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Here's a look at the new releases I've seen this week.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Starring: Michael Douglas, Shia LeBeouf, Josh Brolin, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, and Carey Mulligan.

Synopsis: This is similar to the original "Wall Street" and different at the same time. Instead of being an indictment on the greed of the 1980s, this one is more of a cautionary tale about the over speculation that caused the collapse of the financial markets in the current economy. In other words, it hits too close to home and its too depressing to watch considering that we are still in the midst of it. Additionally, it's tough to get a feel for what the filmmakers want to do with the famous Gordon Gekko (Douglas) character. Gekko sometimes preaches caution and advises that the markets are on the brink of collapse — which we all know happened — sometimes he seems like a power broker, sometimes he seems interested in reuniting with his estranged daughter Winnie (Mulligan), sometimes he seems bent on revenge against the man who helped send him to prison (Brolin), and sometimes he seems like he is playing a long con with the young Jake Moore (LeBeouf). You're never sure what he is doing, and that's largely because director Oliver Stone has him trying to do all those things. Stone adds some kitchy filmmaking touches to "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" and gets some good performances from the actors, but this film lacks the bite of the original. Additionally, a wild tonal shift in the final five minutes largely undoes whatever good will Stone was creating with the audience through his telling of the story. It goes from a gritty financial saga to a Disney fairytale, which just does not work. There are elements of the film that are good, but that ending sabotages all that work because it leaves the audience unsatisfied heading out the door. That's never a good sign.

Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic elements.

Verdict: Two stars out of four.