Genres

Visitors Review

Lee Depkin 2012-05-19 00:15:44

Recommended, though it has unnecessary flaws

Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi), a twenty-something college dropout, hasturnedhis apartment into an illegal gambling casino. Even though he is verysuccessful with his venture, late-night gambler Greg Weinstein (Nicky Katt)piques his curiosity with an offer of employment with very lucrativebenefits. He is ultimately introduced to the high-energy world of brokerswhich creates unimaginable risks and opportunities forSeth.This is a fine film about some very unsavory characters, those for whom thegolden rule means acquire the gold by any means. In the lead role GiovanniRibisi portrays a restless young man, eager for success, but beset withself-doubt. Years of turmoil with his demanding father, Marty, a respectedjudge played by Ron Rifkin, have left him scarred yet still yearning forhisfather's acceptance. Marty cares deeply for Seth too, though he is unableto express his love and only focuses on his son's shortcomings. Thefather-son relationship in the film, the key to Seth's drive, is very welldone, though it came close to falling into a cliché several times. Anotherquite interesting aspect of the film is the view it gives into the world ofunscrupulous stockbrokers operating out of a boiler room, a term applied toa telephone-intensive sales operation. There are a number of despicablecharacters here, those who long ago sold out for the sure-fire formula forpersonal wealth. Good supporting roles by Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel and NiaLong as Debbie, the secretary who shows an interest in Seth, add to theenjoyment. But there are a few problems that prevented it from beinggreat.Though it was well-edited overall I was put off by some of the MTV-styleediting on the transition scenes, where every shot was two seconds or lessand punctuated by a pervasive rap background. Even more distracting was asignificant number of key scenes involving close-ups that were out offocus.This was an inexcusable lapse in cinematography. Though I stillrecommended it, I had to downgrade its rating for this failing to 7 out of10.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat 2012-05-18 17:20:18

The efforts of one unhappy young man to win the love of his father.

2012-05-18 03:40:48

Watch it........You wont be dissapointed

This movie was so great. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat. The only thing that got me mad was why this movie didn't do that great at the movies. It was one of this years best. The story line was great and the acting was brilliant. It was about stock brokers at their best, it was wrong at the same time. The ending was confusing and left many unanswered questions but the movie itself was worth it.

MediaGuy-2 2012-05-17 04:33:57

Young Stockbrokers with an attitude....

This was a great movie. The movie is told from the point of view ofGiovanniRibisi's character, Seth Davis. The film depicts Seth's successful riseandhis downfall as a stockbroker. The movie begins by getting straight to thepoint and ends the same way, by getting straight to the point. Thesoundtrack to the movie is especially amazing. It is full of fast and slowpaced hip hop beats. I give this movie an 8 out of 10. See it if you havethe chance. Also Jamie Kennedy (Scream 1 & 2, Bowfinger, Three Kings) isespecially hilarious in his role, another reason to watch themovie.

2012-05-16 15:43:19

Never a dull moment, but the ending needed work

Young single men in their early twenties plus a lot of money equals, in the first two-thirds of the movie, one of the highest testosterone quotients in the history of the cinema. This is "Maxim" come to life. This is why most of us don't want to work anywhere near the sales staff ... anywhere. Even Nia Long has balls in this movie. I think this must come close to "The Blair Witch Project" for most on-screen uses of the F word, and once you factor in all the other dirty words it makes the profanity of its subject matter joyously palpable. There are some truly great scenes here - the "Rocky Horror"-izing of "Wall Street has been noted in these reviews, and it's great. But my favorite that no one's noted (I had to hit the pause button to laugh for a minute or two) was Ribisi's response to getting telemarketed by the Daily News. I'm going to keep that in mind for the next telemarketing call I get. I never thought of that approach to this all too common modern annoyance which, I freely admit, I have been on the giving end of. Younger has a great eye for framing his scenes and I like the look he gave the film, a real feel for his Long Island and NYC locations. I do admit there are some problems with the plot ... I get the feeling the movie was trimmed a bit to keep it under two hours for that one extra daily screening, and as a result some of the plot elements come across a bit haphazardly, such as the FBI investigation and Ribisi's relationship with Long.At the same time there's no need for the subplot with the guy who loses his life's savings ... why show all those bits? They get a little pedantic. The scenes with his dad work better because of Ron Rifkin's no-nonsense portrayal, but the last one seems forced, and I'm still waiting for a real end to the whole movie. But overall I recommend it with the caveats that there's a lot of grimly authentic male behavior in this movie, including crudeness, violence and lots of swearing.

lschoux 2012-05-16 02:43:05

Close, but no cigar

If you are expecting a second "Wallstreet" forget it. The movie has not muchto do with the subject matter in the first place. It tries to portray aget-rich-quick scheme and one of the player's ethical problems with it. Tiedto a family-crisis (a rather rotten father-son relationship) this makes foran all-in-all boring flick.Some highlights are the acting and the cars (which you don't see enough of)and the very good camera work. Summary: Promises a lot, starts of good but then it trails off. Mediumworth.

