I was a huge fan of the original film Wall Street which was released in 1987 (actually it was my #1 ranked favorite American movie for several years until I saw Shawshank Redemption in 1996 which dethroned it).  For me, the sequel was a welcomed concept and I really wanted to be thrown back into that world of power, money, greed and global economy.  From that perspective, the film did not disappoint, but from a character execution and plot storyline…I felt it came up a bit short.

Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin & Frank Langella bring Oliver Stone’s new vision of Wall Street greed back to the screen this time.  The film picks up roughly twelve years after the first film ended.  For those of you who didn’t see the original, the climax is Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) recording Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) admitting to insider trading and testifying to that effect which leads to Gekko’s downfall.  The sequel begins with Gekko’s exit from Federal prison having served eight years for his crimes.  Bitter and somewhat resentful towards his family and the old world of money he loved, he survives as a published author touring the country speaking on finance management and the state of the economy.  Enter Jake Moore (Labeouf), an idealistic Wall Street hot shot who wants to marry Gekko’s daughter Winnie (Mulligan) and also seeks to repair the relationship his fiancé has with her estranged father.  Jake’s financial ‘pet project’ is a company that is developing clean energy through the use of fusion and his life’s work is about finding the funding to sustain its development and growth.   The bank Jake works for, managed by Louis Zabel (Langella) is partially invested in the fusion project, but before he can work to gain additional funding – the firm gets caught up in the ‘real world’ issue of a shaky economy.  The perceived instability of Zabel’s bank caused by renegade corporate giant Bretton James (Brolin) causes the firm to go under and the subsequent suicide of Jake’s mentor Louis.  Vowing revenge for his mentor, Jake partners with Gordon to uncover the facts of what Bretton has done and works to find a way to damage Bretton’s empire in the process.

If that sounds incredibly complicated, it’s because it is.  Unlike the first film, the sequel almost mandates an understanding of money management and stock manipulation.  Knowing that stocks rise and fall will not get you a full understanding of this film, and watching the storyline unfold becomes more of an exercise in a crash-course understanding of high finance.  I’m not ashamed to admit that some portions were so misunderstood that even when it unfolded right in front of me, I wasn’t certain exactly what I was seeing.  For me, that was one of the best parts of the original – not only did I understand how and why they were manipulating the stock market, I wanted to learn more.  This time around, there are references to double-dipping, hedge fund manipulation…you’ll need an MBA in economics to decipher what’s happening.

The film shines in a couple ways but that credit lands squarely on Oliver Stone for his use of imagery in relaying a story (one of the things that made the original film great.  In the original, there is a scene where Gekko is betrayed by Bud Fox and Stone uses a stark change in lighting to relay the change from a ‘bright future’ to a ‘dark and clouded’ present that gave me goose bumps).  Stone returns to the same form here.  A pivotal scene where Jacob strikes a blow against Bretton for his mentor is shuddering as he inject s a ghostly image of his now dead mentor displaying the smug and satisfied response of vengeance in a reflection…pure joy!  That mentor, Louis Zabel, portrayed by Frank Langella (Brainscan) is the other stand out performance.  Langella delivers his role with such passion and strength, I must laud his performance and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Best Supporting actor nod come from this.

The other characters seemed out of sorts for me.  Bretton James (Josh Brolin from No Country For Old Men) was not a good casting choice.  We’ve seen him too recently as an on-the-run thief in ‘No Country’ and as George Bush in “W.”  As a moneyed corporate raider he looks out of place.  I kept looking down to see if he was wearing cowboy boots.  Couple that with his hard edged voice and demeanor, and he just doesn’t fit.  Ditto, for Carey Mulligan (An Education) who plays Winnie Gekko.  Not a bad performance by Mulligan, but a character that just doesn’t fit the storyline.  It’s not believable that someone who hates her corporate-raiding father that went to prison and left his family would be engaged to marry a Wall Street broker.  She survives as a leftist blogger at a non-profit company exposing injustices in the financial market – how exactly does someone like that end up with a  money motivated (albeit environmentally conscious) broker?  Topping off the bad casting and characters is Shia Labeouf (Transformers) as Jake Moore.  His delivery of financial statistics and sharp as a tack wit is done really well, but he doesn’t look the part and his character is a conundrum.  He’s environmentally conscious but wants to make zillions as hedge fund manager and broker.  He harps on how great it would be for the world if and when fusion technology starts being used, but has no issue bilking unknowing investors out of millions to settle a score against his nemesis Bretton.  I’m sorry, but that sort of idealism mixed with realism is just not believable.  Michael Douglas (War Of The Roses) aptly portrays Gordon Gekko, but not in the same Oscar winning ways of the original.  He brings humanity to his character which was severely lacking in the original, but his actions are not surprising or inspiring in this film.  At one point, Jake is working to deliver $100 million in funds to Gordon so he’ll help the fusion company – you don’t need to have seen the original to know how THAT deal is going to work out.

