Customer Reviews

Boiler Room (Widescreen)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Alliance blu-rays are a funny lot. You'll see them. Titles you may like going for the right price. You wonder if you should buy 'em. Through licensing deals here in Canada, they are able to release many titles that have yet to see an official studio blu-ray release. For instance, Boiler Room. Originally from New Line Cinema. Unfortunately for all the availability and attractive price they offer, there can be a significant downside. With budget price comes budget disc. There's generally no menus. Typically no extras, no subtitles. The real issue however is the incorrect labeling. Read around. Aspect ratios that differ from what was listed or intended by the filmmakers. Special features said to be on the disc but nowhere's to be found and in one rare instance getting a director's cut of a movie without even being told so. Worse is you're not even guaranteed decent HD picture and sound which seems to be the point of buying bluray. If you're a purist or just appreciate a proper feature presentation these are elements you should be aware of before making any prospective Alliance disc purchase.

All that said, their treatment of Boiler Room is half decent. I don't think in any incarnation will Boiler Room ever be reference material. It didn't have the budget and with it's dreary manipulated color palette, it's not one of those snap, crackle and pop type of films. Taken from the original 1.85:1 to the more home theater friendly 1.78:1, the picture is clean but lacks fine detail seen in better HD transfers. Meanwhile for a movie that is firmly dialogue driven, Alliance delivers a 5.1 DTS HD MA track that does all it can in making the many conversations clear and keeping the background noise firmly in the background. Of course, expect little in the way of a workout for your rear speakers or subwoofer.

If you're a fan of Boiler Room, consider this a worthy upgrade from the standard definition DVD, especially given it's ridiculously low price in Canada. Alliance and it's bag of collective problems withstanding.

What Wall Street did for the '80s, Boiler Room did for the 90's. With its wonderful cast and side plots, Boiler Room showed the shady world of the flourishing chop shops during the 90's boom. The father/son relationship Seth has is heart-wrenching as is the Abby's home situation. Many lessons are to be learned through this film. For one, regardless of how shady a company is, there do exist some people in these firms who either don't know what is going on or who really have no other choice. Secondly, stop worrying about trying to impress others (even family) it just may get you into trouble.

This movie surprise me.I liked how they use "Gecko"and it shows them watching Wall Street that was cool.The next best movie to Wall Street (Michael Douglas) in the stock market.
Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) drops out of college and stumbles upon a job to be a stock broker to make all kinds of money, everything is going well, and he is doing great,but things seen to good to be true , as he finds out what he's got himself into.With actors such as Ribisi ,Vin Diesel,Nia Long , Scott Katt and Ben Affeck as (Jim Young) some what like Alex Badwin's part in Glengarry Glen Ross similar in arrogant roles.So set the sale and Enjoy!!!!

GREAT GREAT MOVIE, you definently gotta get your hands on this dvd. I really enjoyeed Vin diesel & Ribisi in this movie.I have to say I really didn't know what was going to happen till the end of the movie. It's about a guy that makes a lot of cold calls selling pretty much fake stock. Well I really don't want to give away the whole movie but, you really should rent or purchase this one. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Uninspired 2nd go around of the basic plot of "Wall Street", which was one of Oliver Stone's least successful efforts. Besides a weak,unoriginal script, "Boiler Room" is marred by miscasting and a really out-of-place musical score. Hip-hop and rap music is just fine when it's part of the story as in "Eight Mile" but it's forced and inappropriate here. There is nothing to connect this type of urban music with the very suburban and city types of stockbrokers and telemarketers depicted. It's very jarring.

Giovanni Ribisi (Seth), an idiosyncratic charcter actor anyways, looks as pale as a vampire. His oddness does nothing to define his character, a young man who is drifting into criminal gambling as a business even before drifting into selling fake stocks. A lot of sentimental business transpires between him and his harsh father, a federal judge (Ron Rifkin) and this is about as entertaining as watching your family fight over dinner. It does absolutely nothing to propel the plot or even to explain why Seth -- from a priviledged upbringing -- has turned to the type of illegal business dealings you might associate more with someone from a poor background.