Geeky Randy 2012-05-14 22:07:08

Good For A Curtain Type.

For some people this is a simple movie, for others…it's a difficult, so I'mnot going to get into detail. I kind of liked this movie because it haddetail. I can fall right into a movie, as if I'm living it. Some peoplecan't, they're waiting for everything on the screen, they can't get into it,unlike me . So if you're wanting a movie where you don't have to get intoit, don't watch this. For you other, here's what I have to say…This movie isabout a young man, Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi,) who runs an illegalgambling joint in his apartment. When his father, Judge Davis (Ron Rifkin,) finds out, Seth gets anotherjob…as a stockbroker. Basically, Seth just wants to make money to impresshis father. My guys is to why the film was given an "R" rating was becauseof a few disturbing scenes. One scene, at the beginning of the film, wheremy favorite actor Jamie Kennedy, is doing cocaine. And another scene whereRichi (Scott Caan) takes a guy outside, and beets him up. I guess I findCaan's character beating somebody up in this movie disturbing because itlooks so real. I mean, my favorite genre is horror, which is ablood-filled-genre, but this looked so real, I was about to hide my facelike a 5-year-old. The reason I gave this film a 9/10 was because of theending. You feel cheated. I don't know if they purposely did it, or what,but I can't get into much detail about that unless I have to spoil it. So,it was a good movie for a certain kind of person.

2012-05-14 07:11:33

Greed is Goo--oops! Wrong Moovy!

....I knew I was gonna like this when the main character, Seth, quotes Biggy Smalls in the opening scenes. I also like the fact that he has an illegal casino going and he already has ends coming in. What I thought was that Seth was somehow gonna cut deals with both chop-shoppers and the Feds to come out looking like he's done the legal and ethical thing, but left it open for him to continue in the bizness, but it wasn't so. Eye candy Nia Long hasn't had an indepth role since "Soul Food"--and I'm not bashing her, just noticing. This doesn't break any new grounds in her career, but it was still nice to see her. A good moovy! See it today!

Shiva-11 2012-05-10 18:02:35

A pale shade of Wallstreet

The Boiler Room: Seth Davis is a successful entrepreneur: a Universitydropout he employs two people running a very profitable casino out of hishome. In an attempt to gain his father's respect Seth decides to abandonthe life of a pit boss/dealer and find a respectable job. But what? Doctor? Fireman? Policeman? No, he opts for the most honorable career: ahigh-pressure broker for JT Marlin, an obscure financial company, that maynot be on the up and up. With a raging bull market, brokers receiving multimillion-dollar bonuses anda new twenty-something-dot-com-whiz kid becoming a billionaire every week,it was inevitable that someone would try to make a movie about this subject. It's a shame that this had to be the one. The brokers of JT Marlin consider "Wall Street" - the decade defining moviethat so perfectly captured the extravagantly excessive consumerism of the80's- to be their Holy Grail. As you watch them chomp on cigars and taketurns reciting the dialogue you realize the problem with the film - they aremouthing the whole thing."Wall Street" gave us solid characters and regardless whether you admired orreviled them, they rang true: Gordon Gekko, the robber baron with therequisite combination of charisma, style and evil was an Armani shark withsoul while Bud Fox, the poor naïf who is seduced by wealth and power andultimately destroyed by conscience could be anyman. In stark contrast, thecharacters in Boiler are paper cut outs - a gang of uncouth, racist punks -and I didn't believe them or care about their problems. In addition, hadthey spent more time on the plot rather than dwelling on the boot campenvironment at the firm, (which quickly gets repetitive and stale) it mighthave taken more than ten minutes to figure out the entire plot. Finally, Ifound the hip-hop soundtrack very distracting (sorry, just not into it). They should have called this A Day at the VSE. Miss it.

2012-05-09 19:51:47

A Definite Favorite of Mine

There seems to be a faction of sorts that this movie is forming. Those who like Wall Street type movies and those who don't. As a stockbroker in training (much like the main character), I found this movie entertaining and even comical at times. Giovanni Ruibisi plays a full character and does so in a fresh way. I myself have sat at a desk and made cold calls all day. It was only by remembering this movie that made it tolerable. And correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have seen this movie, you will never talk to a tele-marketer the same way again!

2012-05-08 02:16:50

Very edgy drama!

I bought this movie because I'm a big fan of Vin Diesel. I watched it one night and found it to be a very edgy and very entertaining drama. The plot was very well developed, the characters were very well developed, and the relationship of the main character Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) with the other main characters made for some great plots with-in the plot. All the character relationships are all good for different reasons. The relationship between Seth and his father (Ron Rifkin) had such great intensity. The alliance with Greg Weinstein (Nicky Katt) changed into an excellent battle of wills. The romance with Abby (Nia Long) proved to bring a very fuzzy element to the movie. And the alliance with Chris (Diesel) shows us that Seth has one friend he can count on. Excellent performances all-around, great plot, and a very hip musical score. Highly recommended for fans of stock market type movies and Vin Diesel movies. Boiler Room starts out smokin' and never cools off!

