Weekly Review -- Single white... male?

The Resident (2011) -- Innocuous on the outside, apartments can be rather creepy locales, as proven to us by the numerous film and television characters that found out about this fact the hard way. Filmmakers have been exploring and demonizing urban living for decades; indeed, the sequestered isolation of unit dwelling is fertile ground for nightmare narratives. Somewhere in between the suspenseful Single White Female and the disappointing-yet-intriguing Sliver, a peculiar space is inhabited by director Antti Jokinen's uncomfortable thriller.

Dr. Juliet Deverau (Hilary Swank) is looking for a new place to live. Soon enough, she manages to find a gorgeous and decently priced apartment, in a convenient location to boot. In the character's words, "what is the catch?" It turns out that friendly building owner Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is an obsessive psycho, one of the if-I-can't-have-you variety, who swiftly ingratiates himself to Juliet and starts spying on her, all the while posing as the ultimate neighbor. By the time Juliet finds out the truth, will it be too late?

The movie boasts plot holes and cliches all over the map. The main problem I had was Juliet's lack of common sense. It is always frustrating to see a dimwitted characterization of a female who is supposed to be a sensible professional. If a woman moves alone into an apartment in present day New York City, the first thing she has to do is inquire about an alarm system, no ifs, ands or buts. If the building does not have the alarms set up already, the aforementioned woman should ask questions, many questions and more questions, AND then she should have one installed herself before moving day. I find it hard to believe that Juliet did not think she needed one or, even worse, that she was so consumed by her breakup, she neglected the basics of her personal safety.

**HUGE SPOILERS (please highlight to read)**

Another thing that frustrated me to no end was that darn laptop, open for everyone -- including the stalker -- to see. I did not get the impression that Juliet was hiding it that well in general, and was wondering about Max not seeing the recordings prompt upon entering that room. There were at least two instances when he could find out that she knew about his extra-curricular activities, so why did he not notice anything? Come to think of it, is it really plausible that even the owner of a building can have that much access to a unit? Has the building never been inspected and how come the secret tunnels have never been discovered? On another note, Max's past is too horrific for a mere mention and should have been closely examined in the context of his psychosis. These plot holes diminish any credibility that this movie could have had, and the whole piece feels forced and rushed in order to make the quick proverbial buck.

**END OF SPOILERS**

It goes without saying that both leads are light years ahead of the screenplay. I am not even going to discuss the realms of emotion that Swank is capable of depicting in her performances; the half-baked character of Juliet is not up to par here. As for Morgan, he makes for one hell of a villain -- some scenes truly made me cringe -- and deserves a complex, intriguing horror tale to sink his teeth into. The two actors had previously worked together in P.S. I Love You and obviously have good chemistry, but they deserve writing that is worth it. Both Christopher Lee and Lee Pace have nothing more to do than mope around, which brings the grand total of squandered actors to four.

It is no wonder that you have not heard or read much about The Resident. If you are looking for a casual, thrill-a-minute potboiler, this is the perfect movie to watch -- see it for what it is and enjoy the guilty pleasure. If you like to use your noodle, well... let us just say that the filmmakers require you to check your brain at the door, along with your expectations. This one is a fixer-upper.

5/10

Weekly Review -- True fairytales

Somewhere (2010) -- Another entry in Sofia Coppola's elegiac opus, this gorgeous, contemplative drama is a stark rumination on life and its real treasures. Movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) lives a lifestyle of no importance. Constantly canoodling with superficial beauties, jetting off from one monotonous interview to the next and indulging in the spoils that only money can buy, Johnny inhabits a whirlwind all his own, until he is forced to reconnect with his 11-year old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning). As their worlds start interweaving, Johnny slowly begins questioning his priorities and re-evaluating his existence... Coppola's mellow directorial and visual style is the perfect brush with which to paint the contrast between Johnny's jaded routine and Cleo's genuine guilelessness, as well as the fractured relationship between father and daughter. These two aspects of the film comprise its soul and Coppola handles them with aesthetic care, not once dissecting their fragile elements in a clinical manner. As was the case with The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, Coppola employs her unique brand of whimsy and a tinge of nostalgia to portray the evolution of the connection between Johnny and Cleo. Her screenplay places importance on the human factor in a realm of facades, putting the celebrity charade in the foreground when needed and subduing it when unnecessary. Dorff is perfect in the role, playing Johnny as a man who has thrown aside everything that makes him tick, whether intentionally or not; the scene where he consciously reflects upon his values is acting at its best. Fanning is a revelation as Cleo, a child who, without realizing, is merely trying to survive in an environment that fails to pay any precious attention to her. The two actors share a spark of innocence throughout the proceedings, making the story feel almost like a docudrama. With its deliberate pacing and philosophical outlook, Somewhere relies on raw emotion rather than forced theatricality to prove its point about finding true magic in a context of fake enchantment.

8/10

Weekly Review -- Post-capacity

Source Code (2011) -- The human mind is an everlasting source of awe and inspiration. It is also fantastic fodder for science fiction works, some of them groundbreaking, which is exactly the epithet that can be given to Duncan Jones's latest film.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself on a train, talking to a woman he does not know and wondering how he got there, when the train explodes and... he does not die because, as he discovers upon waking, he is part of a secret government experiment called Source Code. The experiment places him on the aforementioned train in order to find a bomber; if he does not succeed, he returns over and over again, always with only eight minutes to complete his mission. Along the way, he begins to question the shady doctor (Jeffrey Wright) behind the operation and fall for the enigmatic woman (Michelle Monaghan) he met on the train...

As he has proven with his 2009 debut Moon, Jones likes taking chances with his material, going for risky innovation rather than polished reiteration. His new film does not only ask the audience to pay attention to every detail, as every great film should; it also asks that the audience forget their assumptions about what science fiction really is. He achieves this goal by placing an ordinary man, played masterfully by Gyllenhaal, in a set of unimaginable circumstances and having him essentially fight for his life. Under the guise of science and mystery, Jones questions universal truths and concepts, rendering Ben Ripley's screenplay into a multi-dimensional philosophical piece.

The ending is deeply contemplative and subject to debate and interpretation. You will want to examine and dissect every bit of the final fifteen minutes, which is why I think it is important not to discuss this ending in reviews, even under the heading of spoilers. I believe that every viewer should discuss it at length, and I believe that finding meaning in it that makes sense to yourself is more relevant to your experience than reading anyone else's observations.

The performances are solid throughout. As I mentioned, Gyllenhaal is incredible, deftly blending apprehension and intrepidity as Stevens. Monaghan's reluctant sidekick provides a much needed balance between the threats, while Vera Farmiga is a strong presence as the kindly Captain Colleen Goodwin, Stevens's guide through the procedure. Wright lends his usual air of authority to Dr. Rutledge, the inventor of the program.

Source Code is one of the best science fiction films of the past five years, and quite possibly the new decade. It is a rumination on being human, hidden within a structure of time-shifting realities. Its every frame will thrill you and its story will keep you riveted but, most importantly, it will make you use your brain like not many recent films do.

10/10