Wall Street

Oliver Stone, 1987 (8.5*)
This perfectly cynical look at corporate culture in our wealth-hungry economic system gives us the perfectly anti-heroic capitalist in Gordon Gekko, a role with earned Michael Douglas a Best Acting Oscar. An arbitrageur / corporate raider takes a young Charlie Sheen under his wing, and soon they are attempting to take over and dismantle the aerospace company where Sheen's dad Martin Sheen works. Somehow Stone makes corporate takeover and stock manipulation a tense nail-biter with some substance. This was loosely based on the true story of Ivan Boesky, who was indicted in the 80's for violating securities laws, and unfortunately this is an all too accurate portrayal of the financial system of the U.S. This film, along with Boiler Room and Rogue Trader, are all musts for stock market participants.
Quote: Greed is good. (Gekko, giving a speech)

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Boiler Room

Ben Younger, 2000 (7.7*)
Ranking right up there with Wall Street, this is another expose of stock market scams and capitalist ripoffs commonly employed. The term refers to a stock brokerage that pressures its clients to buy stocks they want to push, some of which don't even represent real companies. Some are nothing more than signs stuck on doors of empty warehouses. We are reminded of the electronic sales company Crazy Eddie's, which had government auditors counting empty boxes as valid inventory when it went public as a 'high flying stock'.

Giovanni Ribisi stars with some buddies who are new to the industry, and soon find that the stock market isn't exactly what they thought it was. Rather than real investment deals like the big boys, they are constantly pressured to sell hot air to naive investors who don't have a lot to lose, and certainly no extra capital. Not big budget like Wall Street, this small indie film is still a must for stock traders.

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