Change Your Image
invincible_seattle
Reviews
The 6th Day (2000)
Perhaps Schwarzenegger's best acting yet (spoilers)
For a movie to be successful, it has been said that actors must share "chemistry" with their co-stars to make their acting appear the most realistic. That is true, but I see it a bit further; to me the direction of acting is more important than acting itself to make it look the most convincing on the screen.
Such is the case with "The 6th Day" (2000, Columbia). In this case, Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps one of the most high-profile superstars of our generation, was signed on to deliver a performance that requires a great deal of emotion, particularly since the role has dual characters. Not particularly known for emotion-driven performances, Arnold was likely signed on to guarantee Columbia Pictures at least $40-50 million in box-office revenue. And to direct Schwarzenegger, veteran 'good-guy' actor Robert Duvall, and a long list of smaller and relatively unknown talent, is Roger Spottiswoode.
My personal movie library contains two other Spottiswoode titles: "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997, United Artists), and "Stop! or my Mom will Shoot!" (1992, Universal). I liked the Stallone comedy and hated the Bond action-fest, making Spottiswoode's standing as a director far from high-calibre. Yet with that in mind, "The 6th Day" struck me with its ferocious intensity and its amazingly unconventional approach to delivering a fairly common plot. And Schwarzenegger manages to keep his muscles concealed for most of the film and turns in a powerful performance, one that is perhaps Arnold's best acting yet.
Co-stars Michael Rapaport (also seen in "Metro" [1997, dir. Thomas Carter, Touchstone] and "Cop Land" [1997, dir. James Mangold, Miramax]) and Michael Rooker (also seen in "The Bone Collector" [1999, dir. Phillip Noyce, Universal] and "Cliffhanger" [1993, dir. Renny Harlin, TriStar]) seem to lose their identities and became the characters of Hank Morgan and Robert Marshall, respectively. And Tony Goldwyn, whom I had only previously seen in "The Pelican Brief" (1993, dir. Alan J. Pakula, Warner Brothers), amazed me with the sincerity and presence he brought to the character of Michael Drucker, the billionare owner of the company that secretly and illegally makes genetically deficient clones.
Behind the scenes of these powerful and believable performances, mixed perfectly with spectacular and near seamless visual effects/stunts, is Roger Spottiswoode, who pieced the film together with a quality that I feel ranks with legendary greats such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962, dir. Robert Mulligan, Universal) and "Seven Days in May" (1964, dir. John Frankenheimer, United Artists).
If you haven't seen this movie, I have rated it a 10. My standards are generally quite rigid, and a 10 means that I found it not only well-made, but convincing, having a profound impact on my judgment toward the topic being discussed, and overall impression of the direction/acting.
Watch it. You'll be impressed.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
A Pleasant Surprise.
I have a mode of judging movies before they open in theaters. If a movie enjoys a massively huge media-blitz weeks before the premiere, that movie either is ridiculously stupid or can't survive on its quality. Take, for example, the failed "Solaris." I remember seeing commercials on television five and six weeks before the movie premiered. And the movie tanked.
My point is that Universal did a similar media blitz for "The Bourne Identity," and I immediately dismissed it as another box-office flop waiting to happen. But from chatter with friends, the movie seemed to be better than I was led to believe.
I decided to wait until the DVD came out, since most theaters in Seattle lack DTS audio.
With it's fresh take on a familiar story line (very similar to "The Long Kiss Goodnight," among others), this movie combines a witty script and camera choreography that left me leaning toward my screen. Credit must be handed to Matt Damon, who plays Jason Bourne, a man who wakes up not knowing where or who he is. But when facing trouble, his instinct releases military training superceding that of even special ops commandos.
The DTS audio, providing clear and crisp audio for even the background effects, the vibrant music, mixed perfectly with amazing action sequences, edited with amazing precision, caused me to be thoroughly impressed with the quality of this movie.
I still hold to my method of judging which movies I'll watch in my local crummy theatre, but sometimes there's a pleasant surprise mixed in with the rest. 9/10
About Schmidt (2002)
An intriguing, thought provoking look at crisis (SPOILERS).
I watched "About Schmidt" in a nearly empty theatre; and it turned out to be a great advantage for me.
Jack Nicholson in his twilight years has come back with a vengeance and turned in some of the most powerful performances of his career. And this performance is most decidedly one of his best.
