Source Code

Time travel has always been a part of science fiction. From H. G. Well's The Time Machine to the entire "Dr. Who" series, writers have used their imaginations to bridge the gap between science and fiction. "Source Code" is the newest attempt at this. Cpt Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) awakes to find himself on a train in unfamiliar surroundings. To add to his confusion, the passenger sitting across from him, Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan), talks to him as if they have known each other for years. Struggling to recall how he got from his mission as a helicopter pilot serving the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan to his current position, he scours the train for clues. Exactly eight minutes from his arousal the train explodes killing everyone on board. Cpt Stevens again awakes, only this time to find himself in a miltary-grade emergency pod. 

The audience feels just as confused as the protagonist as he tries to piece together what is happening to him. This story's author, Ben Ripley, uses the character Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright) to explain the intracacies of his take on time travel. As the film title implies, it is a computer program. Source Code retrieves the memory of a recently deceased individual like downloading data from a hard drive. It can gather the last eight minutes of their life and create a virtual reality simulation for the user. Hiding behind Dr. Rutledge, the author tells the audience that the theory behind Source Code is far too complex and doesn't go into further detail. Without detail from the author, the audience has to make its own assumptions as to how this process works.

No one demands that the proposals of a science fiction movie be acheivable. If that were the case, every "Star Wars" fan would expect a working lightsaber. Mr. Lucas, however, explains that in order for a lightsaber to function it requires a focusing crystal that is not found on our planet. Using the imagination to clear up any concerns of the audience is the responsibility of the author. One of many flaws Ripley refuses to address is the fact that Cpt. Stevens can experience events that no one who died on the train had gone through. Assuming that they are only able to construct this simulation based on the memories that were collected from each victim of the bombing, how is our hero supposed to find a bomb that no one on the train had seen? How can he leave the train and interact with people who were never on the train?

The only saving feature of this film is the star and co-star. Jake and Michelle deliver where the author didn't. They entertain well enough to quell any burning question the viewer may have. Unfortunately, as soon as the film ends and the actors can no longer distract the viewers from analyzing the story, the audience is left to wonder: "Wait...what?"

Final Score: D

Sucker Punch

As the caption on the movie poster states: "You will be unprepared." Unprepared for the story, unprepared for the visuals and unprepared for the action. Locked away in an insane asylum for girls by her malicious stepfather, Baby Doll (Emily Browning) has five days to escape before she is lobotomized. Using a technique that her psychiatrist, Dr. Gorsky (Carla Gugino), taught her, Baby uses a fantasy world she creates to cope with the dangers, fears and abuse she faces during the jailbreak.

This movie is a glimpse into the imagination of its author/director- Zack Snyder. The fantastical world of Baby Doll takes us into amazing battles with ancient titan sentry statues, dragon whelps and their brood mothers, steam-powered zombies and even alien robots. Each foe resides in a unique world guarding an artifact Baby needs to complete her quest. Each artifact and obstacle represent a tool and enemy in reality. This world however isn't the primary fantasy in which our heroine hides.

Although Baby Doll's admittance into this psychiatric prison was managed by the crooked under-the-table bribes of her dastardly stepfather, there may have been some warrant to her admittance. She had witnessed and been victim to horrible scenes of abuse. Once her check-in is complete, she retreats into her mind and the rest of the story is told in parallel. Some of the tasks she is forced to peform are so despicable that she has to go one level deeper into a new fantasy-reality. This may sound confusing, but all three wolrds are so different in style and content that the viewer is easily able to distinguish them.

Going into this film I was anxious to find out how it got its title. Who or what was going to be "Sucker Punched?" Two things are necessary to pull off a successful sucker punch. First, the victim must be entirely unaware of any danger. Second, the blow has to be strong enough to disorrient its target. As I left the theater in a daze from this game-changer in film-making I realized that I was the victim.

