Enjoyable popcorn thriller has Hitchcockian twists and turns like "No Way Out"
933234
This much IS known; Liam Neeson gives a terrific performance as confused biotechnology scientist Martin Harris who finds that someone has taken over his life when he is attending the Berlin biotechnology summit and not even his wife knows him. Based on a German bestseller "Unknown" is a clever thriller in the mold of something Hitchcock might have done in his prime.

The Blu-ray looks extremely good with a nice, sharp transfer. The cool color scheme of the theatrical version of the film is kept intact for this version. The lossless audio sounds terrific as well and is very active.

How much you enjoy "Unknown" is related to how much you can suspend your disbelief.

The only special features on this edition are two featurettes one of the making of the film that examines the premise and another on actor Liam Neeson who lately has become something of an action hero with this film and "Taken". The deluxe edition also features a DVD edition of the movie. It's a pity there are no deleted scenes and no commentary track as it would have been interesting to see what didn't fit into the movie and hear what it took to adapt a convoluted thriller like this into a sleek, stylish audience friendly thriller.

While it does share some elements of films like&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Bourne-Trilogy-The-Bourne-Identity-The-Bourne-Supremacy-The-Bourne-Ultimatum-Slim-Packaging-Blu-ray/dp/B003H6KRIE/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity / The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum) (Slim Packaging) [Blu-ray</a>] in terms of having twists and turns in its plot that are somewhat unexpected, it is a very different thriller having more in common with&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Shattered/dp/B00008R9KN/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Shattered</a>or&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/No-Way-Out/dp/0792844874/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">No Way Out</a>.

"Unknown" is an enjoyable popcorn thriller.
341104
This is a slight book, almost a novella.  Within its brief chapters, however, it possesses plot twists and turns worthy of Hitchcock. If you think you know why the violence occurs, who the bad guy(s) are, and what will happen next, you are probably wrong.
Briefly, a beginning college professor with an uncertain past is violently attacked to jumpstart the book.  This trigger ignites events leading to a disappearing wife, involvement with people from his previous underworld dealings, ties to crimes of his father, and a shifting cast of allies and adversaries.  To provide any other explanations would ruin the plot.
The author does not telegraph events - the reader is just as surprised as the main protagonist.
This makes a good airplane read.  I finished it on one coast-to-coast flight.
1299303
Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, The Tourist is romantic thriller/comedy from 2010.  The central lead is Elise (Jolie), who is being pursued while on the hunt for her lover Alexander Pearce, a man who is on the run after reportedly stealing big dollars from a gangster.  Elise teams up with the unsuspecting Frank (Depp), forcing her pursuers to think he is Pearce in disguise, only to spark a thrilling chase through Venice involving both police and gangsters, both of whom are desperate to catch Pearce.  But will Elise and Frank survive, and will Pearce eventually show up?

In comparison to most modern thrillers, this is a slow-paced film, and not surprisingly it's been criticized by many for being devoid of action, and for lacking chemistry.  But what many perceive to be a weakness, I'd consider to be a strength.  The slow pace and apparent lifelessness seems to be a deliberate throwback to the older Hitchcock style thrillers, adding to the intrigue.  And while Jolie's persona comes across as cold and calculating (an effect maximized by excessive and immaculate makeup), it's her fidelity to Pearce that holds her back from Frank.  The respite from the usual sexual smut Hollywood is known for is welcome, and the amount of offensive material we're used to from contemporary thrillers is refreshingly absent for the most part, aside from a few instances of crude language.  It's true that the storyline lacks high octane action and special effects, but the romp through Venice is a visually pleasing one, and despite their cool interaction, the two protagonists keep the story moving and our curiosity aroused.