In the film, Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt, a retiring executive of an insurance firm in Omaha, Nebraska. The opening scene depicts the last twenty seconds or so of his career as being about the most boring as that of anybody who spent so many years co-leading one of the largest firms in the city. Without party or celebration, he gets up from his emptied office and, without saying a word, quietly turns off the light and leaves. Schmidt's life from there seems more or less usual. Little talk with his wife; less talk with the young kid who took his place.
The only reason for his staying alive, his only child, is engaged to marry in a few weeks, which means he'll see his daughter even less than before. His only solace is to vent his feelings, and he's found that avenue when he begins to sponsor Ndugu, a 6-year old orphaned boy living in Tanzania. His charity encourages sponsors to include letters if they wish with their monthly donations, and Schmidt feels some relief with both helping a little boy survive and being able to relieve the stress of his life via writing.
The stress of his pride and joy marrying some punk who sells waterbeds is multiplied one-hundred fold when his wife suddenly dies. With no one at the house to take care of him, Warren turns into a massively depressed widower. With only Ndugu to talk to, Schmidt decides to take a long trip in their new RV.
In time, Schmidt arrives in town for his daughter's wedding. His life takes only a turn for the worse when he meets his entire extended family, who turn out to be a broken and pathetic family. But his daughter loves the guy, and there's no convincing her otherwise.
In the end, Scmidt comes back home facing loneliness, but finds that Ndugu has sent a painting that he made for Warren. At that, the sight of a new hope and reason for living, Schmidt breaks up and cries for the only time throughout the film.
Schmidts' crises, the reality of aging, the death of his wife and the marriage of his daughter, take an enormous toll on Warren's life and demeanor; but in the end, he's revived and willing to try life again.
With a plot as simple as this, this film is amazingly engaging and entertaining. It's thoroughly gripping and won't let go. The few people with me in that theatre were either sniffling or flat-out bawling. Hats off to Nicholson for such a screen presence to carry the film almost single-handedly.
Reign of Fire (2002)
A very unique take on a very familiar fantasy theme.
Take a minute to think about how many movies you've seen or know about that deal with human oppression by a dominant non-human/humanoid entity. I myself can think of several right off my head; The Time Machine, The Matrix, Planet of the Apes, Battlefield Earth, and it goes on.
And to many movie watchers, "Reign of Fire" is simply another name added to that list. But after watching it, my attitude toward this film completely changed. I watched it in a theater, and just watched it again on DVD (Disney put a DTS audio track on the NTSC DVD! YES!!!). This film features an amazing display of technical digital prowess combined with a plot that portrays a human element in the resistance toward the vicious Dragons.
Without spoiling the plot for those who haven't yet watched the movie, this film features very convincing performances by the entire starring cast and, as written earlier, dazzlingly brilliant visual effects.
It's a fantasy film, no doubt, but it's much more entertaining than most of the other movies that fit in the same genre.
If you haven't watched the movie, at least rent it. After renting it, you can pick up a copy at Circuit City or Best Buy for twenty bucks. And it has a DTS audio track!
Signs (2002)
It's strange; the story's different, but it feels the same as "6th Sense / Unbreakable"
Be aware. This summary will outline plots from other films by director M Night Shyamalan.
I was one of the myriad of movie fans who were intrigued with M Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" (Hollywood Pictures, 1999) and figured that the movie's success was well deserved and was in line to buy the DVD when it debuted.
Then came "Unbreakable" (Touchstone Pictures, 2000). I never saw the film in theatres because I got the gist from the promotional onslaught before the movie opened. To my surprise, the movie featured a story that was oddly similar to "Sixth Sense." There's a character who has a unique special ability and learns to develop and use the gift to help others. I rented the movie and was thoroughly disappointed at the blatant re-packaging that Shyamalan had pulled off; convincing his new fans to spend more money to watch basically the same movie-and lead actor-again.
And now there's "Signs." I was again overwhelmed by the media blitz that Touchstone launched many weeks before this film opened. I saw enough in the trailers to get the point of the film. And it again was very similar to the other super-paranormal films Shyamalan's has made. Crop circles begin appearing, and people have to figure out why it's happening. I watched the airline version a couple weeks ago and from here on have vowed to never watch any future Shyamalan films. I was sickened that I spent $5.00 to watch it on the airplane!
M Night Shyamalan had a unique perception of the supernatural in his "The Sixth Sense." But he beat his concept dead with "Unbreakable" and made it all the worse with "Signs."
