Unthinkable (2010)

Unthinkable

Got a fresh rec for all you thriller junkies out there.
It's an awesome thriller/drama—gotta love seeing Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Michael Sheen leading the charge.

So, this guy Younger (Michael Sheen) converts to Islam and ends up planting several nuclear bombs across the US. An FBI agent named Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss) is running the investigation, trying to track him down, only to realize the military has already snatched him up to squeeze him for those locations.
To get the intel from the prisoner, they bring in this specialist known as "H" (Samuel L. Jackson).
The whole interrogation thing turns into this intense psychological war where everyone's just trying to figure out where they actually stand and what their priorities really are...

Honestly, such a great flick. That 7.4 on IMDb isn't even being generous—personally, I’d give it way more.
Definitely check it out.

Raymond Palmer8 said:

Unthinkable

Got a fresh rec for all you thriller junkies out there.
It's an awesome thriller/drama—gotta love seeing Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Michael Sheen leading the charge.

So, this guy Younger (Michael Sheen) converts to Islam and ends up planting several nuclear bombs across the US. An FBI agent named Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss) is running the investigation, trying to track him down, only to realize the military has already snatched him up to squeeze him for those locations.
To get the intel from the prisoner, they bring in this specialist known as "H" (Samuel L. Jackson).
The whole interrogation thing turns into this intense psychological war where everyone's just trying to figure out where they actually stand and what their priorities really are...

Honestly, such a great flick. That 7.4 on IMDb isn't even being generous—personally, I’d give it way more.
Definitely check it out.

I don't really agree regarding the acting. I guess it all felt mediocre, if not just bad, to me. Jackson seemed lost and just coasted through his role. Moss was incredibly irritating; she kept breaking up the interesting parts with her obnoxious "Hollywood" moralizing. The issue with the movie is also the story/concept—even if the premise is interesting, it wasn't translated to the screen very well (and I blame the director 🙂 most for that). 🤷

really great film. that 7/10 rating on IMDb isn't an exaggeration. personally, I'd give it even more.
definitely recommend.

hmm, maybe I overstated things with the IMDb comment, but my expectations were way higher... 🤷
the movie is worth watching, and I assume plenty of others will chime in with positive takes, so in that case, just ignore this post (I don't want to get into an argument)... 😛

Sure, there will always be people who—much like the "redefined" type mentioned above—decide they’re smart enough to spit on everything they find foreign or simply don't get. That's their civic right (guaranteed by the Constitution, after all), so there isn't much we (the actually smart ones! 😍) can do about them!

What we *can* do, though, is offer an objective, expert take 😁: this movie, Unthinkable, is easily one of the best psych-thrillers released in the last decade or so.

As for Samuel L. Jackson, I’d argue this is his best role yet—better even than his turn in Pulp Fiction. Meanwhile, Carrie-Anne Moss is finally back to her old self after nearly ten years stuck in third-rate comedies; she's just as impressive here as she was in The Matrix or Memento. The third lead, Michael Sheen, was a total stranger to me until now, but honestly—given he was holding his own alongside heavyweights like Jackson and Moss—he did more than his fair share of the heavy lifting.

Regarding the plot, I won't dive into specifics because I don't want to ruin the Total experience for anyone planning to watch it. Let's just say the script—which tackles some pretty heavy stuff regarding morality and the blurry lines between right and wrong—manages to drive everything toward a deeply paradoxical level of relativity. It is exceptionally well-written (something director Gregor Jordan
absolutely nailed on the big screen—a huge 🙏 for him!), and the pacing is, frankly, flawless!

Finally, BIG thanks to Raymond Palmer8 for pointing out this rare gem. I highly recommend everyone else check it out ASAP—especially if you live for a good psych-thriller.

Just saying, this movie hit me right in the feels with that old-school nostalgia👍, back when movies actually felt like they were made by legends... compared to the absolute garbage we've been fed over the last decade, this one is a total must-watch. 1/10 for me? Nah, a solid 10/10.

