Topic: Tom's Time-Travel Movie Reviews

[Tom]

The Jacket (2005/) IMDb | Wikipedia (United Kingdom) Director: John Maybury Writing: Massy Tadjedin (Screenwriter), Tom Bleecker (Original Material By), Marc Rocco (Original Material By) Length: 98 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:
Adrien Brody as Starks
Keira Knightley as Jackie
Kris Kristofferson as Dr. Becker
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dr. Lorenson
Kelly Lynch as Jean

Plot:
After recuperating from a gunshot wound to the head, Gulf War veteran Jack Starks (ADRIEN BRODY) returns to his native Vermont suffering from amnesia. When he is accused of murdering a police officer and committed to a mental institution, a physician, Dr. Becker (KRIS KRISTOFFERSON), puts him on a controversial treatment regimen in which Starks is injected with experimental drugs, confined in a straight-jacket, and locked for extended periods in the body drawer of the basement morgue. In his drugged and disoriented state, Starks' mind propels him into the future, where he meets Jackie (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY), and discovers that he is destined to die in four days. Together, they search for a way to save him from his fate.

Awards:
Nominated:

Saturn (2005)

Best Science Fiction Film

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

An unusual time-travel movie. For the most part it was not my kind of movie, but in the end a quite enjoyed it. Though it still will not be a movie I will watch often.

Rating:

[Tom]

Girl of Time (1983/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Intercontinental Video (Hong Kong) Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi Writing: Wataru Kenmochi (Writer), Yasutaka Tsutsui (Writer) Length: 104 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Chinese, English

Stars:
Tomoyo Harada as Tomoko Yoshikawa
Takako Irie as Tatsu
Wakaba Irie as Noriko
Kiyomi Ishii as Student 'B'
Ittoku Kishibe as Toshimi Fukushima

Plot:
A romantic 16-year-old high school girl in love with a classmate starts dreaming about events before they actually happen. As it turns out, the object of her love is actually a space alien affected by her own romantic views of life and because of their unified wave length...

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

As you probably know, I am a big fan of the anime movie "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time". That movie is kind of a sequel to a successful novel from the 60s (the advise-giving aunt in the movie is the main protagonist of the novel). That novel has spawned multiple adaptions in form of movies and TV series. The most famous of those is this movie.
This movie never really clicked for me. Probably because I was expecting more a story like in the anime version. But you can see many parallels between these two movies though.
I just read that there was yet another live-action movie released this year. Can't wait for a DVD release outside of Japan.

Rating:

[Antares]

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986/United States)

The only part of this film that I liked was when Peggy Sue answers the phone and realizes that she's speaking to her grandmother, who, since Peggy Sue has gone back in time, is alive. The look on Kathleen Turner's face is priceless.

[Tom]

2009: Lost Memories (2001/South Korea) IMDb | Wikipedia e-m-s new media (Germany) Director: Lee Si-myeong Writing: Lee Si-myeong (Writer), Lee Sang-hak (Writer) Length: 136 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Korean: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: German

Stars:
Tôru Nakamura as Shojiro Saigo
Jang Dong-gun as Masayuki Sakamoto
Sin Goo as Takahashi
Cheon Ho-jin as Oh Hye-rin
Ahn Kil-kang as Lee Myung-hak

Plot:
There are breakpoints in the history, the result of a single event may change the whole course... In 1909, an assassination attempt to a Japanese governor fails - the assassin was shot by a soldier. Now, in 2009, Korea is just another state of the Japan Empire and Seoul has become a major city. A Korean resistance group called Hureisenjin is formed to fight for liberty and independence. Two cops, a Japan and a Korean (who denied his heritage) are investigating the actions of this "terrorist" group. And their work lead them to an artifact of the ancient Korean religion of "Sun and Moon"

Extras:

• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Time-travel causes the history to change where Japan was allied with the US and thus on the winning side. This made Japan a big power and it annexed Korea. Set in this alternate reality this movie tells the story about a JBI (Japanese Bureau of Investigation ) agent who gets involved in an investigation against Korean independence fighters.
This movie was okay, although I am still not quite sure if all of it made sense. Not that it was a confusing movie but I had the feeling that the time-travel didn't really quite add up.

