Premonition

Life takes a dramatic turn for the worse for inexplicably depressed housewife Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) when she's informed that her husband Jim (Julian McMahon) has been killed in a car accident. With her mother (Kate Nelligan) and best friend (Nia Long) looking after her two children, Linda goes to sleep, but awakens the next morning to find Jim alive and well, just about to embark on the fateful car trip. After another snooze, however, Jim is once again dead. Linda is understandably confused; unfortunately, she isn't the only one. Many viewers will be hard pressed to keep track of the alternate realities presented in this unnecessarily muddled thriller, in which Bullock plays yet another dreary character (her recent specialty). Director Mennan Yapo, working from a nightmarishly complicated script, tries to reveal the truth in layers, but the constant repetition of key events becomes tiresome long before Premonition reaches the story's core. McMahon, a fine actor, has little to work with here, while Long and Nelligan are wasted in small, thankless roles. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary with director Mennan Yapo and star Sandra Bullock, 45 minutes of “Real Premonitions” stories, a 16-minute “Glimpses of the Future” making-of featurette, a “Bringing Order to Chaos” production featurette (12 min.), five deleted scenes including an alternate ending w/optional commentary (6 min.), a four-minute gag reel, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a muddled thriller.] (E. Hulse)