I’d have to agree with you there—I’d give it a solid 8/10. It feels like some people just don't know how to actually sit back and enjoy a movie; they go into it looking for reasons to be disappointed, and if they spent all their time nitpicking every little flaw, they wouldn't find a single decent film in existence. Honestly, those kinds of critics would probably find fault with their own mother if they had the chance.

An unintelligent and hollow piece of American propaganda quasi-thriller that serves as a decent enough watch for those with mediocre tastes.

👎

The movie itself is solid and genuinely engaging. What I appreciated most was the pacing—there aren't these jarring peaks and valleys, just this steady, deliberate build-up that leads perfectly into the final climax at the end.

When it comes to the cast, though, I unfortunately have to side with redefine.

Samuel is just lukewarm and feels completely underwritten. Honestly, I walked away feeling like he just phoned it in and did the bare minimum. In my opinion, he wasn't the right call for this role at all; if they were looking for a Black lead, Denzel would have crushed it several times over. Heck, even casting a complete unknown might have been a better move than this.

Carrie-Anne isn't really my cup of tea either, though she’s a bit more competent than Jackson.

The one standout for me has to be Michael Sheen. He is an absolute hit. He practically carries the entire film on his back, elevating the whole experience to a much higher level with his performance...

8/10

Watched it the other day. It’s decent, I guess, but definitely nothing special.
The cast was solid, but the plot was pretty much garbage—the execution just totally missed the mark for me.

SPOILERS
There wasn't even a moral dilemma in this movie because the situation was so black and white. There was never any question about whether the guy was guilty or what he knew. It wasn't even a debate.
The guy is just a fanatic who decided to become a mass murderer, planted his own bombs, and then set himself up to prove how strong his convictions are—basically trying to "get paid" for his crime.
Which is ridiculous. He wasn't looking to negotiate or anything; they should have just squeezed the info out of him by any means necessary, even if it meant tearing apart everything he held dear.

Then the movie starts messing around with Trinity, acting like things aren't quite right, which is just silly. In a situation like that, you'd want characters facing actual MORAL dilemmas, not professionals who...
All those characters and plastic soldiers with their little hang-ups exist just so the Samuel L. Jackson character can look like a badass again—you know, that super cool guy everyone is terrified of, lol.

By the end, everyone is debating torture while the mass murder itself gets pushed to the background, even when the ending tries to wrap things up.😈
And before the end, there's this retarded part where the guy drives him away, and after all that torture and carnage, he somehow "snatches" the gun from the tough guy. Meanwhile, the FBI, of course, never thinks to shoot him in the leg or arm just to stop him—they just point their guns and wait to see what happens.
lol
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, the movie isn't even that good.😁

I have to say, I wasn't exactly blown away by this one. To be honest, the acting felt a bit flat, and those torture scenes just didn't hit me—they lacked that raw, visceral punch I was looking for. I was really hoping for something much grittier, more like the actual footage you see in the news regarding how US soldiers handle detainees in conflict zones. The way they tried to flip the script on who the hero and the villain were felt pretty predictable and, frankly, a little clunky. As for the ending? Well, it was just your typical Hollywood finish. 😁

Honestly, this movie was just weak. I don't even know how to properly react to it... It’s just one endless lecture on morality, constantly preaching through the character played by Moss, which gets tedious and exhausting way too fast. And Jackson’s role? He doesn't actually serve a purpose—he's just some butcher, and all that "boo-hoo" drama surrounding his character leads absolutely nowhere. That twisted twist at the end regarding the bombs—if you've seen it, you know what I mean—was straight out of a cheap Mexican soap opera. The characters just cycle through arguing about whether they should get the job done, then agreeing to do it, then arguing again... the whole script is basically just repeating itself over and over. And that final scene—where this brave American agent rescues kids from a hellish building—unbelievable. Such a shame because the beginning actually seemed intriguing...

