Rating: 
Summary: Christopher Nolan does it again
Review: Christopher Nolan's Insomnia has atmosphere, good acting, good screenplay, a great story line, suspense and is gripping. Al Pacino, Hilary Swank and Robin Wiliams are exceptional in this movie as well as other cast members. Pacino's caracter is tough, yet has a soft side too, which Pacino brings out well. Christopher Nolan did a great job on Memento and he doesn' let down in Insomnia. Insomnia has everyting you want from a movie plus a twist at the end. The pace of this movie doesn't let down until the end credits appear on the screen. Insomnia has everything you want from a movie. In short, Go See It!
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Summary: The First Possible Best Picture Nominee Of The Year!
Review: This movie should be nominated for at least 8 Academy Awards come February. Best Picture (Most Defiantly). Best Director- Christopher Nolan (Who should have been nominated for last year's incredible Memento). Best Adapted Screenplay (Check out the 1998 Version Of Insomnia. It's spectacular). Best Actor- Al Pacino (Al Pacino does the best work of his career in this). Best Actress- Hillary Swank (She matches her work in Boys Don't Cry). Best Supporting Actor- Robin Williams (His best screen work ever). Best Cinematography (Terrific Cinematography that sets the mood). Best Art Direction (For similar reasons of Best Cinematography, Without the gloomy atmosphere the setting wouldn't have been right).
If this spectacular film isn't nominated in those catagories there's just no justice at the Oscars. This is the most memorable film to come about since, well, since Christopher Nolan's Memento last year. You should definantly not miss this spectacular thriller. It will have you spellbound within 5 minutes and will leave you desperatly craving more at the film's end.
Very simply put, this film is A Masterpiece!
Rating:
Summary: It is always the darkest in the light
Review: Ok, that might sound like a cliche line for Insomnia, a remake here of the 1997 foreign version with Stellan Skarsgard, but why not once in a blue moon. Anyway, this is indeed a topper for Christopher Nolan, over his 2001 independent backwards episode Memento, and brings his storytelling skills to a thriller set in Alaska. Thus, Al Pacino plays the cop, a usual part to be sure, yet here brings an excellent feeling of desperation to try and find a way out of the muck of lies and torment that are in his life. And for once, Alaska is shown as it truly is, either all night or all day (there are so many movies that get this wrong it's too lengthy to explain here) and how either one can drive the particular person crazed. Here it is the constant shining of a itty bit of sunlight into his room at 3:30 AM.Pacino is on the case of a killer (Robin Williams) who's victim is a teenage girl. This is handled in a good way, by turning it into not a cops and and bad guys movie, but more of a moral movie, one about getting caught in the most stressful of situations in dealing with control over life and the responsibility it follows. It is not just the acting, which is above par, but also just the downright craft that drags you into the predominately first person dilemma (although Williams brings up some interesting points among his blackmail). One more note: Williams has done something this year to me I'm not sure he's ever done- he has two movies from this year that are both grand dramatic, crazed performances and among his flops and utter misdemeanors (including another one he did this year, Death to Smoochy) there is a bit of praise for the guy. As for the thriller here, one of the years best in conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: its all about al pacino
Review: this is along with the insider, scent of a woman and scarface one of the most finest performance of al pacino. he totally owns this movie,robin williams is plain excellent too, this is the type of movie that makes you believe that some remakes do work i can't wait to own it on dvd, this will be another masterpiece on my al pacino collection. he got my vote this year, "and the winner for best male performance is mister corleone don al pacino"
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Summary: Quirky characters and story add up mainly to a misfire
Review: The old formulas for movies (as well as other things) are sometimes called "tried and true" because they are in fact "time-tested" and proven good bets for what they do. Yet they grow old, and sometimes we long for something different. And the different can be refreshing when it works. But it also comes with a greater risk of failure. When it does fail, as it often does, it can have us longing for the old formulaic stuff all over again. Here's a case in point of something definitely not formulaic, aiming perhaps to be refreshing, and expecting credit for the effort alone. But the effort, alas is wasted. Al Pacino plays a Los Angeles cop, sent north to investigate a baffling murder case -- far north, in fact, to Alaska. It must be midsummer because he encounters the midnight sun in Alaska, and the absence of darkness leads to the title condition. He chases a murder suspect and in the chase his partner is fatally shot. In the folowing daze it's all a blur. Was his partner shot by the suspect or by Pacino's character himself? If the latter, was it purposeful or an accident? If purposeful, he could have had a motive, because he ain't entirely a clean cop by any means and his partner was in a position to turn him in to internal afairs back in L.A. But the fog and his sleepless state make it all a blur. Then the suspect starts to taunt him about his possible culpability for his partner's death. The suspect seems to confess to killing the original murder victim, but claims it was an accident, calling himself no more guilty than the cop he's taunting and blackmailing. The latter's sleepless daze starts to rub off onto the audience as the taunting is prolonged: seems we're expected to buy into the daze and puzzle over who's guilty of what and whether anybody's really blameless. Did I mention there's a subplot involving the original victim's boyfriend? He's accused of having abused her, but guess what - that's just one more question that turns into a blur, and who knows what to believe about what. We expect all these questions to be resolved. But don't expect too much. It's more like the blur drags on until we cease to care about the answers. Without scarcely anything else resolved, the ending finally comes with a missed opportunity for a surprise. The surprise opportunity would seem obvious, but the movie just ends without hinting whether the makers even thought of that obvious opportunity or not.
