1 km da Wall Street

This film owes a credit to Glengarry Glenn Ross and Wall Street, but I actually liked this better. Why? Because it seemed more real to me (the script and acting probably did it) than the other films. I liked the Giovanni Ribisi character, who changes slightly through the film, but eventually we see the real side of him, which is great. Funny, thrilling and cool, this film may not be for the weak at heart, but it is for anyone who can afford the tickets. Ben Affleck appears (in one of his better performances) as Ribisi's showy and pushy boss at the stock place. One of the better films (top 20) of the new year. A+

I'll sum this film up in 5 words, 'on par with fight club'.

This is a great film, every second of this film is worth 9/10. I'll start with the films flaws. Firstly, the main character is very weak, I'm not sure whether it's poor writing or bad acting but he just comes across as an idiot rather than the deep, flawed, entrepreneur that the film wanted to portray. Secondly, even in the year 2,000 floppy disks were an ageing technology, without giving much away there's a scene where an entire companies data is copied to a floppy disk. The film includes a lot of central characters and doesn't provide any back-story for any of them, this wouldn't be so much of a problem if the central character wasn't so weak but by the end of it you feel as though you haven't seen a single character develop or even begin to understood any of the characters but you have just seen a good film.

Praise: This film is amazing. The film really captures the desires of society and gives them a face. The characters really convey the shallow two facedness you come across every day where they're happy and pleasant until something happens that could even remotely damage their cash flow. Every person you've ever met that wanted to make a quick buck is in this film, the consumerism and lack of social conscience that constantly plagues society is so prevalent in this film. It also approaches the topic of share trading from a much more accessible angle, they don't put much effort into adding the right industry terms or showing scenes of the NY stock exchange - they show the consequences of share trading, the lack of understanding of the average consumer and give you a better understanding of where the money comes from. If you're anything like me then this film takes you on a ride where you are the main character every step of the way until finally you return to life with a much deeper understanding of the desires people succumb to in modern society. This film includes very young appearances by a lot of famous actors, Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel etc. who all pull their weight to give life to the film. I'm explaining the film in a very stale way but I can't help it, it's on par with 'fight club' - you can't explain why the film is good in a way that does it justice, just watch 2 hours of cinema that will improve your quality of life.

The large and well-selected cast turned in very powerful performances. They crafted a convincing range of emotions, from cunning cut-throat manipulators of their clients' personal wealth during office hours, to brief examples of their "boys will be boys" shenanigans after hours. The story line is built completely around their personal financial greed, the hapless victims they scammed to realize it (with the greatest focus on one of them), and a well-sustained sense of mystery that plants seeds of possibilities along the way. The ending was not at all predictable; it could have gone in any of several directions. The viewer gets the impression that if these predators could yank even the last remaining penny out of a client on his (they targeted males) deathbed, they'd gleefully do so and view it as a major coup giving them full bragging rights. There's a hint of information about how legitimate stockbrokers earn their credentials and that was enlightening. The romantic angles are minimalized and that serves to benefit the film. The language is consistently coarse, but certainly seemed realistic for the characters' ages, their business sector and their work ethic. For everyone who enjoyed "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Wall Street" (both of which are alluded to in the film), or even more appropriately "The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron," this feature will really score a bulls-eye.

Pretty good, effective thriller with a cast of exciting young actors. The funniest thing about it, though, is the Ben Affleck scenes - all bar one are shot on the same set with none of the other principal characters except Giovanni Ribisi. Ben clearly worked on the film for a total of about a day and a half. Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.

The first half is very good stuff but you get the feeling that there was never a clear idea where the film was going. The DVD includes the original ending which is possibly a bit better but seems to have been taken out (for fear of being melodramatic, perhaps). This is a giveaway, really. However, the feeling of everything falling apart in the last 20 minutes is genuine, whatever the reason.

Good to see Ribisi getting the chance to carry a film; he is sympathetic and believable. Heavyweight stuff from Vin Diesel as well, and I was glad to see Ron Rifkin, who was so effective in a small role as Ellis Loew in "LA Confidential", getting another decent part. A more than satisfactory rental.

Boiler Room is good, but not great. But most people misunderstand the plot or buy into the marketing. This is NOT ABOUT day-traders. It is about so-called Boiler Room brokerage houses ("Chop Shops").

Boiler Room has very little to do with either the GlenGary Glen Ross or Wall Street movies. Yes, it happens to quote them a few times and the "greed is good"/"ABC -- Always Be Closing" themes are part of Boiler Room, but the movie is not those movies. If you really want to know what this movie is about, read "License to Steal".

This movie is basically LtS-lite. You'll learn a lot more about how scrappy brokerages manipulate fake IPOs to make millions for their employees.

And this is not a love story and Ben Affleck is mediocre at best. You might say it is a story about the relationship between a son and father.

To sum up: If you want to learn about day trading, see Wall Street.

If you want to learn about stock chop shops, read License to Steal.

If you want a decent movie with alot of hip hop but basically an unlikable protagonist, see Boiler Room.