Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010); drama film review

DVD cover artwork for the drama film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Financial Friction by Linh

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, director Oliver Stone’s sequel to his 1987 original hit film Wall Street, matches the timbre of its predecessor but with a few more textured layers in characterisation and story plots. The sequel works well as a continuation of the previous film, yet is able to hold its own as a stand alone film.  It is mostly a human drama of love, deception, lies and vengeance, set against the backdrop of the financial sector where the almighty dollar is King.

MONEY MENTOR: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) shares words of wisdom with Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

The sequel begins eight years after Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is released from prison in 2001 before it fast forwards to 2008 when Wall Street is on the brink of financial collapse.  Gekko is seemingly a changed man with a new outlook on money matters and a self-penned book to promote, when a young investment broker named Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) approaches him to seek advice in bringing down his rival Bretton James (Josh Brolin), whom he believes is responsible for Jake’s mentor’s (Frank Langella) death. Gekko’s estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) is engaged to Jake and he agrees to take on Jake as his protégé on the condition he attempts to reunite him with Winnie. However, both Gekko and Jake have ulterior motives for the pact.

LOUIS'S LOSS: Jake (Shia LaBeouf) learns there is a crisis looming at Louis' (Frank Langella) banking firm in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

Michael Douglas (Solitary Man, Behind The Candelabra) slips into his iconic Oscar-winning role of Gordon Gekko with exceptional ease and shows the idealistic young Jake how the “game” is played in the high stakes world of Wall Street. The former slick-haired and smooth-talking Gekko returns as an ageing, philosophical sage whose stint in prison has taught him that “time is life’s greatest asset”. Gekko attempts to reconcile with his daughter Winnie through his new protégé, Jake Moore, and manages to exert his influences on him to seek retribution.  Douglas pulls off the role with unrelenting charm and an inescapable hint that beneath the reformed and relaxed veneer, there still lurks the “greed-is-good” Gekko of the past.

Shia LaBeouf (The Company You Keep, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman) gives an unexpectedly solid and commendable performance as the young hotshot Jake Moore. Jake rose from humble beginnings on Long Island to land himself in the fast-paced and frenetic floor of the stock exchange. He also grabs every opportunity to introduce green energy to potential financiers, which he calls fusion simulation. Jake becomes suspicious after his banking firm Keller Zabel Investment, goes under and his boss and mentor, Louis Zabel, makes “an honourable exit” from the problems of his beleaguered company. Jake seeks to expose Bretton James for Louis's demise by befriending him and joining Bretton's company, Churchill Schwartz, to pursue funding for his green energy project. LaBeouf pumps everything he could into the innocent-looking but gutsy character Jake Moore, and he exhibits acting skills that places him amongst the best of Hollywood’s crop of young stars.

GREEN GENERATION: Jake (Shia LaBeouf) and Winnie (Carey Mulligan) share a passion for green energy in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

Academy Award nominee and talented British actress Carey Mulligan (An Education, The Great Gatsby) plays Gekko’s daughter Winnie, who is a writer and advocate for green energy on a left-wing blogsite called ‘The Frozen Truth’. Winnie has drifted apart from her father while he has been in prison and she no longer tolerates his manipulative behaviour. His re-appearance in her life via Jake stirs up past pains and she suspects Gekko of sinister intentions. Winnie represents what should be the future of the world’s investment and legacy for the next generation. She believes money would be better invested into providing the world with clean, inexpensive and green energy instead of bankrolled into stocks and shares that may be the next “bubble to burst”. This is an obvious reference to the debate on global warming and climate change policies of world leaders which Oliver Stone has cleverly delivered through the characterisation of Winnie. Mulligan is superb as Winnie, with an intelligent and sensitive portrayal of a young woman trying to make a difference in the world.

The antagonist in the film is Josh Brolin (Men in Black 3, Labor Day), as the predatory piranha Bretton James. Bretton's past deeds have contributed to Gekko's imprisonment and this time, his actions have caused the collapse of banking institution Keller Zabel Investments. Bretton’s dastardly deeds and his double-dipping in the shares market lands him in trouble. Brolin is brilliant as Gekko's former rival and the Gekko-like power broker whose rumours send the stock markets in a frenzy. Brolin is capable of epitomising evil with a glint in one eye and a polysemic smirk.

BARRACUDA BANKERS: Bretton (Josh Brolin) and Jules (Eli Wallach) attempt to force Keller Zabel Investments into insolvency in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

The supporting cast is excellent and includes Frank Langella (Robot and Frank, Muppets Most Wanted) as Louis Zabel, the manager of Keller Zabel Investments–possibly named after Oliver Stone’s father- and looks smart in a bow tie and trouser braces. Louis is a father figure to Jake and mentored him in the business of finance and economics, even paying for Jake's university degree. Langella makes Louis believable as a stalwart who possesses old-school ways of honesty, trust and integrity in financial matters that no longer seem pertinent in the current climate of financial wheeling and dealing.

