Oliver Stone in many ways is America personified. At his best, his films are sharp, beautiful and earnest, with an unflinching view of the world and a sincere desire to change it.

At his worst, however, he’s shrill and overwrought, with an archaic view of right and wrong and overblown ego.

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is a well-meaning combination of his best and worst instincts; a half-baked jumble of ideas that might just have worked if not for a tacked-on focus group-approved ending.

I was encouraged by Stone’s idea — to recreate the Great Recession and Wall Street crash through the eyes of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). To show what Gekko’s real-life counterparts have wrought and the misery it led to. Gekko, who himself is released from prison at the beginning of the film, is the same character, though this time he professes that time, not money is his main concern. Stone made up a wounded daughter (the luminescent Carey Mulligan) and her hotshot Wall Street analyst fiance Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who become enmeshed in Gekko’s inevitable mind games.

It’s a very different mood from the first film. The first was a game-changer in the way we thought about business and, contrary to Stone’s original intent, drove countless yuppies-in-training to the profession of assigning imaginary objects imaginary worth. It was incisive, minimalist and dark in just the right way.

This one is…different.

There are charts! Lots of charts! And shots of the New York City skyline superimposed on charts! And then the camera twirls around the Empire State Building, superimposes another image of the corpse of Frank Langella and does it again! There are also lots of spiraling shots of bubbles, which is symbolism for… economic bubbles!

About 20 minutes into the film I found myself silently pleading, “Oliver, for God’s sake, sit down, and stop spinning the camera! I’m trying to watch your movie!” The dozens of montages literally triggered a migraine.

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to like. Mulligan and LaBeouf are a real-life couple and have a wonderful chemistry, aided by the fact that Mulligan could probably be riveting acting the phone book. Josh Brolin, as Gekko’s rival, is dynamite — a man with a thin veneer of charm barely concealing a core of violence.

But these are just the people in Gekko’s orbit, but Gekko himself. I feel sad when I look at Michael Douglas. He still has capacity for perfect line delivery and a vicious sense of humor. But, to be blunt, the man has had so much plastic surgery, he literally can’t give an expression beyond snakelike surprise. Watching Douglas’ zombified corpse stumble around and attempt to move his paralyzed facial muscles is terrible, especially when compared to the virile animal who latched on to Charlie Sheen in the first film.

Speaking of Sheen, he does indeed have a cameo in “Money Never Sleeps.” In fact, he has the dubious honor of winning the “Most Awkward Cameo” Award, literally sitting there, with a 20-year-old aspiring actress on each arm, spouting about what he’s been up to since he sold that pesky Bluestar airline.

I have a hard time hating Oliver Stone. He gets it right just as much as he gets it wrong, and he has a wild, muckraking spirit I admire. But there’s too much in “Money Never Sleeps;” too much noise, too many montages, and too many ideas. And I won’t tell you the ending of the movie, but I think you can guess. Stone’s “Wall Street” worked because in the end the bad guy didn’t reform. He was loyal to his base instinct right to the bitter end. “Money Never Sleeps” allows for hope for all God’s creatures, even the ones who commit fraud against their own children. And that’s not the Gordon Gekko, or the Oliver Stone, I know and love.

The movies destined to make the biggest splash at Cannes this year aren’t even competing for the Palm d’Or.

In what has become a tradition, the opening night film is an upcoming summer blockbuster. The premiere of "Robin Hood," Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe’s return to the summer action epic 10 years after "Gladiator," will kick off this year’s festival.

Hopefully, "Robin Hood" will prove to be a better film than past opening night films- "The Da Vinci Code" opened the festival in 2006 and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" had the honor in 2008. While both were blockbusters, neither was particularly well received critically.

Other high profile film’s screening out of competition include Oliver Stone’s "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." The hotly anticipated sequel features Michael Douglas returning to his Oscar-winning role as Gordon "greed is good" Gekko. The film also stars rising stars Shia LaBeouf and Carey Mulligan. Woody Allen’s newest "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is also screening out of competition. While not much is known about the plot, Allen’s latest features an all-star cast including Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts.

Speaking of Watts, she is the star of the only American film that was accepted into main competition. She stars as outed CIA agent Valerie Plame in Doug Liman’s "Fair Game." Sean Penn co-stars as her husband, Joseph Wilson. This is the second time Watts and Penn have worked together. They previously appeared together in

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 2003 film, "21 Grams." "Fair Game" marks an interesting shift to the serious for Doug Liman. The director has become known for making fun, breezy action films like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "The Bourne Identity."

Other notable films showing at the festival include, Mike Leigh’s "Another Year," Stephen Frear’s "Tamara Drewe" starring Gemma Arterton, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s "Biutiful" starring Javier Bardem.

Director Tim Burton is heading up the juror’s panel. Fellow judges include actors Benicio Del Toro and Kate Beckinsale

As much of a critic as he is of the Bush presidency, Oliver Stone’s biopic of our current president didn’t make you hate Bush – it made you feel bad for him.

Telling the story of George W. Bush’s presidency, the rightly titled “W.” (pronounced “Dubya”) is ironic and critical, but makes President Bush look like the victim rather than the enforcer of the manipulation and deceit that has brought his popularity rating to a historic low.

Playing Bush is Josh Brolin, who is proving to be the next great actor of our generation. Following his critically acclaimed role in the Cohen brothers’ Oscar-winning “No Country for Old Men,” Brolin gives a near perfect interpretation of good ol’ Dubya.

The only issue with Brolin’s portrayal of Bush was that he was cast to play Bush in his college days. While Brolin was able to pull of the character of Bush, his wrinkled veneer gave away the 20 year age difference between how old he is and how old the character he was supposed to have been playing was.

