Mind Thief

I first watched the trailer for this and found it kind of intriguing, but then I looked at the user reviews. At the time of writing this, there are only 17 other user reviews, and of that, ten of them were 9 or 10 out of ten, and three of them were 1 or 2 out of ten. That seemed a little odd, like the production crew was giving it all 9s and 10s, and then some other faction was purposely rating it low. So I wanted to see for myself what was really going on.

Based on the trailer, I figured this would be a fun movie, and it was. While there are plot holes and questionable acting by some, there's also a decent, unique mystery with some twists, making this film exactly what I thought it would be... A fun film, that was a pleasant way to spend some time on a quiet day.

For the most part, the lead actors were fine. The characters were a bit cartoonish, but again, you can see that in the trailer, so if you go into the film from that mindset, you're good. I'm sure there's going to be someone out there who says they saw every move coming and figured everything out, but I'd have a hard time believing them because the story was odd and definitely original.

Again, the film's surely is not a 10 out of 10 like so many of the first reviews state. (In cases like this, it always seems that the first reviews have to be written by either production crew or a PR firm. There's no way there can be that many perfect scores in a row.) But it's way more than a 1 out of 10 like some other reviewers state. Sit back, let yourself enjoy getting caught up in the ridiculousness of the story, and you should be fine.

I got to see this film at the Ojai film festival. I thought the story was engrossing and the mystery element kept me guessing. Mind Thief is the ultimate thriller that, true to its title, keeps your mind captive to its plot. Supported by a strong cast, the lead actress is captivating as an acrobatic author afflicted by writer's block. You really feel like you're in her shoes. It's a very compelling sci-fi thriller with dark comedy elements. It delves into themes of psychology about systems of control, both mentally and physically. This gets broken up by moments of humour, providing rich entertainment value.

Hello! What a brilliant cast and incredible story telling by all.

It is rare that a film can combine genres so easily being comedic in moments but also keeping you on the edge of your seat. It reflects in a very accessible way, deeper issues that we deal with in day to day life where we are thieved by our ever evolving technologies and highjacked by our own pleasure.

The score is balanced and adds the perfect touch to what could've been unnecessary drama.

The film is well cast and Angelique P is a STAR.

Right until the very end you are kept guessing as to what will be the fate of all the characters.

Novelist Christine Wilde is struggling with her latest book. Unable to write she starts to notice strange things going on around her. People are acting strangely and she feels compelled to get to the bottom of it. In the process she uncovers a plot, involving mind control experiments, which put her in danger of being killed or becoming a killer!

I thought this was rather fun. It probably helped that I had no real idea what to expect. Early on a light tone is set with comic moments; the way our protagonist writes while hanging upside-down from the ceiling tells us this isn't going to be too serious. Once the mystery starts it is intriguing and far from obvious what is going on... has she discovered a conspiracy, is she imagining things or is it something else altogether? The cast, led by Angelique Pretorius as Christine do a solid job, keeping the balance of humour and drama just the right side of being silly. While there are some moments of violence they aren't too disturbing, in fact some are done in a way more likely to elicit laughs than shock. Overall I thought this was a decent film; not a must watch but I thought it passed the time well enough.

Many reviews of this film on IMDB are fake; same date, only one review from the author. This is for both the good and bad reviews.

What starts off as a Hallmark-esque sunny romp, slowly but surely leads to darker waters. And the end is quite unexpected and a bit disturbing.

Well acted, well filmed, despite the obvious budget restrictions, and competently delivered. There are a few weak performances, but they do not detract from the overall experience.

While it's no masterpiece, it does what it does well, and does not pretend to be anything other than a comedic murder mystery.

Sunday afternoon on the sofa.