'Blindness' web reviews

Fernando Meirelles returns to the big screen with "Blindness," a mystery thriller about an epidemic of blindness that descends upon a large city. Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore star in the lead roles. The film premiered at Cannes and pulled mixed reviews. Let's see what our online friends have to say about it:

• Katey Rich at Cinema Blend: "A sharp view of humanity with a glimmer of hope, 'Blindness' is a movie for our times-- flawed, brutal, with key moments of brilliance."

• LatinoReview's Ron Henriques: "Though the third act takes the picture in a direction filled with hope and perhaps freedom, the dramatic power is already lost and the story is turned into nothing more than a morality tale."

• James Rocchi at Cinematical: "But while Blindness can be faulted for many things, it also has to be respected for its ambition, craft, and effort."

• Joblo's Chris Bumbray: "I think one of the reasons 'Blindness' worked for me is that I've always had a phobia about one day waking up blind."

• Brad Brevet at RopeOfSilicon: "'Blindness' is sensory overload and while the people on screen are suffering the audience is forced to join in or leave the theater."

• Neil Miller at FilmSchoolRejects: "In the end, 'Blindness' is a film that is ambitious in every way. And despite the fact that it comes with a few problems, most of which involve pacing, it is a film that can be appreciated for what the filmmaker was trying to accomplish, rather than what he did accomplish."