Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Wei Chuen and I watched Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps last night. I fell asleep halfway through. His shoulder felt very comfortable.
But seriously, the movie was so boring - and I'm not judging it from the perspective of someone who doesn't know, or care, a lot about finance. I can identify three problems with the movie off the top of my head:
1. Too much exposition and talking;
2. Point #1 wouldn't be a problem, except it is, because Shia LaBeouf was party to the talking most of the time; and thus
3. The movie was flat and unengaging, assuming it even had a story.
Maybe I just needed to watch the original 1987 film before watching the sequel; maybe that would've helped me care about the characters, in particular Michael Douglas'. Instead, the only person I cared about was Winnie Gecko, and the only reason I gave a damn is because I have a crush on Carey Mulligan. She spent the whole movie crying and I felt sad for her but I'm not sure if I would've felt the same if the character had been played by someone else.
And really, Shia LaBeouf has some way to go before he's able to substantially carry a movie by himself. I found him passable in Transformers, but then, you don't need acting chops to pull off Transformers; it's all about the weird robot porn anyway. If you're going to act in a movie like Wall Street, though, you have to look the part and have the charisma to make me believe that you know what you're talking about when you're acting as a hot-shot young trader who knows what he's talking about. Maybe it was his hunched, slouchy shoulders, or the fact that he just looks so young; but Shia LaBeouf was utterly unconvincing and unengaging.
The movie actually has an interesting story but I don't know why it became like...that. About a third into the movie I thought the rest of it would be about how Transformers Guy plotted to take down the company that destroyed Transformers Guy's company and led to the suicide of his mentor. I think largely that was what the rest of the movie was about, but I'm not sure, because I fell asleep. I thought it would get interesting but it continued to crawl at a laconic pace with no sense of urgency or direction. And the quirky camera effects got tired after a while.
I was sad that I slept through one of Carey's scenes but oh my god, I really couldn't help it. It was so boring. I could follow what was happening but the execution was just uninspired.
One thing I would say though: I really liked the whole look of the movie. It looked very vintage, as if it was released in the 1980's.
But that was about it. That, and Carey Mulligan. The rest of the movie did nothing for me.
*
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FILM ADAPTATION OF NEVER LET ME GO. OMG I WATCHED THE TRAILER AND IT LOOKED DAMN GOOD BUT I WAS SURPRISED THAT IT PRETTY MUCH GAVE THE WHOLE STORY AWAY. OH WELL. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY ACTUALLY DOESN'T LOOK ANNOYING IN THE MOVIE AND THERE'S CAREY MULLIGAN! WHY IS IT ONLY RELEASED HERE NEXT YEAR. FUCK. I WANT IT NOW.
*
We had some food at Billy Bombers last night. The milkshake was pretty amazing. I got really annoyed and a bit upset, though, when I tried to pour the rest of the shake into the glass but ended up missing and spilling it on the table. Wei Chuen concluded I had OCD because I simply wouldn't leave it alone and had to get it cleaned up before I felt better.
Boo. But if I have OCD why is my room perpetually so messy? I don't understand.
But seriously, the movie was so boring - and I'm not judging it from the perspective of someone who doesn't know, or care, a lot about finance. I can identify three problems with the movie off the top of my head:
1. Too much exposition and talking;
2. Point #1 wouldn't be a problem, except it is, because Shia LaBeouf was party to the talking most of the time; and thus
3. The movie was flat and unengaging, assuming it even had a story.
Maybe I just needed to watch the original 1987 film before watching the sequel; maybe that would've helped me care about the characters, in particular Michael Douglas'. Instead, the only person I cared about was Winnie Gecko, and the only reason I gave a damn is because I have a crush on Carey Mulligan. She spent the whole movie crying and I felt sad for her but I'm not sure if I would've felt the same if the character had been played by someone else.
And really, Shia LaBeouf has some way to go before he's able to substantially carry a movie by himself. I found him passable in Transformers, but then, you don't need acting chops to pull off Transformers; it's all about the weird robot porn anyway. If you're going to act in a movie like Wall Street, though, you have to look the part and have the charisma to make me believe that you know what you're talking about when you're acting as a hot-shot young trader who knows what he's talking about. Maybe it was his hunched, slouchy shoulders, or the fact that he just looks so young; but Shia LaBeouf was utterly unconvincing and unengaging.
The movie actually has an interesting story but I don't know why it became like...that. About a third into the movie I thought the rest of it would be about how Transformers Guy plotted to take down the company that destroyed Transformers Guy's company and led to the suicide of his mentor. I think largely that was what the rest of the movie was about, but I'm not sure, because I fell asleep. I thought it would get interesting but it continued to crawl at a laconic pace with no sense of urgency or direction. And the quirky camera effects got tired after a while.
I was sad that I slept through one of Carey's scenes but oh my god, I really couldn't help it. It was so boring. I could follow what was happening but the execution was just uninspired.
One thing I would say though: I really liked the whole look of the movie. It looked very vintage, as if it was released in the 1980's.
But that was about it. That, and Carey Mulligan. The rest of the movie did nothing for me.
*
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FILM ADAPTATION OF NEVER LET ME GO. OMG I WATCHED THE TRAILER AND IT LOOKED DAMN GOOD BUT I WAS SURPRISED THAT IT PRETTY MUCH GAVE THE WHOLE STORY AWAY. OH WELL. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY ACTUALLY DOESN'T LOOK ANNOYING IN THE MOVIE AND THERE'S CAREY MULLIGAN! WHY IS IT ONLY RELEASED HERE NEXT YEAR. FUCK. I WANT IT NOW.
*
We had some food at Billy Bombers last night. The milkshake was pretty amazing. I got really annoyed and a bit upset, though, when I tried to pour the rest of the shake into the glass but ended up missing and spilling it on the table. Wei Chuen concluded I had OCD because I simply wouldn't leave it alone and had to get it cleaned up before I felt better.
Boo. But if I have OCD why is my room perpetually so messy? I don't understand.