Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps on DVD

I found Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps the sequel to the 1987 Oliver Stone film, a surprisingly strong continuity piece but ultimately a less than realized drama. Let me explain.

Oliver Stone created a great cinema tapestry in the original film, bringing to life one of the great protagonists of the 1980's in Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas to a perfect pitch. Playing off a character powerhouse like Martin Sheen and casting recent movie star Charlie Sheen as the titular Hero, Bud Fox. The audience in that first flick was bought in by the back story and the kept riveted with the tension playing off the key players.

This sequel, again stars Douglas as Gekko and brings in age appropriate Shia LaBeouf as Jake Moore, the moral compass. What Stone did so well in the sequel is very much create a back story of real time. Gecko's arrest at the end of the first film takes years to go to trial and though the sequel is two decades in the future, he spent only eight years in jail, getting out seven years before the film takes place. At no time as the movie unfolds do you find out what he during that time.

Jake is a Wall Street broker planning to marry Gekko's daughter Winnie who is estranged from her father. While Gekko makes the media rounds discussing his best selling book and stumping that the financial future of this country is bleak with his trademark Svengali statements, Jakes seeks to reconcile the family. Using the financial crisis of 2008 as a background, Gekko begins to play a financial chess game with Jake like he did with Bud Fox and creates animosity between businessmen, family and friends. Interesting sidenote, Sheen reprises his role of Fox for a scene and its really good.

While Douglas, LeBeouf, Carey Mulligan as Winnie Gekko and even Josh Brolin as the main baddy all deliver really good acting, the main flaw of the movie lies on the director. In the end Stone, a well received director, doesn't create the same tension that made the first movie so good. Wall Street 2 is essentially a cerebral drama and the tension and pace are just not there to give this movie the magic of the first. Maybe it is because the financial crisis still exists and the movie is more documentary fiction than movie script. Perhaps much like real life, its hard for the public to grasp $800 Billion bail outs.    

The Proposal: Netflix streaming

I have a love it, leave it mentality with Netflix streaming. The love it is that they have thousands of movies for free streaming online. The leave it is that most are not great recently released movies. I have been putting this concept to the test the last several weeks and while the vast majority of movies I personally rate under 3-stars there are gems to be found. Once such gem is a rom-com, The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

Margaret (Bullock) is a unlikeable but effective editor at a large book publisher in New York. Her Canadian visa is revoked by the INS for a minor issue and rather than lose her job she establishes a series of lies that end with her blackmailing her loyal, overworked, never appreciated assistant Andrew (Reynolds) to marry her. To perpetuate this lie, the two travel from Margaret's ritzy life of east coast elite to Andrews hometown of Sitka, Alaska in order to let the family know they are getting married and Margaret can learn enough about Andrew to pass an INS exam. Andrew based on his job, knows everything about her.

Andrews family, played by Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen and Betty White, along with a large supporting cast of friends, creates a wonderful background for Bullocks Margaret to in essence, 'Not judge a book by its cover".  Along the way Margaret remembers why family and connectivity is so important and begins to unshackle herself from the single purpose life she has created for herself and Andrew begins to see how if he follows his personal demons he may lose himself as she has.

Pairing real life friends Reynolds and Bullock in a rom-com is true gold. Bullock plays very much against type cast yet she finds a way to display her known physical humor in a bathroom scene shared with a dog and a spirit dance with Betty White. Of course Bullock is beautiful and each scene plays to that trait, but the humor is in release of the bonds placed she has placed around the character. Reynolds continues to excel at playing any type, having just watched Chaos Theory, (also a great find on Netflix Streaming) Reynolds proves he can be make even non-action movies guy friendly.

Very much enjoyed this movie.

Last House on the Left

The Last House on the Left, is yet another remake within the horror genre. The original directed by Wes Craven in the 1970's had his name attached as a producer which made me glad that he was on board with this version. Also Sean Cunningham who produced the first version of this movie, created the Friday the 13th horror franchise and a number of other notable but underwhelming 80's action movies. I personally really liked Deep Star 6, so lets set that aside.

Unlike many movies within this current genre, this version of the movie creates truly realistic and uncomfortable situations. I am not a fan of torture/gore like torture porn or whatever the movies like Saw and Hostel are now being called. I think there were interesting concepts in each film just mentioned but the genre ultimately was not sustainable.

I have seen the original version of the film and when compared to the current, I am impressed. The changes in plot are up to date and still pay tribute to the original with the exception of the tension. In both films the underlying concept is, how does a normal family react to a horrible incident. Though the first film is very much a revenge movie and this a story of survival and hope.

