Gold

While mining a seam of anti-Wall Street movies, Gold also celebrates a real-life chancer, another played in winning style by Matthew McConaughey. With a hint of crazy in his eyes and fire in his (ample) belly, McConaughey encapsulates everything that a treasure hunter should be as prospector Kenny Wells. Compelled by a dream that plagues him, Wells bankrolls a mining operation in Indonesia with the last bit of capital he has in a company bequeathed to him by his father. Edgar Ramirez is Mike Acosta, the geologist who tells him where to look and, before long, they're trading on Wall Street and everyone wants in. Inevitably, though, success costs. Bryce Dallas Howard has reservations as Kenny's better half and there is mild friction, too, between Wells and Acosta, despite the two standing together against an army of greedy Manhattan suits. Frustratingly, these power struggles never create enough tension and Wells's madcap efforts to retain mining rights don't seem to matter much when weighed against his losses. Luckily for director Stephen Gaghan (best known for writing Traffic), McConaughey's enthusiasm is infectious and the character's innocence shines through. In a rather muddied plot, it's another iridescent gem of a performance.