Boiler Room

Rating:
Summary: Predictable, Unoriginal and Unrealistic
Review: Like so many other forgettable movies coming out these days, Boiler Room incorporates tons of pop culture elements that will make it seem all the more dated in a short time: trendy rap music, dialogue straight outta MTVs TRL, and Ben Affleck. To put it bluntly, quoting an obese subhuman such as The Notorious B.I.G. early in a movie does not do much for its credibility. While I will not try to summarize the whole plot (like Im trying to write for Widescreen Review or something), I do want to point out that in a movie like this you do need to like or at least sympathize with the main characters. The only actor I found remotely likeable in this one was Vin Diesel. I was just completely indifferent toward Ribisi, I disliked his father and I completely despised everyone else. All this movie did for me was alienate me even more than I already am from plagiaristic, empty movie ideas. Unlike Wall Street, I cannot imagine this film gaining much of a following over the years.

Rating:
Summary: A definite Guilty Pleasure Movie!
Review: Boiler Room makes no attempt to deny the fact that it is borrowing liberally from Oliver Stones Wall St. In fact, the main characters watch the movie & quote Gordon Gecko like he's a modern day prophet! But where you had star power & experienced direction with Wall St, with Boiler Room you have less of both. But they make up for this, in spades, with frenetic performances, a pounding soundtrack, and unabashed greed! The plot is so simple that you can see the twists coming from as far away as you can see the loops and dips in a roller-coaster. But like the roller-coaster, the viewer is in for a heck of a fun ride! Ribisi is very competent as the brokerage employee who discovers he has morals. Affleck is over the top as the companys pitchman & Von Disel is wonderful as the take no prisoners closer! Ron Rifkin doesn't stray far from his usual weasely persona as Ribisi's dad ( just look at his character in this movie & that of LA Confidential-the same!). And in the end, when he tries to break character, his performance almost becomes forced & unbelievable. This movie is, from beginning to end, a Guilty Pleasure; all fast paced action, little plot, forseeable twists & turns- the very essence of a film destined to become a favorite of the TBS station program "Movies for Men who Like Movies!"

Rating:
Summary: It Ain't "Wall Street"
Review: I loved WALL STREET and looked forward to the DVD of BOILER ROOM. And, what do you know, during "Boiler Room," the young stockbrokers are in a living room watching WALL STREET! They've seen it so many times that they're making jokes and speeches about what's going on in the film. A nice touch. And there are many good scenes in this movie. But the problem is that they set the movie up for some exciting plot resolutions and then failed every one of them. In fact, we're waiting to see what the kid's greed will do, and it turns out that he wasn't that greedy after all. We're waiting to see what his mean father would do, and it turns out at the end that his father "regretted" being mean and so isn't that mean after all. Come on now, this very nice premise for a movie has severe script problems. Blame the screenwriter. The actors and director did their best, but they couldn't make up a story for us. It was the screenwriter's job to make up a story. The screenwriter in WALL STREET did it, and the screenwriter here didn't. Is it worth seeing? Yes, if you want some authentic stock-broker talk. Even more authentic, in its way, than GLENGARY GLEN ROSS, which I found lacking in trader smarts. But if you're looking for a movie with a story, then this isn't one I'd recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Ribisi, Diesel: Grunts who earn an Officer's Rank
Review: The Boiler Room is a fast-paced, well written and well acted movie. The performances by Ribisi and Diesel were excellent. I didn't think they had it in them. The firm of J T Marlin shows you that nothing ever comes easy. I love how Ribisi narrates in the beginning and states how the secretaries and groundskeepers of MiscroSoft became millionaires. They took stock options instead of Christmas bonuses. I loved it when they recited the dialogue of the film Wall Street with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. I laughed out loud. It was good to see Thomas Everett Scott again. Ben Affleck also showed range and Nicky Katt was really good also. Nia Long added a nice flair. This is a must see. I should have seen it at the theater but I just can't get to them all.

