Dinner and a Movie: 'Total Recall' is a Total Remake

Editor's Note — Dinner and a Movie gives you a quick review of a new movie, where and when it plays in Roseville and a dinner idea to go along with it.

Dinner: Head to for some pre- or post-movie fun. Not only can you grab a meal, you can play a number of action-packed games. They also have an Eat & Play combo where you get an entree and a $10 game card.

Showtimes: "Total Recall" is showing at on N. Sunrise Avenue at 11:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 3:10 p.m., 4:10 p.m., 5:10 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 8:15 p.m., 9:15 p.m. and 10:20 p.m.

Review: Set in the future, Colin Farrell plays Doug Quaid, a factory worker bored with his job.  Despite having a smoking hot wife, Kate Beckinsale, he is unhappy with his life. He soon finds out that the vivid fantasies he's been having are his real life when he signs up for a vacation mind trip in, "Total Recall."

Quaid soon finds out he is an agent mixed up with rebellion here on earth and is also involved with a super sexy rebel agent played by Jessica Biel. All the while he must somehow stop Bryan Cranston's character, Cohaagen, from doing evil things to ordinary people.

The plot thickens as Quaid comes to the realization that everything he thinks he knows about himself is fictitious, and all of his memories have been implanted. A reluctant hero in a world turned upside down.

This version is not much different from the original, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger back in 1990. Sure the acting is a bit better and the special effects are much more realistic, but Schwarzenegger's portrayal of Quaid seemed more wounded, more baffled, more desperate. In the Farrell performance, there's more of a sense that the character is being swept along with the events.

In short, the old "Recall" wasn't all that. This one isn't either so the Flick-o-meter gives "Total Recall" just barely a three out of five. The film is not unwatchable it just has nothing new to say. I'm a big fan of science fiction but in all honesty, despite some subtle changes, "Total Recall" is a total remake.

Let me know what you think.

—Roseville Patch staff contributed to this story.

Film critic Brett Martin gives his take on a new release. See all Brett's reviews at www.flickedup.com. Follow Brett Martin in Facebook at TheBrettSide.

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