n1ckn4m3

Contrary to most of the reviews that I have seen online, I found the movie to be exceptional. While the story moves somewhat slowly, and the movie is NOT an action movie, it was still very thought provoking and a very deep watch. For being only 100 mins, they cram a lot of story into the movie.

My biggest qualm would be one that the author mentioned, that too much of the brain damage to Arctor only mentioned, and not apparent in the movie. This leads to a disassociation between the viewer and a big portion of the plotline.

As Arctor is the main character of the movie (though some might argue that the group of characters would qualify as the movie's 'main' character), the audience needs to be able to connect to his mindset. A lot of the movie is spent watching Arctor speak with psychiatrists who are explaining to him (and the audience) what is happening in his brain and what the effects on his overall well-being are. Unfortunately, until nearly the end of the movie, these effects are not apparent -- seemingly non-existant. Finally, you are brought full force into the psychosis experienced by Arctor, but I felt it was too much, too late.

When you see how Barris (Robert Downy Jr., one of the movie's saving graces) acts, you can see a distinct difference. Barris is paranoid, delusional, ineffectual, and generally does a good job of acting like a nut-job. The lack of this kind of acting on Reeves's part (well, it *is* Keanu, what did anyone expect?) leaves a lot to be desired.

Past Reeves's acting performance, the movie is incredible. The interpolated rotoscoping effect that Linklater used in 'Waking Life' has been ramped up with a more cartoony / gritty feel. I know the combination of the two don't sound like they go together, but when you see the movie you'll understand. Some people have complained that the rotoscoping effect draws their attention away from the movie; I disagree. I felt that it gave the viewer a layer of understanding about the surreality that the characters lived in.

All in all, I recommend anyone who enjoys somewhat psychological thrillers check this movie out.

Oh, and also,

"With high doses may exhibit a pattern of psychosis with confused and disorganized behavior, irritability, fear, paranoia, hallucinations, may become extremely antisocial and aggressive"

Most gamers I know exhibit psychosis. Antisocial I can agree with, but aggressive? Not so much.

BTW, thanks for calling me fuckface. I hadn't heard that one since 5th grade. I almost spewed my Dew across the keyboard. Keep up the good work.

To 23: (From your link)

LONG-TERM USE:
Heavy, regular use of cocaine is known to cause restlessness, anxiety, hyperexcitability, paranoia, irritability, insomnia, weight loss, and a variety of other less acute psychological symptoms. Insufflation of any substance can lead to damaging the cartiledge and mucosa in the nose, eventually leading to a hole in the septum (the soft structure separating the nostils). If injected, cocaine use can lead to a wide variety of problems including life-threatening infections, shared needle-related blood diseases, etc.

*NICE*. Such a safe drug. I mean, I played Guitar Hero for 5 hours today and WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, my nose cartilage disappeared. Oh, and i'm irritable and have lost weight, and am anxious, restless, hyperexcitable.

But hey, I'm not stopping *YOU* from doing coke, for all intents and purposes, I hope you suck down an 8-ball every few hours until you rid the world of yourself. I'm sure we'd be better of without someone who is defending the use of cocaine.

To #16:

Yep, you've got it. Doing cocaine as an addiction is *JUST AS BAD* as playing video games. I mean, coke shatters your body and destroys your brain and kills you, and video games just make you sit slack jawed in front of the TV. I guess they'll both end up with you dying from an overdose, I mean, I play so much Guild Wars that I should be falling out of my chair and foaming at the mouth any second.

Glad there are people like you on this world to remind me that *yes* there are people stupider than dirt.