The Scientist (2010)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

From the first line in the film it's clear that its trying to give its audience a DEEP metaphysical cerebral experience. The film starts with the actors looking serious, and spooning out deep dialogue about life the world and everything. The kind of stuff stoned first year philosophy students belch out on a Saturday night. As the film progresses we see the actors looking even more serious. The climax of the film is every actor looking serious even the birds seem to have a deep introspective stare. Lets not forget the little whirring machine that appears to be at the heart of it all. I don't know what it does, its never explained, but its DEEP and its serious so that should enough also it spins and whirrs, and that is about as scientific as the film gets.If you're looking for a film where actors stare a lot and look serious, no plot and incomprehensible dialogue, then you've found the perfect film. Personally for me watching paint dry seems like a roller coaster ride compared to watching this. Oh by the way its go nothing to do with science, the guy is a scientist but might as well be a Russian acrobat.

I'm surprised that so many people hated this movie, and yet I'm also not surprised. It's obvious that the director was going for an art house vibe, but, judging by the reviews here, I think that people were expecting Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich, instead of Stanley Kubrick. The people who'd ordinarily like art house movies were turned off by the pro-life message at the end. The name of the movie is called The Scientist, yet there's no actual science involved here -- just metaphysics and quantum mysticism. At one point, the titular scientist even delivers an anti-science rant, where he calls Einstein a fraud. If the rationalists weren't alienated by all the metaphysical mumbo jumbo beforehand, they're definitely ready to get up and leave now.Luckily, it takes more than artistic pretensions, slow pacing, metaphysical mumbo jumbo, or a preachy pro-life message to drive me away from a movie. However, what I find a bit off-putting was the way the director ripped off 2001: A Space Odyssey, though I suppose you could call it an homage, if you were feeling kind. Though it lacks some of the more surreal or symbolic elements of 2001, I got this continual feeling that the director was doing his best to channel Kubrick into every single scene. There were also obvious influences from Solaris. Now, I'm as big a fan of 2001 and Solaris as the next pretentious film snob, but, really, there comes a time when you need to stop studying those movies and move on with your life, so that you can develop your own style, independent from them. Unfortunately, it seems as though this director hasn't quite reached that point yet, though I'll say that he's got good taste in cinema.The pro-life message and mystical mumbo jumbo are a bit annoying, but I think they're forgivable. I find much to admire in Romanticism, but when it becomes this reactionary, irrational, and sentimental, I quickly lose interest. If you're into that sort of thing, though, I'm sure this movie will resonate with you. However, for those rationalists out there, I'd probably suggest you skip this. It's a gigantic middle finger to you and your beliefs. Of course, as in all wish fulfillment scenarios, the metaphysical beliefs of the titular scientist are proved correct, and once the imperialist asshole imposes his beliefs on his neighbors, their lives are magically transformed into a fairy tale romance, bringing them back from the brink of divorce. Come on. That's just over-the-top. Nonetheless, it's artsy enough to score some points with me, making up for the didacticism and errant philosophy.

I saw the trailer for this movie on Apple Trailers a little over a year ago. I thought the minute compilation of this movie looked great, thrilling. The concept of a man dealing with a loss of his family intrigued me, since movies like The Weatherman and Reign Over Me were favorites of mine. Today, I saw it finally. However, there's something that the film doesn't feel to accomplish. Maybe its the lack of a big name lead, or no clear message that the film tries to deliver. The emotional settings shots are there, but they don't bring any substantial emotions from the viewer, so it ultimately fails as a character study or as a mood piece. The film is too average, and the hard to achieve rank of an emotional journey sans strong plot, as directors like Sofia Coppola have expertly done before, is unattainable without anything spectacular in the film. It's not the slowest movie I've seen, and it's not the worst. The film is pretty well produced, as it doesn't scream low budget at any particular point. The problems were that I couldn't connect with the emotions of the lead, the side story was well acted but also not very investing, there wasn't enough action or sciencey bits to otherwise fill my interests. I wouldn't say that the film contributed anything new to me. The best part was the cinematography, but the content of the shots was not striking enough to leave any lasting impressions.

Back in July, Gypsyhouse Entertainment sent me the DVD ''The Scientist'', by Zack LeBeau, to review. It's about a reclusive physicist who creates an infinite-energy machine in his basement that changes his life and all those around him.Unfortunately, the DVD got lost in a stack of stuff piling up next to my desk until I cleaned up the stack a couple of days ago; at which point I decided to watch it, rather than put it off any longer.I usually have my laptop open when I watch movies so I can multi-task, depending on how much I get into the plot of the movie. But this movie had me every second. After about ten minutes I just closed my laptop and turned off the lights (which I usually keep on to see the keyboard).I was expecting a B-rate movie, which probably contributed to how much I ended up liking the movie. If you over-rate a movie, even a great movie can be a let-down – and vise versa.The film had a lot of things that captured my interest: metaphysical mystery, eccentric inventor struggling with his personal life, caring neighbors and friends, exotic energy device, healing via the device, time travel, mainstream vs. fringe science, synchronistic events, ESP, inter dimensional stuff.The cinematography was brilliant, the way the camera angles and starts and stops were executed. It had my brain and heart on the edges of their seats. The portrayal of the device was awesome: spinning, shining, with mini-lightning sparks pulsating.The subtitle of the film, on the top of the cover: "What do you think happens when you die?" doesn't seem to be very fitting for the actual contents of the film, though that concept was touched on.I would definitely recommend it to you, and I think it will appeal equally to males and females, having elements for both.It's great metaphysical food. But don't build up your expectations too high. Just watch it, and enjoy.