Clash of The Titans: Flush of the Brain Cells?

Starring: Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton
Category: Action Adventure Fantasy

I finally watched this inadvertently at a friend's place. He put it on but people weren't watching. I was not interested in the conversations and decided of the two, the movie was probably better choice. Turns out, not by much.
I will spare the plot because basically this is a ride movie. You get on it and it tries to dazzle you with it's visuals and technical wizardry. Impossible zooms and camera angles only made me believe it less.
What was disappointing were two things. First, that quality of the cast could have made this into something special if they were allowed to. They weren't. A script that was short on expression made sure of that. Instead of fitting into the story-line, it chose the shortest, most hyperbolic way to convey the intended message. Which made for odd moments in the movie. Second, editing that favored special effects over acting. It seems that every time a moment's pause was needed after a short dialogue, it was cut out to save time for the special effects. In fact, thinking about it, cut were made almost the moment the dialogue ended. It didn't even bother to capture the reactions.

To be fair, a lot was happening. But some subplots could have been dropped or done with less special effects. The truth is, we don't need to see everything. Like Perseus's conception. We didn't need to see the entire event. In fact, by not telling it would have lent some mystery as to why Calibos was so bent on destroying Perseus. It could be told to him in a dramatic revelation, perhaps just before Calibos dies. But that would have made the audience think. And for this movie, it would have been a bad thing.
In fact, I think the people behind the movie had no intention of making this any form of cerebral challenge. The less people thought, the better. More distraction with special effects was the priority. I think they were afraid that if people used their brains in any capacity during the movie, the illusion would be lost and they would realize how bad this movie is.
Would I recommend this to anyone. Yes, I would. I would recommend this to anyone who wishes to not think for an hour and a half. Especially if they thought the conversations would have had an even worse effect on their brain.

Source Code movie a source of confusion?

Starring: Michelle Monaghan, Jake Gyllenhall

Category: Science Fiction, Thriller
Source Code is hard to pin down and harder to categorize. While it clearly makes itself out as an action-suspense thriller, the main thrust of the movie is science fiction. The idea behind the movie is that the military has found a way to go relive another person's life for 8 minutes in the past. They could send someone, in this case pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), to re-live the last 8 minutes of someone else's life who has died. Stevens is re-living the life of Shawn Fentress, victim of a train bombing. He is riding the train with Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) on the way to work.

At first Stevens is disorientated but with the guidance of Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farminga) he begins to learn the limitations and capabilities of his capability. Goodwin and Dr Rutledge, the man who build the machine, want Stevens to focus on finding the bomber, who they believe is on the train. But Stevens wants to find and disable the bomb. Goodwin and Rutledge try to convince Stevens that the reality he is in is a simulated world and that the events have taken place. So disabling the bomb is useless. At the end of each 8 minutes, Stevens is pulled out of the world and back into the machine. Each time he is sent back, it begins at the same place and the same things happen again. But Stevens begin noticing that although each 8 minutes he re-lives is basically the same, some small differences do happen, which gives him hope that he can change things.
Meanwhile, he begins to learn of his fate and how he came to 'pilot' the machine. He learns about the lost time in between his last memory of Afghanistan and where he is now. He also begins to connect with Christina and falls in love with her, much to the chagrin of Goodwin. But it is this connection that keeps him going as he falls into a state of despair as each attempt fails to reveal the bomber.
The movie is quite successful in being suspenseful despite working within cycles of 8 minutes and recurring events. Stevens goes through a process of elimination as he investigates each suspicious passenger. He evens 'builds' a plan to get a gun in an attempt to go after a suspect, making progress after each 8 minutes.
Halfway through the movie though, I struggle to push out the spoiler thoughts while I tried to enjoy the movie as it is. For those that can tune out, this is a great 'ride' movie. But to even a casual science fiction fan (if there is such a person), its very clear where the movie is heading even though they don't know how it will end. 
The characters were believable in their own way. Stevens is the driven hero but is made human with his regrets. Goodwin is sympathetic to Stevens' situation although as being in the military, she will follow orders when given. And even though her character is somewhat limited and repetitive (being the only main character that exist only in the 8 minute cycle) Michelle Monaghan, is able to make the most of it and able to portray Christina as a woman clearly at the crossroads in her life when it comes to love and life. The one most identifiable to me is Dr Rutledge, the myopic scientist in pursuit of his goals (some of them not necessarily scientific in nature) and discarding other conclusions than his own.