Posts tagged Thriller
“Limitless” More Like ‘Overblown’
Mar 29th
LIMITLESS takes its title from the idea of how many opportunities are available to us if we were able to use 100% of our brains instead of the mythological 20% that we use in our everyday lives.
However, scientists say that we already use 100% of our brains, and so the premise of the movie needs a better explanation.
Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a writer with a book contract, but he looks more like someone with an alcohol or drug problem.
That might be because he doesn’t act like a writer, either, because he is behind on his book, having written only one word, and that word is the first-person, singular pronoun “I.”
Eddie gets even more down on his luck when his girlfriend Lindy breaks up with him, but then his life changes dramatically when he accidentally meets the brother of his ex-wife on the street.
Vernon tells Eddie that he is working for a company that has come out with a new pill called NZT48 that lets you access 100% of your brain, but then he gets interrupted by a phone call and has to leave.
However, Vernon gives Eddie his business card and one of the NZT pills “on the house,” saying that they normally cost $800 apiece.
And the rest, as they say, is this movie.
Special effects show an impression of what happens to Eddie when he takes the pill. “I wasn’t ‘high,’ I was just clear,” he tells us in voice-over narration. “I knew what I wanted to do and how to do it.”
And he does. The next morning, the effects of the pill have worn off, and Eddie gives his book manuscript to his publisher, saying that if she doesn’t like it, he will return the advance.
Then when Vernon doesn’t return Eddie’s calls, Eddie goes to see Vernon with the objective of getting more pills.
And here is where the movie starts leaving the audience with unanswered questions.
Here is also where more characters enter the story, including a Russian loan shark and his hooligans, a financial businessman played by Robert De Niro, a mysterious man who seems to be following Eddie around New York City, and even Eddie’s ex-wife, Melissa.
LIMITLESS makes a thriller out of limitless opportunities, but it is more like “overblown” with unanswered questions.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Limitless – Movie Trailer
Mar 24th
Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Cooper) is suffering from chronic writer’s block, but his life changes instantly when an old friend introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary new pharmaceutical that allows him to tap his full potential. Soon Eddie takes Wall Street by storm, parlaying a small stake into millions. His accomplishments catch the eye of mega-mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro),who invites him to help broker the largest merger in corporate history. But they also bring Eddie to the attention of people willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT. With his life in jeopardy and the drug’s brutal side effects grinding him down, Eddie dodges mysterious stalkers, a vicious gangster and an intense police investigation as he attempts to hang on to his dwindling supply long enough to outwit his enemies.
“The Tourist” Very Disappointing Movie
Dec 15th
“Very Disappointing Movie”
THE TOURIST stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, and so what more do you need to know in order to see this movie?
Well, whether or not it is any good would be nice, and in this case, it is not.
Oh, it looks well enough, that is for sure, taking place in Venice, Italy, and once the two stars check into a fabulous hotel, every scene in the movie looks like a picture postcard.
And, then, of course, it stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.
The movie even starts in Paris, where Angelina is a target and being followed by who we eventually learn is Scotland Yard.
She receives a note by courier, telling her to take a train to Venice, and in addition the note says, “Pick someone my height and build, and make them believe it is me.”
So, Angelina, knowing she is being followed, heads for the subway and loses her followers by the old subway trick.
We then learn that the note was from a man named Alexander Pearce, who stole an enormous amount of money from an international mobster and is wanted in 14 countries, so Angelina is also being followed by Interpol and the mobster’s men.
When she gets on the train, Angelina sees Johnny sitting alone, picks him, and sits down across from him, engaging him in conversation.
He tells her that he is a math teacher from Madison, Wisconsin, and once the surveillance team identifies him, we learn even more about him.
Unfortunately, the mobster and his men believe Johnny is Pearce, and after Angelina entices him to check into the hotel with her, it is picture postcard time–except for the mobster and his men, of course.
So, now there are going to be chases throughout Venice, and it almost becomes a comedy when Johnny is chased across rooftops in his pajamas.
However, once the story shifts to a fancy dress ball, the movie begins to go downhill fast.
The premise makes no sense if we are to believe all the so-called “facts” we are given, and the audience is played for suckers.
The movie is better as the film it pretends to be instead of the one it turns out to be.
THE TOURIST has a good premise, excellent previews, preposterous execution, and, finally, is very disappointing.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”