Rating:

[Tom]

The Love Letter (1998/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Hallmark Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Dan Curtis Writing: James Henerson (Screenwriter), James Henerson (Original Material By), Jack Finney (Original Material By) Length: 99 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles:

Stars:
Campbell Scott as Scott Corrigan
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Elizabeth Whitcomb
David Dukes as Everett Reagle
Estelle Parsons as Beatrice Corrigan
Daphne Ashbrook as Debra

Plot:
Transcending the dimension of time, a love letter found in a secret compartment of an antique desk magically seals the fate of two young people linked by destiny yet separated by more than one hundred years. When Scotty (Campbell Scott – Dying Young) discovers a poignant letter written by a mysterious woman called Lizzie (Jennifer Jason Leigh – N.Y. Film Critics Award for Georgia), he cannot get her out of his mind. Putting thoughts of his upcoming wedding aside, he is compelled to write Lizzie a letter of his own. A romantic correspondence ensues and flourishes into a love so powerful, not even a century and a half of time can keep them apart. Spanning an era from the Civil War to the present day, the perils of Lizzie's war torn present threaten her safe passage into the future. Would their love be strong enough to endure the test of time?

Extras:

• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

The premise is similar to "Il Mare" and "The Lake House". A couple writes letters to each other across time. Except that here there is over 100 years between them instead of just two. This was about the third time that I have watched this movie since I bought it eight years ago. It is nothing special but I enjoy it.
Estelle Parsons, who played Roseanne's mother on Roseanne, appears as the main character's mother.

Rating:

[Tom]

Idiocracy (2006/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Mike Judge Writing: Mike Judge (Story By), Mike Judge (Screenwriter), Etan Cohen (Screenwriter) Length: 83 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:
Luke Wilson as Joe Bauers
Maya Rudolph as Rita
Dax Shepard as Frito
Terry Alan Crews as President Camacho
Anthony "Critic" Campos as Secretary of Defense

Plot:
From Mike Judge, one of the creative minds who brought you Beavis and Butt-Head, King Of The Hill and Office Space, comes an outrageous sci-fi comedy that'll make you think twice about the future of mankind.

Meet Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson). He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But when a government hibernation experiment goes awry, Bowers awakens in the year 2505 to find a society so dumbed-down by mass commercialism and mindless TV programming that he's become the smartest guy on the planet. Now it's up to an average Joe to get human evolution back on track!

Filled with razor-sharp sarcasm and outrageous sight gags, Idiocracy will make you laugh out loud whether you're an absolute genius or a complete idiot!

Awards:
Nominated:

Teen Choice Awards (2007)

Choice Movie: Breakout Male (Justin Long)

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

My brother had stumbled across this one. I think while browsing tvtropes.org. As the premise sounded interesting, I had ordered it.
It started as an average but enjoyful comedy. At half-time it had become too stupid for its own good. In the end I would say, this movie can be enjoyed but don't expect something thought-provoking

Rating:

[Tom]

I had put the review of "Idiocracy" into the wrong thread. I moved it here now. I regard it as a time-travel movie.

[Tom]

Time Traveller (2010/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Panorama Corporation (Hong Kong) Director: Masaaki Taniguchi Writing: Tomoe Kanno (Screenwriter) Length: 122 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Chinese, English

Stars:
Riisa Naka as Akari
Akinobu Nakao as Ryota
Narumi Yasuda as Kazuko
Masanobu Katsumura as Goro
Kanji Ishimaru as Kazuo

Plot:
Japan, 2010. High-spirited student Hasegawa Akari (Naka Riisa) finds she's succeeded in getting into Shotoku University's pharmacy department where her mother, Yoshiyama Kazuko (Yasuda Narumi), is a professor. Kazuko has a reputation for being mildly eccentric from her hobby of collecting coins from 1972; but her real secret is a liquid she's developed that can make its drinker travel back through time. When an old friend, delivery man Goro (Katsumura Masanobu), gives her some old photos he's found, her memories of her first love, junior high school classmate Fukamachi Kazuo, are re-restrengthened and she determines more than ever to travel back to find him. When Kazuko is suddenly hospitalised by a car accident, Akari offers to go in her place and give Kazuo a message. However, by mistake Akari ends up not at Setagaya Junior High in April 1972 but at Shotoku University's science lab in February 1974. Trying to track Kazuo down, Akari ends up staying with scifi geek-cum-amateur filmmaker Mizorogi Ryota (Nakao Akiyoshi), who believes her story that she's from the future. But Kazuo proves difficult to track down, for reasons Akari is gradually to discover.

Extras:

• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

This is kind of a sequel to the original "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" novel. Like the great anime was. Only this time it's the daughter of the girl from the novel who makes a time jump, not the niece. Also there is only one time jump, when she travels back to 1974. This movie is more like a sequel than the anime was. The anime was more like a spin-off.
I enjoyed this movie, although not as much as I did the anime. Fun fact though is, that the same person who voiced the main character in the anime also stars in this live-action movie as the girl travelling through time.

