Wall Street

5/31/2022

If there were ever to be a film to demonstrate to youngsters the toxic effects of greed on someone then you'd struggle to find a more apt one than this. Made at the height of the stock market boom, it tells the tale of the naive but ambitious "Bud Fox" (Charlie Sheen) who devises a get-rich-quick scheme that attracts the attention of his super-venal boss "Gekko" (a superb Michael Douglas) who treats scruples like something unpleasant he had just trodden on. What now ensues is a break-neck course in how avarice; manipulation; a certain degree of luck and loads of sheer brass neck take him from being a bit of an home boy, to living in a fancy loft apartment, bathing in champagne and alienating both his erstwhile colleagues and his working class father "Carl" (Martin Sheen). It is only when a

1/19/2025

<em>'Wall Street'</em> makes for an interesting watch, anything to do with the titular financial market is total gobbledygook to me but even I was fairly hooked throughout. The performances of Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen are top notch, so no surprise it turns out to be very good. I would say that the pacing is not the best, it probably overstays its welcome a bit, though to be honest that's the only thing I have to list under negatives and it's not even a big one. The relatively more energetic ending does do a fair bit to quell any serious run time issues.