Denis Villenueve. A solid lineup. A different take on first contact. I loved Sicario but went in expecting a cerebral epic sci-fi.
That was a mistake.
Good things:
- Some really nice visual scenes
- Interesting aliens Calligraphy aliens!
- Clear theme of communication is omnipresent
- A neat score that might be awesome in a different movie
Bad things:
- The acting
- The lack of emotional reaction to ALIENS! The students asking to turn on the TV, all of the main characters
- Lack of useful characters Only the aliens and Louise actually did anything the entire movie.
- Supporting characters are very stupid in an attempt to foil the main character slightly
- Very clumsy exposition. Genre-typical news reports, voice-overs, dumb characters asking stupid questions.
- Very slow pacing. This worked in parts of Sicario, but didn't work in this movie because there was no tension. The main characters never seemed remotely threatened.
- Lousie showing up at school thinking everyone will be there after aliens arrive and there's a state of emergency
- Why can't you translate alien language like you can translate Farsi. This is a paraphrase but in the spirit of what Colonel Weber was saying.
- Useless love interest when the costars have no chemistry.
- Ultrasecure military base lets someone steal a ton of explosives and put it in an ALIEN SPACECRAFT without anyone noticing.
- Many unbelievable plot points
- Poor dialogue Let's make a baby - real quote
- Poor handling of the major plot points Looking through time seems to undermine the fact that the aliens need help. Why did one have to die if they could see the future? Why did only one die when they were right next to each other?
- Very heavy handed moral messaging that didn't align with the rest of the movie.
- Why couldn't Ian also see into the future as he studied the language, or any of the others?
Overall extremely disappointing. I'm honestly surprised critics or general moviegoers like this. The premise was very good. It's a real shame the execution failed so miserably.
Simply wonderful!
Dr. Wayne Dyer takes you on a 2 hour spiritual journey about how to live a more meaningful life.
I've watched this the 2nd time now - and this time it was even more inspirational then the first time.
It is about people who changed their lives, after they changed their thoughts.
It is about words of wisdom ... it is about love ... it is about letting go of the society dogmas, finding meaning & enjoying life.
All of the main characters experience what Dr. Dyer calls a "quantum moment".
These characters are transformed as they recognize "the music inside" we are all born with, but forget or push aside while we are busy living our lives.
One of the other key points in this movie is "What if we come to the end of our life & discover it was all wrong?
If you are interested into personal development - you want to see this.
If you consider yourself spiritual - you have to see this.
If you are not very spiritual, but find yourself running endlessly inside the hamster wheel - you need to see this even more.
In a nutshell:
This movies gives a deep look into our lives, it will give you a different perspective & teaches many, many lessons to think about. A powerful tool for everyone interested into self development or self improvement.
Obviously made on a low budget and a collaboration between three or four companies this film happily does not suffer for it. Casting well-known character/comedy actors makes the viewer, in particular British viewers, feel comfortable from the beginning. Clearly the story is written by fans of the sci-fi and in particular time-travel genre. Therefore the poking at the tropes and blind alleys that more serious films gloss over is done with fun and true love of these types of stories.There is as much imagination and ingenuity shown in the storyline as is demonstrated in much bigger and more more serious films of the same type and this is the strength of the film. More flippant or less grounded would have made this something that you sat through rather than watched. If you are observant or really know this genre as much as the characters in the film you will spot signals, background things going on that tell you how the story will go, if you don’t, that’s okay, because it’s as, if not more, enjoyable as the silliness unfolds.
Chris O’Dowd, Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly are stalwarts of British TV although all three have gone further afield over the years their down-to-earthness is perfect for the roles and they all are well-craft in playing the normal but somewhat bumbling ‘bloke’. The complaining mates-conversations about films, music, what their future holds will seem realistic to thousands of people who has sat in pubs and other places and rambling, seemingly pointless conversations over the years. I certainly know I have taken place in a few ‘converstations’ like this over the years.
The situation, which cannot be go into too much detail as it will spoil it for those who have not seen this film yet, involves a convoluted time-travel situation for the lads and being mixed up with the charming Anna Faris, so it was not entirely a bad day for the lads!
Overall FAQ About Time Travel is a knowing wink to the science-fiction well-worn story of time-travel but it sets about trying to avoid the usual plotholes and asking all the questions these films often leave unanswered with a great sense of humour and some good acting but still with a clear love of the genre it sending up.
Not so well-known or watched this film should be more popular as director Gareth Carrivick’s final film as he unfortunately died soon after the completion of the film. Recommended.