It's amazing the kind of movie that people will pay money to sit down and watch. I suppose, however, that I may be a more discerning patron that will never watch movies from directors like Shyamalan, Cameron Crowe or Curtis Hanson (at least, from now on after Crowe made "Vanilla Sky" and Hanson helmed "8 Mile").
I still have my copy of "Sixth Sense." But rest assured that I'll never add "Signs" to my Paper-Weights (titles I own but can never finish in one sitting). I'll save that bin for "Sixth Sense."
Red Dragon (2002)
Very well made, but not as good as "Manhunter"
I suppose I viewed this film with the bias of knowing what was going to happen before it did, for I had already seen the film "Manhunter."
"Red Dragon" is indeed a remake of the 1986 thriller directed by Michael Mann. One of the greatest advantages the 2002 film has is that it can be compared pre-release to the first take, and made better.
On a more technical note, the fact that this movie was filmed in 2.35:1 was a pleasant surprise. I feel that "Hannibal" was wrongly filmed in a 1.85:1 ratio, but the wide look of "Red Dragon" made the movie come all the more alive with background action and more color in closeups.
Among its improvements is the first scenes, describing the events up to and including FBI agent Will Graham's capturing of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Another good thing about this film is the fact that Lecter is played by the same actor as in the two sequels. Brian Cox was good as the vicious psychopath in the 1986 film, but the sheer look of Sir Anthony Hopkins alone surpasses the fear Cox was able to deliver.
Which leads to the down points. The actors in the 1986 film were not well-known and frequently seen actors at that time. William Peterson, who played Graham, is now seen weekly on the television show "CSI," but at the time was a relatively unknown actor. Cox has always taken smaller roles in his films, and still does to a great extent; while Hopkins is at the front line of Hollywood's most popular faces. And Harvey Keitel as Jack Crawford was totally damaging to the role. Most people can't see Keitel as anything new anymore, considering the vast extent of his career in huge cult-favorites. Dennis Farina was far more passionate in his portrayal.
Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson are the only exceptions, far exceeding the terrifying and lovable performances by Tom Noonan and Joan Allen, respectively.
The scope of "Red Dragon" is far better than "Manhunter" in that it better incorporates deeper aspects to each of the characters. The film also spends more to develop the history and psychosis of Francis Dolarhyde, which is a very good improvement. But, to accomodate more screen time for Dolarhyde, the film either shortens or leaves out a lot of the more tedious investigative work seen in the original film, which makes it more suspenseful and enjoyable.
The fact that "Red Dragon" ends with Dr. Chilton (ironically, still played by Anthony Heald, who was Chilton in "Silence of the Lambs") telling Lecter that Clarice Starling was there to see him joins the films together very well, but it left me thinking that right after the "Tooth Fairy" crime story the "Buffalo Bill" crimes began to be investigated. It seemed too close together, but that's just my assessment.
Overall, I rated this film an 8, but rated "Manhunter" a 9. If you haven't seen it, rent it. The similarities are striking, while the differences are dazzlingly entertaining.
Manhunter (1986)
The first of the series is still the best.
I watched this film for the first time about a year ago, shortly after watching "Hannibal." While this film was far less violent and gory than its two sequels, I felt more terrified after watching it than "Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal."
The greatest plus for this film is the fact that for the most part, it uses actors who were not big names in 1986. William Petersen, who played FBI investigator Will Graham, is best known today for his role as Gil Grissom on TV's "CSI." But his humane approach to investigating the savage murders by the "Tooth Fairy" totally sold me that I was watching Will Graham, not William Petersen. I felt the same for Dennis Farina, Tom Noonan, Joan Allen and Brian Cox, the first actor to portray Dr. Hannibal Lector.
The scenes of Graham working the case to himself are among the best in the film. When he begins piecing the profile of Dolarhyde together, it all comes together with the audience as well, making us a part of the FBI team as well.
Dolarhyde, who unfortunately doesn't get a lot of screen time, is seen only as a psychopathic monster; a tragedy which fortunately is corrected in the 2002 film "Red Dragon." The demise of Dolarhyde in this film, I feel, more appropriately justifies the feel of the film; in his small home, isolated in the forest, with Iron Butterfly playing the psychadelic 'in-a-godda-da-vidda,' which is a total contrast to "Red Dragon," where he doesn't die in his own home, but Grahams.
