Chris Jones

The Infernal Machine is quality for 1.5 acts. Guy Pearce does great work as novelist Bruce Cogburn, who's last 20 years have been spent living as a hermit in the California desert due to his one and only published work, the film's title, inspiring a young man to an utterly horrendous act His torture is ramped up when he begins receiving mysterious, persistent correspondence from another writer, William DeKent, requesting assistance with a non-fiction book centered on previous events. Cogburn and his relationship to his own work is revealed as bit of a twisted knot. The how and why of that relationship, if revealed earlier and with greater subtlety, would've tested the audiences relationship with Pearce's character and provided for a very interesting final two acts. Instead the film becomes a poorly constructed suspense thriller, employing preposterous occurrences and every cliche imaginable. A TV-news graphic just happens to lists 12+ names in the perfectly required order for a goosebumps moment. An entire set piece is a blatant rip off to the climax of a certain David Fincher film. Yet, one cannot get past the sense of lost opportunity. Somewhere among a pile of paper is the original script, which held a tremendous idea. Most likely it's soul was torn apart, Voldemort style, by studio executives. The result is a film that becomes cheaper and more nonsensical with every passing scene.

While there is a indeed a Nickelodeon feel to the show, and they need to work that out, for the most part the show works. The Red and Kitty dynamic is as fantastic as ever (the two actors are a treasure). And the casting of Leia was absolutely perfect!! She looks 100% the part and her performance is equally spot on. She’s quite funny and equal parts goofy and endearing. Exactly as you would imagine Eric and Donna’s daughter. Overall it’s more good than bad:

Not for everyone, this ain't an Oceans film. This one doesn't offer the audience any help. I gave it my best shot and and I am not sure I could adequately explain exactly what occurred. Outside of the early explanation of the "codebook," it's dialogue is very restricted in regard to connecting the dots of both plot and individual character backstory. Nothing is much said that aids the viewers understanding of how previous events are impacting current ones. i.e. how two wives have a connection due to a husbands infidelity, how a man re-enters the now happy life of a woman he lost in order to retrieve an old possession, and how pretending to not remember a woman's name is a lie "over explained.' The acting and direction provide clues, but the viewer has interpret them. It felt as if everyone involved, actor, director, writer etc, knew that they were doing a bare bones "kind of thing" with this movie. Overall it was enjoyable (I even went back to re-watch a few parts). but I can see where some might write it off as boring, slow, confusing etc.