Film Review
Limitless or Limiting?
“Obviously I miscalculated a few things…” – The opening line to what I thought (and still think) was a gripping watch until I read the reviews that demolished the way I read and interpreted films. One of these demoralizing reviews includes a one liner from a ‘Top Critic’ of The New Yoker stating: “Very limited, actually.” Perhaps I had miscalculated a few things myself. I found myself in the same designer shoes as the main character that was ready to jump off the ledge of his state of the art apartment building. How he got to that point would simply be the story, now wouldn’t it?!
The 2011 Mystery and Suspense, Science Fiction and Fantasy has noticeably not limited itself to one genre but proves to somewhat live up to the limitless conventions of all these sub-genres. Limitless is about a down-and-out Eddie Morra who takes a “smart pill,” then can instantly write a book in four days, learn a language in hours and run rings around lawyers, criminals and financial advisers. This Mega-brain on steroids is played flawlessly by Bradley Cooper; who was obviously desperate to prove he’s a ‘serious actor’ after his mess about in Hang Over, and yes, all three of them. Cooper plays alongside a man considered one of the best actors of his time; Robert De Niro who effortlessly steals screen time from Abbie Cornish, who vanishes from the movie for unnoticeably long stretches. Ms Cornish, whom I rate is a Charlize Theron look alike/ wanna be/ rip off, plays the role of Eddie’s girlfriend, Linda, who breaks up with him when he’s down and out but is down for the ride when Eddie’s in peak form and up and running.
Granted, the plot is nothing to write home about but Director, Neil Burger has proven to be a man of trickery, with one too many aces up his sleeve. Okay, perhaps not that many. The film is a constant shift between fiction and reality and Burger leaves it completely up to the audience to decide which they want their reality to be. He creates a
“Obviously I miscalculated a few things…” – The opening line to what I thought (and still think) was a gripping watch until I read the reviews that demolished the way I read and interpreted films. One of these demoralizing reviews includes a one liner from a ‘Top Critic’ of The New Yoker stating: “Very limited, actually.” Perhaps I had miscalculated a few things myself. I found myself in the same designer shoes as the main character that was ready to jump off the ledge of his state of the art apartment building. How he got to that point would simply be the story, now wouldn’t it?!
The 2011 Mystery and Suspense, Science Fiction and Fantasy has noticeably not limited itself to one genre but proves to somewhat live up to the limitless conventions of all these sub-genres. Limitless is about a down-and-out Eddie Morra who takes a “smart pill,” then can instantly write a book in four days, learn a language in hours and run rings around lawyers, criminals and financial advisers. This Mega-brain on steroids is played flawlessly by Bradley Cooper; who was obviously desperate to prove he’s a ‘serious actor’ after his mess about in Hang Over, and yes, all three of them. Cooper plays alongside a man considered one of the best actors of his time; Robert De Niro who effortlessly steals screen time from Abbie Cornish, who vanishes from the movie for unnoticeably long stretches. Ms Cornish, whom I rate is a Charlize Theron look alike/ wanna be/ rip off, plays the role of Eddie’s girlfriend, Linda, who breaks up with him when he’s down and out but is down for the ride when Eddie’s in peak form and up and running.
Granted, the plot is nothing to write home about but Director, Neil Burger has proven to be a man of trickery, with one too many aces up his sleeve. Okay, perhaps not that many. The film is a constant shift between fiction and reality and Burger leaves it completely up to the audience to decide which they want their reality to be. He creates a