Forensic work is taken far more seriously in this film than any other in the series, enhancing the suspense and heightening the fear that this guy probably won't be caught because he's too smart.
No movie will ever faithfully mimic the artistic qualities of a novel; but close renditions, mixed with creative tangents, may make it just as enjoyable.
I gave this film a rating of 9 for its near perfect execution of acting, not only verbal, but emotional.
Houseguest (1995)
Totally hilarious and fully entertaining
This very fun and entertaining film focuses on family values and using teamwork to resolve problems. Perhaps this is why film critics told their audiences to stay away from this movie.
Sinbad is Kevin Franklin, a Pittsburgh native who is always telling his friends and neighbors that one day he's going to have a million dollars and drive a Porsche. But for his entire life, he's been nothing more than a nobody, living off loans from friends, and, recently, from a local Mob boss. When debt collectors come to Franklin's apartment to collect $50,000, his loan plus late penalties and interest, Kevin goes to the airport to leave town.
While at the airport, Franklin meets the Young Family, who is there to meet Gary's (Phil Hartman) old time friend Derek Bond. Gary hasn't seen Derek for twenty years, Kevin simply responds to the name 'Derek,' share a couple of laughs, and instantly the two develop a very trusting friendship in each other. Meanwhile, the real Derek Bond (Ron Glass) is assaulted by the mob enforcers as a result of hilarious instructions during a conversation between him and Kevin.
While staying at the Young house, Kevin begins to help with the domestic problems that have been tearing the family apart for some time now. He teaches their son Jason (Chauncey Leopardi) to play basketball and believe in himself. He spends time listening, talking and watching cartoons with their youngest daughter Sarah (Talia Seider). And with their oldest, Brooke (Kim Murphy), Kevin teaches her that if her boyfriend spends time with another girl, she doesn't have to cry at home, but to find someone else--someone better. With Gary, Kevin teaches him that his family is more important than his job after his boss gives him an assignment that causes severe stress in his relationship with his wife Emily (Kim Greist). In time, Kevin rescues and restores the strength of a family completely opposite to him-and his way of life.
Just one viewing of this movie will be totally hilarious and fully entertaining. This film is another example of learning to ignore the biased advice of industry-paid critics. You'll be satisfied that you did--not only with this movie, but with others that have been panned by the critics.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
An enduring benchmark for futuristic space action/adventure.
When I viewed the special edition DVD, I had not seen the film for nearly five years.
It was like watching the movie for the first time, and I was thoroughly impressed. Considering that "The Empire Strikes Back," arguably the best installment in the Star Wars legacy, was released two years earlier, it's perhaps a strange coincidence that the best installment of the Star Trek legacy was also the second in the series.
This film was a large breath of fresh air for the series after the bizarre first film. This movie delivers an emotional punch that I believe might have been matched, but has never been surpassed, by the subsequent sequels in the series. The anger and hatred between Kirk and Khan is truly haunting. The way both sides were never willing to surrender or run away was completely different from the two Star Wars episodes at the time, in which the Alliance was always hiding and running away from the Empire.
Acting was fairly convincing by most of the cast. I was particularly drawn to Montalban, who of course plays Khan. His intensity reached a level of conviction that no other villain in the series has been able to match since. His obsession with the destruction of now Admiral Kirk resulted in the film's now ground-breaking, now legendary, use of close-up minature action photography, which although outdated today, I found amazing that they could pull it off twenty years ago, when movies were using rubber Halloween costumes for their enemy characters.
This film is an enduring benchmark for futuristic space action/adventures, and it still holds its ground against today's space films. I find the story of the movie still intriguing and entertaining after many years away from viewing it. In "Alien," the film relies on suspense to enhance coherence and drive the movie on. This Star Trek film is completely entertaining, and the action just makes it all the more fun to watch.
The only criticism of the special edition DVD is its lack of a DTS audio track. Action scenes, while fairly clear, lack the crispness that would be best desired to convey the intensity of the action. For those who say that the film's audio track is too old to properly convert to a DTS track, remember that "Jaws" was released in 1975, seven years earlier, and its been given a DTS track.
The Jackal (1997)
Pays homage to the original, but stands alone in presentation.
Based on the 1973 classic "The Day of the Jackal," this remake does pay a lot of homage to the great novel and film. But I believe that director Michael Caton-Jones intended to make the film stand on its own, and thus didn't make a pure remake.