My only criticism would be concerning the surprising twist in the storyline at the very end of the film.  On the one hand it's a very well orchestrated surprise, but it does make the actions and motives of one of the characters earlier in the film rather implausible.  But at the end of the day, we shouldn't be taking this too seriously anyway, but just enjoy the ride.  If you're up for something slower and are happy to avoid some of the more offensive material that usually plagues Hollywood, why don't you hop on board this tourist boat and head to Venice? - GODLY GADFLY
234725
Christopher Nolan has followed his impressive mainstream debut, Memento, with a film that once again examines the psychology of manipulation. The sunlit nights of an Alaskan summer distort the sense of time in a more subtle fashion than its predecessor. Al Pacino gives an impressive performance as a cop at ease with the compromises sometimes necessary in his chosen profession. Robyn Williams is the perpetrator of the particularly violent and meaningless murder. It is Lieutenant Dormer, played by Pacino, that the audience sleep-walks along with as the days merge together, and Robyn Williams that proves to be a plausible, accessible and fiercely intelligent "job" for Dormer to complete before the lack of sleep and Internal Affairs catch up with him.
Nolan's direction is accomplished, the setting compelling, and the atmosphere palpable. While remakes tend to lose the full-bodied flavor of the prototype, there seems to be no such concern here (although I haven't seen the Norwegian original). The principals - rounded out by Hilary Swank as a young, dedicated local policewoman - are each utterly convincing in their portrayal of the guiding principals each has set themselves to live their lives by. But there are no black and whites here - sometimes it seems that only the crispness and beauty of the Alaskan scenery (mostly shot on location in Canada) gives us an unambiguous point to steer by. As Dormer's control of the situation slips away, we can feel him being tormented by uncertainty over his own motivations. It is a testament to the strength of the acting that while the final chapter, in hindsight, may seem predictable, it seems anything but as we are inchingly drawn into it, like a dream we wish we could begin with an elusive but much-needed sleep.
4186890
To accompany the multiple voices I hear in my head comes the thriller VANTAGE POINT, a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride told from the--you guessed it--vantage points of several characters:  from a TV producer (Sigourney Weaver), to a Secret Service agent (Dennis Quaid), to a tourist with a videocam (Forest Whitaker). . .to the POTUS himself (William Hurt).  I thought the constant rewinding--and replaying--of the same hectic scene (an assassination attempt on the President who is abroad in Espanol) was terrifically invigorating; different perspectives make for different realities (what appears as major to one character turns out to be inconsequential to another).

The action is tight, the pacing adrenaline-fast, and the suspense and intrigue aromatically heady, as a group of terrorists perp a complicated plot involving murder and mayhem (for reasons known only to themselves, certainly not to the viewer).  It's as over the top as elephants flying to the moon on gossamer wings (for instance, access to the Prez is a snap), yet the titanic suspension of disbelief is half the fun.  While others have lamented that VANTAGE POINT is nothing more than a copycat of 'been there, done that,' to me, having never seen an episode of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/24/dp/B000NDEXK2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">24</a>, this flick delivers original excitement and suspense by the boatload.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
2020488
Suspenseful but yet not gory! Nice thriller type movie.
1872492
"Stromsoe was in high school when he met the boy who would someday murder his wife and son." Following this intriguing opening sentence Parker gives us a straightforward, if slightly wacky, suspense thriller.

As teens in Southern California, Stromsoe and Tavarez were best friends. They were in the band together - Stromsoe as drum major, Tavarez as a really talented clarinet. They liked the same girl, Stromsoe's girlfriend. Stromsoe was solid, Tavarez was a star. Stromsoe went to U Cal; Tavarez went to Harvard on a music scholarship. Stromsoe became a cop; Tavarez became the head of the California Mexican Mafia.

Huh?

That's right, Harvard boy goes bad. He takes Stromsoe's girlfriend too and destroys her with drugs. But Stromsoe takes her back; they marry and have a son. It's Stromsoe's relentless pursuit of Tavarez which prompts the bomb that kills his family. Tavarez is caught and jailed and Stromsoe, after a couple of drifting years, becomes a P.I.

His first case concerns a TV weather forecaster with an inept stalker and a secret ambition. The client is smart and beautiful and Stromsoe finds his old grit returning. No surprise, the case leads back to Tavarez who finds prison very little hindrance to his criminal activities.

The plot does not bear a whole lot of examination, but Parker ("California Girl," "Silent Joe") doesn't leave much leisure for reader reflection. Switching viewpoints between Stromsoe and his old nemesis, spiking the plot with plenty of danger, suspense and quick thinking, Parker keeps the pages turning. The characters are believable and Stromsoe is particularly well drawn as a man of action and heart.