Susan Sarandon (Robot and Frank, The Calling) shines in her scenes as Jake’s mother, Sylvia, who is a nurse turned real estate agent and experiences the “greed” through sustaining a life beyond her means, and constantly borrows money from her son to prop up her business. She represents the everyday people who are stung by the impact of the global financial crisis when the housing market crashes with many going into foreclosure. Her appearances in the film are few and her lack of visibility may suggest the actual “culprits” of the economic downturn are the “game players” on Wall Street and not the ordinary, low-to-middle income citizens.

Eli Wallach is memorable as the laconic but influential magnate Jules Steinhardt, who is also the mentor of Bretton James. Jules has experienced the devastation of the stock market crash in 1929 and knows the financial markets will not recover without government assistance. Wallach gives Jules an eccentric quality by improvising the character’s lines to include whistles.

Cameo appearances throughout the film add some interest such as Charlie Sheen’s return in one scene as Bud Fox at a charity event and director Oliver Stone in at least three scenes as an investor. Shameless product placement is woven into the narrative when Louis buys a pack of Lay’s potato chips; Jake buys Winnie a Bvlgari   diamond ring; Bretton gives Jake a Ducati motorcycle; Jake presents his Chinese investors with bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch whisky; and Gordon shouts Jake a bottle of Heineken beer.

CORPORATE CHICANERY: Jake (Shia LaBeouf), Bretton (Josh Brolin) and Gordon (Michael Douglas) swap trading tips in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

The film features original songs by former ‘Talking Heads’ frontman and songwriter David Byrne and Brian Eno, former member of the rock band ‘Roxy Music’. Byrne and Eno have previously collaborated together on concert tours and albums and their musical contributions to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps adds ambiance to the mood, tone, drama and emotions in various scenes.

Oliver Stone has applied different editing techniques to this film, even using split screens, fades, iris-in and special effects to create urgency, panic and confusion as the United States’ banking system goes into free-fall. In addition to the visual effects, the film’s fictional story parallels the realistic events of the global financial crisis. The housing market fiasco resulting in foreclosures and evictions, and the government bailout of financial institutions are referenced in the film. However, the film remains a story about people’s lives unravelling as the drama of the global financial crisis unfolds.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps may not spark another sequel but does feature great performances, a fabulous soundtrack and a glimpse into the world of powerbrokers dominating the world of finance on Wall Street. It’s an entertaining, old-fashioned drama with a subtle message that the value of the human spirit is worth more than any amount of money.

Director: Oliver Stone

Writers: Allan Loeb (screenplay), Stephen Schiff (screenplay), Stanley Weiser (characterisation), Oliver Stone (characterisation)

Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, Austin Pendleton, Vanessa Ferlito, John Buffalo Mailer, Natalie Morales, Maria Bartiromo, Sylvia Miles, Richard Green, Laura Dawn, Amber Dixon Brenner, Oliver Stone, Warren Buffett, Charlie Sheen

Producers: Celia Costas, Alex Young, Alessandro Camon, Edward R. Pressman, Eric Kopeloff, Oliver Stone

Cinematographer: Rodrigo Prieto

Original Music Composer: Craig Armstrong

Film Editors: Julie Monroe, David Brenner

Production: Kristi Zea (Production Designer), Paul D. Kelly (Art Direction), Diane Lederman (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick

Running Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes

3D Despicable Me (2010); animated comedy film review

Poster artwork for the animated comedy family film Despicable Me。

High-Tech Heist by Linh

Despicable Me is based on an original story by writer and executive producer Sergio Pablos, and is the first animated feature film from Illumination Entertainment. Director and founder of Illumination Entertainment Chris Meledandri and co-director Pierre Coffin bring together a team of brilliant comic and dramatic actors to provide the character voices.  The story has a mix of heart and soul. The soul of the film are the three orphan girls from ‘Miss Hattie’s Home For Girls’, but the heart of the film becomes Gru, the super-spy, after he is transformed from a cold and unfeeling man to a warm and caring parent by the three girls’ chaotic presence in his orderly life.

MAJESTIC MOON: Gru (Steve Carell) announces his greatest criminal plan to steal the moon from the sky in the animated film Despicable Me. Image: Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures.