The Jackal in this film is American, not the Englishman featured in the original, and obviously he isn't planning to assassinate the President of France. Instead, Jackal (Bruce Willis) is hired by the Russian Mafia to eliminate a high-profile target in the United States Government. Of course, FBI deputy director Carter Preston (Sidney Portier) and Russian MVD Major Valentina Koslova (Diane Venora) are right away sent to Washington to notify FBI Director Donald Brown (John Cunningham) that he is a prime target by a man who "
in twenty years has not made a mistake in a profession that doesn't allow error
"
Preston and Koslova alone cannot track or find Jackal, but Declan Mulqueen (Richard Gere), a former IRA soldier/sharpshooter, has seen and tracked him before.
I believe that fans of the novel and the original will be disappointed at the lack of detail in this film. We all remember the scenes of intense preparation spent by Jackal in the 1973 version, and they are much more detailed. Then again, this is an updated, more modern interpretation. Today's audiences aren't satisfied anymore in an action film that only has two or three minutes of action.
Acting is good, particularly by Venora and Gere. Willis stays comfortably in his typecast and doesn't push the limits of his talent, although it is good to see him as a villain and not a good guy.
For those with DVD players, the DTS-encoded presentation makes the film come to roaring life with precise clarity and realistic sound. Much better than the Dolby Digital track that Hollywood's still embracing.
The Others (2001)
A fresh and refreshing look at a familiar subject.
I was able to get around to viewing this film for the first time just the other day. And it is one of the most beautifully made movies of the past several years.
As I viewed it, this film struck me quite quickly as a cross between "The Sixth Sense" (1999, M. Night Shyamalan) and "The Haunting" (1999, Jan de Bont). The eerie sound effects are reminiscent of the latter, with a plot that loosely follows the former (Grace's daughter Anne is able to see and talk with the spirits in the house, while Grace herself cannot see anything at first, much like Cole Sear and Bruce Willis in "Sixth Sense").
The things that attract my attention in a movie aren't so much the dialogue, but the look of the film, the way it feels and flows and the way the actors portray themselves.
The look of the film, just from looking at it, must have been very difficult to photograph in such low light. Although it features a production crew made up of people I've never heard of, they managed to put together a magnificent set and managed to be able to photography every single square inch of it. Photography was obviously well rehearsed, with the low-light visuals and excellent angles used throughout the film.
The feeling of the film is very emotional and has a religious theme. It's really quite amazing to see how much influence religion has in horror/suspense films. The emotions flow primrily from Kidman, who excellently plays against her usual roles to play a very protective mother in 1945s post-WWII United Kingdom.
The fact that Kidman looks a great deal like Grace Kelly was, if intended, a magnificent choice for the film. Grace Kelly, for those that don't know her, was a deeply family-oriented woman who even quit her movie career to dedicate herself to her new family shortly after marrying the crown prince of Monaco. In the movie, Kidman aggressively tries to keep her children in line and under control, and for the most part, succeeds.
This is one of the most striking films I've seen in a long while. It's fresh and masterful approach to a familiar subject is a welcomed refreshment.
Get Carter (2000)
Another unappreciated film by an unappreciated icon
For some unknown reason, the industry 'suits' have decided to black-list Sylvester Stallone, not giving him large leading roles, and when they give him a role, they refuse to heavily market his films. This trend started, I believe, sometime during the early 90s, probably after his last big hit, "Cliffhanger." Nevertheless, Stallone has continued to make films, most of them actually pretty good.
That said, "Get Carter" is probably one of Stallone's better films of the last ten years (I think it's second to "Cop Land"). He portrays his role as the 'financial adjuster' (as he described it) Jack Carter. The remainder of the supporting cast, including Mickey Rourke, Rachel Leigh Cook, John C. McGinley, Alan Cumming and Michael Caine, each deliver convincing performances, conveying their characters' emotions with amazing quality.
I really noticed the way the film's editing and photography changed towards the end of the film, after beating up McCarty (McGinley) in the elevator. The way the film swiftly cuts ahead a couple of seconds is simply spectacular to watch. The many odd photography angles describe the uncertainty of the scenes, and make me feel unsure as well.
Living in the Seattle area, seeing the great landmarks I see every day on the screen is quite something else. And for the record, it doesn't rain nearly as much here as people think.
If you haven't watched this film and have heard all the negative reviews given by the industry-paid critics, ignore them and rent it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
The Time Machine (2002)
A thought-provoking study of reality.