Last House on the Left is a strong horror movie because it truly makes the audience uncomfortable. At no time is the suspension of believability necessary to move the plot along. The rape scene is not excessive but truly uncomfortable. The seduction scene in the kitchen, is truly uncomfortable watching a mother protect her family with no idea how to do it. Suppressing anger and outrage while experiencing mind numbing fear.

Each extraction of survival is tremendous battle of wills and thoroughly enjoyable. The audience at my showing cheered and groaned and squirmed in all the right places.

In summary a very decent horror movie.

Whats playing the week of January 23, 2009

Movie night went on the road this week. The mommy of the house wanted to see the new movie Inkheart and then decided to toss dinner into the mix.

Mo did not enjoy the movie all that much, it is more the Harry Potter crowd than Kung Fo Panda crowd. Meaning too much plot for a six year old. We parents thought it was okay but not as good as we would have liked.

Brendan Frazier plays a man who repairs antique books. It is his cover for dragging his daughter around Europe looking for a book that is quite rare. It also allows him to stay away from reading out loud, you see he has a magical power called 'Silvertongue' that brings whatever he reads to life. One night several years ago while reading a book called Inkheart, he brought characters out of the book and his wife went into it and he has been trying to find another copy of the rare book to release her.

The movie has a very strong, though wasted cast. Paul Bettnay, Helen Mirren, Andy Sirkis (golem for LOTR) and Tom Broadbent all perfrom very well. They are however wasted on a script that only dabbles on what the power could provide. For example, why bring the tornado from Wizard of Oz to life, why not bring one of the witches? Things like this, I think frustrated many of the people in the theater that night.

Dissappointed but glad we saw it nevertheless.

Whats playing the week of January 9, 2009

Mighty Mo has been on a Rikki-Tikki-Tavi spree. It is watched once every other day. The other DVD on rotation is a 4 shot of newer Scooby Doo Where Are You episodes. As a Scooby fan, its has not been tiring to watch.

Tonight Mo has requested the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe for his movie night.

He does watch a lot of videos, mostly for the purpose of giving him appropriate content. The wife and I would rather watch our shows on DVR or when he is not around and that is not a bad thing. Even the local evening news can be terribly depressing.

Whats playing the week of January 1, 2009

I have to say I was surprised by what we put into the DVD player this week and the response by Mighty Mo.

First we put in Mouse Hunt, a fairly old movie from Dream Works starring Nathan Lane and the pizza delivery guy boyfriend from "Something about Mary". There is also a nice cameo by Christopher Walken. It is nice to finally watch a movie with an animal that doesn't talk. Mo was not much into it the first 2o minutes and then couldn't stop watching. By the second viewing, he was laughing non-stop.

Next up was Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. This Chuck Jones classic arrived for a New Years Day viewing following several hours of Merrie Melodies on the Cartoon network. This was a highlight for me as I love Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a 30 minute movie based on a Kipling story. A mongoose, Rikki-Tikki, is taken in by a family in India and he protects them from two cobras that want to kill them and drive off humans so their baby cobras can roam free. Yes, a very dark subject but done in typical Chuck Jones style. Mo loved it. As I thought he would. Again watched as often as he could. He even began to mimic the mongoose stance when the back end bounces from side to side and he chatters loudly.

Lastly was Beethoven. This Charlies Groden classic, (did I really say that) about a St. Bernard taken in by a family with a ambivant and down right slobeber-disgusted father figure. Mighty Mo was digging the movie until a plot twist has Beethoven in a dog pound and the pretense is he is going to be put down. This really affected him and the last 20 minutes he did other things but watch.

War, Inc DVD

A non-literal sequel to Gross Point Blank. Starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Hillary Duff, Ben Kingsley and Dan Aykroyd.

Cusack stars as Brand Hauser a contract hit man who works for Tamerlane corporation, a private quasi military industrial complex company, run by Dan Aykroyd. He has been sent to a fictional middle east country representing Iraq to prepare the wedding of a regional popstar and a wealthy prince. The true mission is to assasinate the president of a neighboring country.

While there is some witty references, such as Hauser using a service represpentative from an On-Star clone as a pyschologist, Cusacks normal charm is lost on this film, which he co-wrote and produced. His humor is much better suited to pop-culture not obvious political satire.

Not a flick I would reccomend. Its got a great cast but weak dailogue and weaker set design. The DVD has no extras.