2012-05-07 22:11:49

Classic in its own way

This review is from: Boiler Room (Amazon Instant Video) I always enjoyed this movie knowing people in real life who are in the financial industry and will do anything to get ahead. Vin Diesel is great in this movie as the experienced broker who takes Ribisi under his wing and teaches him how to get ahead in the company. The story lags at times( especially with the romantic interest crowbar'd in) but overall a good to great movie.

2012-05-02 00:17:35

A Gen X Wall Street

At first, I was a little apprehensive about "Boiler Room" thinking it was just gonna be "Wall Street: Part 2". I finally rented it on tape and loved it. One of this year's most underrated films, Boiler Room is a smart and energetic film with excellent performances from it's right cast. The film tells the story of Seth Davis, a decent college dropout earning a living by running a casino inside his house, much to the strong dismay of his frustrated judge father. In order to impress his dad, Seth takes on a job at a stock brokerage firm where he becomes a fast tracking stock broker and making good money. Only later does he find out that his job isn't what it's cracked up to be. The performances are strong, particularly from lead Ribisi and supporting characters Nicky Katt as a two faced co-worker, Ron Rifkin as his dad, and Scott Caan as a hotheaded co-worker. Vin Diesel does quite well as the good guy to Ribisi's Davis. The film definitely has the testosterone feel of a Generation X movie with The Angel's rap/classical score. There's even an homage to "Wall Street" that I don't want to spoil. If you're in the mood for a really good film, rent "Boiler Room". Look for the director Ben Younger in a cameo as a stock broker.

Chris Jarmick 2012-05-01 13:34:48

A poor mans Glengarry Glenn Ross that gets a bit too preachy and moralistic for it's own good.

Boiler Room Some of the writing and acting in the film is very sharp.It takes a little longer than it should for the story tomove to the J.T. Marlin Boiler Room, but once it does for agood half hour the film really crackles. The salesclosing techniques, the atmosphere of the place, are wellcaptured. Too bad guilty conscience is introduced with thesubtlety of Jimminy Cricket. The father relationship isvery believable up to a point but certainly could havebeen better handled. The love at first site attraction ofthe secretary was puzzling. I was expecting there to bean ulterior motive from the start (I've given nothingaway). The film tries to play both sides of the fence, and triesto be moral, becoming a bit preachy by doing so. If it had just stuck to the story without trying to laysome things on too thick the film would have had a lotmore power and resonance. As it it the film is pretty exciting, well acted andworth a rental. It will certaintly keep ones attention andinterest throughout. Christopher J. Jarmick (Author: The Glass Cocoon)

2012-04-29 18:18:10

good

i love the movie it rock it was the bomb i like vin he rock and Do you know vin email address so i can write to him

Framescourer 2012-04-29 07:49:59

The treachery of the father figure

It seems that beginning a movie by having your principal operating somesort of small-time gambling racket out of a back room is shorthand forsaying that he's gifted in some way but dysfunctional in another. Suchis the circumstance for college dropout Seth (Ribisi) who seems unableto please his Dad.Well the Glengarry Glen Ross/Wall Street hybrid cold-calling office -the Boiler Room' - is where he takes issue with patriarchs: a bullyingBen Affleck offsets the tough love of his father, the Judge (RonRifkin); he also has the chance to do the right thing for theimpressionable Chris (vin Diesel) but that's doomed as he's betrayinghimself as he cold calls parents across the country doing the same totheir families.It's a miserable watch as the desire to do well supersedes thenecessity to do right. The acting often misses this point but it's ayoung man's drama where the action illuminates the big ideasseparately. 5/10

Maitland McDonagh 2012-04-23 05:59:14

Filmmaker Ben Younger makes not a single false move when delineating the merciless, high-testosterone world of boiler-room brokerages.

2012-04-22 18:02:10

A Very Interesting and Intriguing Story

I just recently watched "Boiler Room" for the first time on television a couple of days ago. I liked it so much that I immediately went out and bought the DVD.This film revolves around a college drop-out (Giovanni Ribisi) who runs a small casino for college students out of his apartment and gets caught up in the world of trading in order to make his father respect him. He begins working for the trading firm JT Marlin. This firm promises its young traders that they will make their first million in three years. So, of course, this is very appealing to just about everyone who hears about it. However, JT Marlin is making its money by trading stocks for companies that don't exist. Ribisi's character discovers this information and decides to, with the help of the FBI, bring JT Marlin down.Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, and Nia Long give great performances. I would highly suggest this film! You won't be disappointed!!!!

2012-04-19 20:12:23

Way to go Giovanni

This movie is awesome and has some great guys in it...Vin Diesel,Ben Affleck, Scott Caan....I think this is one of Giovanni's best performances by far.The movie changes tones throughout it which makes it very watchable and entertaining -- just as any "stock market" movie isI loved the fact that it was based and taped in New York City and Long Island -- A must see for all New Yorkers !!It is just a great story about a young naive kid trying to get rich quick , but comes out clean in the end !!

Philip Martin 2012-04-19 12:18:33

...bad films are common enough that it's probably worth making distinctions between the unwatchable and the guilty pleasure.