Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)

In my last post, We have seen Robin Williams played as a villain in "Insomnia"..
This time, Its Pierce Brosnan's turn in this infamous/underrated  movie "Shattered (Butterfly on a wheel)"..
"Butterfly on a Wheel" - directed by Mike Barker (who impressed me well with his "Best Laid Plans") with Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello & Gerard Butler in the lead roles..

Story line in short - "It circles around an young married couple's fight with a kidnapper who got their child"..
Thats it..I am not gonna elaborate it more.. Because, Shattered is a movie that you really need to stay away from watching/reading too much about it.. Reading up on too much information can spoil the entire movie for you..

"Butterfly on a Wheel" is truly a great suspense Thriller.. For the whole 90 minutes, I was working out to find what the plot is all about.. Is it a sort of Psycho act? or Business related rival's act?..
Well, I got answered at its twist ending..

Honestly speaking, I watched "Butterfly on a Wheel" only for Pierce Brosnan (As always, He is Awesome!!)..
His transformation as a Bad Guy is an excellent move (after his Bond series movies) & it worked out well in this movie..
After "The Thomas Crown Affair", this is - without a doubt the best performance he has done..
Especialy in the denouement scene, Brosnan almost humanizing in his acting..

I loved Pierce Brosnan's intro.. With the menacing backround music, He is introduced with a cool helicopter shot that swoops in over the Chicago city, angles down for a overhead view of rooftops, finally ending with Brosnan on one of those roofs.. In the same continuos shot, the camera swings around him who is surveying the city through binoculars..
(I read a article about this shot.. Mike Barker reveals that this once single shot is actually a combination of multipe different shots.. Seriuolsy, I could not detect those cuts.. It was such a superb-flawless editing..)

Apart from Pierce Brosnan - Maria Bello & Gerard Butler played as the impacted couple gave a decent performance..

As i said earlier - Dont get into any ideas.. Just, Go & watch.. You will not be shattered..:-)
The less you know - the more you will enjoy!!

Related Link:
Shattered (Butterly on wheels) @ IMDB

Trailer:


Cheers!!

Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia (2002) is a well crafted/cat & mouse/psychological crime drama, (which is a  remake of a Norwegian film with the same name) directed by Christopher Nolan..

Veteran Homicide Detective Al Pacino, along with his partner Martin Donovan from LA - were called to Alaska to resolve the murder mystery of a teen girl.. Both were assisted by a young local cop Hilary Swank, who has long idolized Al Pacino and his work. In an attempt to catch the  murder suspect Robin Williams, ( Yes, he is the culprit) Al Pacino mistakenly shoots his own partner.. Not knowing that Robin Williams seen all this, Al Pacino started constructing an ever more complex web of lies to hide it.. Now it’s the killer’s turn - Starting to play a sort of mind game with the Detective..

Title Insomnia , (meaning  sleeplessness) – resembles Al Pacino’s  inability to sleep because of  Alaska's midnight sun and his guilt over killing his partner..

Once again, Al Pacino delivered his best  & portrayed  what the movie requires from him.. He looks dead tired and sleepy through-out the movie.. Scene after scene he looks as if he is just ready to collapse on the ground and sleep, but he can't… That is what Insomnia means..

I am surprised to see Robin Williams as the killer.. We all (at least  me) used to see him always a a comedian.. This  movie is at its best when Williams is on the screen – when he explains the things & making  Al Pacino to coverup both the murders which will save both of their lives. ..
Personally I feel – Nolan could have included more scenes of Williams tormenting Pacino..

Hilary Swank, who played the role of local cop -  gave a decent performance..
(I should write about  Hilary Swank in a separate post.. She is another good actress, who impressed me in Million Dollar Baby) ..

Chirstopher Nolan  is well known for his Memento &  much hyped  recent release Inception..
I dint like inception much.. The fact is after seeing 2 times, I couldn’t understand..
I m not comfortable in watching a movie twice to better understand it.. :-)

Opening musical score was quite good (played when Al Pacino moving into Alaska) and it really pulled  me into the movie.. It sets the tone for a suspense cop thriller..

It's a film that shows us how real life is - nobody's perfect & 100% good. .

If you are looking for a sort Thriller with Breathless chase, this is possibly not for you..

To conclude, I would like to give two quotes I loved a lot:
1) Robin Williams: (To Al Pacino) :  "Life is so important. How could it be so f**king fragile?"
2) Al Pacino (To Hilary Swank): You know.. Small lies, Small mistakes..  People give themselves away, same in misdemeanors as they do on murder cases. It's just human nature. Aren't you gonna write that down?

Related Link:
Insomnia @IMDB
Insomnia Original (Norwegian) version @IMDB

Trailer:



Cheers!!