Insomnia | | Cast : | Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank | | Director : | Christopher Nolan | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | May 24, 2002 | | DVD Released Date : | September 14, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 13, 2005 | | Summary | Detective story writers against cops | Content
 | A simple situation in cop country, L.A. California. An oldtimer did something irregular to prove the guilt of a criminal who otherwise would have gone through unscathed. His younger partner is put under pressure by some investigation in the service and he is going to yield, i.e. speak. In a difficult investigation in Alaska the senior cop is confronted with the possible accident of shooting at some outline that could be the criminal or any other cop on the ground, because of the poor visibility due to fog. He shoots, and it is his partner. The criminal witnessed this event and, as a detective story writer, manipulates the cop into some impossible situation that is aiming at making someone else be found and proved guilty. Unluckily things are moving slightly differently. And the result will be a whole slate of dead bodies. There definitely is some suspense in all that. We are constantly wondering what the criminal or the cop are going to do to trap each other and we are in for quite a few surprises. Good entertainment even if it is not a masterpiece. No psychological depth, no social dimension, no symbolical power, just a cat and a mouse playing together and we of course never know who the cat is, not to speak of the mouse. A perfect situation for a third little animal to come into the picture and play his own game.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
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| Rating | | | Date | July 05, 2005 | | Summary | Insomnia | Content
| "Love is like oxygen. Love lifts you up where you belong. All you need is love." If at any moment in your life, you've been blessed to experience such a rare and precious love, you will be enamored with Moulin Rouge.
At the turn of the century, the elite in-crowd gathers to socialize with the creatures of the seedy underworld and the Bohemian lifestyle at the legendary Parisian hot spot, the Moulin Rouge. Satine (Nicole Kidman) is known as the "Sparkling Diamond" for her dazzling beauty and immense talent as a courtesan. When Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young and talented writer, falls in love with her, she realizes he will be bad for business. A deal is made between the Moulin Rouge's owner, Harold Sidler (Jim Broadbent) and the Duke (Richard Roxburgh), to transform the club into a theater and put on a show, Spectacular Spectacular. In order to close the deal, Christian comes up with a bizarre story off the top of his head and the ensemble cast follows along with it. As the final piece, Satine must exclusively belong to the Duke, a slimy character with evil intentions.
While Sidler agrees, it is already too late as Satine has fallen in love with Christian. They are careful to hide their torrid love affair, but it becomes evident to everyone except the Duke who's as sharp as a sack of wet mice. Lushly directed by Baz Luhrmann, this post-modern twist on the musical uses extreme photography techniques, vibrant colors and costumes, and visionary dream sequences to tell the story through song. Academy awards were presented to Catherine Martin for both Costume Design and Art Direction.
The magic of falling in love is captured so perfectly in the setting and musical numbers that you are swept away with the overwhelming desire to go fall in love. Kidman and McGregor pour themselves into these musical numbers and sing with the emotions of a thousand magical dreams. It almost feels like you are in a fairy tale. Original songs, "I'll fly away" and "Come what may," easily rival any memorable show tunes, but what really sells them are the voices of Kidman and especially McGregor. As Christian, McGregor gives all an artist possibly could to portray the young writer who is captivated by the gorgeous Satine. You truly believe and feel every emotion he experiences on screen just by looking in his eyes. It feels like you are looking into his soul.
Kidman is marvelous as the famed courtesan who is dying, but doesn't know it. She is the consumate performer and as the number goes, "the show must go on." She won the Golden Globe for her performance in this role and was nominated for an Academy Award. Among the dazzling music, vibrant scenery and captivating performances, this tale teaches us "the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."
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| Rating | | | Date | July 01, 2005 | | Summary | You Can't Sleep In Constant Daytime... | Content
| Director Christopher Nolan (director of Memento, Batman Begins) struck gold with his second big screen foray with the incredibly tense thriller "Insomnia". A virtual nobody in Hollywood until his sleeper hit, "Memento", Christopher Nolan appears to be the go-to guy for murder/mystery thrillers. To Christopher Nolan's credit, after making the incredibly confusing "Memento", he chose to make a more straight-forward mystery thrill ride and the move pays off big time.
"Insomnia" tells the story of LAPD detective Dormer (Al Pacino) who along with his partner, are sent up to Alaska to solve a startling murder of a teenage girl in a small quiet town. The cops of this small town aren't sure what precipitated this murder, and they're not sure about the odd circumstances that surround the two LAPD detectives presence here, other than Dormer is a friend of the town's chief of police. Things quickly get out of hand when a tip is given, as to the perpetrator's possible location, and a friendly fire accident leaves Dormer's partner dead and Dormer to blame for the shooting. Things are only complicated further when the killer is the witness to the accidental shooting and knows that Dormer is trying to cover it up, because the reason LAPD sent them to Alaska, besides assisting in a murder investigation, was to get them away from Internal Affairs, and a "friendly-fire" altercation would seem greatly suspicious. To top things off, it's the time of year in Alaska when there is constant sunlight, leaving Det. Dormer suffering from insomnia, and growing increasingly withdrawn and somewhat crazy. With all of that occurring the killer chooses to use Dormer's guilt and cover-up as leverage in assisting him in placing the guilt of this small town girl's murder on someone else letting him off the hook.
"Insomnia" is superbly acted and directed, with stand-out performances by Al Pacino (no surprise there), Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank. Excellent cast, with great material to work with, all held together by an incredible director. This is one thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat and is not to be missed!
"Insomnia" is rated R for violence, language, and minor sexuality/nudity. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 29, 2005 | | Summary | Sleepless in Alaska | Content
| In Halibut, Alaska, the Sun doesn't' come down at nights. During the summer, its light illuminates for 24 hours and those who are not used to live such a bizarre situation, can develop a real bad case of sleeplessness.
Inspector Will Dormer is just one of them.
Just arrived from L.A., the detective has been called to this fishing town to resolve a terrible crime. Alongside his partner Eckhart and the local rookie Ellie Burr, Dormer has to uncover the identity of a 17 year old girl's killer.
A remake of the 1997 Norwegian film, Insomnia offer a detailed look of a cop's mind, whose moral has been corrupted.
The lack of sleep works as an explicit metaphor about a human being's incapacity of live with a dirty conscience. The moral debate, the intrigue and tension are elements that help to invigorate the plot. The somber tone of the characters is reflected masterfully with the portrayals of Williams and Pacino.
Insomnia lets us see that not everything in life is black and white. Our experiences, generally, are a mix of grays. It also explores the reasons and motives of villains, and the vulnerabilities of heroes.
At some point, inspector Dormer defines his position when affirms that "his job is to assign guilt". To decide whether he should do it by taking a look to the exterior world or to him is the most critic crossroad of this wonderful film.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 23, 2005 | | Summary | Quite Good Film!! | Content
| Due to working at a video store, and being interuppted by customers, I had to watch this one twice. Content was excellent, and it was one of those that you just have to find out what happens!! Robin Williams was great in the movie as well. One of the best dark and sinister characters he has played!! Al Pacino does a great job with the material!! Fun, edge of your seat entertainment!!! |
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