The all-star player was Thandie Newton’s Condoleezza Rice, whose awkward facial expressions and nasal vocal-interpretation of the Secretary of State added new levels of humor to some of the more straight-forward character caricatures.

Rounding out the bunch was Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell, Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush and James Cromwell as George Herbert Walker Bush.

“W.” chronicled the story of George Bush Jr.’s life through his interactions with his father. Stone portrayed Bush’s actions as only wanting to live up to his father’s expectations and earn Bush Sr.’s approval. The jealous of his elder brother Jed was undercurrent throughout the entirety of the film.

The story was told out of chronological order, which was confusing because it was hard to judge when it was supposed to have taken place. Eventually the contexts became clear, but, especially with the age issues with Brolin, the idea was there for telling Bush’s story thematically though un-chronologically, but it was not delivered as effectively as it could have been.

The themes were very strong throughout the story and the film was well-created. Introverted shots like Bush trying to catch a baseball in the outfield of his empty stadium and lines like Bush Sr.’s “Who do you think you are, a Kennedy?” really give interesting dynamic to what has become known as one of the worst presidencies of all time.

Stone ended the film just as Bush was going into his second term as presidency (around 2004) which I didn’t quite understand. The film ended on a bizarre note, with Dick Cheney coaxing Bush to enter into war with Iraq and eventually Iran, saying, “There is no exit strategy.” It didn’t really make sense for Stone to end the film where he did when so many more important and critical events happened after the invasion of Iraq. By leaving the second term of Bush’s presidency out of the film, he did not create an apt representation of the president that so many have come to despise – unless Stone has secret plans for a sequel.

“W.” was an incredibly well created piece of film, both visually appealing and character driven. It gave new insight into a public figure in ways that have not been shown before. Thought it had a few minor flaws, “W.” is worth your money.

These are the movies Blast is excited about seeing in the month of October:

Rachel Getting Married

Who: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Debra Winger

What: Kym (Hathaway) returns home for her sister’s wedding and bring back years of family tension and personal problems with her. What should have been a happy weekend is sent towards disaster once Kym gets into the mix.

When: October 3

Why: Hathaway’s performance (a complete 180 from her typical girlish comedic fare) has been being talked about for an Oscar nod since talk first surfaced of her role.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

Who: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson, Megan Fox

What: Based on the novel based on the true story, the film follows the story of Sidney Young (Pegg) who is hired by a big time New York magazine. Young enters high society and makes a complete fool of himself, catches the attention of Sharp editor Clayton Harding (Bridges) and lands himself a job. Instead of schmoozing with everyone like he is told, Young makes a fool of himself and sets himself on the fast track to destruction.

When: October 3

Why: Pegg has a great sense of humor when it comes to making comedies. Also, the book, which is written by the real Sidney Young, is supposed to be hysterically funny. It’s been too long since our last great satire.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Who: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, Ari Graynor, Aaron Yoo, Jay Baruchel

What: Nick (Cera) is a musician in a Queercore band struggling to get over his ex. Norah (Dennings) is trying to keep an eye on her drunk best friend. They meet up, make out, and then end up going on the wildest search of their life to try to find their mutually favorite band.

When: October 3

Why: We’ve already seen the movie, and it’s really cute. Not the greatest thing ever, but Michael Cera deserves your $10 for his performance.

Body of Lies

Who: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe

What: Based on the novel of the same name, the film is about CIA operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) who uncovers a lead on a terrorist leader suspected to be working out of Jordan, and has to enlist the help of CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Crowe) and the head of Jordanian intelligence. Ferris has to figure out whether these men are truly his allies, or whether he has put his operation and safety on the line.

When: October 10

Why: It looks a bit over-the-top, but DiCaprio is having a serious comeback, and his chemistry with Crowe looks phenomenal. Also, Ridley Scott (who is directing) always brings the best out of Crowe.

Max Payne

Who: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris O’Donnell, Beau Bridges, Ludacris

What: After Max Payne (Wahlberg) finds his family killed and he himself is left for dead, he comes back to take his vengeance on those who have sought to destroy him: both natural and supernatural.

When: October 17

Why: We saw the presentation on it at Comic-con and, trust me, it looks AWESOME.

W.

Who: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Thandie Newton, Richard Dreyfuss

What: Oliver Stone directs an autobiographical film chronicling the life of President George W. Bush from his college days until his presidency.

When: October 17

Why: A seemingly-critical autobiographical flick about the life of George W. Bush directed by Oliver Stone starring Josh Brolin? Oh, I am so there.

Pride and Glory

Who: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle

What: Norton and Farrell are brothers in a multi-generational New York City police family, where one finds the other embroiled in a case that causes them to choose between their loyalties to each other and their loyalties to the department.

When: October 24

Why: This will be one of those underrated-but-awesome Colin Farrell flicks (“In Bruges”), accentuated by the fact that it co-stars Ed Norton.

Changeling

Who: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, Colm Feore

What: Christine Collins (Jolie) comes home one day in 1928 Los Angeles to find her son, Walter, gone. Five months later, Walter is found and returned to her by the LAPD. However, the boy who is returned to her is not her son. Thus ensues a battle between her and the police department, who try to convince her that the boy is in fact her son.

When: ‚ October 24

Why: This newest Eastwood film stirred up a lot of interest at Sundance this year, and the trailer looks eerie. This looks to be one of Jolie’s best performances yet.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Who: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson

What: Lifelong platonic friends, Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks), decide to direct and star in their own homemade porno to solve their financial woes.

When: ‚ October 31

Why: 1. Kevin Smith creation. 2. Seth Rogen starring. 3. Elizabeth Banks, who two weeks previous stars as Laura Bush in “W.” Talk about diversity. 5. Star Wars spoof porno.