Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (a.k.a. Wall Street 2)

There’s just no consistency when it comes to reviews of this movie. I have friends who hated it, parents who loved it, and I just can’t decide. I think the topic that’s swaying people both ways was the movie’s portrayal of the actual Wall Street and the financial lingo that went along with it. I’m no good with numbers. I got a C in Accounting. But I’m fine with that and Hollywood should be as well. What I don’t understand is why, in the movie, they even made a joke about how NO ONE knows what half of the jargon means. Isn’t that a clue that the rest of us won’t know either?

 

I still really enjoyed watching the movie. The star-studded cast pleased my eyes which included everyone from Michael Douglas, Josh Brolin, and Shia LaBeouf to newcomer Carey Mulligan and Eli Wallach (the cute old man from The Holiday who explains the meaning of gumption). The plot of the movie actually mimicked the stock market crash of 2008. It was interesting and yet sad to see how the downfall of our economy happened and how it affected so many people in different ways: a suicide, a hostile takeover, lies, tears, and even reconnections with loved ones. Carey Mulligan was mainly responsible for the tears; I don’t think there was a scene in the whole movie where her eyes didn’t well up. The crazy talk of bubbles and moral hazard really did set the themes for the movie and yet, I couldn’t explain to you what a bubble is. Like I said, I enjoyed watching the movie but the analysis part isn’t really an easy homework project for me.

 

Things I will take away from this movie:

• Josh Brolin is a great actor and an even better villain.
• NINJA Generation = No Income, No Job, No Assets
• Never trust someone whose motto used to be “Greed Is Good”.
• The rumor mill within the financial world can be 1000X more detrimental than middle school.
• When Eli Wallach whistles, he’s trying to tell us the apocalypse is coming (though I’m still not sure why).
• Breaking one big story on a blog can gain you fame and fortune, though usually you’re not working for a non-profit blog for that purpose.

 

Spend or Save? Spend…but only because I foresee myself wanting to watch this again to really understand what it meant.

Dancing With The Stars: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (Week 2)

Since this was only the second week of Dancing With The Stars, there was still a wide range of talent on display for America. David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff was kicked off after last week’s odd & flamboyant performance. Until the dancing gets better as the contestant pool gets smaller, I’ll stick with classifying performances as The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.

The Good

Rick Fox – His graceful moves made him an official contender for the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy.
Audrina Patridge – Continuing with her theme of scandalous dresses, Audrina improved greatly, earning praise from the judges.
Jennifer Gray – Her drama queen antics may not bother everyone, but she gets on my nerves. That being said, she’s very talented which doesn’t go unnoticed.
Kyle Massey – The Disney Channel star did it again, this time with a modernized version of the Quickstep. Kyle also got the crowd laughing while he joked about not following the strict diet he’s been put on.
Kurt Warner – The NFL star managed to stick with the good crowd by showing his smooth moves.

The Bad

Brandy – Though she still out-performed other dancers, she retrogressed from last week. Plus, she’s got some attitude problems.
Florence Henderson – The high level of fitness required for this week’s dances did flow with Flo.
Margaret Cho – I’ll give her props for learning to leave the humor out of it, but she still isn’t ready for the dancing big leagues.
The Situation – All that fist-pumping and no rhythm.
Bristol Palin – I’m pretty sure the only reason the judges gave her positive feedback was because her mom was in the audience. She’s not a good dancer. Sorry I said it.

The Ugly

Michael Bolton – I Said You Danced Well But I Lied. How Am I Supposed To Live With Your Dancing? When A Man Loves A Woman…guess that one doesn’t really work.

How I miss this hair

Michael Bolton was kicked off the following night after receiving an embarrassing score of 12/30. Notables in the audience: Sarah Palin, Ray J, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brad Womack (the old but new Bachelor), stars from the Brady Bunch, Romany Malco (Conrad from Weeds), and Chelsea Staub (from Disney show Jonas L.A.).

Episode Grade: B-

Live From New York...

So I know I’ve told you all that I’m a huge fan of Saturday Night Live. But I’m going to tell you right now that when I came home from a night of attempting to be a college student again, followed by an equally impressive rally at a football game, followed by a night of babysitting, I couldn’t stay awake until 1 am. But I did watch a large portion of it which is what I’ll comment on.

