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Boiler Room

Boiler Room

List Price: $12.98
Your Price: $9.74
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An good film with an fine cast.
Review: The Plot:Young man-like most wants success without really working hard for it. An 19 year old man(Giovanni Ribisi) is at odds with his judgmental father, who is also a judge. One day in his life, he signs on a new hotshot small time brokerage, where the money flows freely and too much from his expections. Excellent Performances from (Ribisi, Nia Long and Vin Diesel in a strong performance. Actor Diesel is best known for films like-Saving Private Ryan, The voice of the Iron Giant and Sci/Fi Thriller:Pitch Black.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Gem of a Film
Review: It is very obvious to anyone who has seen "Wall Street" that this film borrows an awful lot from Oliver Stone's 1987 classic. Every stock broker in the film seems to be modelled on Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko character with the exception of Giavanni Ribisi who unfortunately seems to be moulded on the Charlie Sheen part. The paralels between the two films are incredible but that doesn't mean that "The Boiler Room" is in anyway a lesser film because of it.

Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth, a 19 year old who drops out of college to start his own backdoor casino. He proves to be a genius running "the biz" and one night he is payed a visit by a long time friend who has now become a stock broker. With visions of becoming a millionaire within three years Seth eagerly takes a job at the firm.

Throughout the film Ribisi seems to have a strange attachment to his Father. (Much like the Sheen's in Wall Street) He wants to be constantly "doing good" so his Father can be proud of him. This is fine and everything but eventually it gets way out of control and the film starts to indulge in banal sentimentality. You start to wonder towards the end if Ribisi is suffering from some strange reverse Oedipus complex or something.

The best scenes are indeed the ones at the office. Ribisi quickly learns how to "close" and get anyone's money but gradually starts to feel hollow inside. In one scene he takes the life savings of an easily manipulated middle class Father. He consciously takes his money knowing it will be lost.

The stock brokers are a fitting image of Gordon Gekko. Ben Affleck especially who's only part in the movie is to come in the room and scream at the new guys. "Whoever says money is the root of all evil doesn't have any" is his character's memorable line. You get the impression though that his character is only there to amplify the cuthroat mentality of the wall street lifestyle. He's still real fun to listen to though. The rest of the brokers are all high on their own greed and are so over the top that it's actually just silly. For no reason there are three bar fights as rival broker's start trouble over who wears a nicer tie. I'm not sure who wrote their dialogue but apparently they have been watching too many mob movies. Each broker talks like a Maffioso and really in the end can't be taken seriously. "American Psycho" satirized stock broker's so well when they were seen arguing about who had the nicest font on their business card. "The Boiler Room's" broker's are basically a more extreme version of the same thing.

"The Boiler Rrom" really flows well and that is it's best asset. It is the perfect length and never goes too far in one direction to get boring. The killer instinct is played out perfectly and makes for an energetic, often times very funny movie. A gem.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's only wrong if you get caught
Review: ...seems to be the moral of this story. The way that the whole story was told from the main character's point of view(I forgot his name because...well, names in movies aren't really important.)was great. He had all of these ironic and often times sarcastic comments that he would just say out of no where and it helped to keep you interested because you were always wondering what he was going to say next. Ben plays this side character who is very straight forward about what he expects from the future-stockbrocker-recruits. The part where he says "That's it! I'm finished, I'm done!" was very well done. In short, if you liked the way that FIGHT CLUB was done then I really think that you will like this movie. One more thing, Vin Diesel is a total hottie (talk about oozing raw maleness!) so any girls out there wanting to see a bunch of hunky men tramp around in three piece suits should also see this movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I really thought I would enjoy this movie, based on the promos, but it turned out to be very weak and predictable. The film seriously lacks character development. The beginning gets you interested but the film doesn't give you a reason to care about any of the characters or what happens to them. Soon, the film becomes more and more unbelievable and thus somewhat boring. Dialog such as "Don't push the wood", "Don't pitch the bitch" and "we've got guys here who make a million dollars in commissions but can't qualify for a loan to buy a Honda Civic" made me laugh. The group scenes made the would be brokers look like a bunch of incompetent used used car salesman. The film makers tried to flesh out the movie by putting a face on one of the victims, but it wasn't enough. When I read the review on the video box, I kept expecting the father of the lead character to somehow be involved with the son in a stock fraud scam. It never really happens. The FBI investigation like the scenes with the one victim is much too weak and the film ends in a predicable fizzle. I can see how this film would be popular with young 20 something males who would be pumped up by the soundtrack and the clever buzz word dialog between the actors, but for everyone else, it's just another forgettable movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Entertaining and Fast-Paced, but Derivative Motion Picture
Review: Amazon.com's reviewer is absolutely correct when he says that "Boiler Room" borrows unashamedly from "Wall Street" and "Glengarry Glen Ross". On that basis it would seem that there's very little to recommend the movie, but it actually is much better than that.

Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan) stars as a young college dropout who becomes a junior broker at J. T. Marlin after being introduced to a senior broker by a mutual friend. Soon, Ribisi's character starts climbing his way up the ladder and becomes an self-assured alpha male aggressively selling worthless stock. Soon he begins to find out that everything is not what it seems.

The pacing of this picture can best be described as frenetic, set to a hip-hop background. The brokers are loud and aggressive, with more than a touch of arrogance. A secondary story line involving a conflict between Ribisi's character and his father (played by Ron Rifkin) seemed pointless and could have been deleted in the interests of resolving questions that arise at the somewhat abrupt ending of the film. Ribisi turns in a decent performance, although I really didn't find it to be credible. Vin Diesel, on the other hand, steals the show. Ben Affleck is very good in a somewhat limited role, and the considerable talents of Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!) were seriously underutilized.

Overall "Boiler Room" is a good, but not great, motion picture. Among movies of the same general subject matter it's better than "Wall Street", but not as good as "Glengarry Glen Ross". Look for the scene in which the J. T. Marlin brokers are watching "Wall Street" at the home of one of their own-it's worth your time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Slingin White Man's Crack!"
Review: Being a stockbroker myself I found it hard to accept that ruthless and criminal behavior such as this actually occurs, but it's true and everyone should beware. The Boiler Room helps point out that smooth-talking salespeople can easily get into your homes and eventually your wallets; in fact through the course of the movie you even begin to like them. Truly the best part of the movie for me was the chance to see an up and coming star Vin Diesel shine in the type of role I believe he was made for. He indeed was the shining star of the film. Though he performed well, Giovanni Ribisi would not have been my first choice in the leading role. Though poorly written in certain areas, the Boiler Room is truly an entertaining movie. If you like the type of movie that doesn't need to be fabulously written but provides an overall entertainment value then this is the movie for you, if you would rather have the contrary then this might not be the one. I plan to buy it when it comes to VHS "at a reasonable price" and I would recommend that you do the same.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greed is Goo--oops! Wrong Moovy!
Review: ....I knew I was gonna like this when the main character, Seth, quotes Biggy Smalls in the opening scenes. I also like the fact that he has an illegal casino going and he already has ends coming in. What I thought was that Seth was somehow gonna cut deals with both chop-shoppers and the Feds to come out looking like he's done the legal and ethical thing, but left it open for him to continue in the bizness, but it wasn't so. Eye candy Nia Long hasn't had an indepth role since "Soul Food"--and I'm not bashing her, just noticing. This doesn't break any new grounds in her career, but it was still nice to see her. A good moovy! See it today!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Terrible
Review: "Boiler Room" was weak in every aspect of filmmaking. The script was terrible. We found out very little about the characters and the main character Seth, wasn't someone that I sympathised with. The father's lack of showing love to Seth was the most unoriginal subplot I have ever seen. Seth's relationship with a secretary didn't go anywhere. I didn't know if they were friends or lovers, and really didn't care. The speeches by certain characters were uninspiring and stupid. The climax was boring as was the ending. The direction was cheezy. Sometimes it was directed around a song, with cuts happening along the drum beat. And the acting, wow! Everyone talks about how great the cast was. Ben Affleck was totally miscast as a money hungry broker who talks to the new kids. His performance was over-the-top and uninspiring. Giovanni Ribisi was equally terrible as Seth. He was like a zombie, just reading lines. He showed some of the worst acting skills I have ever seen when he broke down and cried. Well, besides Ron Rifkin (Seth's father) and Nia Long (the secretary) the acting was sub-par going on bad. I don't know how movies like these get made.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the more poweful movies you'll see
Review: This movie blew me and my friends away. It simply emits a vibe of power, power over others, and money's power over all. Ben Affleck is amazing in his speeches and Giovanni Ribisi will blow you away. Add one of the best hip hop soundtracks to it and you have one of the best movies I've seen. BUY IT!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Half-baked, overlong, and a little boring
Review: "Boiler Room" is full of good ideas but does a poor job executing most of them. The firm in the film, J.T. Marlin, is interesting at first and has an authentic feel, but, by the second reel, the continuous dialogue about how the firm works, how to sell a customer, how to make money, etc. grows repetitive and sillily simplistic. The musical score, although carefully chosen to emphasize the crude, shallow, but ultra-cool lives of the characters, also becomes annoying. The few scenes where customers are "reeled" in are completely unbelievable and Affleck's scenes are especially aggravating - he chews the scenery but rants obscenely about the obvious, talks about selling as if he came out of a high-school marketing class, and his tough-guy tactics feel strained. The climax of the film is predictable and the plot devices driving Seth throughout the movie (the actual illicit mechanisms of the firm, for example) are poorly elaborated and generally not believable. The scenes between Seth and his father are moving (although his father's change of heart on certain issues late in the film seems contrived) and Nia Long is excellent as Abby. Abby's moments with Seth are involving and I wish there had been more of their complex relationship in the film. Overall, "Boiler Room" had plenty of potential, but there is a lot of style over substance in the film, and too many parts of the plot don't ring true.


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