One of the most sobering films I've seen since "Dark City" (1998; Alex Proyas) and "The Thirteenth Floor" (1999, Josef Rusnak), "The Time Machine" is more than simply entertainment; it's a thought provoking look at the concept of reality.
When the film begins, we think nothing of the concept of time, except that it's constantly moving forward a fraction of a second at a time. But after the plot of the film switches to using the time machine and moves foward in time, I was forced to think, "Okay, so if he's moving forward in time, that must mean that his lifetime had to have already occurred and is now in history books, right?"
And when the film takes us 800,000 years into the future to a post-apocalyptic society, my concept of reality was thrown out the window. At the same time as wrenching my mind, the film managed to make the story very entertaining, although the predatory race of humanoids is quite beyond the stretches of believability.
I rated the film a "7" because it shows great potential to expand on the concepts of time travel and its implications on different layers of time. But my rating wasn't higher because that 800,000 year jump was simply too incredible. Overall, though, a well-made film. Recommended.
Just Visiting (2001)
A fun and honest comedy
The film captures the innocence of severe culture shock of a French Noble and his peasant slave as they travel ahead of their time some 900 years. Their ignorance of today's culture is simply magical; the scene where the two try to rescue the contestants from the television set is hysterical.
I looked up this film's box office results and was disheartened when seeing that so few people know about the great heart this film has. The film does appear to be rather dull and silly, but then again, "Men in Black 2" is much worse in it's presentation than "Just Visiting." I suppose it's that "Men in Black" has actors that most people are comfortable with seeing hundreds of times in hundreds of roles.
Not known to most people, "Just Visiting" features several familiar faces; Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Bridgette Wilson, Tara Reid and Malcolm McDowell. Reno [Mission Impossible (Brian de Palma, 1996), Ronin (John Frankenheimer, 1997)], a French native, takes on his royal character with a grace and charm that couldn't have been done better by anyone short of perhaps Gerard Depardieu. Applegate [Jane Austin's Mafia (Jim Abrahams, 1998), The Big Hit (Che-Kirk Wong, 1998)], is always dazzling on the screen, and her roles in this film are no exception. Playing both the 12th Century fiáncé of the Count of Malfete (Reno) and 2001s Julia Malfete, she looks the same, but behaves totally different for her two characters. Wilson [Last Action Hero (John McTiernan, 1993), Billy Madison (Tamra Davis, 1995)] is Julia's fiáncé's secretary/lover, and she is absolutelys stunning. Reid [American Pie 1 & 2 (1999, 2001), Dr T & the Women (Robert Altman, 2001)], playing Julia's next door neighbor Angelique, falls in love with Malfete's slave and teaches him to live freely, to throw away his 12th Century way of thinking and enjoy life. McDowell [A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1973), (Star Trek Generations (David Carson, 1994), Milk Money (Richard Benjamin, 1994)], Malfete's wizard, delivers a convincing performance in his minor role.
This is a relatively clean film and it's a shame it wasn't more successful in today's culturally naive society.
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
A thought provoking glimpse at the validity of reality.
Josef Rusnak's film, produced with the help and experience of Roland Emmerich (director of Stargate, Independence Day, The Patriot), explores with astonishing quality and detail the way life can change when it can be concluded that we are not in total control of our lives.
The element of the film that won me over was acting. Granted it wasn't the best performance ever captured on film, but lead actor Craig Bierko delivers a masterful interpretation of software engineer Douglas Hall, 1937 banker Johnny Ferguson, and 2024 engineer/killer David. A perfect scene worth mentioning takes place at the film's conclusion; after David is shot by Detective McBain (another great acting performance by Dennis Haysbert), consciousness is transferred to 2024. With the real Jane (Gretchen Mol), Hall's eyes show the innocence that says it all.
Photography is amazingly well-choreographed; blending amazing visual cinematography with expertly designed Computer Graphics. Kirk M. Petruccelli's set designs should have been nominated for an Academy Award; they range from modern sharp-corners and simple colors to the lavish appointments of the 1930s wealthy social class in Los Angeles.
All the work of the cast and crew deliver a stunning message: all we perceive as being real may not be. As the world developed by Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) seemed real to those inhabiting it, our surroundings may also be a fantasy world of some futuristic computer engineers. The Thirteenth Floor makes good company with other non-reality films like "The Matrix" and provides support for the fantasy-laden "The Time Machine (2002)."