Candy and a Movie: Movie #3 Limitless

Limitless (2011)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/
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Before I begin, I know it's been a couple of days but I had to write a paper. That means by not posting I have shown responsibility and you should be glad that you didn't get rushed and boring ramblings. I have also had talks with my new producer and will be adding a couple sections to the features area. Quality.

When they titled this movie Limitless, they weren't referring to Bradley Coopers good looks because boy was he looking rough until he took the smart pills. He looked like what my little brother would look like if my bro had a ponytail. Full on troll. The main plot of this movie is a writer/bum, Eddie Morra (Cooper) is struggling with life until one day he runs into his ex brother in law who gives him a magic new drug that allows you to use 100% of his brain. All I could think of was the Wedding Crashers 100 % of our hearts line. Supposedly he has a 4 digit IQ. That is pretty smart which is why I was wondering that they got Cooper to play this character. You can tell that when he goes into show off mode with his expanded vocabulary, it just doesn't flow right. It sounds like he is just reading from a script and doesn't have the faintest idea of what he is talking about. He could at least do that acting thing and make me believe him, but my 3 digit IQ wasn't buying it.

So other than seeing Cooper on the toilet we can move forward to the part where he is smart. You can tell that Cooper is on the drug because time is slowed down/Cooper moves fast, there are a bunch of Coopers on the screen at once because he is doing just so many things, and it rains letters from the sky. After a little writing, one of the first things that he does now that he is a whole new Cooper is go on a Black Keys hair cut, suit buying montage, and rightfully so. He was a mess. Then he went to far. I don't remember exactly what he said but he made fun of the Portuguese and it hit a little too close to home. Not my home but my ancestors. Clean it up Cooper.

Now that Eddie has the look, he does the first thing you would expect him to do, try and cash in. He does a little small time trading but he wants to jump to the big leagues. So what does a smart guy like him do? Get a $100,000 loan in a brown paper bag from a sketchy eastern European dude who says things like if you don't pay me, I'll cut your stomach and pull the skin over your head making you suffocate. Deal! Cooper now goes on to make some serious money, like 2 mill in a week.

We are about halfway through the movie now and the only thing I can think of is when is this guy going to run out of his miracle drug, because you know it's going to happen. Cooper has made bank and is living the good life. Mackin the ladies, driving fast cars, wearing black leather jackets, he really is at the top of his game. Because of his success, Cooper is noticed by the richest big wig of them all Robert De Niro. They work together on a big company merger and then things get a little stinky. First, Cooper starts going through the random blackouts. The drug ends up being harmful after all. Then his eastern euro friend comes back to get his money. Apparently after making millions he forgot to pay back his initial loan. Cooper drops his last pill and the euro picks it up giving us a new problem, the dumb euro loan shark is now a smart euro loan shark. During one of his black-outs, there is a good chance he killed some chick. Then he blows his big meeting with De Niro. I know that I am all over the place, but a lot is going wrong.

There are times in this movie that make me question just how smart he really is. One was why not pay back the euro. The other is after the meeting he goes to his girlfriends to get some pills he left over there. Why not go there before the meeting with De Niro and not look like a fool?

OK SPOILER SECTION

I'm just going to jump to the end. Things still aren't that great. It has literally taken over an hour for Cooper to have a topless scene. Sure he has briefs on too but still, come on. Coopers girlfriend gets chased by a man after the pills and she ends up taking one just to survive. She then does the most obvious thing in her situation to escape, not really needing the pill. Cooper is back on the pill but weening off it because he doesn't want to die from it. The euro wants to make sure that he does. He shows up at Coopers bunker to get more of the pills and slice Brad up something nasty. Instead Cooper kills everyone.

Fast forward a year later and Cooper is running for the senate. He somehow has managed to get another bad hair cut. De Niro shows up and tries to bully Cooper into working for him because he bought the company that makes the pill. Cooper apparently has perfected the drug and either takes a better version of it or doesn't need to take it at all. And he sees everything 50 steps ahead. That's so many steps! De Niro says he has a limitless supply of the pill. Not a huge fan of movies saying the title. De Niro gets bummed and leaves, Cooper orders Chinese food in Chinese, and the movie sort of ends.

I might as well just place this in here too. Best scene is when Cooper drinks the dead euros blood to get the smart high. I liked that.

ENOUGH

Favorite Scene : In the spoiler section. A close second also involves the euro. He swallows the drug by lifting his head up and slapping his throat. Want to try that. Any scene with the euro could go in here too.

Favorite Quotes : “A tablet a day and I was Limitless...” we're not listening to Shakespeare here people.

“Portugal, with its big, massive navy... All they've got now are salt cods and cheap condoms.” That was the joke. Get out of here, we have Cristiano Ronaldo too.

Rating : 5 Candy corns. I don't think this movie was meant to be a great work in modern movie history. It was meant to entertain and make some money (which it did, over 50 mill). The concept itself was interesting enough. The acting didn't deliver which is important in movies. That last sentence is blog award winning stuff.

What to take away from Limitless : Stay on the pill.

New Sections. POSSIBLE SPOILERS but mostly not.

Alternate Ending : I don't know if there is one, but in here is where I will be putting how I would've ended the movie. It's quite simple. When Cooper drinks the euros blood, his super smarts isn't all that he gets. The Euros soul is also consumed. Now they are two people in one. Cooper spends 10 years and all of his smarts trying to recreate (or just create) the tools that the Ghostbusters used to suck out the euro. Then the movie just kind of ends.

What I would do if I was the main character : Cooper went for money and power. I would probably go for money but would do it gambling instead of playing the stock market because it's more fun. Power and running for something like president sounds like a headache to me. I'd just spend all the money on sports franchises, Dr. pepper, a bowling alley, double stuffed oreos and panda bears. And my friends.

What would happen in the sequel? In Less is More, Limitless 2, Cooper has become president. He is so smart that he comes up with a plan to unify all the worlds countries into one big land, where he is the leader. Then he runs out of pills. And makes his first lady angry. Then he finds more pills and everything works out. Last scene is him in a spaceship flying to the sun. Because he wants to get the best tan on earth.