Overall Score: A-

Paul

Chugh SoH Sov nuq vam jatlhtaH legh 'oH. No, that is not jibberish- it's Klingon; and if you speak Klingon you should definitely see this film. Written by its stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, "Paul" is a sci-fi comedy geared toward anyone that has ever tried to get tickets to Comic Con (and failed most likely). Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) have come to America to visit some extra-terrestrial hot spots, and on this trek they have their own close encounter. Paul (Seth Rogen), their new alien tour guide, takes them boldly where no man has gone before- okay, I guess Spielberg and his crew have been there.

Filled with allusions, some harder to find than others, to classic films of this genre, "Paul" will find a place in the hearts of Trekkies and Jedi Junkies alike. The audience finds itself searching for the next sci-fi film reference like a "Find the Hidden Object" game. Throughout the movie nerds are prodding their neighbors and asking "Did you get that?" If you don't want to be left out of the loop, you may want to dust off your collection and renew your geek license.

With an A-List cast of comedians I was hoping I might fall out of my chair once or twice, but sadly I didn't budge. Pegg and Frost have proven to be extremely witty in their previous work. As co-authors, I had hoped they would include their sarcastic play off each other in the script, or at least ad-libbed it during production. Unfortunately their characters' interactions weren't a focus of this film. Pegg and Frost weren't the only comics off their game. Rogen seemed to read jokes straight off the page. He has the rare gift of hilarious improvisation and I wish he would have used it more on camera. Kristen Wigg, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio make up the supporting cast. Kristen Wigg steals the show with her hilarious failings at being a foul-mouth, while Hader, Truglio and Bateman make up a less funny version of the Three Stooges.

All-in-all I would say this movie is a lot like the Comic Con you've been dying to go to. You've heard so many amazing stories that you expect a mind-blowing experience, but when you finally get there it can't possibly live up to the hype you've created for it.

Overall Score: B-

Limitless

Here is another reason not to read books. Seriously. Why read a book when you can get a much more awesome version of it in a lot shorter time? Based on the book The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) has a serendipitous encounter which leads him to a drug that uncovers his long-burried potential. *If only I had some NZT (the drug in the movie) right now. This post would be finished a lot faster.* With only a $26M budget Niel Burger (Director) manages to fill every moment with action, suspense and occasionally some comic relief. The one thing this movie lacked was explosions. You can never go wrong with a well timed explosion. There is, however, a scene where Lindy (Abbie Cornish) uses an ice-skate attached to a small child as a weapon. That was awesome! Visually, I would say the movie has it all.

One reason I would prefer to see a movie than read a book is the immersive experience. When done well, you can feel as if you were part of the experience and not just a third party hearing about it. The director definitely did his job well. Burger uses different methods to make the audience feel like they are partaking in Eddie's high. The exposure of the film is changed depending on whether or not Eddie is taking NZT. Off NZT the colors seem bland and lifeless. On NZT the world becomes more vibrant and clear. This is a reflection of what the drug does to its user. The story, like Eddie's brain, gets faster and faster. The pace of the movie adds to the intensity of the storyline. The movie only slows down when Eddie is off NZT- again, reflecting how the addict would feel off the drug.

The director wasn't the only one who came through on this film. I was pleasantly suprised to see Bradley Cooper do so well in a serious role with depth. Bradley is most famous for his light-hearted mischievious charatcers as seen in "The Hangover," "Failure to Launch" and "Wedding Crashers." I think this was a great step for him, showing the acting community that he can do more than make the audience laugh. Robert De Niro puts on a show as usual. He played the more experienced mentor role in the film and I wonder if some of that mentoring took place off set as well. I'm not sure how much of the budget was spent on securing De Niro in the role of Carl, but it was money well spent. What can I say about Abbie Cornish other than she wields ice-skate-wearing children like a pro.

When I left this movie one of the first thoughts that came to my mind was: "I've gotta go read that book!" Usually if I said that a movie made me want to read it would be a negative statement. Here it was because I left the theater wanting more- even if that meant I had to read.

Overall Score: A-