat. dont spend beyond your means kids.. and stop playing online poker.
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Sounds interesting. Count down until this talkback turns political...
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Oh wait, no there shouldn't. people should grow up and learn to spend responsibly. besides if we are going to regulate the way people are marketed to I have a few laws that step on freedoms i find dangerous and irritating. Boo Hoo I killed myself because of credit cards. Get a real job film makers
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don't get into debit, it's a bitch playing off those cards, and taking money out from your cards to pay the monthly amount does not help.
seriously though, if you spend beyond your means you are farked. the only way your situation is going to improve is to a) cut your spending or b) get a better job.
luckily i opted for b not everyone has that option though. -
In fact if you are a college kid with overwhelming debt you declare bancruptcy or talk to the card's resolution center about payment options. Captured and doomed to be tortured by nazis= good reason to off your self. Bought too many Dvd's and Plasma TV's = not good reason to kill yourself.
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1. Do you work at the Landmark Century Cinema? Just curious.
2. Were you the guy that introduced Bruce Campbell at the "Bubba Ho-Tep" screening.
That's all. -
I owe God Money is what i mean
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it's starting to look like Stuart Rosenberg will never get an Obit on here. the man directed Cool Hand Luke, and he gets passed over for Larry Bud Melman? someone's gotta write something at least. "sometime's nothing's a real cool hand" but not for obituaries! sheesh...
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Should people be a little smarter about the way they spend money and enter into contracts with lending organizations? Sure. But I think the point of this film is to illustrate how ruthless these credit card companies are about targeting a less-stable demographic and hoping that people will act irresponsibly. You don't think there's something wrong with that? Or is all fair in capitalism? Surely there's a bad side effect in too much regulation, but there seems to be a big problem that isn't getting addressed. Coddling individuals who don't know how to manage their financial lives is bad enough, but coddling (and protecting) companies that prey so mercilessly in search of profit is even worse. I suggest you watch the film and hear what the filmmakers to say (minus Capone's commentary) before shooting off about how intimately familiar you are with the world of credit. "Get a real job filmmakers"? They researched, shot, and presented their point of view so it could be shared with the public. What have you accomplished in the last couple years?
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......CHARRRRRRRRRGGGE ITTT!!!!!!!!
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I spent that last few years foisting credit on the mentally unstable. oh and i help drug companies make drugs that cost a lot but only prolong problems. Oh yeah and i introduced the designated hitter rule and the short NBA shot clock. Again I say get a real job filmakers
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Still it is my favorite “ism” out there. This film needs to be shown in schools beginning in the freshman year with subsequent viewings PRN. Build an economics course around it and instruct kids on how to live within their means. Great lesson.
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My Lord in Heaven each story was worse than the one before. Kids in Iraq coming home to tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt,Wives hiding a hundred thousand dollars worth of debt from there husbands, I even met a girl from Orlando that was 20 years old and had close to seventy five thousand dollars worth of credit card debt. Some of that stuff could make the hardest of the hardcore break down and cry. Our president needs to step up and end this stuff.
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I'm a conservetive and I think there needs to be some regulation to the credit card industry. Yes people need to take responsibility ofr their own actions but I've been in that situation, I've had the creditors calling me, it's not pretty it's not fun and really something does need to be done, not far reaching legeslation but SOMETHING
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No Law will make them smarter. Besides the gov't does not exist to remove all the sharp objects from the world. and jr. brown i am surprised at you i worked for a bondsman and you want to talk about sad stories. we can swap some but after a few months they all sound the same. There are lots of current regulations more regualtion will not help.
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I agree that no law will make people smarter and that there does need to be some accountability on people's end, but here's the thing. Most of the time people have not been taught any kind of financal accountablity, our gov't mandates sexual eduacation, why not mandadte fiscal education for seniors in HS or in college, not a voluntary Monday night class but a mandadtory at least one semster class
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I learned about this when I was a kid, so it's nothing new. My parents went bankrupt at least twice, and even lost a car and a house. Needless to say, I'm very careful with credit.
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if only the ending scene in fight club (the film, not the book) would come true some day...
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I saved a little, took off to New Zealand for a year, worked very little, drank quite a bit and came back about 7000 euro in debt. I got a job within 4 weeks, got a bank loan to pay off the credit card company to avoid that huge credit card interest. I need to pay 56 odd euro a week for 3 years and I'm golden. I had a fucking great time. And I didn't feel the urge to buy a plasma tv either. I can't feel sympathy for someone who clocks up several hundred thousands dollars/euros worth of debt. They clearly need help.
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I read over at www.unfaircreditcardfees.com that Americans paid $30 billion (yeah, with a "B") in credit card interchange fees just last year. That comes out to about $300 per family. Despite the fact that the majority of Americans have never even heard of interchange, this fee gets incorporated into the costs of all goods, and those of us who don't use credit cards end up subsidizing the cost for those who do. So a guy making minimum wage and paying cash is helping pay for the rewards points some guy gets when he puts his new Rolex on his Visa. Some system...
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And they try so hard to tie personal credit card debt to George Bush and hurricane Katrina.
The "research" in this film is horribly lopsided. Typical "Michael Moore" style documentary. Sadly, people believe this tripe. -
Don't apply for credit cards.
blowing up buildings because you purchased too many Star Wars toys on ebay seems a bit stupid.
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