The Infernal Machine

This was quite an ok flick. Large part of this is due to Guy Pearce's contribution. He's usually a dependable actor, and comes through here with flying colors. In fact he's the best thing about the movie. Granted that the rest of the cast aren't given much space, apart from Jeremy Davies who is also brilliant with his limited role, no one else stands out. Alice Eve as the female officer doesn't work at all.

The movie itself is very slow moving, but I still found myself getting drawn in to the story. Can't say that the ending had any particular payoff for me, but it still worked. Would say I was pleasantly surprised by this.

The Infernal Machine is a real shame as I do think there's a good film to be had in the core idea, but the film just feels like a real mess.

There are too many plot threads going on that don't blend together or connect very well. I think a lot of the character motivation is a bit convoluted which doesn't help either. The result is that this film feels very leggy and drags on quite a bit. This would be somewhat forgivable but the ending is quite bland.

Still, there are some positives. Guy Pearce gives a convincing lead performance and he anchors the film nicely. The middle act is also pretty pacey and exciting, just a shame it is sandwiched between two lethargic acts.

Overall a disappointing tale, but not without a few redeeming features. Worth a watch if you do enjoy a mystery thriller, but don't expect to be blown away.

I went into this with mixed feelings because Guy Pearce is a most accomplished actor and I love watching him. However, Alice Eve as co star said instantly 'B movie'.

So I was confused as to what was going to happen.

Sorry, I can't hold it in any longer. I hated this film!

It should have been a great story but the director tried to make it into surreal and high brow art. A lofty ambition, but it failed.

I was constantly left wondering what on earth was going on, who people were., what part did they play in the overall story, what has happened so far that makes sense?

The penultimate scene is almost painful as like the rest of the film, the dialogue is verbose but without much meaning. I could barely hear properly what was being said anyway.

But the ending left us still not knowing what large chunks of the film were about. It seemed to be endless unconnected scenes with drawn out meaningless dialogue and no real story at all until the final minutes. That for me is not great story telling, and it doesn't make a great movie.

It got a paltry 3 from me.

A fascinating and mesmirizing story about a (one hit) worldfamous writer, living secluded in the desert, who slowly looses his mind, when he gets stalked by anonymous letters, whose content reveals secrets that are only known to him. Is he in danger? And if so, who might be after him?

The good: this story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire movie. I HAD to know how it all would end and (for a change) it is not a disappointing plot turn which reveals what's the secret to this story. I would advice the reviewers NOT to read the other spoiler reviews by the way, because NOT KNOWING THE PLOT is really part of the suspsense.

More good: another stellar acting performance by Guy Pearce, who is terrific at portraying characters who are on the edge, who struggle mentally. Physically Guy Pearce looks like he has come out of a tumble dryer. He is at his wit's end, addicted to alcohol, living as a recluse in the desert, paranoid who is after him. This actor is always a guarantee for a solid acting performance.

Even more good: everything from photography, to sound, to editing is of the highest quality. I LOVE it when a movie looks the part!

Not any bad? This is a slowburning story and however mesmirizing it was to me, in this day and age of instant satisfaction youtube videos that dont last longer than a minute, some viewers might not be in the mood for a long, spun out story, which only reveals it's secrets until the very end. And what secrets they are!

So glad I stumbled upon this movie, because this is one of the best mystery movies I have seen these past months. What a joy to watch! BRAVO!

I actually enjoyed it - it was better than what I was expecting. The beginning gets to be little drawn out to finally work your way towards the end - but it's not bad. Again, I enjoyed it. Guy Pierce did a great job - and although it was a little slow, I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Now then if I added more to this review, I'd probably have have spoilers - and I don't want to completely dissect the entire film or spoil anyth. But it wasn't terrible - a little bit drawn out - but it was okay overall. This sentence I am writing now will help me to reach the mandatory minimum length of my review! Whew!!!