Watched: Limitless
- I had a lot of problems with the buy-ins of this movie. The idea of a pill that “unlocks” 80% of your brain misunderstands how the brain works. We’re asked to gloss over this with pseudoscience, but it bothers me.
- It also bothers me that what could be an intelligent premise kind of descends into a dumb thriller about being flayed alive. Don’t get me wrong, there are elements that are consistently great - how much of a raging asshole Bradley Cooper manages to be, the mind-bending cinematography, even the music (minus The Black Keys, who Do Not Fit) - but the idea that something like this could become boring is a bit depressing. And it is, sometimes.
- Also, the ending sucked. Like, no-one learns anything. Hubris is for pussies, or something.
- I was actually surprised by the underwhelmingness (is that a word? It is now) of the callback to the opening. Honestly thought it would be more significant.
- Probably don’t watch this? Watch it if you just like pretty things and don’t care about story. It’s good on that front. Or if you like Abbie Cornish but would rather that she loses significance in favour of a less interesting character.