Hollywood’s attempts to perpetually reinvent the thriller require
stylistic dressing consistent with the times, certainly. But they also
increasingly demand labyrinthine and complex myths and legends,
frequently attached to one of the following: nebulous anthropological and/or alien menace (the underrated The Mothman Prophecies); mental fracturing or devolution (Identity, Secret Window, Christian Bale’s own personal two-fer of American Psycho and The Machinist); strong hints or outright underscoring of devilish threat (the in-release Joshua, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Omen); or centuries-old religious conspiracy (The Da Vinci Code,
naturally). Maybe it’s a millennial hangover, maybe it’s a sign of a
surging collective anxiety and how we like to displace that nervousness
and apprehension by hanging it on the hook of something bigger than
ourselves. Whatever the case, into this arena steps this week’s new DVD
The Number 23, a stylish if somewhat irresolute thriller about one man’s downward descent into geometric fixation and madness. For the full review, from FilmStew, click here.

Premonition is
proof positive that imaginatively fractured storytelling like Memento doesn’t actually always work. Sandra
Bullock stars as mother and housewife Linda Hanson in this slapdash and
nonsensical dramatic thriller, a jumbled mix of time-bending suspense elements
and tones.

Premonition has a
loose narrative of of personal-stakes investigation, but is frugal in design
and lacking in detail and rationality. Visual touchstones are scattered
haphazardly throughout (a dead crow here, a bottle of wine there), but they
hold neither any concrete meaning nor any surreal, anxiety-provoking allure; they’re just coded markers, wanly tossed into the mix to indicate where we are
on a timeline continuum. Furthermore, there are no sustained, legitimate
attempts to truly dissect Linda’s presentiments, or assign her plight any
importance. A few thinly sketched supporting characters wander in and out of
the proceedings, but do little to realistically impact it. As if these
stultifying inanities weren’t enough, Premonition also (and most
damningly) just comes off as boring, just plain and simple.

Available in either full-screen or widescreen, and housed in a regular Amray case in turn stored in a cardboard
slipcover, Premonition’s tricked-out DVD
release comes loaded with enough bonus materials to make folks perhaps think it’s
a worthwhile title. Supplemental extras include a collection of deleted scenes,
including an alternate ending with optional director’s commentary, a look at
the making of the movie with interviews from the cast and crew, a look at the
major events of the movie put in “normal” order and narrated by freshman director
Mennan Yapo, a short documentary about people who in real life people have had
premonitions about their own futures, and a short blooper reel, which shows
that at least some laughs were squeezed out of this lemon. There’s also an
audio commentary track with Yapo and Bullock. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. F (Movie) B+ (Disc)