good (ish)...

secretsofvoodoo from , 9th October, 2009

A solid, well acted film that somehow doesn't quite soar the way it should. Christian Bale is excellent as ever, but looks terrible, skeletally thin - bit disappointing if, like me, you fancy him as he definitely does not look hot in this film. The grey, bleak look of the film is well done and the alienating non-specific time and place. Not sure why this film didn't grab me entirely as it had all the elements to grab me but somehow it didn't. Relatively worth watching though...

Pointless film

Lin6663 from , 5th October, 2009

Do not waste your time watching this pointless and dreary film. It's the pits - the character may have suffered from insomnia but I guarantee anyone who watches it will find it nigh on impossible to stay awake!!

The Machinist

Debbie1983 from , 22nd August, 2009

Quirky and Interesting but not a movie to watch when tired.

Extreme dieting!

Shamrock1 from , 20th August, 2009

I'd recommend this film for those of you who enjoyed Guy Pearce's amazing performance as the lead in Momento. The Machinist has similarities, suburb performances, bleak and dark with a great ending. Worth renting!

The Machinist

Gadders from , 12th August, 2009

Not exactly gripping but quite watchable. Don't let friends spoil the sad twist at the end ....

*** May contain spoilers ***

Very strange

A Customer from Rugeley, 9th August, 2009

A very strange film, and not in the scary kind either. It is clearly obvious that the main character is hallucinating, but it doesn't really tie up when you get to the twist at the end. The main character is suffering from insomnia and hasn't slept for a year, or so he says. Because of his insomnia he undergoes a series of accidents, one which 'causes' the loss of a work colleague's arm. Even though the safety equipment doesn't seem to work?! I found that I wanted there to be a conspiracy against him as that would have at least given an excuse for his rantings. However, I thought that the era for basing a film on some one's nightmares were long gone. As most of the characters in his conspiracy were imaginary it is impossible to see what was actually real and what not. Making the whole point of the film somewhat pointless. Overall conclusion is dissappointing! It could have been so much more.

This film thinks it's pretty great.

intoruth from , 23rd July, 2009

...but it kind of just isn't. The concept of this film is a good one but the resolution to the storyline seems hastily thrown together and I was left feeling quite unresolved. Although, it wasn't that I really cared. It seemed much longer than it's 1:32. I complain about this because, had it been engaging or as interesting as it thought it was, due to the genre, I probably wouldn't have cared if it was longer anyway. I was ready to fall asleep and the ending was the icing on the cake, I haven't written a review yet but I thought this was so mediocre and dull that it was time to. The only impressive thing about this film is how emaciated Christian Bale appears, a far cry away from the buff bod that was shown off in American Psycho. But let's face it, when the only impressive thing within a film is the actors body and not his acting, it can't be a too great film. As I mentioned, the idea is a good one, but for a good film within the 'look how the mind can create things' genre, stick with Memento and give this one a miss.

Not the best!

A Customer from London, 20th July, 2009

I don't like horror movies in general and although this one wasn't meant to be scary, I was terrified 10 minutes into the movie so I shut it off. I might not be the best reference as I didn't actually finish the movie but I certainly didn't like it!

disturbing

wimbowimmy from , 11th June, 2009

this film is consistently intruguing and atmospheric. i found it too dark and sinister, though and had to stop watching about half way through - life doesn't have to be this awful! i found myself reminded alot of jacob's ladder with tim robbins. while i was watching, i looked the film up on wikipedia, and found that despite being set in a west coast American town, it is filmed entirely in Barcelona. This made me see the whole thing differently - somehow knowing that i was watching an English man (Bale) walking around a Spanish town drained the film of some American pizzazz for me.