Tom's Time-Travel Movie Reviews

[Tom]

I was wondering if I'd missed this thread till now   Maybe with "The Time Machine" you should've also included a review of the Big Bang Theory episode where they got their own time machine? 

Not much, but here my review of this episode taken from the Big Bang Theory marathon thread

14. The Nerdvana Annihilation (2008-04-28)
Writer: Stephen Engel, Steven Molaro, Bill Prady
Director: Mark Cendrowski
Cast: Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh Koothrappali), Andrew Walker (Mike)

Another great episodes. Jokes about time tavel are always fun. But sometimes I am not sure if Sheldon knows that Star Trek isn't real

My rating:

[Tom]

Title: Click
Year: 2006
Director: Frank Coraci
Rating: PG-13
Length: 108 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 3
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Adam Sandler
Kate Beckinsale
Christopher Walken
David Hasselhoff
Henry Winkler

Plot:
A harried workaholic, Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) doesn't have time for his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and children, not if he's to impress his ungrateful boss and earn a well-deserved promotion. So when he meets Morty (Christopher Walken), a loopy sales clerk, he gets him to bypass life's little distractions with increasingly hysterical results. But as Michael gleefully mutes, skips and scans past his family and his friends, the remote gradually takes over his life and begins to program him, in this fast, funny and out-of-control comedy adventure.

Awards:

Academy Award	2006	Nominated	Best Makeup	Kazuhiro Tsuji, Bill Corso
ASCAP Awards	2007	Won	Top Box Office Films	Rupert Gregson-Williams
Casting Society of America Awards	2007	Nominated	Best Feature Film Casting – Comedy	Roger Mussenden
MTV Movie Awards	2007	Nominated	Best Comedic Performance	Adam Sandler
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	Choice Summer Movie: Comedy
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	Movies - Choice Actor: Comedy	Adam Sandler
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	Movies - Choice Chemistry	Kate Beckinsale, Adam Sandler
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	Movies - Choice Comedy
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	Movies - Choice Hissy Fit	Adam Sandler
Young Artist Awards	2007	Nominated	Best Family Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
Young Artist Awards	2007	Nominated	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger	Tatum McCann

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

A modern take on "It's a Wonderful Life" that I enjoyed. The movie dragged a little when Adam Sandler first tries out the power of the remote control, but this is needed to set up the side-effect of it. That part I enjoyed.

Spoiler (hover to show)

The part about how the remote automatically skips similar things in his life which he skipped before manually. And thus skips huge junks of his life.

This was the part which qualifies it for me for my time-travel movies thread.
When I had first watched it, I expected the movie to end with the scene

Spoiler (hover to show)

where Adam Sandler's character dies after urging his son not to make the same mistakes as him (putting his career before his family).

But it continues on

Spoiler (hover to show)

and everythings turns out to be a dream.

On the one hand, I am a bit disappointed about this, because it is just such a Hollywood ending, but on the other hand how did I expect a "It's a Wonderful Life" story to end?
There are also some fun cast to watch. Christopher Walken as the angel. Unexpected surprise is David Hasselhoff, who did a good job playing the boss. Julie Kavner (voice of Simpson's Marge) and Henry Winkler (Fonzie) appear as Adam Sandler's parents. And Kate Beckinsale is really hot in this movie.

Rating:

[Emma]

....

Spoiler (hover to show)

The scene where Adam Sandler dies in the rain outside the hospital

..Made me cry 

[Tom]

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Year: 2009
Director: Robert Schwentke
Rating: 12
Length: 107 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Eric Bana
Rachel McAdams

Plot:
Lose yourself in timeless love with this gloriously romantic story of the journey of two hearts. Artist Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams of The Notebook) shares a deep emotional bond with Henry De Tamble (Eric Bana of The Other Boleyn Girl), a handsome librarian who travels involuntarily through time. Knowing they can be separated without warning, Clare and Henry treasure the moments they have together, imbuing them with the yearning and passion of two people imprisoned by time... and set free by love. Based on the #1 bestseller The Time Traveler's Wife weaves together destiny and devotion, past and future to turn an extraordinary love into an extraordinary love story.


Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this movie. The pacing is similar to Rachel McAdam's other movie I have seen: "The Notebook".
The time-travel aspect has been used well. I didn't notice any obvious mistakes on the writer's part.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Frequency
Year: 2000
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 114 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: German

Stars:
Dennis Quaid
Jim Caviezel
Shawn Doyle
Elizabeth Mitchell
Andre Braugher

Plot:
What if you had the chance to travel back in time and change just one event in you life? What would it be? For John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel) there is no question. He would undo the events of 12 October, 1969, when the out-of-control Bruxton fire took the life of his father (Dennis Quaid), a heroic firefighter. Now John may get exactly what he wished for...and much more than he bargained for.
In the mind-bending science fiction thriller Frequency, director Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear) presents an original take on time travel with the gripping story of father and son who reach out to one another across parallel universes to stop a terrible crime.

Awards:

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	2001	Nominated	Favorite Actor - Suspense	Dennis Quaid
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	2001	Nominated	Favorite Male Newcomer	James Caviezel
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	2001	Won	Favorite Supporting Actor - Suspense	André Braugher
Golden Globe	2000	Nominated	Original Song	"When You Come Back To Me Again": Garth Brooks, Jenny Yates (Music/Lyrics)
Hugo Award	2001	Nominated	Dramatic Presentation
Saturn	2000	Won	Best Fantasy Film
Saturn	2000	Nominated	Best Screenplay	Toby Emmerich

Extras:
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

Not directly time-travel, but with the protagonists communicating with each other through time and thus affected the history, it counts as a time-travel movie for me.
I liked this film, even though it is not 100% consistent how the changes in the past affect the present. Also it moves a little slowly at times, especially in the beginning.
A ten year old Michael Cera has a small role in this movie. He has the same expression on his face as he does nowadays in his movies and in Arrested Development

Rating:

[Jon]

I really like Frequency. Very underrated and great fun.

[Tom]

Cyborg She (2008/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia 4DigitalMedia (United Kingdom) Director: Kwak Jae Yong Writing: Kwak Jae Yong (Writer) Length: 121 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:
Haruka Ayase
Keisuke Koide
Kenta Kiritani
Hiromasa Taguchi
Kenichi Endo

Plot:
Jiro is a loner. Every year he buys his own present and celebrates his birthday alone in the same restaurant. This year a beautiful, but kooky, girl joins in his celebrations and they spend the rest of the evening doing crazy things and having fun. Then, following a cryptic speech, she disappears. A year later the girl turns up again, except this time she is a cyborg from the future... Her function is to protect him and the world around him.

A romantic comedy on a grand scale, with an ending that will satisfy fans of romance and robot action alike.

aka: Boko no kanojo wa saibôgu/ My Girlfriend is a Cyborg

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

When buying it, I had no idea that this was a movie with time-travel aspects. Nice surprise
I had great fun with this movie. It seemed to touch upon different genres. First it reminds very much of Terminator. Then it goes more in the direction of romantic comedy with a cyborg. Then it moves a little on the dramatic side. Then it gets to be a little disaster movie, and ending with a sci-fi time-travel twist.
After watching the movie I had to draw up the timelines to see if I am satisfied with how the time-travel was handled. After doing it, I am tending to liking how it is handled, even though there are some things you have to take at face value.



[ Watch on Youtube ]  [ Full Screen ]

Rating:

P.S. I made the effort to draw up my drawing on my computer and attached it to this post. Of course it is a complete spoiler!

[Tom]

Title: (T)Raumschiff Surprise: Periode 1
Year: 2004
Director: Michael Bully Herbig
Rating: FSK-6
Length: 84 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.20
Audio: German: Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), German: DTS ES 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), Music Only: Dolby Digital 5.0, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: German

Stars:
Michael Bully Herbig
Rick Kavanian
Christian Tramitz
Anja Kling
Til Schweiger

Plot:
Hundreds of years after humans have settled on Mars, Regulator Rogul and Lord Jens Maul, lead a force of Martians to Earth in order to conquer the planet. Queen Metaphor looks to the gay heroes aboard the spaceship Surprise -- Captain Kork, Mr. Spuck, and first engineer Schrotty -- for help.

