wall street: money never sleeps

the lowdown: This movie is a sequel to the 1987 movie Wall Street by Oliver Stone. We follow the 2008 financial crisis with a reformed Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) who was behind bars for eight years. Now, Gordon Gekko finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. Looking to repair his relationship with his daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob, a young  proprietary trader (Shia LaBeouf). In return, Gekko helps Jacob get revenge on the man he blames for his mentor's death. But, soon  Jacob learns the real truth of Gekko and his plans.

what's the buzz?: Michael Douglas brought his A game. He shows us the multiple facets of Gekko in a credible way. Shia LaBeouf did well, transitioning from Steven Gets Even and Transformers. I also like the performance by Josh Brolin and the great Frank Langella. I was impressed with the way the director created artistically directed shots of skylines with stock performances against its backdrop and the hurried interaction of stock traders and brokers. Stone succeeded in depicting the frenzied pace of Wall Street.

what's the fuzz?: The movie moves at a snail pace towards to second half act. The financial stuff may still seem foreign to most of us but we get the idea. And the writing is fairly unpredictable that everything seems to be tied into a nice bundle near the end.

roundup:  The movie has little connection to the first one besides its main character, Gordon Gekko. Overall,  it is a story that centers around the recent financial crisis and how its affects the elite financiers.

rating: slippery spaghetti