Hopeless romancer with the dopest fly stanzas
Posts by Rich
Limitless: Guile over Substance?
4Last week I did a rare thing: I went to the cinema to see a film about which I had done no prior reading. That film was Limitless, which from its poster appeared to be some kind of high-tech thriller with Bobby De Niro and Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers and The Hangover). Immediately I was reminded of another film: 2001′s The Score, an Edward Norton vehicle that tells the tale of an upstart whizz-kid and an ageing career criminal – played by De Niro, hence my initial association – as they plan the perfect heist. Would Limitless offer the same high-octane thrills and narrative twists, the same convincing on-screen relationship between two male leads at either ends of their acting careers? I was more than hopeful.
The action starts, as with most modern Hollywood fare, at the dénouement of another, mostly-untold story. Struggling writer Eddie Morra (Cooper), cuts an emaciated, dejected figure as his long-suffering girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) calls a moratorium on their relationship in a New York diner. His is the well-worn story of the middle-class urbanite with nothing to show for the ten years since he graduated. Writer’s block, the sting of failed relationships and a generally unkempt appearance at once makes sympathetic characters of Eddie and the girl who dreamed of better.
Samantha Brick: Unwitting Saviour?
1Poor Samantha Brick. Gone are the days when a sub-editor, casting an eye over a piece of badly-written copy, felt they had a duty of care to their author before authorising publication. Instead, we have article that has gone viral: a “Twitterstorm“, as many in the media would have it.
And yet, with a few days to reflect on the brouhaha that has surrounded Ms. Brick’s cry for attention, I am left a little bereft. In fact — to paraphrase a rather more enlightened scribe — I am even beginning to wonder that if Samantha Brick had not crowbarred her way into the public eye this week, it would have been necessary for someone to invent her.