Premonition
Sony Pictures
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Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) has the perfect life. Two beautiful daughters, a beautiful home and a loving husband create a seemingly idyllic existence for Linda until it gets threatened by a tangled web of Premonition and reality. Waking one day to find that her husband has died in a horrific car accident, only to find him sleeping contently next to her the next day causes Linda and everyone around her to believe she might be losing her mind. Fighting to make sense of the confusing mess of days, hours and events, Linda wages a desperate attempt to unscramble her reality, find the truth -- and save her family.

If you've ever imagined yourself watching a thriller that invades your senses with equal parts confusion and enjoyment, chances are you're destined to see this movie.

Premonition suffers the fate of many a good Hollywood premise: so much to say, so little time. In the case of Premonition this typical narrative fate is compounded by the director's ambitious attempt at telling the story through the eyes of the hero, Linda Hanson -- a confused, increasingly-neurotic protagonist whose days surrounding her husbands death appear to her out of order, and without context. The result is a madly disorienting film told through incongruous fragmentation and unglued storytelling. The story is never fully stitched together, leaving gaps that make the movie a strain to follow.

Not that this is an entirely bad thing. This narrative lens proves to be at once the success and failure of this film: a bang-on depiction of Linda's reality that in turn sacrifices the ease with which the average viewer will be able to understand the story at hand. Imagine taking a thriller, chopping it up, and shuffling the order.

Still, the movie is mildly entertaining. The movie's pacing allows for plenty of tense, thriller-by-the-numbers moments, which are pleasantly augmented by the at-times hard to follow story. The cinematography gives the film a creepy I-know-something-bad-might-happen-at-any-minute-vibe, and the film certainly is not without its twists-and-turns. Bullock puts in a good performance, and her talented supporting cast, well, supports.

All-in-all the DVD makes for a good rental; though probably not an all-out purchase. A psychological thriller told in a moderately confusing way, Premonition isn't the best movie you'll see this year, but it certainly isn't the worst.

Video: How's it look?
1.33:1 Full screen offers a clear picture, though editing for the format seems to take away from cinematography in certain scenes. Picture is crisp.

Audio: How's it sound?
Dolby 5.1 surround, as usual, ensures that all creepy piano numbers tingle along the spine and that all effect-punctuated moments leap out of the speakers.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• Deleted Scenes including an alternate ending, with optional Director's Commentary throughout (Recommended viewing)
• Gag Reel (Filled primarily with on-set, inside joke type humour)
• Glimpses of the Future: Making Premonition
• Real Premonitions (profile of real-world phenomenon)
• Bringing Order to Chaos. This is the single most important piece of film on the DVD; a featurette in which the director stitches the story together in order. The one and only chance you might have to truly understand the entire movie.

Closing Thoughts
If you're into cheap thrillers and you have a few bucks to spare at your local movie store, watch the movie, and then watch the Bringing Order to Chaos special feature. Not only will it help to fully explain the movie, but it will also help you understand what they were thinking when they decided to make the movie the way they did in the first place: fragmented, slightly confusing, and narrowly entertaining.


Review brought to you by our friend Scott @ MonkeysAtWork.com