Our movie of the weekend!

This week's movie of the weekend has to be the much anticipated box office smash, Limitless. A few weeks ago, we had been riding the tube and fell for the film’s witty advertising stunt promoting “a clear pill that unlocks your full potential”. I’m sure the majority of Londoners have seen it by now (see below), and it was only after discussing how amazing this pill sounded for the next 4 stops, that we finally read the small-print and realised it was a prank. We then saw the trailer that looked awesome, and let’s face it, any film that stars Bradley Cooper as the leading man is hardly going to be a disappointment!

Nevertheless, the film starts out with a longhaired and pretty shabby-looking Cooper walking through the bustling streets of NYC. Now, I’m generally not a fan of the “grunge” look - I definitely prefer my men clean-cut and suited-up - but I must say, Coop didn’t look half bad! This is a classic example of what I like to call the “Captain Jack Sparrow Effect” – i.e when deliberate adjustments are made to a person’s appearance in order to make them appear less attractive, but it actually ends up having the opposite effect. Basically, you can give Johnny Depp: mascara, dreadlocks, and dirty fingernails, and he’ll still end up looking hotter than ever!

So, basic synopsis: Cooper is a writer who’s struggling to find the inspiration to complete (or rather I should say, begin!) writing his novel. When he bumps into an ethically questionable character from his past, he is offered a top-secret drug that will supposedly give him the creativity-boost he needs. After an unjustifiably short debate with himself, he concludes that he’s not got much to lose, so should just try the pill and see what happens. The pill taps into neurones in the brain allowing the individual to use 100% of their brain at a time rather than the usual rumoured 20%. The result: his mind is suddenly unlocked, giving him access to a very organised database of every piece of information he’s ever seen, read, or heard about it. He’s able to complete his novel in 4 days, learn entire languages in a matter of hours, and basically become the perfect version of himself. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, the film spins into an action-packed thriller that brings you to the edge of your seat, stressfully asking yourself: “What happens when the pills run out?!”

Despite its slightly unnecessary gore, the film’s combination of unexpected humour, Cooper in a pair of tight black briefs (followed by some drooling on our part!), and a unique plot that revolves around something every human uniformly desires, lands this week’s film with a solid 10/10!