The film itself was rather interesting. The plot was pretty original, even though I heard some negative criticism from a radio d.j. on Q101. I believe it was Brooke, and she stated the advertisements seemed interesting at first, but hearing them over and over again made her less and less convinced she wanted to see it. Does ELM sound familiar here? Argument quantity will have a negative impact on persuading a person towards the product. In other words, the more commercials you see/hear will slowly diminish your motivation to see the movie. Back to the movie review.
The opening was a bit nauseating with video sequencing that traveled very fast. The camera sped through the rear windshield and then the front windshield of vehicles. The location changed upon the transition through the front window to the next vehicle's rear window. The aesthetic effect was movement through time. It would be similar to dissolve and a fade in/out all wrapped into one. After the opening credits, this technique was only used again 1 or 2 other times in the movement to move the timeline quickly.
The movie opens up with a Cooper narrating, which after a few moments sent the audience into a flashback. It was a very long, and detailed flashback, which spanned almost the entire movie. The climax, obviously, was at the moment the original scene was met in the timeline with the flashback. The storyline moved smoothly throughout the movie, and it was easy to follow. The actual plot was original, and it had some very good scenes where the actors were able to show their true abilities. There was a lot of action, suspense, thrills, and roller coaster moments to keep the audience fully involved in the movie.
Bradley Cooper (Hangover, Wedding Crashers, Yes) played the role of Eddie Morra very well. Eddie is an up and coming writer with writer's block. He is allowed access to a pill, which gives him the power to access parts of his brain that humans have been unable to access up to this point in our time. As the story progresses, Eddie is confronted with multiple conflicts, and one by one they create the story. One of those conflicts is Robert De Niro's character, Carl Van Loon.
De Niro, Van Loon, is a rich business man that is intrigued by Cooper's ability to increase his financial standing by day trading 2.3 million dollars in one week from just 100,000 dollars invested. The trailers and information available on the movie back up these comments, so don't worry I am not spoiling anything yet! Van Loon and Cooper begin a working relationship, while other conflicts begin to take a toll on Cooper. The movie progresses towards the climax, but does not give away the ending at all. Personally, it took me a considerable amount of time to put the pieces together, but it was all laid out for the audience by the end, without leaving a cliff for a 2nd or 3rd movie.
I recommend this movie. I saw it at a matinee price, and I think it was a steal for $5.00. The movie was not disappointing, and it kept me in my seat, even though I had to use the bathroom halfway through. I never left the theatre until the end.
SPOILER ALERT:
DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE STORYLINE!
The opening scene has Morra standing on a ledge of his penthouse, debating suicide. There is someone pounding on his front door, and shortly afterward, his neighbor is shot next door, with Morra giving the details of him being curious and opening his front door. The people pounding on the door must obviously want to kill Morra, and his neighbor becomes an innocent victim. (There are a lot of those in this movies)
Morra begins to tell his tale. The audience is taken back a few months earlier.
Morra is a blocked author, who is supposed to produce a manuscript but cannot find the words to even start the book. It shows him with long "artist" hair, unmanaged facial hair, and him bouncing around from bar to his apartment, back to the bar. There is a scene in the beginning that shows him being dumped by his girlfriend, and you can see his life is not going very well. He ends up running into his ex-brother-in-law (Vernon). The man asks him to have a drink with him, and after a little goading, Morra finally agrees. While at the bar, Vernon begins to tell him about a new drug that the FDA has approved that allows people to access more than the 20% of their brain that we are capable of. Vernon gives him a pill and then takes a phone call that is very argumentative. He quickly exits, and tells Morra, the pill costs $800 each, and he should try it.
Morra is hesitant to try it, but carries it home with him. He decides to take the pill, and afterward, Morra is transformed into this OCD with the ability to envision patterns in life. This ability allows him to make adjustments, such as cleaning his crappy apartment, write 40 pages of his manuscript, etc. He awakes the next morning without the access, because the pill has limited effect. Seeing how great the drug was, he set out to find Vernon again. Vernon sends him off to get some breakfast and dry-cleaning before he will hook Morra up again, given the fact that Morra is broke and can't pay for anymore, he happily obliges.
After returning to Vernon's apartment, Morra finds him dead on the couch with a gunshot to the head. The person(s) who killed him trashed the apartment, which leads Morra to believe they were searching for the pills. He calls 911 and reports the murder, then starts to look for the pills himself. He finds them and a wadd of 100 dollar bills, just as the cops starting pounding on the door. He hides the stash, and is taken into the police station for questioning on his ex-brother-in-law's murder. He gets a phone call from his ex-wife while at the station, where she warns him to stay away from the pills.
Morra doesn't heed the advice and starts a regular, daily dose of the pill. He is able to finish his manuscript, but has no access to cash. He cuts his hair, shaves, and purchases a new suit. He then borrows money from a Eastern European mobster, and begins day-trading. He turns 100,000 dollars into 2.3 million dollars within 1 week. This catches the eye of Van Loon, who seeks a meeting with him to find out his secrets.
Van Loon wants Morra to help him with a gigantic business merger. Morra, however, cannot continue on his pace because the pills are having negative effects on him due to alcohol use, and over consumption. This results him having massive blackouts, but still having mobility. It makes him stop using the pills, which have an even greater negative effect on his health. (headaches, vomiting, muscle damage, etc.) He tries to kick the habit, but finds out that if he does, he will actually lose some of his brain activity from his original state before starting the regiment of the pills.
He is being chased throughout the movie, which forces him to go to his ex-girlfriend. This is an attempt for her to go get the pills that he has hidden at her apartment. The man chasing Morra, begins to chase his ex-girlfriend, and even kills a few people in the process. Morra tells her to take a pill in order to escape. She does, realizes how Morra had changed from a broke author to an amazing financier overnight. This leads her to tell him to leave her alone. He makes changes in his routine and tries to manage his usage of the pill, while also making arrangements to secure his future. This is through the Van Loon merger with the other company.
The plot thickens at this point as we see Morra hire bodyguards, move into a penthouse built with vault-like doors, and get custom suits with hide-away pockets so he can carry his pills with him. There are multiple murders happening, twists and spins, and the storyline is not predictable up to, nor after this point in the movie...And if you really thought I was going to give away the ending this close to its release into theatres, well you were mistaken. Now, get off your couch, find a date, and go see this movie...It is very good.
I give the movie:
4 shots of Jack Daniels out of 5.
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