LUCY

Luc Besson's LUCY (he wrote and directed it) is a film essay disguised as a sci-fi flick (often the case with that genre) about the capacity of the human brain. The story is almost perfunctory, though at times profound (at other times simplistic, or even sophomoric). But what makes me glad I saw it is Scarlett Johansonn, whose performance in it is a master class in film acting, covering the entire spectrum of human emotion (and lack of any).

Along with co-star Morgan Freeman, Johansson is so good, together they turn lead into gold every time. There are scenes in this film that are definitely over-the-top in terms of their premise and even technical execution, but the performances of the two stars saves them, grounds them in a reality that is undeniable.

And even when the story goes to ridiculously implausible lengths to make its point, the editing, camera work and special effects (the latter sometimes reminded me of the things my brain was seeing and contemplating after it was operated on) also make LUCY very watchable. If you haven't already seen it, you might want to.