In the end Wall Street – Money Never Sleeps is a good ‘next chapter’ to the story but not a great film.  It has a family center that was practically non-existent in the original, and the Gekko character undergoes some familial growth.  Sprinkle in some great cameos by players from the original film and you have a solid follow up to the original.  Stone re-invents the soundtrack from the original wonderfully with remakes of the classic “Home” tune and the addition of some timely others.  What you’ll prize most of all in this film is how it relates to the financial climate in the world today.  The stalled housing market, instability in financial bell weathers – the film is truly topical.  Brush up on your money management terms and take a crash course in investing to truly deconstruct the films more detailed plot points.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Wall Street – Money Never Sleeps is rated PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic elements.  Running Time: 136 minutes

Utter the words Indiana Jones and immediately everybody knows what you’re talking about.  You’re talking about fast-paced, globe-trotting quests for long-lost artifacts, ancient deathtraps and amazing action sequences.  But most importantly, you’re talking about a cinematic icon who has become a household name for any film buff.  From the fedora hat to the bullwhip, Indiana Jones the character is one whom almost everybody loves.

This year, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released after a 19 year-long wait, and the results were for the most part a mixed bag for everyone.  Of course there were those (myself included) who continued to be thrilled and fascinated by everything, however there were also those who were disappointed by it.  All I have to say to those people is were you watching the same movie I was?  Because the “Indy 4″ I’ve now seen a total of five times retains everything that made the original three so great, making for yet another solid entry in the franchise.  Yes, i agree that sometimes it does stretch the boundaries of logic even by Indy standards (i.e. the whole refrigerator scene and a piece of the jungle sequence), but overall it’s a very fun ride that returns us to the world of a hero missing from the big screen for too long.

Without going into great detail about the plot, the fourth film involves a hunt for an ancient artifact that may contain clues to extraterrestrials.  Yes, aliens actually made an appearance in an Indy movie, although they’re commonly referred to as ‘interdimensional beings’ in the movie.  Along for the ride is Indy’s long-lost son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), a double-crossing friend (Ray Winstone), and old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).  This time, the Russians are the bad guys and they’re led by the cold Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett).  Everyone’s after the Crystal Skull, which has a mystery surrounding it that has to do ith the mythical Lost City of Gold.

This 2-Disc Limited  Edition is loaded with behind-the-scenes features that detail every step of the filmmaking process.  Along with the film itself on the first disc are two short featurettes:  “The Return Of A Legend” and “Pre-Production”.  “Pre-Production”, of course, gives a brief glimpse into how Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and the others went about developing the idea for “Kingdom” and “Return Of A Legend” pretty much does the same thing, only it focuses more on the collaborative team behind Indy talking about how the dream of a fourth Indiana Jones movie finally became a reality.  The second disc includes more behind-the-scenes goodness, with a detailed 12-part look at the creation of the film.  With this multi-part documentary as well as the one featured on the “Iron Man” Special Edition gives me a renewed faith in the “Making-Of” features for blockbuster DVDs in the future.  Also included are Pre-Visualization Sequences that show exactly how three of the film’s most exciting sequences were conceived, prepped and executed AS WELL AS Galleries, Trailers and a Game Demo for the LEGO Indiana Jones XBOX 360 game.

All in all, this is a must-buy for anyone who enjoyed the film, or any Indy fan period.

The guys over at Moviechronicles have snapped a “in the wild” photo of the 2nd poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Besides Shia looking like he just came of a casting in the new sequel to The Outsiders , the poster is pretty boring. Nothing for us to feast our eyes on. Horrid art and all. Really a disappointment.

Although it does look like something from the older films, this is just a film students attempt at art. I seriously hope that the guys made this.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have not been a big proponent of a new Indiana Jones movie. I think “Last Crusade” is just a rehash of the far superior “Raiders”, and I really didn’t want to have my wonderful memories of my favorite movie hero to be tarnished by seeing him as an old man. I have heard plenty about this and through it all I’ve been skeptical.

Well, YAHOO has given us the first real peak at what we can expect right here:

I have to admit that I totally started to geek out when I heard the strings start to hum and the Paramount logo morphed. Then we get that silhouette:

I ask you, is there any more iconic image than this? It just says it all. So yeah, they had me thinking positively about the project for a change.

The trailer stayed strong with some good swinging, punching and crashing. All important staples of the franchise. Indy is clearly older, and I could have done without the “I’m too old for this shit”esque comment, but I totally expected it.

The things that worked best for me though were the familiar things. Obviously the stuff mentioned above, but maybe my favorite thing is the location. My favorite sequence from any Indy movie is the opening of “Raiders”. Nothing captures the spirit and excitement of Indiana Jones better than that scene in the temple where he steals the golden idol (a replica of which adorns my TV cabinet in my living room). I’ve always wanted to see more of Indy in South America and it looks like Steve-o and Georgie Porgie finally listened to the threatening Candy-Grams I’ve been sending them and sent Indy back where he belongs. You just can’t beat a South American temple full of BOOBY TRAPS! Especially with hordes of angry natives chasing him.

It is a delight to see Marion back at his side (she always was the only one for him), even if it looks like she might have had some “work” done. I’m no Shia-Hater, but I really wish they had gone with a grown-up Short Round for Indy’s sidekick in this one. Sure you wouldn’t have the whole familial thing going on, but I’d like to think Indy didn’t just leave the kid on a doorstep somewhere.

Just from the glimpse we get here it did seem like some of the backgrounds were a bit to CGI looking, which really disappoints me. Hopefully that can be corrected in post-production. But that is really the only complaint I could offer at this point.

So here we are, he’s older, probably wiser, definitely a little slower, and clearly gray, but he’s still clearly Indy. I’m more positive about it now, but still a little cautiously optimistic.