robertllr This film belongs--more or less--to the genre of the, "I'm already dead" film; probably the most well-known of which would be "The Sixth Sense." (See my review of "Donnie Darko" for a fuller list of moves that use this device.) What makes this movie a bit different, is that our protagonist is not exactly dead--she's in a coma, fantasizing her entire life and it's seemingly inexplicable oddities and terrors. Moreover, her psychiatrist in her fantasy is in reality the doctor presiding over her life support. The movie goes in for a bit of sci-fi, in that the doctor has some kind of techie wizardry that allows him to witness and participate in the patient's subconscious. The point of this "mind reading" is for the doctor to bring the patient to an understanding of her situation, so that she can choose either to stay on life support and live a dream life for the rest of her biological existence, or to die and move on. The rationality here is that it is the patient--not her loved ones--making the choice.Sort of cool. But it's a dead steal from a science fiction story written at least 40 years ago, which used this exact same idea. The film makers could easily be sued for plagiarism if the original writer ever found out about the existence of this film. I don't remember the name of the story or it's author or even whether I read it in a magazine or a book all those years ago. But it just goes to show there is nothing new under the sun.

secondtake Solitary (2011)The lead actress here, Amber Jaeger, might be the only real acting talent in this fairly small cast. But she's really good, as she was in he husband's recent movie, "Take Me Home." In a way this is a suburban middle class version of the Ashley Judd look at insanity, "Bug." And like "Bug," this recent movie is low budget and deeply flawed.And there is also a huge twist near the end that is very clever, and you can see a much better movie in it all by rearranging the clues to the twist so the audience can build some expectation. I can't say more without ruining that part of it, but I can point out the obvious that any viewer will discover in short time--the movie is slow, redundant, and confusing. It's highly improbable (or so it seems). If it had been even more improbable, so that you didn't just think it was bad writing in a bad movie, you'd start to wonder why it was improbable, what kind of weird "Memento" like trick is at work.No such luck. Instead we have to see Jaeger's fighting her mind, and her fear of open spaces, and ignore the weird facts. Once you realize what is really happening (in the last ten minutes) you'll wonder why the whole movie couldn't have been an extraordinary mind trip, a fanciful game of invention and imagination. But that would make sense (like it does, in a weirdly parallel way, in the Robin Williams romance, "What Dreams May Come"). This is an indie production made in 2009, but in one of the common and frustrating aspects of that world, it sometimes takes really long to find a distributor, and so it's out in 2011. The director, Greg Derochie, is a special effects guy from Hollywood (everyone wants to be a director, you see), and in a huge irony, the special effects here are clunky. (I'm going to guess he didn't transfer to a low budget world very well.) Anyway, I love movies, and I rarely say this, but unless you're an Amber Jaeger fan (there must be several of us in the country--we'll see more of her), I'd skip it.

rbirge-1 This is not a great film, but it is far, far better than the 5 average it has received. It is a mystery with a bit of science fiction added, and I suspect it is the science fiction part that is bothering some of the viewers. But even if you hate science fiction, you should give this movie a view because it will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Who is good and who is evil? You will not know until the very end, and the ending will be nothing like you have seen before. You will be left breathless and it will make you think. The acting is very good, and the timing and discontinuities are very well designed to keep you guessing. Don't miss this movie if you have a chance to see it.

lionman13 This movie had all the makings of another cheap low budget thriller, but it was much more than that. The acting was spot on, and draws the viewer into the mystery. Leading star Amber Jaeger is suffering from Agoraphobia, and her husband comes up missing. She has a vulnerable sexiness that keeps you on you hills the whole movie. There are police officers, a shrink, and an estranged sister in the picture that could be in on a plot against her. Even though it becomes evident from the start that the the husband may be dead or playing a trick on her, there are still some twists and turns that make for an interesting watch. If you are the emotional viewer get the tissue ready for this ending, because it packs a punch. This may be one of the better "artsy" films have seen in awhile.