Double Whammy Movie Review: LIMITLESS/I AM NUMBER 4

Both these flicks have the same message, and it's perhaps one we need to hear - we're capable of so much more than we know

Limitless has a promising premise.  A writer [aka loser] is down on his luck when he is offered an [easy] chance to be all that he can be.  In  the form of a pill.  Yes, that's the first bit of mental gymnastics, but the cinematography works.  At first.  When the hero [who, as I say, starts off as a ginormous loser] first ingests the drug, we see a hallway illuminate, we see a dull light suddenly beam out with the intensity of a lighthouse.  The world stretches into painfully clear fish-eye focus.  In fact when the movie opens with an endless zoom, you know you're in for a visual treat.  The problem is the filmmakers appear to run out of ideas.
I mean, what is the first thing you do when you reach your full potential?  Sleep with your landlady, right?  Then you write a book in four days, and learn Italian.  So far so good.
I'm not sure I agree with the idea that reaching your ultimate potential involves become a trader on Wall Street, and after that, going into Politics.
How about solving our energy problem, or working on climate change, or coming up with a few inventions?
While Limitless is a good trip, it loses momentum somewhere...close to a scene that involves blood spilling on the floor.  It's worth the watch if only because it's likely to prick a few ideas in your brain about what you might try a stab at...
7.5/10

I Am Number Four

Probably what got me into the cinema to watch this was the name of the flick more than anything else.  The fact that Dreamworks are involved without a branded star carrying it, got me curious.  As it turns out, I Am Number Four is probably going to be the next franchise sort've in the mould of Twilight, except swap vampires for aliens, and werewolves for aliens, and juice up the special effects by about 1000 [but only right at the end].
Four starts off very slow, but the acting is credible, and the hot photographer adds some useful depth to the story.  A superhero blond hottie helps deliver momentum, surprise and extra punch at the end.
We'll probably see a few more installments on this formula, but hopefully part 2 will have more action at the beginning.  Like Limitless, this franchise has the potential to be big, if imaginations can deliver.
7.25/10