Big is Good.

Jose here.



Money may not sleep but apparently our creativity does. Watching Wall Street the other day I couldn't help but ask myself how is it that technology took a turn on us at some point and now cell phones are going big again?

I know nothing will ever be as big as that brick Gordon Gekko checks out of jail in the sequel...



...but in theory the things we saw back in '87 are still going on today...sorta. It seems that for a while technology was driven towards making everything so tiny. Remember those cell phones that were supposed to be implanted in our molars? With the advent of the i Phone it seems that now all they want is to go back to a reasonable size that makes your hand feel like you are carrying something (have you noticed how hot those things can get sometimes?).

Can this be some sort of cautionary tale about how the excess of the 80's fooled the 90's into downsizing and then the 00's reminded us again about how weak we really are? OK someone stop me before I start sounding like Oliver Stone.

Speaking of which, have you seen it yet? Were you as baffled as I was? Are you more in love than ever with Carey Mulligan? Tell us!

Curio: Money Never Sleeps

Alexa here. When I first heard that Oliver Stone was making Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, I had about as much interest in seeing it as watching an episode of Two and a Half Men. Julien's review from Cannes has convinced me that I should trust my instincts. But if you can't wait for the return of Gordon Gekko, artist Cedric Mnich will happily print some Gekko currency for you.

Cedric, born in France and a former trader, creates art "inspired by the financial markets." He's done portraits of Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Bernie Madoff, but has a particular affinity for Gekko.

You can buy your own Gekko $20 bills at his store. Just remember, you can't use them to make a down payment on that home loan.

Cannes Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Aurora

Robert here, scouring the internet to give you the latest on the films premiering in Cannes.

In Competition

• The Housemaid Im Sangsoo's remake of the 1960's film about the chaos caused by a housmaid's affair with her master seems to be continuing the trend of mixed reviews at the festival this year.  Barbara Scharres, courtesy Roger Ebert's Blog says "So much of the pleasure in watching "The Housemaid" comes from being surprised by the unexpected plot developments."  But The AV Club finds it worth of only a "C" grade, calling it "perverse" in many ways.  Similarly, Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon says "Putting The Housemaid together in my head was an absolute chore."

Special Screening

• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone revisits his 1980's classic to a packed crowd and reasonably good reception.  Anne Thompson at IndieWIRE seems to sum up the films highs and lows.  "The movie follows so many threads and characters that none of them is fully-fledged" she says, but follows it up with, "yet it moves along entertainingly, even if the resolution seems Hollywood pat."  The Guardian is a little less kind with it's two star review.

Un Certain Regard

• Aurora Cristi Puiu was a sensation several years back with The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.  His latest seems to be drawing similar praise.  IndieWIRE begins their review by calling it "A slow burn thriller taken to the extreme."

Elsewhere around the internet MUBI has a nice collection of favorite moments (including some about the Romanian film Tuesday, After Christmas, which most publications aren't highly prioritizing.)  And AwardsDaily alerts us to the current odds on the Palme.