Rating:

[Tom]

Star Trek (2009/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: J. J. Abrams Writing: Roberto Orci (Writer), Alex Kurtzman (Writer), Gene Roddenberry (Original Characters By) Length: 127 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Chris Pine as Kirk
Zachary Quinto as Spock
Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime
Eric Bana as Nero
Bruce Greenwood as Pike

Plot:
"STAR TREK is a burst of pure filmmaking exhilaration and an irresistible invitation for fun." The cocky, renegade James Kirk (Chris Pine) and the equally youthful half-Vulcan, half-human Spock (Zachary Quinto) are among the young members of a fledging Starfleet crew, and about to launch the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. During their incredible galactic voyage of exploration and discovery, they will encounter the evil Nero (Eric Bana) whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. With both the blockbuster-hit film and all-new special features on this two-disc Digital Copy Special Edition, you will journey behind the scenes and immerse yourself in a thrilling, action-packed Star Trek universe, as you have never experienced before!

Awards:
Won:

Academy Award (2009)		Best Makeup (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Cameo (Winona Ryder)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Director (J. J. Abrams)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Science Fiction Actor (Chris Pine)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Sci-Fi Movie
Scream Awards (2009)		Fight-to-the-Death Scene of the Year ("Kirk vs. Spock")
Scream Awards (2009)		The Ultimate Scream

Nominated:

Academy Award (2009)		Best Sound Editing (Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin)
Academy Award (2009)		Best Sound Mixing (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, Peter J. Devlin)
Academy Award (2009)		Best Visual Effects (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton)
BAFTA (2009)		Sound (Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark P. Stoeckinger, Ben Burtt)
BAFTA (2009)		Special Visual Effects (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2010)		Best Acting Ensemble (Chris Pine, Eric Bana, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Leonard Nimoy, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2010)		Best Action Movie
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2010)		Best Makeup
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2010)		Best Sound
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2010)		Best Visual Effects
Hugo Award (2010)		Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Best Breakout Star (Chris Pine)
MTV Movie Awards (2010)		Biggest Badass Star (Chris Pine)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Ensemble
Scream Awards (2009)		Best F/X
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Science Fiction Actor (Zachary Quinto)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Science Fiction Actress (Zoe Saldana)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Scream-Play (Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Supporting Actor (Leonard Nimoy)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Supporting Actor (Simon Pegg)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Villian (Eric Bana)
Scream Awards (2009)		Breakout Performance-Female (Zoe Saldana)
Scream Awards (2009)		Breakout Performance-Male (Chris Pine)
Scream Awards (2009)		The "Holy Sh%t!" Scene of the Year ("Space Dive onto Orbital Drill")
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie - Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Actress - Action/Adventure (Zoe Saldana)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Fresh Face - Male (Chris Pine)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Rumble (Kirk vs. Spock)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Villain (Eric Bana)
World Soundtrack Awards (2009)		Film Composer of the Year (Michael Giacchino)

Extras:

• BD-Live
• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Digital Copy
• Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Scene Access
• Star Trek: Countdown (Comic)

My Thoughts:

When I first heard about the idea of making a Star Trek prequel movie years ago (the talk was about a Star Trek Academy movie), I was shocked that they even considered something like this. I wanted further TNG movies or DS9 movies. But after the failure of Nemesis and the new Enterprise series, I didn't want any further movies.
When then again came up the topic of a Star Trek reboot movies years later, I was all for it. Now was the right time for it.

Even though I was all for it, I was going into it was some trepidation. The trailer hadn't really convinced me yet. But I was positively surprised by the movie. They managed to make a reboot with the possibility to explore new directions, but they didn't ignore the past movies. Having Leonard Nimoy as the old Spock from the previous timeline's past in it to bridge the gap was the only move which probably could pull that off.

The new cast is perfect. The new Spock is a dead-on young Leonard Nimoy. The new Kirk has the spirit of Shatner's Kirk, but they thankfully chose to not imitade Shatner's delivery style. That would have come across as a Shatner parody instead of a new incarnation of Kirk. Simon Pegg as Scotty was alright as was the other supporting Enterprise crew. The new Bones is the one who surprised me the most. When I first saw him, I did not think that he was right for the role. He didn't look anything like DeForest Kelley. But his McCoy was dead-on.

But the movie also has its problems:
- I didn't like the "Star Wars" sequence on the Ice Planet, where Kirk is chased by a monster which in turn is caught by an even bigger monster. Also it is just too much of an coincidence, that Kirk is jettisoned to only a short walk away from where the old Spock is marooned.
- I didn't like it, that the kid Kirk is driving a vintage automobile. This scene is what bothered me most in the trailer. And the Nokia phone was the most grinchworthy moment in the entire movie.
- I didn't like it, that again the Romulans where the villains (like in Nemesis), but at least it was understandable, because we knew from TNG that the old Spock was involved with Romulans the past few years.
- Overuse of lens flare in the bridge scenes. Is the bridge supposed to be a light show, or what?

