Jul. 18, 2003 - 8:06 pm
i'm still working on catching up slowly on my entries. i've got a good bit of backup right now. my old mac finally died the other day, so i'm in the market for a new imac. i've been working on doing this payroll deduction thing, but that doesn't look like it's going to be working out. i may have to boycott the university computer store altogether and just buy it straight from Apple. yeah, i think i'll do that. today even!
anyway, Dr. Larsen constantly quotes this one line from Wall Street whenever you have classes with him. "Greed is good." i'm not sure what he likes about that. i guess that it's just so blatantly evil and wrong, but the person saying it actually makes you sort of believe it for a minute. i think my friend David would like this movie. he actually had an AOL screen name for a bit with the word "greed" involved. but in any case, i finally felt the pressure on me to see Wall Street, so i did.
it stars Charlie Sheen as an entry level stock broker in NYC trying to make it big but not having much luck. (apparently at this stage in his career he was sort of a "golden boy", having just completed work on Platoon (1986) as well.) so Budd Fox goes to the biggest money fiend in the city and tries to get on his good side. once he does though, he finds out that the only way to be Gordon Gekko's (Michael Douglas) ally is to give him insider information illegally. but the urge to be rich and powerful and successful is too strong for him and he falls into the trap. then it becomes just a matter of time before Budd's true character shines through.
i think fans of claustrophobia will really enjoy this film. everything is so rushed, difficult to understand, and just generally cramped-feeling that you start to imagine yourself stuck in a small metal box trying to get out. so obviously, i'm not a fan of claustrophobia, but i'm sure someone out there somewhere is.
another thing i have to complain about in relation to this film is Darryl Hannah. what is with her in the 1980s? she's supposed to be the most gorgeous creature on the face of the earth in this film. is that much suspension of disbelief really possible? i think not. her mannish qualities are too dominant. i began to wonder when she was going to start beating the crap out of Charlie Sheen for no apparent reason. she's a firecracker, i'm telling you.