Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Hi again. The celebrated “Wall Street” film, directed by Oliver Stone in 1987, comes back to the cinemas with its sequel: “Wall Street: Money never sleeps”.  Stone chooses to star once again its protagonist Michael Douglas and for the first time Shia LaBeouf, the upcoming young actor who played in Transformers. I personally didn’t see the movie yet but I heard so much negative criticism that I will think twice before purchasing a cinema ticket. Unfortunately, the movie review published in the Sydney Morning Herald (1) on September 22, 2010 and written by Jim Schembri made me loose my scepticism.

If you’ve read my previous blog entry about “Tomorrow, when the war began” and  how the billboard made the movie look stupid but in fact it turned out to be the contrary, well, “Wall Street” is it’s “vice versa”. In other words, the billboard promoting the movie proves yet again the effect that the power of advertising can have on society.

The review itself starts with a hilarious opening: “Money Never Sleeps...but you will”.(2) Nicely done! Later, the author keeps criticizing…on and on. Firstly the director, Oliver Stone, and how he failed to make a remake of the original “Wall Street”. Secondly, the actor’s performance; both Micheal Douglas and Shia LaBeouf! Finally the dialogue that he describes as a “baffling blizzard of verbiage”. (3) His position is then clearly noticeable which gives the readers what they wanted.

Besides the content (as a follower asked me to do), the SMH’s layout also entertains the readers. Firstly because the most famous quote of the article appears on the left hand side, which announces the colour of the review’s content. Secondly, as few reviews do, there is audience rating both of the movie and the article itself. Finally the comment section that makes the reviews even more complete for readers who want to have another opinion. 

(1), (2) & (3): http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/wall-street-money-never-sleeps-20100922-15mjs.html