At 11:30 pm, host Amy Poehler commenced the 36th season of popular variety show, Saturday Night Live. Poehler’s opening monologue was absolutely fitting for her triumphant return to Saturday Night Live, her first time as a host! Guest appearances -made by Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, and Justin Timberlake to name a few- flooded the stage as Poehler walked us through a crazy dream she had. Maya Rudolph returned to the NBC set for the sketch Brooklyn Beats where she and Poehler play two stereotypical Brooklyn mothers gossiping about anything and everything. Katy Perry, the musical guest for the evening, appeared in the skit in a shirt mocking her recent stint on Sesame Street. The singing starlet, known for her pop beats and perky boobs, wore a shirt with Elmo’s stretched out head on the front. Recently, Katy Perry’s Sesame Street segment was pulled from the air after outraged mothers complained about her cleavage. Though I’m sure she’s not sorry for it, she poked fun at herself, something all Saturday Night Live hosts and guests must be able to do, and got fits of laughter from the audience.

I think it’s fair to say that Elmo wasn’t tickled by Katy Perry’s musical performance to “California Girls”. It was evident that her much auto-tuned voice on the radio didn’t translate so well via the live performance. Her dance moves looked mechanical at best…think Britney Spears at the VMA’s right before her nervous breakdown. Perhaps she should stick with live acting?

The longest segment of the night and in my opinion, the best, was Weekend Update with Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler. The two have an on-screen chemistry that, while not romantic, is symbolic of their long-standing friendship. Their “Really?!” segment was laughable, but it was honestly seeing the two of them together again that made this portion of the show so enjoyable.

Aaaanddd, this is when I fell asleep. Sorry, guys. I highly suggest you watch the entire episode to familiarize yourself with great television. Here’s the episode below:



Episode Grade: B+ (from what I saw)

Dancing With The Stars: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Last night kicked off Season 11 of Dancing With The Stars and what will be, in my eyes, the most watched season of the show. The cast is chock-full of stars. Well, technically it’s full of people who have been in the media limelight as well as some that are relative unknowns. A full two-hour show was used to showcase each one of the cast members’ rhythmic talents for the first time. The unveiling was surprising for some members (Rick Fox) and expected for others (Jennifer Grey). In case you missed it, here’s a list of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

Audrina Patridge: Surprisingly a show-stopper! She already has that DWTS body that usually comes after a full season of meringues and salsas.
Rick Fox: Height’s no problem for this NBA babe. He was elegant and graceful and is sure to go far in this season due to Carrie Ann’s crush on him.
Kyle Massey: As a former avid Disney Channel watcher, I knew exactly who this vivacious teen was. His jaw-dropping performance should be the first of many.
Brandy: As her brother, Ray-J, cheered her on, she performed as many expected her to…with ease.
Jennifer Grey: After an emotional practice session that triggered memories of the late Patrick Swayze, she was ready to flaunt her skills from the Dirty Dancing days.

The Bad

Bristol Palin: Performing to “Momma Told Me Not To Come” was the beginning of her downfall. The extent of her talent was shaking her booty which couldn’t help me think about it contributing to her teen pregnancy.
Florence Henderson: Her performance was only so-so, but her body is not a day over 40. She is 76 years old and livelier than some of the other performers.
Kurt Warner: This ex-NFL Superbowl MVP has a 1,000 mega-watt smile but lacks the elegance and grace of a dancer. Perhaps a few more practice sessions?

The Ugly

Margaret Cho: You are a comedian. Not a dancer. Do not try to mix the two in an attempt to gain support.
Michael Bolton: I love Michael Bolton, I really do. First cassette tape I ever owned. He can’t dance. Just stick to singing and I will continue with my undying affection for you.
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino: His name in the credits is actually “The Situation”? Wow. He only had about five days to rehearse and I wouldn’t have said his routine was that awful, but he needs to improve a lot to stick around for future episodes.

You may have noticed that I didn’t talk about The Hoff. David Hasselhoff cannot be categorized as any of the above. His performance was indescribable. But I’ll try. He ripped off his clothes, made crazy faces, and got the crowd going. He’s not half-bad, but he hasn’t quite teetered over to the good side. I’ll be sure to keep watching for more of his grunting outbursts during practice sessions.

Notable stars in the audience included Jamie Lee Curtis (there to support Jennifer Grey), The Situation’s sister who has appeared on a few Jersey Shore episodes, Eliza Dushku (Rick Fox’s girlfriend, 20 years his junior), and Ray-J. Not in attendance was Sarah Palin. Don’t worry- she’ll be there next week!

Episode Grade: B+