There is an opportunity to see Vin Diesel, pre-stardom, and actually wearing a suit. He's low key here, which is a pleasure. Instant stardom has done nothing to mature this actor's style, but he was initially an appealing and different presence. Bennifer...ooops, Ben Affleck has a small role as a huckster, the "Gordon Gecko" of the film, inspiring the troops in the small chop shop, and he does a good job of capturing the salesman's smooth patter and dead eyes. When he says he is "smiling ear to ear" (as a result of his huge success), in fact his expression is blank and souless -- perfect. But he is in only a couple of brief scenes.

The director pays homage to "Wall Street" by having the characters gather together at one of their big expensive (empty) houses and watch it on TV, while Diesel and Affleck effortless spout whole pages of dialogue from the film. I seriously doubt young brokers today are so hung up on a film from 1987! A time when they were probably in grade school! This is the DIRECTOR'S pet movie, not the characters and it's a clear sign that things are not going to progress in an original or entertaining way.

"Wall Street" was not a good enough movie for a director to be aping (or the characters). It was a pretty lame, trite flick and was only watchable for Michael Douglas (Gecko) who singlehandedly revived his career from his Oscar winning role and became a major Hollywood player. Because of this, I consider "Wall Street" one of those rare films that sucks but is watching for a single great performance.

Not so "Boiler Room". There is nothing here but shallow, boring homage to a mediocre film. You learn nothing about the one-dimensional characters, nothing about the stock business, nothing about the laws against this sort of thing...you are just marking time. You have better things to do. This is a movie you can safely leave on the video store shelf.

I really hope they didn't pay a lot for the services of Giovanni Ribisi in this film because his acting is horrible. He is constantly stuttering and drooling and acting like he's confused. But this is acceptable because his performance is on par with the rest of the movie.

These guys are filthy filthy rich, we get it. You don't need to keep beating it into our heads that they have tons of money. And the backstory about the relationship between Ribisi and his father? Who cares? It's poorly developed along with the rest of the plot.

If you want a good movie that brings interest to an uninteresting subject, get Wall Street or Glengarry Glen Ross. "Boiler Room" is a poor second.

Giovanni Ribisi gives an excellent turn here as an entrepreneur--albeit, illegal activity--turned legitimate, or so he thought. Terrific activity between he and his father. The relationship between he and the secretary at the firm is terrific as well. Affleck and Diesel are both stand-outs in this film. This is a terrific ensemble of talent placed into a nice script. One to watch!

I very much enjoyed this movie. However, I have a particular interest in the market, and this may have clouded my judgement a little. It is a very dark movie, and will keep you on your toes. I could see why some didn't like the movie, but fans of heavy, cerebral movies (fight club...) should enjoy this.

When I first saw Boiler Room in the theaters, I knew nothing about the fast-paced world which was enclosed behind the doors of our nation's brokerages. Even though I know a whole lot more about this aspect of business, that is not the main reason I LOVE this movie, the acting is superb (Vin Diesel is not as bad as everyone thinks he is in this movie), the plot original, and the soundtrack absolutely pulsating.

From the perspective of a student at a business college, this movie is highly entertaining, and if you ask anyone his is at all interested in business, you are likely to get the same response. Boiler Room does for me what Wall Street must have done for many in the 80's. This movie only helped my desire to become a stockbroker become more cemented.

A must-see for anyone who already owns Wall Street or Glengarry Glenross and by adding Boiler Room to those two movie, you end up with the holy trinity of business films.

The only downside to the film in Seth's relationship with his African-American secretary. The film tries too hard to examine race relations and other factors involved in dating a coworker. It should have just stuck with its examination of the lives of the young brokers, because that is what it does best!!!

sorta has the ring Wall Street did and it echoes threw here. The Cast is splendid, you got Vin Diesel(Pitch Black), Giovanni Ribisi(suburbia), Nia Long(Soul Food), Nicky Katt(suburbia), Jamie Kennedy(Bait) and Ben Affleck(DareDevil). the story does well in this one and the ending is nicely done