The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The movie is a beautifully shot, well-acted and stunningly written sci-fi story, one that will not dissappoint fans of other great feautures of those years, like Matrix or Cube. But, in my opinion, this one is a bit smarter and, mixing the sense of What-is-reality with the excecution of neo-noir movies, stands out as a unique take on the matter.

Excellent Sci-fi, worth it for the authentic period scenes alone. Great casting and production design, with just the right amount of characters to weave a magnetic noir thriller. The period sections include professional dancers and bands; this has been brilliantly crafted. Another chameleon appearance by Vincent D'Onofrio too. Some philosophical questions dominate. Well worth the watch

In 1937, a man named Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) gives a note to Ashton (Vincent D'Onofrio), the bartender at a swank hotel, that's addressed to Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko). Fuller tells Ashton it's crucial that no one else sees the note, and that the information enclosed is of great importance. Moments later, Fuller transports himself to 1998. He's soon found murdered, and a shirt stained with Fuller's blood is found in Hall's apartment. Fuller and Hall both work for Intergraph Computer Systems, a cutting edge artificial intelligence firm, and the "past" Fuller was visiting was actually a stunningly realistic recreation of Los Angeles 50 years ago, complete with people you can meet and places you can visit, that exists only in a microchip. The message he left with Ashton, however, is real. Some people, including LAPD detective Larry McBain (Dennis Haysbert) believe Hall murdered Fuller to assume his position of leadership at Intergraph. Jane (Gretchen Mol), Fuller's daughter, soon arrives on the scene, and Hall finds himself infatuated; Hall is determined to clear his name, so with the help of Whitney (also played by (Vincent D'Onofrio), he into the virtual 1937 in hopes of discovering just what happened. The Thirteenth Floor makes copious use of digital effects technology to allow its characters to travel between 1937 and 1998 - ironically using computer technology to create a world that exists inside a computer.

The story on this movie is amazing, but the only reason I say it was OK, it's because for some reason while I was watching the movie, I felt like I was watching a crappy movie. I'm not sure if it was because of the actors, the production, the mood or what, But I feel this movie could have been illustrated better, specially when it has such an amazing story.When you compare this movie to the matrix, you can see how different they, regardless of how similar the story is and the action effects. The matrix has a more serious and mysterious mood, which makes the movie more interesting, but the thirteen floor, they come and say what's going as if their research project was something very feasible, and not so amazing. They way the story was unraveled was weak, that's my point.