Some nice camera work but overall very shallow

Rating: 5/10 (24 October 2013)

I got two things out of this film that I didn't expect at all. First, a good performance from Mark Ruffalo, though I remain skeptical of his 'talent'. Second, a very bland sense of boredom by the time it all wrapped up. I had hoped for a bit of The Prestige, just a little bit, but that wasn't there at all. I was ready for some fascinating tricks on screen, and got none of those either. Most of the acting is more like overly confident mugging for the audience. Woody, in particular, never seems to become all that engaged in his part. He moves from scene to scene beaming as if he is actually doing something when the only something there for us is his half sneer/half grin over and over and...then there is the Morgan factor. Mr. Freeman is in yet another film playing the same Morgan Freeman character you are already bored with. Over the years the cinema industry has always had a few aging stars that are inserted into way too many films. Thus, the Morgan factor. Think of him as the new Wilford Brimley. This is the sort of movie that most will soon forget, if they haven't already.