Cutting edge sci-fi film is interesting and absorbing enough to make it good entertainment. It's not so much about story. There really isn't much of one, and we don't ever get to know the characters *that* well. This is more a film about concepts - and imagery, of course. Marking a directorial effort for visual effects specialist Douglas Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey", "Silent Running"),it definitely has the right look to it. Trumbull uses multiple aspect ratios in order to maximize the experience. Fortunately, he does give the proceedings a level of humanity, particularly as they pertain to a shaky marriage, and there are moments of poignancy during the narrative.

Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher star as Michael Brace and Lillian Reynolds, two old- fashioned mad scientists working to perfect a virtual reality device that records human experiences. It can allow you to taste what somebody else is eating, for example, or feel what it was like for them as they rode a roller coaster. The people funding and backing Brace & Reynolds ultimately don't like the way they do things, and try to alter the course of the research. Michael becomes obsessed with checking out a tape made by Lillian, and figures out a way to sneak past the defenses of the computer program running the show.

Overall, this is an amusing show, with solid acting by all concerned. Fletcher is indeed a standout. "Brainstorm" is notable for being the last credit for co-star Natalie Wood (who isn't given very much to do),whose untimely death occurred during production. Supporting cast members include Cliff Robertson, a likable Joe Dorsey ("Grizzly"),and a young Jason Lively ("Night of the Creeps") as Walken and Woods' son. (Walkens' real-life spouse Georgianne, who usually works as a casting director, appears on screen here as Dorseys' wife.) The technical work on the film is of course first rate, with eye popping visual effects, effective production design, and a thunderous music score by James Horner.

Worth a look for fans of this genre.

Seven out of 10.

A research scientist has been experimenting with a revolutionary brain-reading device. This wondrous machine is able to read a person's thought processes and translate these to videotape. When the scientist wants to study the brainwaves of his late partner, he finds himself seriously at odds with his superiors -- not to mention several ominous-looking government types.

This film had a bit of trouble with the production... there were budgets issues, studio interference... and most notably, an important actress (Natalie Wood) died in the middle of shooting and had to be cleverly replaced by her sister (did you notice?). Some say the acting is uneven, though that was not really an issue for me.

Despite the hurdles, this should be seen as a minor classic, even if largely forgotten today. As Wood's final film it should be honored, and Christopher Walken of course went from being an Oscar favorite to an international wonder. He is surprisingly normal in this picture.

"Brainstorm" has sort of a mediocre plot and is best known as the movie on whose set Natalie Wood died. It's not a bad movie by any stretch. It portrays a device that lets a person get inside another person's mind, but what if the device gets used for unethical purposes? Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher play the people designing the device, and do good jobs with their roles. Natalie Wood plays Walken's estranged wife.

Of course, watching this movie, it's hard - for me at least - to think about anything except the fact that Natalie Wood drowned right before they finished filming. Too bad that she couldn't have finished her career with something slightly more than this. She was such a beautiful woman.