Source Code

First off, I like to know about the movie I'm going to. I do some recon, find all the trailers, then watch them to find out if it's worth seeing. Now, I don't do this often, but I went into Source Code only knowing that Jake Gyllenhaal was in it, and he had eight minutes to find a bomber on a train. I liked not knowing the full details about it. Source Code is a mix of Groundhog's Day and Matrix. It's about an ex-soldier who has eight minutes to find a bomb and the person who planted it on the train. The twist? If the bomb goes off and the train derails, he's thrown back into a room where he's sent back to the train, and the whole thing starts over. That's called Source Code. When a person dies, the electromagnetism in the brain stays active for a few seconds, and a persons short term memory usually lasts about eight minutes. Combine those two phenomenon and you have Source Code. Gyllenhaal's character is in the body of a passenger who died on the train, so he can use his eight minutes to defuse the bomb. Its an interesting premise well executed. I was blown away by the acting talent in this movie. Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright and Jake Gyllenhaal were all at the top of their game. I can't tell much more about the plot because if I do I might give away key moments. There's a nice, well thought out twist near the end - not thrown together just to try and throw the audience, it was really nicely done. The ending was magnificent; filled to the brim with emotions perfectly conveyed. I loved it. The best movie of 2011. So far...

Studio: Summit Entertainment

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal (Colter Stevens), Michelle Monaghan (Christina Warren)

Release: Wide

DVD Release: TBD

Recap: A-

Picture Courtesy of Summit Entertainment