Best movie of this year hands down!

I love this movie so much

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I'm not "Noir expert", just a movie-goer who watches and enjoy.The film with its dark atmosphere is heavy on narrative, I found it like-able thanks to the good voice-over and witty lines. The tone can be condescending sometimes, whether it interrupts your joy depends if you can take it.There's also plenty of stylish moments. The film isn't straightforward,scenes are cut here and there, there's flashbacks in metaphorical ways. But there's good flow, the movie doesn't change the picture every 1 seconds, no annoying constant cuts. The soundtrack is spot-on. The setting is so-so, but one of the mansion shown has a pleasant, vintage architecture.I find the narrator aka mad monk like-able, but not the female protagonist(it's her looks...). The narrator tends to be witty often. There's other interesting characters like a kung-fu captain and an eccentric killer doctor, who often quote Hamlet's words: If it be now, tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. "If it be not now, yet it will come. Good sirs, the readiness is all." The story centers around 3 orphans. The story isn't groundbreaking and there's weak plot structure (again, don't take the story seriously, enjoy the ride). While there's action involving gunfights, hand to hand combat, it's not occurring every second. It's enjoyable although it occurs quickly. The dialogs aren't dumb, for lack of better words. It's smart and witty, sometimes eccentric(see killer doctor). Although it can seem... superfluous.Overall, witty script, stylish presentation and likable characters.

Film Noire is a genre that requires a certain level of tact, cleverness, intellect, and imagery. This movie has none of that, though they really tried hard with the imagery.It's the kind of movie that your cousin Marky the dump truck driver, who's always talking about how he's going to make it big in the movies someday, would make.The dialogue is wooden and lifeless. The visuals, while obviously expensive to make, are the work of a director who has tried to be clever and failed miserably due to a severe lack in cerebral ability. The acting ranged from sub-par to just plain bad. The story might have been salvaged by a real writer and director, but I suspect that such people would not have touched it with a barge pole.About 1/4 of the way through, I noticed striking similarities with the scene in Sim0ne where Viktor, desperate to be rid of his actress, makes the world's worst movie. I figured I'd check IMDb to see if a similar effect has occurred in this movie, and to my surprise it has. I'd almost be tempted to give a 2 out of 10 just because it's exposed the pretentious groupies, but I won't. It's that bad.

Why is so many analyzing movies to death? While it in a lot of cases it is a good thing, more people should just enjoy the mood and feeling in a movie. If people start thinking too much, they will miss a lot of good entertainment. The Perfect Sleep is a good example of this. It has its flaws to be sure, but I loved the idea of the film, the narration and its mood. The thing, for me, is that in 99% of all American movies, you have to park the brain and just enjoy the movie for what it is, brainless and a good show. This is not quite the case here! It's quite intelligent in it's way, and a bit over the top in parts. The main character is this tough guy, who you would think is this great fighter, but really is an extreme survivor with a lot of fighting skills without being that good at it. Great movie!!

THE PERFECT SLEEP takes me by surprise, just when I thought this was just going to be another noir movie that only focuses on art and nothing else, it actually delivers some of the most entertaining gunfight sequences I've seen in a long time. It's a… dark, classy thriller/drama, worthy of going up against some of the best movies this year can throw at you. The story is elegant and cunning at the same time, the kind of revenge story you'd like to wrap your head around.What really grabs me by the throat is the martial aspect of this movie. Absolutely impressive, I don't remember ever watching a noir movie in the past that has such kick-ass fight scenes. That and the doctor whose style of killing includes telling his victims what they're about to go through as they slowly fall to their excruciating death. That part isn't so original but it's played with such finesse and calmness by actor Tony Amendola, it's practically hypnotic. On top of that I really enjoy how writer/actor Anton Pardoe crafted such a simple yet intriguing story that's not too confusing to crack wide open but you don't mind because it will make you even more curious to see how the story would resolve itself. There's a little bit of everything for everyone: romance, the fascination that comes with the concept of lonesome assassin, it even has sniper shooting for those of you who are into first-person shooting video game.My only few objections probably would have to do with the acting. Roselyn Sanchez is a gorgeous woman but she's still got a ways to go before she could be deemed as a talented actress. There are times when you're looking at her face as she's saying her lines and it still feels as though she's reading the script on the reflection of the opposing actors' eyes. It's obvious that actor Anton Pardoe gives his all because this is his passion project, if you will, but he does not have the looks and charm of a lead male star. I think Patrick Bauchau was fantastic in the HBO series Carnivale but in THE PERFECT SLEEP, his performance is rather dry, half-hearted and doesn't leave a lasting impression. The cinematography is decent, the way it plays with the contrast between light and dark and the spaces in between is not too shabby. it serves some moments that would get you to submit but at times, I feel it could go the distance a bit. Show more close up shots in more creative angles instead of just depending on wide span for most parts. We could do without some of the dialogue, I don't like it much when a movie is trying too hard to be all aristotle or king Solomon and throws darts of wisdom words so obviously at the audience. Having said that, THE PERFECT SLEEP is still worth watching for those of us who long for something familiar and yet so different.--Rama's SCREEN--