Tag: Time Travel

Frequently Ask Questions About Time Travel (2009) Film Review

Rating 15
Length 1h23
Release 24.04.2009
Director Gareth Carrivick
About Ray stumbles into a time portal and envisions his death in the future. He and his two friends unravel the baffling rules of time-travel and try to return safely to the present.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: BBC IPlayer
Trailer:

The Good

Baby Chris O’Dowd! Dean Lennox Kelly! Anna Farris! What an incredible cast that gives this film a Red Dwarf meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy British Sci-Fi feel.

The story, being about time travel, is actually well plotted to keep the audience on track. That is a feat that even some of the best Sci-Fi’s out there cannot achieve; both Star Trek and Dr Who have episodes that have wrinkled my brain.

That opening scene in which Chris O’Dowd’s Jay reduces a bunch of kids to tears with an IT Crowd ranting monologue is genius. Its what will sell you on the movie and if you don’t laugh, you might as well turn the thing off.

The Bad

It is very rare that I say this, but it’s a little too short. I can see why it was done, but it all gets going and then it ends. Feels very pulled up short and wrapped up before it’s time.

The Ugly

Mr Fucking Poppy! I’m sure Marc Wootton is a perfectly decent guy and an all round excellent actor. However, to me he will always be Mr Poppy of Nativity fame and I cannot stress how much I hate that man-child character.

Final Thoughts

With a bit of a pass through and about 25 more minutes added to the plot, this would have made for a passable instalment of the Cornetto Trilogy.
Absolutely worth the watch, but might not be to everyone’s tastes.

The Lake House (2006)

Rating: PG
Length: 1h 45
Release: 23.6.2006
Dir: Alejandro Agresti
About: Love blooms when Kate, a doctor, exchanges letters with Alex, an architect who is fed up with his life. Unknown to them, they lead lives two years apart.

The Good

  • Who doesn’t want to see Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reconnect onscreen? If that’s what you’re after, I’m not sure it matters about the plot or quality of the film, so long as that chemistry between the two is still there.
  • It’s essentially Jumpin’ Jack Flash, but with letters and time travel instead of the internet and global espionage.

The Bad

  • I don’t like the characters of Kate and Alex. They’re both really boring.
  • The film feels very clinical and sterilised of all emotion. perhaps it is the separation of the two main characters and their isolation within their time periods. The interaction they each have with other people feels artificial and for exposition only.

The Ugly

  • The time travel aspect is just shit and doesn’t make sense. At the heart of it is a massive paradox that, as a fan of all things sci-fi, I can’t ignore. The magic of time travel falls flat and also seems too integral to the plot. I know, I know, suspend belief and all that shit, but I have too many questions about what I saw leading up to the changes in the timeline and they’re not answered.
  • Who gave that shockingly back haircut to Sandra Bullock?! It does nothing for her and, while very circa ’06, has not aged well at all.
  • You manage to get two people together who have chemistry and they physically share a screen within the same time zone for less than five minutes?! What the actual fuck?! I want to see them together!

Final Thoughts

I think I’ll just rewatch Speed in future. Love Bullock and Reeves, but this was underwhelming.