Not Parker's best, but still tops in the genre.
4025821
This movie was such a pleasant surprise - the pacing, direction and acting, all enjoyable.

I wouldn't recommend looking to much into the plot - all I can say is this is a great movie which subverts genre tropes and provides genuine thrills.

If you are a fan of thrillers; can stomach some violence - you will have fun with this film.
2473558
It's always interesting to watch a movie that was filmed in your back-yard and even though the Washington Navy Yard (where I work) is nothing like it is depicted in the movie (I am guessing the filmmakers could not gain access to the secured home of NCIS) this movie still has enough local color to keep Washingtonians interested.
But aside from that, this movie is a generally entertaining thriller with some excellent performances by Al Pacino, Colin Farrell and the criminally underrated Bridget Moynahan. Farrell plays James Clayton, a brilliant computer programmer who moonlights as a bartender who is recuited by CIA headhunter Walter Burke (played with flair by Pacino). After passing the entrance test Clayton (along with fellow recruit Layla Moore played by Moynahan) is sent the CIA traing facility nicknamed "The Farm." What follows is a thrilling action adventure with enough twists and turns to keep the viewer enthralled.
The 2003 movie may not have appeared an obvious choice to be one of the earlier Blu-ray catalog titles (released June 3, 2008) due to its rather bleak look, but I am certainly glad it was picked because its 1080p transfer is really quite good. Though not reference quality it is quite pleasing with enough of those high definition details (such as Farrell's trademark stubble), clarity and color reproduction to please PQ enthusiasts.
The audio is somewhat average by comparison with good balance and a pleasing surround effect, and the Blu-ray of "The Recruit" is undoubtedly the best soundtrack you are ever likely to hear for the movie.
The special features are a little on the sparse side (which is not really surprising considering its catalog status) but we do get a feature commentary track with director Roger Donaldson and actor Colin Farrell (who sports his actual Irish accent). It's the kind of track I personally enjoy with plenty of anecdotal stories from the set and Donaldson offering uo some technical information on the production.
All of the video special features are in standard 480p quality and include four deleted scenes with optional commentary by Donaldson and Farrell, a too-short "Spy School: Inside the CIA Training Program" which runs at 15:58 and (as the title suggests) takes a look at the actual training school for the CIA (including an instance where the movie is not accurate) with on-camera interviews with 25-year veteran of the CIA Chase Brandon and the cast and crew. Also included is a rather pointless Movie Showcase that displays some select scenes to showcase the benefits of HD picture and sound (which if you have the Blu-ray you are already sold on anyway.
This is an entertaining movie and although the Blu-ray features a rather average HD picture and sound it is still the best representation of the movie you are likely to see.
1585704
If you happen to be a fan of "Kiss the Girls," the 1997 surprise hit thriller, then you may be a bit disappointed in its prequel, "Along Came a Spider," which pits Dr. Alex Cross against yet another kidnapper who has an agenda to be dealt with. As Dr. Cross, Morgan Freeman makes the film watchable at best, but the ominous presence of loopholes, twisted logic, and the overall way in which the movie toys with the audience, results in slight disappointment.
The movie opens with a chase sequence that serves little purpose other than to set up a time of emotional turmoil in Cross's life, after the death of his partner as a result of this pursuit. His personal war against himself is put on hold when he discovers that a young girl, the daughter of a Senator, has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper wants Cross on the case.
Teaming up with Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter), who was the child's guardian at the private school she attended, the two of them begin sorting through the clues and details involving the kidnapping, trying to get a lock down on the whereabouts of the teacher they believe responsible. To say that the movie makes a mistake by revealing the kidnapper's identity is a misfire, but the fact that we know who he is doesn't enhance the plot, either.
