'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'

Shia LaBeouf brings in $81 for every $1 he's paid. That makes sense, as LaBeouf's credits include the "Transformers" franchise and the last (we hope) "Indiana Jones" movie - international box office busters that continue to defibrillate American studios.

But it also creates a "chicken or the egg?" conundrum, Hollywood-style. Does LaBeouf guarantee success, or does the success of movies he's in make him more desirable? I vote for the latter, because LaBeouf is the mousiest (as in rodentlike) and most not-cool young actor we have.

In "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," he sits with Michael Douglas, posed for a family portrait. It's a smart, classy poster for the sequel to Oliver Stone's "Greed . . . is Good" classic, which was all about making 81 times your investment. Notice how the "dark side" on the right blends into Douglas' black suit, and how the background lightens around LaBeouf, in a lighter-colored suit? That's not a Darth Vader reference, because money is serious business. And Douglas, the movie star LaBeouf wishes he could be, literally overshadows his younger co-star, whose involvement feels like a way to ensure the financial success of a sequel to a long-ago movie full of more interesting actors.