Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper from "The Hangover and "Alias") is a down-on-his-luck loser going nowhere in life. His disheveled and unkempt appearance speaks volumes. He is suffering from a chronic case of writer's block and his girlfriend, Lindy (Abbie Cornish from "Bright Star), has broken off their relationship.

By sheer chance, Eddie runs into his ex-brother-in-law, Vernon Gant (Johnny Whitworth from "CSI: Miami"), on a Manhattan sidewalk. It's the first time Eddie has seen him in nine years. Eddie tells Vernon that he is depressed and broke. Vernon slips him one clear little pill. Eddie feels it kick his brain into overdrive. This surge of motivating brilliance allows Eddie to use 100 percent of his brain.

A few days later Eddie goes to Vern's apartment. He finds out that this top-secret "smart drug" has no street name and has not been approved by the FDA. It has a black market price of $800 per pill. When Eddie comes back from running some errands, he finds Vern shot in the head and the place trashed. He miraculously finds Vern's stash of pills.

Eddie's life is turned upside down. He decides to play the stock market as a day trader to accumulate wealth. He borrows money from Gennady (Andrew Howard), a smalltime hood with a thick Russian accent. Fame and fortune follow as his pattern recognition system for picking stocks allows him to make $2.3 million in 10 days.

His Wall Street accomplishments catch the eye of financial billionaire, Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro from "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver"). Carl is contemplating the largest merger in corporate history and wants Eddie on his team restructuring the deal.

This wonder drug has a downside. The side effects include nausea, migraine headaches and blackouts.

Eddie finds his life in jeopardy as he is pursued by the Russian thug who wants more than his money back, a mysterious stalker and police detectives investigating a murder in which he is a prime suspect. Will Eddie be able to fulfill his destiny before his dwindling supply of pills runs out?

The intriguing idea of invincibility in a bottle gives the audience an initial adrenaline high. Throughout this thrilling ride, you find yourself speculating as to whether you would take this pill despite the side effects.

Cooper does yeoman's work portraying the lead character. He is in every frame of the movie's 106-minute running time. He also doubles as the narrator, expressing his inner thoughts. None of the other actors make an impression and seem to be just going through the motions.

Burger employs a unique visual style as Eddie's brain and the camera seem to be in sync and on steroids. The audience may feel dizzying effects from this amped-up fast track editing. The cinematography benefits from extensive usage of New York City locations.

The movie's "what if" wish-fulfillment fantasy theme ultimately falters, runs out of steam and breaks down with an ending that is well beyond belief. Several subplots are never resolved.

The hallucinatory movie gets credit for bringing up the issue of untapped human potential. We supposedly only access about 20 percent of our brain capacity. The ability to recall memories vividly and to have everything available and organized in our minds would be a dream come true. The tantalizing prospect of a revolutionary designer pharmaceutical gives us hope that a cure for Alzheimer's may be possible in the near future.

Review By:
Keith Cohen "The Movie Guy"