The movie is a sea of loopholes, from the solving of clues to the realization that the kidnapper may not be working alone. Consider a scene in which Cross goes through computer video in order to find a clue to the villain's whereabouts. He goes from searching through a classroom to a live computer camera that is based in the kidnapper's apartment, without any logical explanation for this transition other than a mere piece of dialogue from an extra to explain that what he is looking at is no longer recorded video.
In another scene, Cross has a conversation with the kidnapper about a ransom exchange that took place in an earlier sequence on a subway train. The amount of the money was a mere ten million dollars, but Cross congratulates him for his retrieval of twelve million. This is one of the movie's more admirable twists, letting us in on the fact that since our villain seems to know nothing of this ransom, then there must be someone else involved.
There are plot points that work, and those that don't, and in the end, the movie has toyed with us a little too much. "Kiss the Girls" toyed with our expectations, too, but allowed us time to build our own conclusion before throwing it back at us, all the while keeping our interest peaked. "Spider" toys with us in ways that leave little time to draw any sort of conclusion about what is going on, leading up to a particularly effective surprise twist ending that doesn't cheat according to the rules the plot has set up, though is somewhat hindered by the heightened disinterest in the lead-up.
It's good to see Morgan Freeman back in such fine form; as Dr. Alex Cross, this is the Freeman we all know and love. His ability to instill calm in the most tense of situations is remarkable, and his solving of the crimes is shown in an intelligent, capable light. I will refrain from commenting on the acting of Monica Potter, so as not to reveal what happens, but I gather that the audience will make their own decision about her acting in the beginning and the end once the ending arrives. Michael Wincott is an ideal villain, and however little of him we get to see, his performance is remarkably chilling.
In the end, "Along Came a Spider" is worth it for Morgan Freeman's acting, and some key plot points, but the overall effect the movie has is disappointing. The plot twists of the movie feel more like obstacles than advancements, while the central mystery never reaches a fully interesting fever pitch until the end. There are things that work and things that don't in this film; unfortunately, they never reach a healthy medium.
2279786
I think of this movie more as a romantic comedy than as a thriller.  Margaret Lockwood plays a rich heiress who is traveling back home to marry an unwanted husband.  On the train, she runs into a kindly nanny, Miss Froy (played by Dame May Whitty).  After sharing tea with Miss Froy, Lockwood retires for a nap.  When she awakes, she finds that Miss Froy has dissapeared, and no one on the train admits to ever seeing her.  Puzzled and worried, Lockwood grudgingly enlists the help of Micheal Redgrave, who plays a bohemian musician, in finding Miss Froy.  The chemistry between Redgrave and Lockwood is delicious.  They trade insults in between searching through the train.  (And, of course, they fall in love.)  Then the movie takes a rather unbelievable, but interesting turn as an international spy ring becomes involved.  I believe this version of the film contains a trailer and an introduction that have little to do with the film, but the picture and sound were decent.  The atmosphere is light, unlike later Hitchcock films.  A treat.
1774150
I wasn't for sure what to expect from DARKNESS FALLS, but after watching it, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie is one of the best thrillers I have seen in a long time. It contains several unexpected "jumpers" (events that make you jump) and has a decent plot. There isn't much gore, but there are a lot of people who end up killed. There is no sex and very little foul language. The best way I can describe the movie is that it seemed like a cross between a Hitchcock thriller and PITCH BLACK. The film does have a few flaws, but if you watch the movie without any expectations, it will surprise you. Not a movie for those who like a lot of splatter and gore, but it is something that those with tamer tastes will probably enjoy.
2320403
Good popcorn action thriller.  No thought required.
864597
In 1954, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), go to the Ashecliff Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island. They are assigned there to investigate the disappearance of a female patient who apparently disappeared from a locked room. The chief psychiatrist Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), explains that she was committed after drowning her three children.

