Neil Burger has done it again!

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2011)

Honestly, the only reason I don't give this movie ten stars is because it does have loops, as so many people will hone in on and criticize, so it's obviously not a 'perfect' movie.
That being said, I loved it. For once I didn't see the ending to a movie coming. Not because it was some unpredictable twist ending, but because I was too encapsulated in the movie to care. The same thing happened to me with Neil Burger's The Illusionist, but this movie isn't a love story like The Illusionist was. It was very, very beautifully directed, though the zooming thing was a bit much to handle at times, but worst case, you close your eyes because you really won't miss anything but a really cool effect. I don't really want to spoil any of the really neat aspects, because I really liked them when I saw them and I don't want any of you expecting them.
The plot had holes, as I'm sure plenty of people will point out, but when I was watching it, I didn't really care. I cared about the characters, and the story. As I said before, I didn't feel the need to contradict anything or look for contradictions or critique and nitpick because the story was interesting and so beautifully portrayed, both by the cinematography and by the acting. It mostly center around Bradley Cooper, and usually when movies only have one real main character it's very dangerous, but Cooper pulls off handling the spotlight perfectly and his character is so well written that you care for him, even though I couldn't personally relate to him (I've never been a drug addict turned super genius and I doubt many of you can say the same).
I went into the movie expecting a fun movie that would be enjoyable, but have holes and was generally just overdone, and I came out shocked at how much I loved it. It's honestly the best movie I've seen all year.