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Arts & Entertainment

Cooper Scores in 'Limitless'

Bradley Cooper is a believable pill-popper in the thriller released March 18, grossing $19 million its opening weekend.

Because Bradley Cooper is so believable as the confident (to the point of pretension), suave, handsome entrepreneur with a winning smile in real life, it's easy to become transfixed with this side of his character in "Limitless."

Victim of massive writer's block with an impending deadline, a recent breakup, and general life-stagnation Cooper's character, Eddie, is persuaded by Vernon, his ex-brother-in-law (a relationship he first describes as useless) to take a new FDA approved drug called NZT to get him out of his rut.

According to Vernon, humans only use 20 percent of their brains, but NZT opens brain function to 100 percent. Skeptical, yet with nothing left to lose, Eddie downs the pill.

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Suddenly, his world is "clear" and Eddie is able to analyze and calculate every human interaction and problem with near perfect precision. He feels super human. No task is too overwhelming, no problem too complicated.

In the course of one day, all of his troubles that stemmed from lack of motivation and confidence are gone. The only problem is, he needs more NZT.

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Much like TV show "Psych," "Limitless" employs the use of close-ups to show Eddie's thought process and hyper-observant behavior. His attention to every detail is part of his new super powers.

But unlike the show, "Limitless" uses a wormhole type CGI the first time Eddie takes the drug in order to explain how it affects his brain. This particular CGI is completely unimpressive and doesn't enhance the audience's understanding or experience at all.

However, some of the other effects, like those during the character's training montage, were more visually stimulating, in addition to some techniques that depicted NZT's power to overtake the mind.

A side we have yet to see a lot of from Cooper is the dingy, downtrodden everyman. It's less convincing due partially to the fact that it's hard to make the man look unattractive, even when dressed like a tousled hobo.

Maybe it's because he's not used to playing the guy who goes unnoticed. Or perhaps the audience isn't. Whichever is the case, Cooper's portrayal of Eddie while not on the drug isn't as plausible as his cocky Wall Street hot-shot NZT persona. He doesn't seem quite broken enough.

That said, his performance in "Limitless" is captivating. Seeing him as a super hero of sorts stirs our mind into wanting to be the best of ourselves as we watch him sail into unbridled success.

Like a good motivational speech, he makes us believe we, too, can win the game of life with or without NZT.

Top movies for the weekend of March 18:

Estimates are from Hollywood.com. Numbers show the movie's weekend earnings at the box office.

  • "Limitless" (PG-13) $19.0 million
  • "Rango" (PG) $15.3 million
  • "Battle: Los Angeles" (PG-13) $14.6 million
  • "The Lincoln Lawyer" (R) $13.4 million
  • "Paul" (R) $13.1 million
  • "Red Riding Hood" (PG-13) $7.2 million
  • "The Adjustment Bureau" (PG-13) $5.9 million
  • "Mars Needs Moms!" (PG) $5.3 million
  • "Beastly" (PG-13) $3.3 million
  • "Hall Pass" (R) $2.6 million
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