MOVIE: Source Code (2011)

So it hasn't even been a week into summer vacation, and I've already gone mad with formlessness. I tried making plans for all sorts of things today, but APPARENTLY people have lives that do not consist of things that have to do with me. (I was feeling a bit of pique this morning; I got over it.) ANYWAY. I lazed about in the morning, I ran some errands, and then I thought, screw it, I'm going to go see a movie. And I arrived at the theatre just in time to catch Source Code. I wouldn't have considered it, originally, because there was no press on this movie--aside from Gyllenhaal doing an interview on The Daily Show, I think--and I'm not a huge Gyllenhaal fan in the first place. (Nothing against him; I'm just generally uninterested.) BUT somebody--I forget who, exactly, sorry--blogged about how this was one of the few totally original, non-sequel, non-adaptation science fiction things to come out this year, and maybe people should support it. Hey, I'm people! And so was the other lady that came in about twenty minutes into the movie. I almost leaned across the aisle and told her what she had missed, but I managed to restrain myself. ANYWAY. About the movie: if you've simply looked at the IMDB page, or maybe just read a blurb, you know that Gyllenhaal plays a soldier, and somehow he's living and reliving eight minutes of somebody else's life right before a bomb explodes in order to figure out who's responsible. If you're a science fiction sort of person, you can already start to see what kind of tropes will crop up. It's a little Run Lola Run, a little Speed, and a little Quantum Leap. There are a couple of "twists," but you'll probably see them coming. And that makes it sound like the movie is trite, but it's actually a nice blend of a lot of science fiction, reliving eight minutes, sort of things. Nowadays it's hard, almost impossible, to come up with stuff TOTALLY new. Also, the actors turn in solid performances. Gyllenhaal throws himself into the role--my ambivalence towards him has nothing to do with his talent or, well, handsomeness. He's playing opposite Michelle Monaghan (who is quickly becoming the go-to gal for generic science fiction action movies) as Christina, one of the commuters within his eight-minute loop. He also plays opposite the spectacular Vera Farmiga, who Scullies it up with the best as the Air Force officer guiding him through the process. There's not a lot of nuance to this film, and the ending is a little cheesy, but also a neat way to build a universe. While Source Code isn't original, it's taking a lot of things and using them in interesting ways. It's a seaworthy movie; not spectacular, but one that's worth snuggling down with a bowl of popcorn for an entertaining ninety minutes.