Also there are some moments, which bother me a little, but they do count as character flaws and not movie flaws: Like why did they give the charge to the redshirt guy and do not have one themselves? They didn't know who will survive the fall, so they should have planned to have backups. And am I understanding it correctly, that because of the stupidity of the redshirt, Vulcan was doomed?

A few references to past movies, that I remember now while writing the review:
- Kobayashi Maru: We learn in Star Trek 2 that Kirk is the only one ever beating the test scenario. Shatner was also eating an apple telling about it, like Chris Pine did while taking the test.
- The Vulcan school: The computers on which the kids take the tests are similar to the computer Spock did tests on in Star Trek 4
- The "friends" speech by Spock. First spoken in Star Trek 2.
- Spock also chose to not complete the Kolinahr in Star Trek 1.
- Spocks parents where first seen in the TOS episode "Journey to Babel", but were also part of Star Trek 4. His father was also in 6.
- I also got a kick out of Leonard Nimoy declaring "I am Spock" in the movie. Which is the title of his autobiography.
- Old Spock giving Scotty the formula which Scotty would have invented later himself is reminiscent of a scene in Star Trek 4.
- Nero is using the same creatures to extract information from Pike as Khan did in Star Trek 2. Would have been fun though, if we would have gotten an updated "ear-invasion" scene, instead of putting it in the mouth.
- Sulus experiance in hand-to-hand combat is of course a reference to a scene in a TOS episode, where we see Sulu fencing.

Rating:

[Tom]

This is a recycled review. I decided to repost it here in my time-travel review thread after I have watched it just now.

[Tom]

The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia New Line Home Entertainment (United States) Director: John R. Leonetti Writing: Michael Weiss (Writer) Length: 92 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Eric Lively as Nick Larson
Erica Durance as Julie Miller
Dustin Milligan as Trevor Eastman
Gina Holden as Amanda
David Lewis as Dave Bristol

Plot:
It's nonstop suspense and action in this powerful sequel to the megahit, The Butterfly Effect.

After a tragic accident claims the life of his girlfriend (Erica Durance, TV's Smallville), Nick (Eric Lively, American Pie) discovers that he has the paranormal power to change the past and save her. But when he keeps going back to alter other events, he soon realizes that his actions have dire consequences for the present...and their future.

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Closed Captioned
• Commentary
• DVD-ROM Content
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

A boring and uninteresting movie. The actors are weak and the characters are unlikable.

Rating:

[Achim]

Primer (2004/United States)

[...]

My Thoughts:

When I watched this movie the first time, I labeled it "For Sale". I never came around to sell it and I wanted to give it another chance now. It seems I do not get the movie. Looks like it will be left with the label.

Finally got around watching this myself yesterday. I liked how some of the stuff was revealed to the viewer

(click to show/hide)

(like the first time we see Abe's "double").

They touched on the typical time travel question of the paradox. While following all the time travel details of the film can hurt the brain, I liked how the end was rather understandable. The idea with the headphones was great.

The film is very technical about the creation of the machine, which is probably where most viewers will get bored to no end and then never get back into it; it's pretty much the first half of the film! But the film is short and that works a lot in it's favor.

Tom rated it at the time (after repeat viewing...). Not sure if it would hold up repeat viewing, but I rate it after my first watch.

[Tom]

I don't know why I didn't like it. Maybe because of the reason you stated. It takes itself too seriously and it didn't quite work for me. I have to admit, I don't remember much of the movie. I never seemed to get really into it. As you said, the first half can be quite boring.

[Tom]

Title: Ritana (Returner)

I especially liked the ending, which tied up the story and time-travel elements nicely.

I recently rewatched this movie. I still enjoyed it, even the ending. But I don't think that it ties up the time-travel elements nicely anymore.

(click to show/hide)

I still think it is a nice idea of her returning to save his life like promised (this was the aspect I liked also on my original viewing). But I think she shouldn't have existing like this anymore. The film should have either ended with her staying in the present, or her having been erased from existence. In the movie though she returns to the future. How does that work? They have just managed to avoid the future she came from. Where she returns to, they would have never known that she was sent back in time. Except of course she returned to her old future (alternate reality), but this would be a sad thought.

[samuelrichardscott]

Have you checked out Timecrimes?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480669/

One of my fave time travel movies ever.