UPDATE

Hello friends and true believers!

Welcome to the new home of The Hollywood Outsiders.  Nick and I are happy you could stop by and check it out.  I've been working on getting this site up and running for a few weeks now with my good friend/web designer, Tom Mueller.  Tom has done a great job of making this site look great and we've got some interesting things we are going to be trying to do with it in the near future as well.

Just to let everyone know, the episodes will no longer be coming to you via youtube.  It would seem that provider is having some issues and we have had more than enough trouble getting the videos online from that host.  From now on, starting with the "lost" episode on "The Expendables", The Hollywood Outsiders will be streaming to you from the fine folks at vimeo.  Season One's videos will remain on youtube for the time being until they are all transferred to the vimeo channel.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause anyone - but this is a much more stable host, with many other benefits that we can bring to you as time goes on.  Please take a moment and subscribe to the vimeo channel so you will receive all the bulletins and news that will be posted through there in the future.  

Hope you all enjoy this new site and we will be bringing you new videos for "Season 2" very soon !!!

John M. Dunlap, The Hollywood Outsiders

"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" - Michael Douglas, Shia LeBouf

In 1987, Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas created one of those wonderful moments of cinema magic in "Wall Street" as Gordon Gecko addresses the stockholders of Teldar Paper;  "The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed - for lack of a better word - is good.  Greed is right.  Greed works.  Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.  Greed, in all its forms - greed for life, for love, for knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind.  And greed - mark my words - will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."

As we all know from the outcome of the first film and the last few years of American financial history, Gordon Gecko was wrong.  In the movie,  Mr. Gecko went to prison for that mistake.  In reality, The United States of America almost dove into another Great Depression because of the same mistake and misconception.

Now, all these years later, Oliver Stone has returned to familiar territory and brings us "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps".  How would Gordon Gecko have navigated through the collapse of markets?  This film answers that question with great cinematic style and grace.  The film is long - 2h 16min long and there are stretches of the film where it feels like 2h 16m.  However, it is in these quiet, slow segments that Stone really showcases his ability to not just make a great movie - but to really make a piece of art.   He has a unique style of expressing the mood of the moment in a film in a subtle yet powerful and always visually stunning manner.  He makes bold choices and follows through on them with conviction.

One such choice, and one of the only downsides of the film, is to place Shia LeBouf in the lead role of this otherwise perfectly casted film.  Shia is hired to perform the role of "Jake Moore", a young brash market analyst with the same cut throat philosophies as Gecko.  I chose to phrase the previous sentence very carefully, and for a reason.  Michael Douglas steps back into Gordon Gecko with comfort and ease, like the first cold autumn afternoon you slide into an old favorite sweater for the first time since the previous year.  Michael Douglas becomes Gordon Gecko.  Josh Brolin (who adds another amazing performance to his outstanding portfolio) becomes the film's villain, Bretton James.  In the original film, Charlie Sheen becomes Bud Fox.  Truth be told, in one of the film's best moments - he becomes Bud Fox again in this film and has a great moment with his former boss, Gordon Gecko.  The point is this - this film has a phenomenal cast delivering great performances, with the exception of young Shia.  Do not be surprised to see more than one performance from this film nominated for an Oscar.  Oliver Stone is often referred to as an "actor's director".  It means that if you are cast in a Stone film, you are about to deliver one of, if not, the best performances of your career.  This is not the case with LeBouf.  At no point in this 2+ hour experience does the audience ever see that level of talent from its lead actor.  There are moments when he is on the brink of becoming Jake Moore, but not enough.

Overall, the film is shot beautifully in a style and manner that audiences have come to recognize and expect from an Oliver Stone film.  Aside from LeBouf, an extremely talented cast has been assembled and most definitely delivers the goods with their performances.  The story is thick and layered.  You have got to pay attention to what's happening, because at any given moment in this film, a LOT is happening.  Stone has taken enough plot to make two, maybe three movies and successfully juggled them all into one epic.  Also, the soundtrack of the film features the music of David Byrne - another great choice made by Stone.

Gordon Gecko is back.  Oliver Stone has made another great film that is sure to be in contention come Academy Award time.

4 Stars.

John M. Dunlap, The Hollywood Outsiders