Look, the movie is basically straight-up anti-terrorist propaganda loaded with melodrama and moral dilemmas, but since I went in totally blind, I actually had a blast. It’s a fun ride overall.

Moss was kind of weak here, though honestly, it feels pretty unrealistic that a woman would land a role like the one she plays in real life. And I don't buy the argument that Denzel would've nailed this better than Samuel—not happening. To me, Washington isn't that convincing as a villain (take American Gangster, for example); he’s much more believable playing the good cops.
Samuel didn't have a super demanding part, but I think he handled it well and stayed pretty convincing. I was mostly just sitting there waiting for him to drop the line: The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.😍

All in all, I’d give it a solid 7/10.

I caught this movie recently, and despite my heavy skepticism, I have to say I was surprised. I went in expecting nothing more than typical American propaganda—you know, the usual "we’re the good guys fighting against radical extremists" trope—but... honestly? It's a solid thriller. Samuel L. Jackson is incredibly convincing in this role. Definitely a warm recommendation from me.🙂

To me, the film isn't drowning in cheap pathos or tired clichés... but hey, to each their own.😉

briskhound2 said:Honestly, this movie was just weak. I don't even know how to properly react to it... It’s just one endless lecture on morality, constantly preaching through the character played by Moss, which gets tedious and exhausting way too fast. And Jackson’s role? He doesn't actually serve a purpose—he's just some butcher, and all that "boo-hoo" drama surrounding his character leads absolutely nowhere. That twisted twist at the end regarding the bombs—if you've seen it, you know what I mean—was straight out of a cheap Mexican soap opera. The characters just cycle through arguing about whether they should get the job done, then agreeing to do it, then arguing again... the whole script is basically just repeating itself over and over. And that final scene—where this brave American agent rescues kids from a hellish building—unbelievable. Such a shame because the beginning actually seemed intriguing...

There are actually two versions of this movie with two different endings.
The second version I saw felt less pathetic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inception
spoiler:
In an alternate ending not included in the US theatrical release, an FBI agent disarms one of the bombs, the camera then pans to reveal a fourth bomb in the same warehouse as it counts down to the time it is set to explode.
.

Emily Fox2 said:There are actually two versions of this movie with two different endings.
The second version I saw felt less pathetic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inception
spoiler:
In an alternate ending not included in the US theatrical release, an FBI agent disarms one of the bombs, the camera then pans to reveal a fourth bomb in the same warehouse as it counts down to the time it is set to explode.
.

...heh, didn't even realize there were two versions... anyway, I watched the one you mentioned in the spoiler.

Raymond Palmer8 said:...heh, didn't even realize there were two versions... anyway, I watched the one you mentioned in the spoiler.

The thing is, looking at the ending, I think we have two totally opposite messages here:

1. The "happy" ending: when fighting terrorists, any means necessary is okay if it saves millions of lives.

2. The "BOOM" ending: no matter how much violence we use, it’s just going to blow up in our faces eventually. We have to tackle the root cause of terrorism instead of just treating the symptoms.

I honestly don't get this guy's motivation. Why did he surrender? There’s no way he actually believed the President would pull back the troops. Was he just looking for a fight? Did he want to see if they'd torture him? Or am I totally missing something here?

The day Marquis de Sade arrived at Guantanamo Bay...

I caught this on HBO last night without having any idea what I was getting into—a total tabula rasa experience—and honestly, I’m still a bit speechless. It’s been a long time since I've seen a film pack such a heavy amount of moral and political landmines...

Once you let Samuel L. Jackson step in to de-escalate things, you just get this gut feeling that he’s actually going to pull it off... 😬

Honestly, it's basically just a torture porn flick that tries to tackle whether violence is ever okay during interrogations—you know, the whole "ends justify the means" debate. It doesn't really give you a straight answer, though. Instead, it just keeps spiraling into this weirdness on both sides, topped off with a bunch of total nonsense...

I mean, sure, it gets moving, but by the end, the whole thing feels kind of mediocre.