Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS A GOOD FLICK!
Review: WHENEVER I WENT TO THE VIDEO STORE,I KEPT FORGETING TO RENT THIS,BUT I REMEMBERED THIS TIME,IM GLAD I DID! I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED GIOVANNI RIBISI,I THINK HES A GOOD ACTOR. THE CASINO PARTS WERE COOL,AND THAT FIRM WAS SECERET! I WAS SHOCKED OF HOW FAST IT WENT! I WISH I COULD GET THAT KIND OF CASH,THEN I COULD BUY ANYTHING I WANTED,AND THE FIGHT SCENES WERE COOL TOO!
Rating: 
Summary: BOILER ROOM NEVER REALLY HEATS UP...
Review: This is a Gen X version of the movie "Wall Street". It is an uneven, though intriguing, debut by director Ben Younger. It is also a movie that promises much, but fails to deliver anything substantial. First off, it lures you by claiming that it stars Ben Affleck. While Ben Affleck may appear in the movie, it can hardly be said to star him. In fact, Affleck's role cannot even be said to rise to that of a supporting role, so ephemeral is it. Yet, all the trailers feature Affleck prominently, as if by promising to deliver him, it may make up for the deficiencies in the film. Nonetheless, Affleck does give a dynamic performance, however miniscule his part.On the plus side, however, there are some other performances of note. Vin Diesel's is one. He just keeps getting better and is one of the most versatile young actors of today, having had featured roles in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pitch Black". Also, Giovanni Ribisi turns in a very good performance, as well, though it is not believable that the beautiful Nia Long would find him to be her type. The premise of the movie is simple. Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) is a nineteen year old college drop out who runs an illegal casino out of his Kew Garden Hills, Queens, NY apartment. While he is making a tidy sum out of his illegal operation which is a mecca for bored Queens College students, Seth is a disappointment to his father (Ron Rifkin), who is a federal judge and fearful of becoming tainted through association by his son's illegal activities. Seth, wanting to make his father proud of him, tries to go legit and gets a job at a small brokerage firm whose owners (Ben Affleck and Thom Everett Scott) make get rich quick promises. Two senior brokers with the firm, Greg (Nicki Katt), who lured him to the firm, and Chris (Vin Diesel), who tries to look out for Seth while he cuts his eyeteeth, basically play a good cop/bad cop routine through out the film. Greg's former love interest, Abbey (Nia Long), the firm's $80,000 a year receptionist, turns to Seth for romance, much to Greg's annoyance. This creates tension between Seth and Greg for which Chris runs interference. Seth initially buys into the promises of big money and falls for the allure of mega bucks, hook, line, and sinker, becoming one of the most promising newcomers to the firm, only to discover that he has traded one illicit operation for another. It seems the firm is selling virtually worthless stock to unsuspecting individuals. When he looks to get out from under, turning to his disapproving father for help, he is rejected. His father, however, has a change of heart and reaches out to his son, only to become ensnared in his son's get rich quick debacle. You see, the firm has been the focal point of an investigation by the Feds for violation of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The movie now spirals quickly to its climax. The uneven pacing of the film, the failure of the romantic sub-plot due to lack of chemistry between Long and Ribisi, the under utilization of Thom Everett Scott, and the failure to deliver Affleck, as promised, contribute to the disappointment in the movie. Still, it could have been a contender, as it has some very promising moments. "Wall Street", however, made the same promise, the only difference being that it delivered.