Rating:
Summary: Glengary and Wall Street Light!
Review: For a couple years I taught economics on the high school level. While teaching econ I gained a new appreciation for the films Wall Street and Glengary Glen Ross, two films I had seen before and thought were OK the first time around. After multiple viewings of Glen Gary and Wall Street I now think they are both classic films, with unbelievable acting performances. And I enjoy using these films in the context of the class.

With that in mind, I was glad to finally see Boiler Room. Boiler Room is a OK movie. Its not great, but its not a bad rental. However, it fails to match up to films it not only borrows from but actually mention and show in the movie. Its certainly one thing to be influenced by other films, but its so obvious in Boiler Room that they wrote in scenes where the characters are either watching or quoting these films.

But my main problem with the film is this: The beginning of the film is great. The acting and writing are very good and we are introduced to some very interesting characters. I really enjoyed these characters and I wanted to see more. However, the films climax where it all goes does not live up to the expectations of these characters. We meet all these cool people and the film really does not take them the distance and give us a good ending. Wall Street and Glen Gary gave us good characters and placed them in a good story. Boiler Room gives us good characters but does not go with it.

So, in short great acting but not enough story. It's worth a rental but its not a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: Still wanna' buy stock?
Review: The movie is so energetic that it keeps you on your feet. Especially if you're a real salesperson, such as myself, you can relate closely to the movie. I'm not a big fan of Giovanni Ribisi, because of his emotionless roles like in The Mod Squad, and others. Ribisi surely has proved me wrong in this movie. He "kicks it up a notch" as Seth. A self entrepreneur, card room owner turned stock broker. It also stars Nia Long, Vin Diesel and Ben "where's my buddy Matt Damon in this movie" Affleck. Just think young, energetic, vulger, "top of the world", f--k everyone attitude and you got Boiler Room. A lot of the focus was between Seth and his father. Throughout his life, Seth has been trying to prove himself to his father (an emotional aspect of the movie that most of us can relate to). His father is a well known and respected judge. Seth gets a job as a stock broker, where he gains a little respect from his father. All of a sudden, Seth is getting a taste of success as a broker, gains a beautiful girlfriend (played by Nia Long) and has been accepted by his father. Then everything starts crashing in! A cool part of the movie was when the group of brokers were watching the movie Wall Street, and one of the guys was narrating the movie word for word. I thought it was a great movie overall, but it left a lot of loose ends. Like what's going to happen to Seth, his father, and especially his relationship with his girlfriend? It left you hanging! It also makes you want to go with an on-line broker then a real one! If you like/liked this movie, I also recommend Glengarry Glenn Ross, starring Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin.

Rating:
Summary: 'The Boiler Room' goes through the roof!
Review: This film seems to cover all of the bases-fast-paced action, peerless performances, and hysterical dialogue (but a warning, they are all saturated with the vernacular of stressed-out, potty-mouthed stock brokers). Although some reviews have said the script is convoluted and lacks direction, I entirely disagree. The script contains scenes that reveal the many dilemmas that plague Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) - his struggle to gain the approval of his inhibited father, a federal judge; his fight to live with himself; and his need for redemption. It is obvious that it is quite difficult to find films that are so tightly and expertly woven these days, but overlooked films like 'The Boiler Room' confirm that there are still writers and directors out there who know how to do their job competently.

Ben Affleck has a memorable cameo as the guy who motivates the young brokers-to-be. Vin Diesel's role is small but he most definitely makes the most of all of his scenes. Nia Long plays Abby, whose role (if I must nitpick) I felt could have been developed a bit more and contained more connecting scenes with Seth. The kudos really goes to Giovanni Ribisi, who is proving that he is fast becoming one of Hollywood's hottest and most talented stars. Enigmatic in appearance and disquieting in demeanor, he takes command of every scene and delivers his lines with emotion and bite. I cannot think of another actor who could play the role of Seth as well as he did. His performance in the role of a young man struggling to come to terms with himself keeps you nailed to your seat for the entire duration of the film.

