Rating: 
Summary: Average Film Elevated By Its Stars
Review: I loved the original Insomnia, so I was kind of worried that Hollywood would destroy another foreign film by remaking it. On that count, Insomnia is a success: The film works on all of the same levels as the original.....but it just didn't involve me in the same way. The story is pretty straightforward: Two L.A. Cops are brought to Alaska, ostensibly to help solve a murder, but the reality is they were sent away to get them out of the spotlight of an Internal Affairs investigation that could drag them both down. While trying to snare the killer, the stakeout goes horribly awry, and cop and killer become drawn together by the secret knowledge of what happened. The performances are great. Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, and Nicky Katt are all great actors. The problem is, the story just doesn't seem compelling enough on it's own. The actors are the only thing sustaining interest. It's also riddled with bad-tv cliches: Evidence is found by accident, days after dozens of people turned the beach upside-down and found nothing, the killer opens a drawer in his house, allowing a cop to see evidence that can implicate him (oops!), Pacino even gets the location of Williams' hideout from the jacket of a book he'd written! Come ON.....sloppy writing! The film is worth seeing, if you're a fan of any of these actors. Otherwise, try the original. You won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: thoroughly disturbing
Review: If you require idiotically linear plotlines, obviously evil bad guys, and white knight heroes beyond reporach, avoid this movie. Otherwise, if you have a functioning mind of your own and don't object to being completely creeped out, you will enjoy every minute of this dark, suspenseful tale. If you enjoyed Mulholland Drive, Memento, The Vanishing, etc., you will probably like this movie. I won't go on at length about the movie itself other than to mention a few random tidbits: 1. excellent scenery and cinematography 2. Robin Williams is refreshingly un-annoying and Al Pacino is... Al Pacino. 3. I now want to see the original Insomnia
Rating:
Summary: Not as I anticipated
Review: I guess I shouldn't have one into the movie anticipating it to be this totally awesome movie, but unfortunately I did. In my opinion, it was kind of a "sleeper" in the beginning, just kind of dragging along. Once Robin Williams character appeared (or should I say was heard), then it started getting better and I didn't feel like taking a nap. The scenery in this film was fantastic, quite a sight for the eyes to see and behold! I did chuckle quite a bit when Williams' character kept calling Pacino and referring to the daylight during night, and how he should get some sleep, etc. Pacino did a great job in the movie, though I must say, he's got to do something about all the bruises under his finger nails, either that, or the camera shouldn't have focused on them so much. And I have to say that Robin Williams did not disappoint me in the fact that he played a character so unlike the humorous characters he's play in years past. He did a fantastic job!!! Though it's nice to see movies on the big screen, in my opinion I'd save your money and wait until it comes out on video and DVD to rent it. If nothing else, the cinematography, views of Alaska and Robin Williams' performance was worth it. But again, this is just my opinion. There seems to be other's on here who differ, which is why this country is so great as we are all entitled to our opinions. Thanks for reading! :o)
Rating:
Summary: Christopher Nolan impresses again!
Review: I loved Memento. It became one of my favorite movies of all time. The reason I loved it was because it's differect direction of telling a story. Insomnia, directed by the same talented Christopher Nolan, is nothing like Memento. Instead, it is more simple and refined. I never saw the original one, but this seems good enough.
It's great to see Al Pacino return in a role appropriate for adding onto his filmography, but it was also great, and pretty terrifying to see Robin Williams in a role completely new and different. Hillary Swank was also just as great. The movie is more captivating when unfolded during the viewing, so let's just say that this is what a suspense film is all about. There's not too much action, but just enough to get you going. With great performances, and a pretty decent dialogue, this movie is true entertainment. And the ending was just beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: Sleepless In Alaska
Review: "Memento" was a tough act to follow. Director Christopher Nolan's riveting 2001 film was a technically and thematically challenging cinematic tour de force. But that was just an art movie that became a sleeper hit. "Insomnia," a shadowy, adroit murder mystery, is Nolan's introduction to the big leagues. It's a Hollywood movie with a Hollywood cast of Oscar winners: Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. It even has a Hollywood ending. Or at least it feels that way. The big scene granted one of the stars in the last sceneat the end doesn't seem in synch with the moody hour and three-quarters that precede it, or the 1998 Norwegian film on which "Insomnia" is based. Somehow, you can't really see that kind of emotional punch-up coming from the Scandinavians. Otherwise, "Insomnia" is a deftly entertaining film, smartly played and smartly directed. Something's fishy in the small Alaskan town of Nightmute, which claims to be the "Halibut Fishing Capital of the World." A teenage girl has been beaten and murdered. Nightmute isn't the sort of place where people get murdered, brutally or not. So they call in the pros: Will Dormer (Pacino), a legend in the Los Angeles Police Department, and his partner, Hap (Martin Donovan). Though they're friends, there seems to be some tension between them. It might have something to do with the fact that Internal Affairs is investigating their department. Hap is ready to cooperate - which bothers Will, though he has a long-established reputation as a good cop. Then there's the local cop (Swank), who's helping them out; she has hero-worshipped Will since graduating from the police academy. Tracking down a killer is the sort of thing the L.A. guys are used to doing; what they can't handle is the relentless Alaskan summer, where it's light at 3 in the morning. Will is especially affected, to the point where he's raging against the non-dying of the light. By the end of the movie, he hasn't slept for six days. But is it the light or something else that's keeping him awake? Swank quotes the hero cop to himself: A good cop can't sleep because a piece of the puzzle is missing, and a bad cop can't sleep because of his conscience. Williams doesn't enter the picture until 30 minutes in, and by then you'll probably have some idea of where he fits in the scheme of things. He plays Walter Finch, a hack writer of obscure crime novels who's obsessed with cops. In this case, that means Will, which leads to some of the cleverest cat-and-mouse games in recent memory. Especially riveting is an interrogation scene in which each diabolically tops the other. Nightmute may be bathed in near 24/7 daylight, but most of "Insomnia" takes place in dark, claustrophobic rooms. When Nolan takes us outside, to show us a panoramic view of the Alaskan wilderness, we feel doubly cramped by the interior scenes. It's disorienting, and it's meant to be. The claustrophobia is brought to a near-hysterical level in a scene where Pacino and Williams chase each other across a log float and Pacino, terrifyingly, becomes trapped underwater, his arms getting crushed by the immense logs as he tries to claw his way back to air. Nolan and Pacino cannily convey the fallout of sleeplessness: the confusion, the heaviness, the bleariness. More importantly, except for a lapse or two, Pacino reins himself in. Instead of the bloated histrionics of "Scent of a Woman," he gives the part the same careful character shadings he used in "Donnie Brasco." The real proof of Nolan's skill with actors, however, is Williams, who's been told incessantly that he needs to play against type. You can barely place that eerily familiar face, and his Mork-ish physical energy has been rechanneled into something jittery and unsettling. No, "Insomnia" isn't as good as "Memento," but who really expected it to be? But it gives Nolan a chance to prove he can survive going Hollywood and still keep something of his distinctiveness from being erased. In a season full of summer-movie dumbness, "Insomnia" is a movie to seek out.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait and Rent
Review: It's not a bad movie, but the scenery behind the opening credits is the best part. The plot is predictable and you never get emotionally attached to any of the characters. On some dreary weekend next winter this might be a nice choice for a rental, but for now, there are much better options.
