| Review/Rant: This isn�t really a formal review, but I went to see the Butterfly Effect at the theater today and I highly recommend you see it. Some people are staying away from it because the critics are panning it. They also panned Final Fantasy The Movie because, get this, the characters weren't REAL actors, and then they lump praise on a bunch of mass manufactured second rate Pixar productions trying to cash in on Toy Story. Now, you may not know this about me, but I understand "the lingo". And the lingo is listening to what people are saying and hearing what they are REALLY saying. In this case, critic lingo. And as I was reading these reviews, these guys were practically SCREAMING in my ear: "This is a great film! There is nothing really wrong with it, but my film school buddies despise that guy from That 70's Show. Oh, and its too negative, I want to watch sappy slop, like the last romantic piece of crap I gave three thumbs up to, he should stick to that!" And considering some of the shit these same guys rubberstamp, are you really sure you want to listen to THEM? Go to one of their picks they gave three thumbs up their ass to, and you'll start to understand the lingo too. Like I said, I understand the lingo, and I'm usually right. Read the reviews carefully and ask yourself what these guys are actually complaining about in the film, and you'll see that about all they come to is their hang up with That 70's Show. So first, let me address that point. I've only watched maybe 15 minutes of the That 70's Show collectively in my life, and I saw absolutely nothing wrong with the main character's acting. I saw nothing "dudish" about him, and I think if it came out at all, it was always perfectly calculated to work in his favor. He was his own character, not that 70's show, and as much as the critics want to say otherwise for whatever their reasoning, he is not going to be one of those actors who gets tied to only one role. In fact, the four main characters are all pretty good actors, they have to be to play such wildly different personalities, one critic ACTUALLY dares compare this movie to "Gigli", which should tell you something about him. This was one of the few really good movies I have seen in the last two years. This is also one of the few movies that I walked out ranting and raving about how moronic the critics were, I can't recall a time when they have been so far off base about a movie that it made me vocalize my anger, you've got to wonder if just any idiot can pass film school. I have a headache, so I'm not going to go indepth, you can read a few reviews and get the gist of the plot, if you can get around the sniping. The entire movie is like a gritty, extended length episode of the Twilight Zone, and while there are no world shattering twists, what we do have is very artfully done and does make you think. I would rate this up there with Last Samurai, and as far as complaints, I have even less with this film, I can't realistically give it any lower than an A- at worst. This is one of the few movies where I checked my watch, realized the movie will be over in 10 minutes, and was truly sorry it went by so fast even though the Butterfly Effect clocks in at about two hours. The Butterfly Effect itself which the main character uses to travel backwards in his own life is interpretive. It's never really explained why he has it other than his father did, but its a minor point. This is one of those movies that you can talk about with one of your friends and ask "So, do you think the original timeline the main character did this and this for that reason, and then..." There are some fairly clever tie ins that you have to be watching for, the idea of the movie itself was enough to draw me in and I had no complaints in dialogue, characterization, acting, or plot. If the critics want to bitch about something, I'll give em something: The Butterfly Effect should have been another half hour, because I was just enjoying it too much for it to have ended when it did. (The ending is upbeat enough to counteract the rest of the negative elements of the film, but tempered enough so I can be grateful they didn't go the whole Hollywood EVERYTHING is perfect route) |
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| Review by Magus |
| Rating: ***1/2 |