Rating:
Summary: Boiler Room a Lot of Hot Air
Review: It's been over a decade since Michael Douglas taught the world that "Greed, for the lack of a better word, is good." Of course, Wall Street had come at the height of the Decade of Greed, when junk bonds, insider trading, and corporate takeovers were fashionable. Now, in a time of unparalleled economic prosperity, writer/director Ben Younger wants to remind us that greed is still alive and well in the brokerage houses, and the brokers are just as desperate for a quick buck. Everyone, at some time or another, has wondered what it would be like to make a quick million and then escape to enjoy life. For that reason, movies about movers and shakers (especially those on the skating thin edge of the law) will always draw a crowd. I find them interesting, because I wonder what motivates people more, the money or the power it brings. Watching Giovanni Ribisi (The Other Sister) was refreshing because his character Seth started selling stock to gain the acceptance of his father. Having dropped out of college, Seth Davis has been paying his rent by running a blackjack casino out of his house. While one wants to applaud such entrepreneurship, his father (Ron Rifkin, L.A. Confidential) is more than a little upset because it's illegal and he is a judge. Fortunately, fate leads Seth away from one illegal venture and into the world of stock brokering. While Ribisi does a good job as Seth, it is Ben Affleck (Dogma) who has received the top billing. Undoubtedly, Affleck is the bigger star, but his contribution to the film is so small I don't even know if it can be considered a supporting role. If you're going to see Affleck, you'll be disappointed. If you're going to see Ribisi, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by his best performances since Saving Private Ryan. On the down side, the story of Boiler Room tries to cover too many bases. If it had stuck to the story of greed and personal downfall, it would have been called a Wall Street ripoff (it still may). Nevertheless, the effort of the filmmaker to branch out with side stories about Seth's clients and his relationship with his stern father does more harm than good. The side stories are ultimately nothing more than a distraction. In short, Boiler Room doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before. As a movie about the evils of stock brokers, it's fair. There are one or two genuinely interesting moments, but the characters (with the exception of Seth) are two-dimensional. The story builds too slowly and ends too abruptly. Just when I was getting interested, it was over.
Rating: 
Summary: Boil This Movie- it's awful!
Review: Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi - Saving Private Ryan) runs a small-time casino operation out of his apartment. With his streetwise business smarts, he's recruited to join the city's newest and hottest stock brokerage firm, an aggressive, renegade corporation far from the traditions of Wall Street. Trained by the company's top young Turks, Chris (Vin Diesel - Saving Private Ryan) and Greg (Nicky Katt - A Time To Kill, The Limey), Seth takes quickly to his new job's instant riches and fast-life pleasures. He even gains new favor with his estranged father (Ron Rifkin - L.A. Confidential). When Seth wins the eye and the heart of Greg's ex-girlfriend Abbie (Nia Long - The Best Man), it all seems too good to be true. But he's about to learn the devastating secret behind all this intoxicating success. Just as quickly as he was seduced into the firm, Seth finds himself caught in a trap that could bring himself, his father and his whole world crashing down. With riveting performances from its dynamic cast, including Academy Award winner Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare In Love), Boiler Room takes you deep inside the relentless, cutthroat inner sanctum of high-risk finance for an unforgettable and unexpected climax.
Rating:
Summary: Give me Gordon Gecko and Bud Fox anytime
Review: Wasn't this meant to be the "Wall Street of the 1990s?" Well, whoever said that plainly lied. This was cliched, exploitative and dissapointing. Can't believe I bought the DVD!
Rating:
Summary: Serviceable Thriller
Review: Diverting, but otherwise routine thriller set in the fast-paced world of the stock market. Although most of the characters are morally bankrupt, fortunately the film has a clear moral center. This saves the film from being trash. The relationships between the guys are good, but the romantic subplot involving Ribisi and Long lacks chemistry. Ben Affleck is good in what is essentially a supporting role.
Rating: 
Summary: Hmmm.
Review: I'll admit that I was entertained, but some of the moments in this movie was just downright goofy! I found the scene where the guys were all huddled together and reciting lines from "Wall Street" like toddlers watching "Barney" completely lame-brained. I also wished that someone else could have played the role of Seth. Giovanni was particularly hard to watch with a straight face as he whined and sniveled during the climax of the film. His presence alone cause the two star rating on my review. Other than those major drawbacks, the suspense will keep you interested all the way to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Ben? Ben who?
