I decided to make it a complete Vera Farmiga night with Source Code. It's a solid sci-fi flick, but far from one of the greats.

The film begins with a man waking up on a train. He's an army helicopter pilot called Colter Stevens, but he has just woken up in the consciousness of a stranger, next to a beautiful woman. Before he realizes why he's even there, a bomb explodes, killing everyone on the train. Now he has to return and relive those final 8 minutes of a strangers life in order to find out who the bomber is and stop him.

I like the idea of using the same time over again (Groundhog Day, anyone?), but the movie ultimately boils down to two things: fate and ethics. I'm a very strong believer in fate. How come? Because we have no evidence to suggest that we are reincarnated or that there are alternate timelines or planes of existence. Life is linear, A to B, and we all perish at some point. We will never know when or how, but it is bound to happen. And everything we do - me writing this review right now - only happens once (this particular review anyway). So it is my fate to be writing you this review right now, and phrasing it exactly as I am doing. I can alter it, but if I do, then that's because it is my fate to do so, and my fate is that I'm very picky about my reviews, haha.

As for ethics, how much can we ask of a person? When does life end and service begin? Is it right to keep someone shackled to life if that is not their own wish?

The actors are all decent, but the script and story is simply nothing remarkable. It's a parable, sure, but I still get the feeling while watching this movie that it's completely in the realm of science fiction, with few ties (if any) to real life. The story isn't about the bomb or bomber, it's about the people trying to stop it. More specifically, the person chosen to stop it. He has to accept his situation (or fate) and not be a sore loser, that's the only way his mind and spirit can go free. Not a bad plot but hardly an original one either. And the ending doesn't really make sense at all, it almost borders on religious nonsense.

I think my fate is to sleep now. Hopefully yours is to have a good night.