NMR: Splice and dice

Since I saw Splice a few weeks ago, I decided to check out a couple more films featuring its stars, Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley; both of which were available for instant view on Netflix.

The Jacket: I remember when I first saw the advertisements for this back in '05 that I was really intriqued and thought it could be a decent thriller and yet somehow I never got around to seeing it. Sadly, I probably was better off skipping it as this is a major disappointment. The film squanders it's potential and comes off very hokey. It's never made clear whether Brody is actually time-travelling or just hallucinating when he's in the jacket. Keira Knightley is also horribly miscast here and gives a poor performance. Her relationship with Brody never comes off as believable. The only interesting thing here is an early appearance by Daniel Craig. However, it took me almost the entire movie before I even realized it was him. Rating: **

Go: Sarah Polley is part of a large ensemble from this 2000 film that has fun with its narrative. Instead of telling a linear story, it tells the same story three times from three different perspectives. When a film does something like this, it lives and dies by its gimmick. Luckily this one holds up nicely and doesn't really leave any gaps or continuity errors that I could pick up on. The film also features a wide array of actors who were relative unknowns then, but have gone on to more successful careers. I also liked a lot of the sly humor that's sprinkled throughout the film. My biggest complaint about the film is that the context with which the film takes place in is heavily rooted in sex and drugs. A large rave is a central location for the movie. While I'm no prude, I didn't really appreciate it here and felt it was part of a culture that I'm not really associated with. Given that it is a rave that most of the characters attend, the film already feels dated too. Big points for its inventiveness, minus points for its crass culture, which results in a rating of ***.