The Marshals run up against one wall after another in their investigation including the refusal by Cawley to turn over patient files and a generally uncooperative staff that includes Max Von Sydow as Dr. Naehring, another psychiatrist.  Daniels and Naehring quickly form an intense dislike of one another as Naehring is German and Daniels was part of a U.S. Army battalion that liberated the infamous Dachau Death Camp during World War II.  As a storm prevents the Marshals from returning to the mainland, Teddy begins to lose a grip on his own reality, having flashbacks to the horrific images at the death camp and suffering debilitating headaches.  He is determined to get to the island's lighthouse, convinced that it may hold the key to the mystery despite having been told that the guards have already searched it.  The mystery only deepens when the escaped patient is miraculously found.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island is based on Dennis Lehane's 2003 novel of the same name.  Lehane also wrote Mystic River and Gone, Baby Gone, which has some of the same elements as Shutter Island.  What strikes you first is the amazing visuals and the foreboding atmosphere of Ashecliff.  Built atop the rocky island off Boston, part of the facility had formerly been used as a fort during the Civil War.  It hints of the gothic castles and mansion from old Universal Studios horror films.  The island quakes with thunder and lightning, jolting you off the comfy confines of your sofa.

Scorsese positions Cawley and Naehring as sinister forces, purposely keeping the Marshals at bay to deep their dark secrets hidden.  Daniels and Aule soon theorize that the facility might have a more ominous purpose.  The pair scurry about like rats in a maze, checking every corner but making little progress in their investigation.

Scorsese indulges himself a little too much with the scenery, liberally borrowing bits from noir films and even cannibalizing some of his own films like Cape Fear.  The many flashbacks to Daniels' experiences during the war only serve to reveal Scorsese's hole card much too soon.  About halfway through the film you think there's no way that it can be going down THIS path with a twist that has been done all too frequently in other recent thriller/horror films.  Despite this near fatal flaw, Scorsese manages to pull it all together in the end.

DiCaprio gives a solid performance, even if he does look silly in his fedora.  You can feel his growing unease every step of the way. The show stealer is Kingsley whose character combines equal parts creepy and campy.  The fine supporting cast includes Jackie Earle Haley, Patricia Clarkson, and Ted Levine.

Despite some of its flaws, Shutter Island is a worthwhile view thanks to its nightmarish imagery and strong performances.
4169050
For the longest time I avoided Disturbia; it seemed nothing more than a knockoff of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window. I figured it would nothing more than a lame knockoff aimed at an audience that probably have never seen Rear Window and possibly never even heard of it. But I started hearing some decent reviews and I finally gave in.

But I have to say Disturbia was the surprise movie of the year for me. I must say I quite enjoyed it. It never reaches the greatness of the movie it was inspired by, but Disturbia makes for a fun thrill ride and is one of the best thrillers to come out of Hollywood for quite sometime.

The screenplay by Christopher Landon & Carl Ellsworth was actually very well written. The characters actually have depth. They weren't the typical cardboard cut out characters most of these movies seem to have. The characters are likeable and have depth. The screenplay isn't ground-breaking nor does it put any kinda twist, but the script works quite well overall.

Director D.J. Caruso does a bang up job; I personally very much disliked Taking Lives, which was directed by Caruso, but I'm a big fan of The Shield, which he has directed quite a few episodes of. In TV it's more about the writing than the directing. But even with that said I was still curious to see how Caruso would fair and he really does an excellent job. The pacing is overall very good, while there might be a slow moment or two Caruso is able to keep things moving at a good pace and never lets the pace lag.

The plot does start off slow; while there are little hints of things to come it's not until about the 40-minute mark when things start to pick up and once the hour mark hits Disturbia takes off. In many ways, the possible murderer plot is sort of the subplot, which I found quite interesting. Most of the movie really deals with Kale played by Shia LaBeouf and how he deals with being under house arrest.

All the actors are pretty good as well; none of the performances are Iconic or anything, but all the actors do a solid job and are quite believable. David Morse was the stand-out though; he plays the role to near perfection. He's a very good and much underrated actor.

Disturbia is predictable there is nothing here we haven't seen before. It follows the basic format of this genre, but it still makes for a fun time. Unless you haven't seen many movies you should be able to tell how the movie will play out from beginning to end, but if the movie is well written and well made it's easy to look past that and Disturbia is well written and well made and again makes for a really fun time. Disturbia will obviously play best with the teen crowd, but it's still a movie anyone can really enjoy.

