Source Code [DVD]

It was clearly made on a modest budget: limited sets, small cast, no SFX, but that doesn't harm it, and it's well acted by the leads, within the limitations of the script.What I'll call the 'Source Code 8 minutes' basis of the story is a bit tough to swallow; but it is the 'sci-fi conceit' underpinning and I just accepted it.It's intriguing at first, while you are told what's going on fairly early on, and you may already have guessed the heart of it by the time you're told. The disappointment, for me, is what happens after that:The 'Train' story is ultimately solved rather easily and there's little tension in its conclusion; nor did I really believe in the motivation and competence of the Perp behind that story thread.The Captain's story was, to me, similarly unsatisfying. He seems to accommodate himself to his situation rather too easily after the initial shock and confusion; and there's not enough exploration of how much it affects him, or other characters involved - not much depth to it; and very minimal back-story context.The ending I quite liked: it's open to some questions about the relationship between what the Captain perceives and what the Source Code team see; and what impact the future decisions of that team might have on the Captain, or others in the Source Code project, are also open to conjecture.In sum, as I started: quite good but in the end a bit disappointing: close but no cigar.

Moon [DVD] [2009 ] director Duncan Jones brings another bit of science fiction to our screen, in a movie that asks:what would you do if you had eight minutes left to live?Army Captain Coulter Stevens suddenly finds himself in the body of a stranger. Talking to a lady. On a train heading into chicago. His efforts to find what's happening are cut short when the train is completely destroyed in an explosion.And then he finds himself inside a metal tank, with a lady airforce captain on a screen giving him orders.Then he's back on the train. Going through it all again.It quickly becomes revealed to him that he's taking part in an experiment using something called source code. Which - via a bit of quantum physics and some other pretty plausible science - allows him to view past time via the body of another person. The train was destroyed in a terrorist attack and the attacker is threatening to let of an even bigger device in Chicago. Stevens has to find the bomber in time to same millions of lives.Only trouble is: he has nothing to go on. He starts to like christina, the woman he always appears opposite. And there's clearly things that he's not being told....It's easy to make comparisons to groundhog day, but this is a very different kind of movie because there's a few twists and turns to be had. Some of which I did see coming and some I certainly didn't.Grounded by a solid performance from Jake Gyllenhall in the lead, but the two leading ladies are the real standouts acting wise. Michelle Monaghan makes Christina an ordinary but nice individual and the kind of person it would be easy to fall for very quickly. And Vera Farmiga is very good indeed as air force captain Goodwin, An officer who has professionalism and humanity in more than equal measure.The movie offers plenty of suspects, doesn't take the obvious twist, and even when the bomber is revealed there's still more to be resolved.Not least the fate of the captain. I did see one plot point in regards to this coming but that doesnt prepare you for the emotional impact of it. And some of the scenes that follow.Rather like moon it then has to do things in order to resolve the story, and does seem to go on longer than you would expect. But that does allows for a rather satisfying payoff - which is plausible although you might have to stop and think about it - and offers a lot of food for thought also.Clever storytelling and genuine science fiction with a decent lot of character drama thrown in, it's another good science fiction film from a director who likes to make them.But just like with moon it will leave you with a certain one hit wonder song stuck on the brain.The dvd has the following language and subtitle options:Languages: English.Subtitles: English.The disc starts with some trailers with some adverts in amongst them. You can skip the trailers via the next button on the dvd remote but that has no effect on the adverts. Although fast forward does.Extras are as follows:A commentary from star Jake Gyllenhaal, plus the director and the writer.A trivia track which when activated displays various bits of information about the film and other things whilst you watch it.Cast and crew insights: These are eleven short features each tackling a bit of the prodution, with brief comments from those involved. None are longer than four minutes maximum. They can be watched individually or all together. Some are brief promotional pieces. Others are quite interesting.Focal points: Five short features, all about a minute long each, covering some of the areas of science that the film touches on. All done in the style of a military training film. All quite fascinating if brief. And as with the above they can be watched individually or all together.Expert intel: eighteen minutes of a scientist talking - in short sections - about the science of the movie. This is just words over an almost static image. It's very interesting. But it's the science bit. So concentrate!And the original cinema trailer for the film.

Great movie, excellent quality image and sound.

From the outset, I was invested and completely gripped, which is rare nowadays. There seems to be a fashion for making thrillers as complex as possible, and although this film involved dipping backwards and forwards in time, the lines weren't blurred. The purpose was clear, but it remained tantalising throughout.

I first saw this film on a plane journey back to the UK on 10th August and I liked it so much, I bought the DVD when it came out over here. If you liked KNOWING with Nicolas Cage and NEXT (also with Nicolas Cage) then I believe you will like this film. Source Code begins with US Army Helicopter Pilot Captain Colter Stevens (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) waking up on a train to Chicago. Opposite him is a beautiful girl who begins talking with him as if they have known each other for some time. Captain Stevens does not know the girl or what is going on as his last memory is flying wounded members of his "crew" out of a hot zone in Kanderhar in Afghanistan. As Captain Stevens tries to work out what is going on, exactly eight minutes later, the train explodes in a huge fireball, the result of a terrorist bomb, killing all on board - or so it would seem. The next thing we see is Captain Stevens alive, awake and in some kind of capsule where he is being debriefed by a female US Army officer. Colter Stevens learns that he is on a mission to find out where the bomb is and who planted it. He learns that the tragedy has already happened and the people he saw on the train are already dead. But thanks to a powerful and untested new Military sanctioned programme which relies heavily on the scientific fact that after death the brain does not die right away but can collect and retain information about events for up to eight minutes after the body's death, Colter Stevens is the man who is somehow sent into the eight minute scenario on the train, in successive attempts, as the action happens, with orders to find out who the bomber is so that the authorities can take him down after the event. This powerful thriller is full of good special effects, great performances by the characters involved and a big plot twist right at the end. Having seen the US version of this film, the UK DVD version so very nearly mucks up this twist around the end of the film, but it survives enough for it to work. If I'm honest, one of my big hates in the film and DVD world is the need by film marketers to release a different and often edited version of the film dependant on the target country it is going to! I really enjoyed this film, considering I do not routinely watch films on aeroplanes! If you want a white knuckle ride and a chance to enjoy a good, familiar storyline but with a very different take, then this film is for you! (reviewed 21st August 2011 by Lee James)

Good story line