An ordinary guy, Michael Douglas has a "casual" affair which escalates into a life and death struggle.  The audience is meant to identify with the "everyman" situation and who you root for is the delight of the story.  Guilt and paying for your sins are the main themes and, with the excess of the market in 1987, this resonated big time with investors.

Michael's affair with Glenn Close, the "rabbit boiler" who will not be ignored, amplifies the consequences of your actions.  She attempts suicide, she is pregnant, she worms her way into his family, she kidnaps his daughter and finally, she tries to kill his wife, the innocent Anne Archer. 

Ultimately, the movie ends with a shot of a happy family portrait which is the opposite of what the future holds for these characters.

The Black Monday Crash of 1987 was also an event for everyman, holding the market accountable for the 30% gain it had racked up in 1987 as well as the 27% gain in 1985 and the 22% gain in 1986.  We had to pay for our sins of easy gains with no pain.  The ride was too good to last.  However, the pain wasn't long-lasting as the market ended the year up 2% and rebounded 11% in 1988.  This rebound is now part of investor psychology, playing out in 2009 with expectations for a similar quick rebound from the subprime crash of 2008. 

In 1988, it was comedy that signalled the start of a new bull run with Good Morning Vietnam and Crocodile Dundee II.  Will comedies signal the end of the crash of 2008?

One Word Review: SAD

The original movie was fresh and surprising, with clever observations about aliens among us and nice touches like the use of tabloids as truth reporters.  In short, it was believable if you accepted the one fantasy element that the Men In Black exist to protect us from aliens living all over Manhattan.

All that was good in the original was tossed aside as the filmmakers ramped up the effects and made us believe unrealistic events such as Will Smith riding a worm in the subway, using out-of-date tranquilizers and goofing on the people in danger.  Soon after the opening scenes, you realize you are not watching a story based in "reality" but just stuff tossed in gratuitously because it worked in the first film so lets do it again bigger and better.

There is an old rule about stories: audiences will believe one fantastic thing, but not two.  Exceed credibility too often and you end up with audiences that don’t care.  This is the problem with Men In Black II.

Linda Fiorentino (one of the best characters in the first movie) is gone and Frank the dog partner is too damn irritating.  Will Smith is no longer the trainee with attitude but Mr. Mainstream, feared within the org for neauralizing the memories of every partner he gets.  All negative.

By the time you get to the train locker full of little aliens safe-keeping a watch and a business card for the last 20 years, and singing the national anthem, you realize the movie will do anything without concern for logic or respect for the audience’s intelligence.  This sequel tears the guts out of any self respecting fan of the first movie.

When the climactic urgency of the planet's destruction is delayed as our two heroes debate who should drive the car now steered by a Sony Playstation controller, all we care about is the quick end to this movie.  It is a sad waste of talent and high expectations.  This sequel killed the franchise.   

2002 was the year of accounting scandals which peaked in July.  Investors who were saddened by Enron (convictions in June), Worldcom (March, bankrupt in July), and Tyco (May) soured on stocks.  In July, new scandals were uncovered in Duke Energy, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AOL Time Warner, Mirant, Nicor Energy and Merck.