Despicable Me opens with a mysterious and most spectacular theft of a Giant Pyramid in Egypt, and the news of this latest heist captures the attention of the world, especially from super villain Gru (Steve Carell). The perpetrator turns out to be Gru’s rival, the young and dorky Vector (Jason Segel). Gru sets out to prove to his demanding and nasty mother Mrs. Gru (Julie Andrews) that he is still the world’s number one super villain by attempting to steal the moon. He sets out to steal a shrinking gun from a secret hide-out in South East Asia and build a powerful rocket to take him to the moon. His plans include adopting three little orphan girls (Margo, Edith and Agnes) and dupe them into helping him, but they become more than a challenge for Gru and his team of munchkin-sized Minions.

ORANGE OBSESSION: Vector (Jason Segel) is the geek with a villainous streak and also plans to steal the moon in the animated film Despicable Me. Image: Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures.

The voice cast is exceptional with Steve Carell (Date Night, Dinner For Schmucks) as the deliciously wicked Gru, whose villainous antics have supposedly stemmed from his lack of love and attention from his uncaring mother since childhood. Gru knows his little Minions by their first names and treats them like his family but his crazy pursuits of villainy have made him a super-bad super-villain. Carell maintains Gru’s affability and shows some endearing qualities through great use of vocal expression and his unusual Eastern European accent adds mystery to Gru’s identity.

Julie Andrews as Mrs. Gru is the anti-Mary Poppins and shows little to no interest in any of her son’s creative and clever inventions when he was a child. She is cold, distant, unloving towards Gru and never supported, encouraged or nurtured his creativity.  Andrews is delightful as the kick-boxing, hard-nosed mother with a love of embarrassing Gru rather than praising him.

Writer, producer and actor Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jeff Who Lives At Home) voices Gru’s nerdy and nastier nemesis Vector, who has an obsession with the colour orange (orange tracksuits and logo) and a fascination with marine animals (he keeps a shark in his living room, creates a piranha gun and squid pistol). Vector (originally named Victor but changed his name to sound cool) commits equally huge heists as Gru, and his attempts to impress his pushy father, Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett), mirrors Gru’s situation with his mother.

The three little orphan girls are scene-stealers throughout the film with Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, the eldest and most protective and sensible of the three; Dana Gaier is the middle child, Edith, who the most mischievous, imaginative and is eager to test out Gru’s weaponry; and Elsie Fisher voices the youngest girl, Agnes, who is the most adorable, curious child and is obsessed with unicorns.

STORYTELLING SPY: Gru (Steve Carell) reluctantly reads Sleepy Kittens as Agnes (Elsie Fisher) looks on in the animated film Despicable Me. Image: Illumination Entertainment,Universal Pictures.

The supporting voice cast includes British comedian and actor Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To the Greek) who is excellent as Dr. Nefario, the hearing-impaired mad scientist and friend to Gru, and is responsible for creating all the high-tech weaponry; Will Arnett (Horton Hears A Who!, Jonah Hex) is suitably evil as Mr. Perkins, the loan manager at the Bank of Evil, who refuses to fund any more of Gru’s wicked heists, including his plan to steal the moon; Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Anchorman: The Legend Continues) is Miss Hattie who runs the orphanage and is seemingly kind and concerned about the girls until they fail to meet their biscuit/confectionery selling quotas; the most fun and funny characters are the Minions, voiced by Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Jemaine Clement, who provide most of the laughs with their gibberish language, dressing up as humans to go shopping, playing ping pong, singing and dancing.

Despicable Me has pop culture references, intertextualises Mad comics’ Spy vs Spy, and various metaphors. The moon-stealing attempt is supposed to be a metaphor for Gru who has longed to obtain the most impossible trophy to impress his mother. It could also be a parody of the space race between the United States and Russia in being the first to conquer the moon. The importance of family and having a role model is depicted when the three orphan girls who keep wishing for the world’s best and kindest parents, eventually get Gru. Despicable Me is one of the best animated comedy feature films for the family and a fine debut for Illumination Entertainment.

Directors: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin

Writers: Cinco Paul (screenplay), Ken Daurio (screenplay), Sergio Pablos (original story)

Voice Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, Miranda Cosgrove, Elsie Fisher, Dana Gaier, Pierre Coffin, Jemaine Clement, Mindy Kaling, Rob Huebel, Ken Jeong, Ken Daurio

Producers: Chris Melendandri, Janet Healy, John Cohen, Nina Rowan, Sergio Pablos

Original Music Composer: Pharrell Williams

Film Editors: Pamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland, Gregory Perler

Production: Yarrow Cheney (Production Designer), Eric Guillon (Art Director)

Running Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

Salt (2010); spy thriller action drama film review

Poster artwork for the spy thriller action film Salt.