The rap music and slightly annoying cinematography chiefly in the beginning of the film can be easily forgotten once all the primary elements are established. Don't miss this film!

Rating:
Summary: This movie falls far short of Wall Street
Review: Based on the trailer, the expectations were set high and I was hoping to see a new version of Stone's "Wall Street" or something like that. While the industry has been portrayed correctly, at least to some degree and New Jersey is full with such Boiler rooms, the language is sickening. Every other word is profanity, especially Ben Affleck's role is limited by a sparse vocabulary. In short, the script is mediocre at best, and there's plenty of foul language, and don't expect a high-profile lifestyle or exotic cars in this flick as there are only a few scenes where you can see a Ferrari. It's a boring and depressing movie and I don't recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific tale of Wall Street grifters
Review: Wall Street is a hot topic on Main Street lately, so it is not surprising that this should become the topic of a film. 'Boiler Room', however, is not really a Wall Street story but a grift story. The term 'boiler room' is an expression con artists use for a phone scam operation. This particular con just used stocks as the bait. As a grift story, this was extremely well done. The concept as presented in the film is ingenious. It is a double blind scam where neither the brokers nor the patsies know there is a swindle going on. The grifters hire naïve kids and teach them to be super high-pressure phone salesmen to push worthless stocks as bona fide investments. They think they are real brokers selling hot stocks, when they are really just creating artificial demand, inflating the price of specific stocks so the grifters can sell their shares at a huge profit. They then move on to another stock, and without the artificial boost, the price of the first stock plummets leaving the investors broke.

We learn early in the film (in the trailer actually) that the FBI is investigating the operation and that they are planning a raid. Therefore, the film is really more about the culture of the operation than its eventual fate. We follow Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) through the training process to the point where he becomes a broker. We see how the firm manipulates him through group acceptance, much the same way as religious cults control their members.

This film has been compared to 'Glengarry Glen Ross' and 'Wall Street', with allusions to both within the film itself. Of the two, it was more like GGR; only it was a far more dynamic story. First time writer/Director Ben Younger (who at 27 lives up to his name), has captured with a great deal of accuracy, the frenetic world of telephone stock sales; the camaraderie and the adrenaline rush these brokers get when they close a deal. The reason the film works is that there is an element of truth to the portrayal. Legitimate brokers do make cold calls dangling stock tips to try to hook new clients. After they get the clients though, the good ones advise their clients to diversify their portfolios rather than having them dump all their money into one hot stock. The danger here is that the public will see a film like this and think that the type of corruption seen here is common, which is false.

From a filmmaking standpoint, the cinematography was mundane, and I could have done without the syncopated jump cuts to the beat of rap music, but the direction of the actors was excellent. Younger was superb at creating the manic feeling of the office and the pumped up mentality of the brokers. It seems he had a visceral sense of how this should look and how the characters should behave.

The acting was tremendous, despite the young age of the cast. This was a breakout performance for Giovanni Ribisi. He was intense, confident and powerful in his portrayal of both the high flying broker and the wounded son. Ben Affleck was awesome as the god of trainee motivation, intimidating and electrifying his eager young pups. I thought he was far better than Alec Baldwin, who played essentially the same role in GGR.

This was an excellent film. It was a marvelous showcase for a lot of young talent, in both the acting and the directing. I rated it an 8/10. Unless liberal profanity offends you, it is definitely worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: Grinding, tense, but ultimately formulaic
Review: Ribisi stars as young man indoctrinated into high-pressure brokerage, which appears to be engaged in illicit activities. Excellent first half quickly gives way to formula developments, unfortunately. Still, there's a great deal to savor here: Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel are especially interesting as two of the firm's most high-powered members. Director Younger lets his Big Statements About Greed get in the way of a fundamentally interesting story.