Rating: 
Summary: THERE'S NO ACCOUNTING FOR PROFESSIONAL CRITICS'S TASTES
Review: I just couldn't accept two police officers from Los Angeles under investigation for suspicious activities would end up together in a small fishing village in Alaska to help solve a murder. It made no realistic or metaphoric sense. The plausibility becomes even more bizsrre when one of them breaks a firearms rule that even a 15-year old with a hunting permit couldn't possibly commit. It's part of the psychological profile drawn here of a trigger-happy, sleep deprived man with a haunted past shooting in a dark fog. I cringed at the dueling character driven acting battles between hero Al Pacino and villain Robin Williams. They seemeed like two Hollywood stars doing facial trick ponys. I couldn't help but wonder what another actress might have done with Hilary Swank's role of exactly two emotions: naive giddiness and suspicion, coming across as a more serious Barney Fife with a computer. Oh, for one of the resident's of TV's 'Northern Exposure' to stroll on to one of these scenes to put it all in perspective. At the center of this sprawling drama is a corpse of a young girl soon forgotten as Director and cast look toward sunsets of their own, none of them shared by me.
Rating:
Summary: An Actual Script!
Review: What a refreshing change of pace to see a movie with an actual script, instead of: car chases, unnecessary romantic sub plots, and things blowing up. This is interesting. It asks questions like "How bad are you before you're the bad guy?" and "Does the means really justify the end?" Robin Williams so often plays over the top that is nice to see him being completely understated. It wouldn't be a Pacino movie without a little explosive yelling, but even that fits the plot. Three things make this a good movie. The acting, the scenery of Alaska and Canada, and most of all. The writing!
Rating:
Summary: Thriller!
Review: This is a wonderful film--great script, fantastic actors, amazing directing and cinematography. This isn't a "thriller" in the shallow, slasher sense of the word. It's purely psychological, and that's what I prefer. Will Dormer is an aging Los Angeles cop who travels to a small Alaska town to solve the murder of a teenaged girl, Kay Connell. Once there, he encounters local cops who barely scratch the suface of the necessary investigation, yet seem reluctant to welcome his expertise. Only one cop, the rookie Ellie Burke, is thrilled to finally be investigating "real crime" and even more in awe of the veteran Dormer. The case quickly turns to the victim's boyfriend, Randy (played by Jonathan Jackson, who has come a long way since his General Hospital days). Abusive, angry, and belligerent, Randy seems like the natural choice, especially since he doesn't care to admit he was actually betraying Kay as she was being murdered. Not long into the investigation, Dormer sets a trap for the killer. The ploy, however, goes horribly wrong when Dormer's partner is (accidentally?) shot. This is when the plot begins its tantalizing, teasing turns. Dormer does his best to cover up the true facts of his partner's death and the real killer of Kay Connell, but small-town cop Ellie is smarter than anyone wants to admit . . . Robin Williams has a deliciously freaky role in this film (this isn't Patch Adams, folks) as Walter Finch, Kay Connell's secret confidant. His performance isn't to be missed; indeed, it's the highlight of the film. The film's setting was quite ingenious--Alaska, land where the sun never sets on the day or the problems in Dormer's life. His conscience keeps him awake, as much as he tries to blame the sun. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, too. I'm sorry if some people expected this to be a thriller of the blood and guts variety. If that's what you're expecting, stay home. This film is a true nail-biter and I just start several times because of sudden movements . . . I also impulsively covered my eyes to shield them from what I *thought* would happen . . . no matter what anyone says, this is no sleeper. I recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Midnight sun isn't so bad!
Review: I've lived in Alaska for 34 years. "Insomnia" is the tip of the iceberg on the scenic beauty of the Great Land. The midnight sun (20-22 hours of daylight) we enjoy during summer months has a more positive effect than portrayed in the film, but I understood the message. I am a HUGE Al Pacino fan and see everything he does so I loved "Insomnia" just for that reason. Al doesn't do a bad movie, in my opinion. Other actors were very good and it was an interesting twist with Robin Williams as the "bad guy". I highly recommend this film for the acting, scenery, and plot.
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