Secretive Salt by Linh

Since working together in 1999’s The Bone Collector, Australian director Phillip Noyce and Angelina Jolie re-team for the action spy thriller Salt, about a CIA agent named Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) who is accused of being a Russian spy. Their latest film opens with scenes from two years ago where a female is shackled and tortured by North Korean officials who claim she is a spy. The accused woman is a Russian native with an American identity, Evelyn Salt, working for the CIA. Evelyn is set free after North Korean President Kim Jong il agrees to a deal with the United States.  Fast forward to the present day, Evelyn is married to a spider-scientist named Michael Krause (August Diehl) whom she met while on an assignment in North Korea. When suspected Russian spy agent Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) is arrested and questioned, his claims of the Russian President’s (Olek Krupa) assassination at the funeral for the American Vice President, sparks suspicion surrounding Evelyn’s true identity.

SPY SCREEN: Ted (Liev Shreiber), Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Evelyn (Angelina Jolie) watch a Russian spy in the interrogation cell in the film Salt. Image: Columbia Pictures.

The film cleverly manipulates the audiences’ trust in lead character Evelyn Salt, as her own allegiances towards America and Russia change back and forth. National Counter-intelligence officer Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) suspects Salt to be an embedded KGB spy from Russia and pursues her relentlessly. Salt maintains her questionable characteristics through to the end with a delicious twist involving her CIA partner Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber).

RUSSIAN ROGUE: Evelyn (Angelina Jolie) claims she is not a Russian spy in the film Salt. Image: Columbia Pictures.

The story features a brief and sad personal backstory of Evelyn Salt and her involvement with the Russian spy operation who recruited children, and train them to become super-spies in the United States by taking top-level jobs in government and homeland security departments when they reach adulthood.  The flashback sequences give an insight into Salt from her childhood through to the present as she continues to evade capture. It reveals she is stuck between her love for Russia and America, resulting in a vengeful and pragmatic outlook on life.  Salt may betray one to honour the other and above all, she will kill if she is betrayed.

AMBIGUOUS ASSASSIN: Evelyn (Angelina Jolie) kills indiscriminately as she avoids capture in the film Salt. Image: Columbia Pictures.

The lead characters are all fully-fleshed out with some surprises that go against personality type, and the reversal and transgression of gender roles throughout the film, keep the audience guessing all the way to the end. Angelina Jolie appears incredibly agile and swift on her feet in all the action/fight scenes and carries the film with consistency and ease. Most male action heroes may rely on muscle-power to portray their character but Jolie brings both brains and brawn to her role. Liev Schreiber’s performance as Salt’s CIA colleague Ted, is excellent and equally ambiguous, and he can even dupe the keenest of spy-thriller-philes. The ‘good guy’ in the film is Peabody and Chiwetel Ejiofor gives the character a hard-nosed attitude and hard-edged determination to serve and protect America from attack. His mission may continue with Salt as he drops his guard to place his trust in her.

CO-ORDINATED CAPTURE: Evelyn (Angelina Jolie) is escorted by the SWAT team in the film Salt. Image: Columbia Pictures.

 

Salt is an exciting and controversial action spy thriller that handles its plot points regarding international and foreign relations with Russia, North Korea and the Arab nations with a delicate approach. The anti-Communist sentiment resides in the characters and in the storyline, showing Russian spies in scenes of violent deaths. However, this is seemingly balanced out in the film where numerous American security and CIA officers are killed while protecting the President of the United States. The criticism regarding this so-called balance is apparent when the Russians are killed as they plot to assassinate the American President and spread communist ideology (clearly seen as negative), while Americans are killed when they try to defend themselves against Russian spies and uphold democracy (clearly seen as positive). This may be the intention of the film-makers to appeal to the American mainstream audience, as though this was the only way to portray and represent spies and their threat to the democratic way of life. Further criticism of Salt claims the film has a simplified and generalised view of the Cold War and the icy relationship between Russia and the United States, which is historically and politically more complex than the film depicts.

The film has an open-ended conclusion which enables a sequel to follow, and hopefully there will be more high-energy stunt scenes, gun-firing, bomb-blasting action sequences and the inevitable twists and turns in the film’s plot. A sequel is underway with Angelina Jolie reportedly returning to the lead role and a director is yet to be announced.

 

Director: Phillip Noyce

Writer: Kurt Wimmer (screenplay)

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, Hunt Block, August Diehl, Olek Krupa, Corey Stoll, Andre Braugher, Paul Juhn

Producers: Ric Kidney, Mark Vahradian, Sunil Perkash, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Hannah Minghella, William M. Connor, Samuel Dickerman

Cinematographer: Robert Elswit

Original Music Composer: James Newton Howard

Film Editors: Stuart Baird, John Gilroy

Production: Scott Chambliss (Production Designer), Teresa Carriker-Thayer (Art Director), Leslie E. Rollins (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Sarah Edwards

Languages: English, Russian with English subtitles

Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes