Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

wferri6 The basic premise of this movie, the technology, is in sync with that of a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1954. Clarke's story, first published as "Patent Pending," and also published as "The Invention," appeared in his collection, Tales from the White Hart. The story within a story tells of a French scientist who successfully finds a way to record and play back brain waves, allowing experiences to be replayed by other people.

Treacle-A Every time I'm asked to list my top ten favourite movies, I always include 'Brainstorm'. Despite - or maybe because - of its flaws, it still remains one of the most beautiful and thought- provoking ideas I've ever seen committed to the screen, for which we have writer Bruce Joel Rubin to thank. Chris Walken is perfectly cast as the fiercely intelligent and angelically beautiful Michael, with his close friend the lovely Natalie Wood in this her final role. The chemistry between Walken and Wood is near perfect, and their struggles to understand each other in the wake of their break-up make for some of the most poignant and touching moments of the movie. I won't spoil the plot, or pretend that the film hasn't dated somewhat, but it really is an incredible story that will leave you thinking for days afterwards about the possibilities created by a machine that can record human memories and emotions.

brefane An interesting premise disappointingly derailed by trite domestic drama and a murky subplot involving military intervention. The film seems to change direction every fifteen minutes and the final third of the film goes off in several directions. The film ultimately fizzles out. Without one single interesting or believable character to play, the actors look stranded and their line readings are flat. Neither Cliff Robertson nor Natalie Wood in her final film have anything to do while Louise Fletcher is constantly and awkwardly smoking a cigarette, and Christopher Walken is miscast and charmless. I saw the film upon release in a theater and was unimpressed with the special effects. The scenes of virtual reality filmed using a fish-eye lens will not knock your socks off. There's no reality here virtual or otherwise. The dialog and script seem computer generated and after Walken and Wood's son is hospitalized with a psychotic break, they leave him behind and take a vacation where they have a spat and repeatedly tell one another to go to hell. The son is never seen again and only mentioned briefly in passing. The producers should have shut the production down and taken the insurance money following Wood's untimely death.

calego Personally, I think what makes a good sci-fi movie is when it introduces a concept I haven't seen before. The technology to record and play back experiences was truly original for me. I'm not sure if any other film had explored this idea before, but this was the first one I've seen that did. Another thing about this film is that, for me at least, it is a great landmark in time movie. By that I mean that it was made right at the time that VCRs were just beginning to become available to the average consumer. They were still a bit bulky and expensive in 1983 but it was the very first time people could record shows and play them back whenever they wanted. Tape was the main media for recording sound and video, so naturally the recording media in the movie is also tape. I think it's possible the ushering in of the VCR on the market may have had some kind of influence on the success of this movie at the time it was released. For me, it marks that quantum jump in technology in a really cool way. It's also a great concept movie that has a similarity with the Matrix in the way it explores the concept of virtual reality.