Listening

This is an excellent film which tackles some very interesting moral questions in an understandable and entertaining way. It's rare to see such a strong narrative which holds your interest for the entire film. With surprisingly good production values and some great casting choices, this really is a 'Diamond in the Rough'. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot, which deals with basic human freedoms and ethics - even though it can seem a little slow at the start. If you stick with this movie and give it a chance, you'll find yourself drawn into a world of secrets, espionage and brain-computer interfacing. If you enjoy films that pose interesting moral dilemmas and aren't just full of action, stunts and CGI effects, this title is one of the best I've seen in quite a while and I'd recommend it highly.

The movie is written and directed by the same guy. That usually means that if it's going to be bad, it's going to be really bad. Good news: it's not bad. But it's not that great either.

The story follows two students researching brain communication. Of course the bad guys are interested in this and they are already in trouble as they have been using stolen lab equipment from their university. More than that, there are marital problems as well. This could have been a good idea if not for the paint-by-numbers story, which is obviously written by somebody who went to writing class, but didn't have the time to develop their own style.

The good part about the film is that the actors play well, the direction is reasonable - although I don't know why every damn frame has to have lens flares (another reason to hate J.J., probably) and the story is captivating. The only major problem is the lackluster script. Everything gets revealed way too soon and in the moments where tension was needed, story gets resolved by impossible means.

Bottom line: nothing in this film is great, but it had something, a potential that somehow failed to get realized. Good start, interesting second act, confusing third and a really really bad ending.

Not a bad premise for a movie, and it's production value is pretty good. However it's not highly rated for a reason. Where this movie falls part is not so much in the concept per say, but in the expression of it. The script writing is not B rated, but it surely isn't driving the story. There are parts where you wonder, if it had better acting would the script have come off better. As it stands there are some parts where it seems amateurish both in the writing and the acting. There are some movies where bad actors can be uplifted by a good script (matrix) and rarely good actors can pump up a bad script (think Ray Harryhausen or any martial arts movie). This film is neither and they both seem to sink each other equally. As the writing degrades so goes the acting, as none of the actors were good enough to hold it up. Yet in the instances where the script is good the bad acting isn't so apparent. What makes the movie watchable is the concept. The concept of what they are trying to discuss and it's moral implications draw your interest. It helps set a frame work that at least makes the movie watchable. It would be interesting to know the total budget of this movie. It surely isn't block buster...but it also does not appear on the low end like a Primer. Although I think the movie would have been better suited to have more of a primer set up, disusing things cryptically and leaving in some mystery till you get into the movie. IF you like sci fi movies it's a decent sci fi watch on a boring night with nothing else to do. However, I wouldn't go dropping $7 on a ticket for it.

I think 4 out of 10 stars for this movie is generous but I'll admit it has a really fascinating concept. That was why I chose to watch it, was the premise. It just didn't deliver.

At no point are the three lead actors convincing in their roles. They are poorly written and don't even make sense. I never believed that any of these grad students could be remotely capable of the advanced science they were supposed to be doing. And the characters are not likable. I was never rooting for them to succeed in any manner.

Not to mention that this "sci-fi" movie was predictable and filled with every cliché and trope in the book.

It's not even worth this many words.

"You're trying to read the contents of an entire library by walking through the aisles. You gotta open the books to know what's really going on inside."

What if someone else could read your mind? Does that thought scare you off ? Or can you see some perspectives and opportunities in this technology? And how long would it take before a government would order their secret service to focus on it and obtain the required technology ? Before you know it, you're in the middle of a "Big Brother" situation. You're not only monitored visually, but also your personal thoughts are intercepted. Or worse, a certain dictatorial mindset is being penetrated into your consciousness. Every power-hungry nutcase starts drooling after seeing this method. That's the basic idea of "Listening". A technological innovation with far-reaching effects mixed with a personal crisis.

Ultimately, my general feeling about "Listening" is of a disappointed nature. The film had so much potential and opportunities, but because of some faint situations and a fairly implausible denouement, it's reduced to a laudable attempt. Let there be no doubt, the original idea is far from bad. A revolutionary development in the neurological sector, realistically portrayed with an abundance of technical equipment and commented upon in a complicated jargon. Although the latter tends to sound like outright gibberish sometimes. Could this technology be achieved in reality, this clearly would lead to the bankruptcy of the mobile telephony industry.

Most of the scenes take place in a messy garage. However, these are the most compelling fragments in this film. Also they used a remarkable wide range of colors. The various chapters are filmed in a different flashy color. This requires some adjustment and it started me worrying about the color scheme of my television. Every time a blue, red or yellow fragment appeared, I checked my settings. But in the end this gave the film its own personal touch. The disadvantage of a low-budget film is of course the low budget (how surprising) what leads to a limited use of stunning visual effects. This becomes abundantly clear with the stereoscopic images during a telepathic connection.

The only things remaining are the characters and the philosophy behind the story. The core idea behind the story is crucial in order to make a low-budget movie successful. If it doesn't look impressive, the story must be intriguing enough to make it interesting. As I said earlier, the idea was interesting enough and had plenty of material to provoke discussions. I can imagine that this will be debated widely.

Unfortunately, the whole is a bit weakened by the poor worked-out personal problems that David (Thomas Stroppel) and Ryan (Artie Ahr) are facing. There are also a few illogical things and there are some unfortunate developments. I thought it was a bit cheap that the first used telepathic thoughts were of an erotic nature. An attempt to substantiate the theory that a man is thinking about that, most of the time ? And the fact that an ancient Buddhist meditation method is able to withstand this high-tech magic, was a bit too easy. And safety precautions during the grand finale were a joke. But besides these tiny flaws, this was a not so unkind cyberpunk movie.

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