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Summary: One of the Years Best
Review: Nolan does it again with another great film. Oscar performances from Pacino and Williams. Williams is very haunting in this film with Pacino bringing another fantastic performance. Nolan does such an incredible job with this film, making you believe that Pacino's character really is suffering from insomnia. He puts you right in Pacino's shoes, it's so great.
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Summary: Alaska summer's daylight spotlights a guilty conscience
Review: Al Pacino, cast in the role of an aging Los Angeles detective, is sent to Alaska to solve a murder case. He's also there to distance himself from an Internal Affairs Investigation going on in which his partner, played by Martin Donovan, is going to testify against him. The stage is set for conflict, and the Alaskan summer season, where it's daylight all the time, adds to Pacino's fatigue and disorientation as he finds it impossible to sleep. This is an icy wonderland, and the cinematography is excellent, capturing the unremitting sunshine as a spotlight of sorts on Pacino's past guilty conscience. He's true to character throughout though, bending the rules for his own purposes. And when he commits an act that might cast him in an unfavorable light, he again makes concessions to his conscience. It's a great role and he's a fine actor.
Robin Williams is cast as bad guy, an unusual part for him. He does a good job in the role, as does Hillary Swank as the Alaskan detective working on the case that quickly becomes more and more complex. Generally, I enjoyed the film. It's a fast paced drama about a cop and an unsolved mystery. But although it is done well, it never really rises above its genre. It held my interest at the time, but I just saw it yesterday, and already I'm beginning to forget it.
Rating:
Summary: To sleep, perchance to dream....
Review: What wouldn't police detective Al Pacino give to be able to get a good night's rest? He's up in Alaska to track down the murderer of a 17-year-old girl, along with his partner who has just told him that he's turning state's evidence against Al. Now to sleeplessness add feelings of betrayal and worry. Sounds like the perfect way to make a fatal mistake, and that's exactly what Al does when he pursues the murderer in the fog. Pretty soon, he's got a murder of his own to cover up, and in a bizarre twist of fate, the original murderer (Robin Williams) has seen enough to blackmail Al. How will it all come out in the wash? I thought "Insomnia" was a great piece of moviemaking. First off, the cast was excellent. Pacino conveys a man falling apart at the seams because of his sheer exhaustion, while Willians gives us a quite a villain--hideous and insipid at the same time. Both men deserve Oscar nominations on this one. Hillary Swank does a good supporting job as the young police officer beginning to figure things out for herself. Breathtaking scenery and clever editing make great contributions to the movie as well. Rub the sleep out of your own eyes, and get down to the video store for your copy of "Insomnia" just as soon as it's available--you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing for a Christopher Nolan film
Review: For a blatent copy of a excellent Norwegien film, Nolan manages to pull this one out. With a few subtle changes to the original; and then the Nolan touches; ie. cinimatogrphy is nice. In summation, afer two steller films: The Following, and Momento, Insomnia is pretty lack luster and ultimatly a dissapointment to me.
Rating:
Summary: sleep-deprived pacino badly wants some shut-eye
Review: ever tried not sleeping for days on end?
noises : wipers go swish-swash, left-right, swish-swash ...
noises : noises that never were; belongs to a projection of the too tired mind .
light : hate it; too bright, too piercing. an impulsive urge to keep your slate clean, remove the traces of an unlikely murder!; and the intrusion of a too-smart writer ( robin williams ) threatening to expose everything. can you still sleep? when the window leaks light. al pacino perfects the insomniac experience.
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