Review: Boiler Room (Ben Younger, 2000) Yeah, Ben Affleck is in this movie, but who cares? Giovanni Ribisi and Vin Diesel once again show why they're slowly replacing Affleck and perennial sidekick Matt Damon as the hottest young actors in Hollywood. Ben Younger cast this movie perfectly; unfortunately, that's about the only thing he did right. Younger's auspicious debut focuses on Seth Davis (Ribisi, probably best known to most as "lightning boy" from a memorable X-Files episode), a college dropout running an illegal casino in his living room. Pressured by his father (Ron Rifkin), a supreme court justice to stop his illegal activity, Seth is ripe for the plucking by his childhood friend Greg (Nicky Katt, now playing the hapless sub on Boston Public), who's a senior broker at a chop-shop style stock brokerage. Davis finds out he's very good at being a salesman, and while Greg turns a seemingly inexplicable cold eye to Seth, a rival senior broker, Chris (Diesel), takes Davis under his wing. Greg and Chris are the kinds of friends who are constantly on the edge of exploding into violence with constant putdowns; not surprising in a high-stress job like this. The whole firm is run by Jim Young (Affleck) and his pal Michael (Thom Everett Scott), and it becomes obvious to Davis as time goes on that something fishy is happening, but he finds this out while realizing that he's good at being fishy. This leads to an ethical crisis, and... well, see the movie. Ribisi, Diesel, and the usually-laconic Scott deliver the goods here in the best of ways. Affleck is his usual self, and one wonders if he'll ever play anything else. The ensemble cast-- and despite the focus on Ribisi's character, this is as much an ensemble movie as Glengarry Glen Ross or The Big Chill-- is perfect, and many of the minor characters (Nia Long, Scott Caan, and the woefully-underutilized Jon Abrahams) deliver performances up to the same standard set by the big guns. But Younger takes a potentially explosive situation and, instead of focusing on the characters and their interactions through the whole movie, shoves that part of the dynamic to the back in the last half, opting instead for a stock plot. Perhaps Younger should have read King's book; focusing on his characters instead of plotting things out would almost certainly have resulted in a much better film, since that first hour shows he really does have a grasp of what makes humans work. Still, it's worth renting just to catch a few performances by stars who are definitely on their way to the top. ** 1/2
Rating: 
Summary: Secrets And Lies
Review: Boiler Room: rated R, 1 hour and 50 minutes Inside the Boiler Room, lives a secret world, existing on the basis of corruption, treachery, and deceit. Seth Davis, the innocent newcomer, is introduced to the underground operation run by stockbrokers looking to cheat people out of their money, in hope of becoming filthy rich. Everyone in the firm is in their early 20's rapidly acquiring wealth, and none of them dare ask questions as to where their wealth comes from. Seth is the only individual curious to know how he is becoming so prosperous. A series of coincidences lead to his discovery, and eventually to his backlash against the firm. Between the time of Seth Davis' unskilled work, while in training as a stockbroker, to his mastery of the job, when he attempts to escape the fraudulence that he had once taken part in, a string of intricate details and relationships maintain a tense and entertaining atmosphere for Boiler Room. The intense environment, and heated dialogue is what makes Boiler Room such a unique and compelling film. Conversations between characters are cunning and edgy. Characters evolve from good to bad and vice versa throughout. Seth's own father takes his twists in personality, from a spiteful, stubborn, disillusioned parent, to a more sensitive, and compassionate human being. Some of these moments are a bit sappy, but never overdone, and always sincere and believable. Nearly all of Seth's friends are pompous, self-centered hypocrites, which he soon finds out through his experiences with them. He discovers who his true friends are as well, and by the end of the movie, finds out who he really is. The acting display is surprisingly good. Giovanni Ribisi as Seth does a remarkable job, clearly proving his worth, in a star-making role. Ron Rifkin does wonders with his character, as Seth's father, contributing to the reality of their relationship. And supporting actors such as Ben Afflek (Jim Young, head of the training department), Nicky Katt (Greg, ice-cold rival of Seth), and Vin Diesel (Chris, close colleague to Seth), all execute marvelous acting performances that help keep the movie together for its audience. The movie is fast paced and punchy, much like a treadmill constantly gaining momentum. By the end of the movie, it has its greatest grip on the viewer. I found myself wishing it would not end so soon. Ultimately, moral values triumph over the harsh injustices of the real world, but the damages done, can never be reversed. Boiler Room, directed by Ben Younger, also starring Nia Long and Tom Everett Scott, is a brilliant and captivating thriller A-.
Rating:
Summary: Great Score Too
Review: Almost all DJ Premeir beats over a cold New York setting add to the movie greatly. Makes you wanna get off your @ss and go make some money.
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