Limitless

Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is suffering from severe writers block. His life is a sorry existence until a chance meeting with an old friend, who introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary new drug that allows him to engage 100% of his brains capacity. After overcoming writers block he soon takes wall street by storm. This in turn alerts many around him of his ways to the top and to the whereabouts of his secret stash. His own safety is a constant worry and with the drugs side-effects slowly wearing him down, Eddie has little time to outwit the oncoming threats.

Limitless as a concept is very intriguing. The human brain's ability to only use 20% of your brain and finding a drug which can enhance and allow you to use the other 80% is a very interesting idea for a film. Especially in this day and age of awful remakes and sequels. However, for a plot that entails super intelligent human beings, the screenplay is surprisingly dumb. However ironic this is, its not an act of genius from the director but more a Fax pas on bad scriptwriting.

What would the worlds most intelligent man do with all of his knowledge and capabilities? I would hope the greed and narrow mindedness of human nature would prevail due to a higher sense of purpose and being. But i guess that is somewhat wishful thinking with a blockbuster.

I felt this film wasn't daring enough in its exploration of what this situation might entail, questioning rather than boasting in the flashy surfaces of power and wealth. Or the American dream gone wrong..

Regardless of this, the film is actually very engaging and moved with considerable style. But i hope super intelligence does not involve alot of nauseating quick cuts and zoomed in fish eye lens camera work..

Bradley Cooper is somewhat more believable than his previous roles. He always brings charisma and vitality to the role. This is also attached to his own smugness which makes the lead character somewhat a nuisance to confide and empathise with.

I guess the trick to this film is to do exactly the opposite of the plot. Turn your brain off, sit back and enjoy.

3/5

The King's Speech

Following the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon), and the ludicrous abdication of his playboy brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. Bertie has suffered from a serious speech defect for as long as he can remember, and has failed to overcome it despite the help of of various highly qualified physicians and speech therapists.
His wife Elizabeth (Helen Bonham Carter), arranges for her husband to see a formal speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). The two form an undenyable bond even throughout Lionels unorthodox methods. With the support of Logue, his family and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King tries to overcome his impediment and unite and lead his country into war.

With all the oscar buzz that is surrounding this film, it is sturbbornly hard to ignore the hype. Some might even argue it was designed as "oscar bait". Regardless of that, this film is a timely, elegant piece that captures the realistic nature of a future King. Firth will recieve alot of praise for accurately capturing the stammer of the future king, but it is not solely on that merit that his performance is so strong. Firth is excellent because he humanises George VI.
That said, Rush plays his counterpart with absolute authority and the two play off each other in perfect tandum.

In all honesty, you would be better off ignoring the hype and seeing the movie simply because it features an unusually intimate portrait of a king, and a compelling story of personal triumph over adversity.


4/5

Simon Jewell