Awards:
Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Music Videos
Outtakes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Super Surprise Mode
Trailers

My Thoughts:

After watching "Cyborg She" yesterday, I got in the mood to watch some time-travel movies again. This one is a guilty pleasure of mine. It is a Star Trek/Star Wars parody based on a sketch from the German comedy show "Bullyparade". I think the delivery and editing is really done well in this movie, which make even the bad jokes funny.
With the time-travel device we even got a chance to see characters from Bully's previous movie (a western parody based on Winnetou sketches from the Bullyparade) again.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Grand Tour: Disaster in Time
Year: 1992
Director: David Twohy
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 90 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Jeff Daniels
Ariana Richards
Emilia Crow
Jim Haynie
Marilyn Lightstone

Plot:
Before they can complete renovations on their new inn, Widower (Ben Wilson) and daughter (Hillary) are visited by a woman seeking immediate lodging for her strange group of travellers. Why they won't stay at the hotel in town is just the first of many mysteries surrounding the group that lead Wilson to a startling discovery affecting his family and neighbours.

Awards:
Extras:
Deleted Scenes
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

Interesting idea, but a rather boring movie. Although it has a cheap TV movie kind of feel to it. I am not sure if it is a TV movie though. At least it is in 4:3 format on my release, but again I am not sure if that is full screen or pan & scan.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
Year: 2009
Director: Gareth Carrivick
Rating: 15
Length: 79 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Chris O'Dowd
Marc Wootton
Dean Lennox Kelly
Anna Faris
Meredith MacNeill

Plot:
Ray (CHRIS O’DOWD - The IT Crowd) is obsessed with time travel and all things sci-fi. Toby (MARC WOOTON - Confetti) is a film nerd with an ambition but absolutely no talent and their mate Pete (DEAN LENNOX KELLY - Shameless) is a sarcastic cynic who prefers darts to Darth Vader.

When Ray is approached by Cassie (ANNA FARIS - Scary Movie, Lost in Translation) a beautiful girl who claims to be from the future, and Pete stumbles through a rip in the time space continuum in the gents, the three bunglers quickly realise there’s going to more to their evening than peanuts and the pub quiz.

This self-referential Brit-flick draws as much on your grey matter as it does your stomach muscles, and asks, if not completely answering all the questions you ever had about time travel but never had the time to ask.

Parallel Universes? Paradox arcs? Grandfather theory? And most importantly will they get back in time for last orders…?

Awards:
Extras:
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

A nice little movie with some interesting time-travel. But in all it misses the little something. Though it is still worth to check it out.

Rating:

[Jon]

By the way, I like your diagram! I think you should update all your time travel movies with one, because you'll demonstrate where it works and where it doesn't...

[Tom]

By the way, I like your diagram! I think you should update all your time travel movies with one, because you'll demonstrate where it works and where it doesn't...

Strictly speaking, with "Cyborg She" it doesn't work. But the emotions are fitting and I can forgive it. Though I had to draw up a diagram to see how far off they were.

Spoiler (hover to show)

You have to accept the fact, that the woman in the beginning is coming from an alternative timeline and not from the original. So the cyborg was modelled after a woman, who only came back in time because the cyborg which was modelled after her was sent back in time in the first timeline. If you know what I mean.

Explaining time-travel movies is always hard
This is why I tried it with a diagram this time around 

[Jon]

[ Watch on Youtube ]  [ Full Screen ]

[Tom]

Title: The Butterfly Effect
Year: 2004
Director: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Rating: 14A
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: DTS ES 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Ashton Kutcher
Melora Walters
Amy Smart
Elden Henson
William Lee Scott

Plot:
A young man struggling to get over disturbing memories from his childhood discovers that he is able to travel back in time and alter events in his past. However, every change he makes transforms his life and that of those around him, often to unexpected and disastrous consequences.

Awards:

Saturn	2004	Nominated	Best Science Fiction Film
Teen Choice Awards	2004	Nominated	Choice Movie - Thriller

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
DVD-ROM Content
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Theatrical Cut and Director's Cut with alternate ending.

My Thoughts:

I haven't watched this one for years. It was not as good as I remembered it being, but I still enjoyed it. I watched the "The Director's Cut" because this is the only true version
The weak point in this movie is Ashton Kutcher. He can't act. He drags the pacing down.
I almost didn't recognize him with all the makeup, but Ethan Suplee (Randy from My Name is Earl) played Evan's fat roommate in college.

Rating:

[Jon]

I actually thought Ashton did ok in this. Not great, but for me, the weak point was absolutely the horrendous script. I really can't see why this film got any kind of the following it did, it's just awful.