In closing, what Disturbia lacks in originality it makes up for in the shear fun of it. A lot of PG-13 movies are very much toned down and treat the viewers like idiots and a lot of R-Rated flicks rely on shock value. So it's good to see a movie like Disturbia that isn't toned down and doesn't treat the viewer like an idiot, but relies on story-telling and suspense.
4071628
The Ninth Gate is an intriguing thriller that will put some viewers off because it is a throwback to a time when special effects were not king. There are virtually no F/X here and what few there are ones the movies could easily do thirty years ago. Personally, I enjoy seeing a good story and good acting, so I wasn't much bothered by this. I know that much of today's audience is conditioned to expect lots of graphics and thunderous noises. Knowing beforehand that they are mainly absent here may help some people to enjoy this occult story more.
Dean Corso [Johnny Depp] deals in rare books. He's not an intellectual. He's a shrewd operator, and it's all about money. When we first meet him, he is dealing with the greedy children of an incapacitated old man. He does his appraisal, and along the way, he talks them into selling a first edition of Don Quixote for $4,100. He makes a killing on the deal. His next appointment is with Boris Balkan [Frank Langella], a billionaire collector of books. Balkan has purchased one of three existing copies of a book published in 1668. The author was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Balkan alleges that only one of the three copies is authentic, and he offers Dean a fortune to go to Europe in order to examine the others. Dean has no spiritual beliefs. He believes in profit. He doesn't think much about the deal until he notices he is being followed. Next his apartment is ransacked. He gives the book to a friend for safe keeping. This has dire consequences, but Dean decides to go on to Europe anyway. The other half of his pay depends on his going through with the deal. He goes first to Spain and then to Paris. Along the way, everything becomes spooky, and the death toll mounts. Dean starts to believe.
Depp, as usual, is great. Wearing eye glasses and sporting graying temples, he is totally believable in the part. Langella has only three scenes, but he makes the most of them. Barbara Jeffers is notable as a rich, hard-nosed book collector who sizes Dean up in about ten seconds.
Roman Polanski has lived in France for many years and has returned to his European roots as a film maker. The Ninth Gate has a much slower pace than did his Hollywood classics, Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown. Europeans tend to take their time in telling a story. They like to color things in. I enjoy this from time to time, but the pace will prove to slow for some viewers. I also should tell you that the 'payoff' at the movie's climax is pretty tame and ambiguous by American standards. We no longer comprehend the concept of understatement.
4024325
Taking on a role that is a darker throwback to her role in "The Stepford Wives", Nicole Kidman makes another attempt at sci-fi remakes in this third onscreen incarnation of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers".  It's rather amusing how this film uses only half of the story's original title.
 Kidman plays Psychiatrist Carol Bennell, the divorced mother of the Elementary school-aged Oliver Kaufman (an alert and intelligent Jackson Bond) who suffers  from bad dreams about his impending visit with his father (Jeremy Northam) whom he hasn't seen in years.
  Dr. Tucker Kaufman's first appearance in the film is as an expert who comes to examine the remains of a recently downed space shuttle. The plot thickens with the discovery that alien spores arrived on earth with the downed  craft. While leaving the scene, Kaufman cuts his hand on a piece of debris, which will have foreboding repercussions.
 We see Carol's daily routine, including work with her colleagues, Dr. Stephen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright) and Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig), we learn of the tempestuous  relationships of Wendy Lenk( Veronica Cartwright, who appeared in the 1978 retelling of this story) with her husband, Richard (Adam Lefevre) and how that situation is linked to the main crisis in this story.
  But viewers also share a delightful evening with Carol, Ben, and their friends, Dr. Henrik Belicec (Josef Sommer), his wife, Ludmilla (Celia Weston, who has come a long way since her appearance in the TV series "Alice"), and their friend, Yorish (Roger Rees).
  Soon, their world changes, and the streets are full of emotionless automatons. Those who express emotions, especially in the extreme forms, are arrested, and the plot revolves around Carol and her colleagues trying to make heads or tails of the matter. Field Blauvet has a cameo as a creepy Census Taker.
 Notably, the main method for the alien virus' transmission is through vomiting, and the film has quite a bit of that. Before it is over, Kaufman's behavior shows that he's channeled Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter. It's amusing to think that Northam can now add throwing up on Nicole Kidman to his resume.
 Well, it's all been done before, but now it has a 21st century twist. It has good performances, but I can't say I was too impressed by this effort.
 Director Oliver Hirschbiegel did better with films such as "Downfall". While I appreciate his efforts here, I think he operates better in his own language from what I've seen of his work so far.