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The Butterfly Effect (Infinifilm Edition)

The Butterfly Effect (Infinifilm Edition)

List Price: $27.95
Your Price: $20.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The critics slashed it... what do they know?
Review: Attending the movie i had a low estimation of what i should expect... all the critics hated it! Complaining bitterly about the content, directing and cast of the film. Upon leaving the film i was shocked about how wrong they actually were! The cast was incredible... through out the time traveling i saw not one error to put doubt into my mind! The change over from childhood to adult was floorless and very well put together and the film itself was intense and exciting! Kutcher was a great actor and deffinatly suited the part as did most of the crew. There may have been a few dodgy parts... child pornography etc but it was delt with and gave a great effect! I have given this film 5 stars, as i cant remember seeing any other film recently that i enjoyed as much! I will be queueing up on the 6th of July to purchase this!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Anti-Quantum Leap
Review: The trailer for this film made it look like a mess. Giving us far too much information in a few seconds and turning me completely off it. I only saw it at the cinema because there was nothing else on and I'm glad I gave it a tiny chance.

The concept is intriguing and the execution is brilliantly done. Set at three different stages in the lives of the four main characters we are quickly familiar with the sometimes curious, sometimes devastating events that shape their lives. The relationships between Evan, Kalley, Lenny and Tommy are very well developed and it's very interesting to watch them twist and change as Evan suffers from constant black-outs, Tommy goes totally insane and Kalley and Lenny even insaner. Almost all of them end up in the nut-house at some point.

It's at this point that the older Evan (a horrifically bearded, pre-packaged and homogenised 'pretty boy' Ashton Kutcher) decides to time travel back to his childhood, thanks to his incredible memory (how this is achieved is never explained!!!) and put right what once went wrong. Only each time he tries he just makes things worse and worse.

The storylines involving the younger quartet are truly the best bits of the film. The young Tommy is one of the most evil and depraved characters I have ever seen and the younger Evan is far more interesting than his future counterpart. Whenever the film flashes forward to the college years I found it extremely lagging and wished for another time travel scene. Ashton Kutcher was far less expressive than his younger actors.

And am I the only one noticing several nods to Se7en? Not only do they go see the movie as kids (how they got in is never explained either but I'm assuming they got tickets for Dumb and Dumber and sneaked in) but Evan's journals (his method of time travel!) are exactly the same as John Doe's and are written in the same manner. A curious bit of trivia indeed.

For a film with a great story, a few scares and wonderfully (if not nicely) developed characters then seriously check this out. Tho I have one thing to ask the older Evan. What do you think is going to happen to your body if you stand in front of a mailbox being exploded by a lethal stick of dynamite???

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: somewhere in the world David Lynch is vomiting
Review: I have to dig my way through this muddle of a movie. What is there to say about it? It's terrible, it tries to force chronological inconsitencies on us so that we can marvel at the sheer brilliance of the writers and the director, the writing is lazy, it tries to hard so hard to be cerebral that whatever plot there was is lost in an ocean of weak plot twists and bad acting. The concept is quite good, but the execution is disgustingly bad. I'm a fan of That 70's Show and I have nothing against Ashton Kutcher. It's just a BAD movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Top 100 Of Suspensful
Review: My friend and I were granted by our husbands a night out while they watched the kids. So we went to see this. It is truly one of the better films of 2003. I thought the plot twists and turns were great, and weren't predictable. Ashton did a wonderful job in this movie and was finally able to show that he's not just a comedic actor. If he continues to get rolls like this he could be a top contender of dramatic actors in the future.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unfairly slated
Review: Seeing the name 'Kutcher' on the cast list has obviously had critics unduly rubbish this film with a closed mind.
The plot is gripping, and makes no effort at hiding from controversial and highly charged issues such as paedophilia, whilst the performances are believable and emotionally intense - even from Kutcher who makes this his debut into 'serious' acting. He does a great job at relaying the sheer desperation of his character in the quest for a perfect future, whilst Amy Smart delivers a stunning performance.
In my opinion the real stars though are Kayleigh and Tommy as teenagers (Irene Goravaia, and Jesse James) and Evan at 7 years of age (Logan Lerman). The latter gives a particularly chilling performance, and all three certainly pack a punch with their acting: I expect we'll see more of them soon.
Although people have criticised plot inconsistencies and highlighted paradoxes, personally I prefer a film that goes for the story above worrying assidiously away at retentively solving every possible issue. There are better things to do with life...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Its ok
Review: (...)

However it is entertaining, and no it is not in the same class as Donnie Darko as one reviewer said. Its like a Twilight Zone episode, based on changing the past to effect the present. Kutcher is surprisingly good as the lead and it is entertaining all the way through. I could have done without the Dawsons Creek/Teen Movie mentality coming in a couple of times - you know the cheesy music/couple shots etc.

But it is good, I'd recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Intriguing Movie, Leaves You Wondering...
Review: In this new dramatic film featuring Ashton Kutcher & Amy Smart, Kutcher's character is introduced when he is a child and appears to have blocked memories and blackouts associated with psychological stressors. Then he is a teen with similar issues, and then he appears as a college student (where Kutcher becomes the character). At this point, he starts going through his old journals and his mind goes back to traumatic childhood episodes, where he discovers that he can change what happened by mentally altering his actions during the episode recall. When he returns from these mental flashbacks, reality has changed according to what he did in the flashback. Unfortunately, each time he tries to change things for the better, another painful reality unfolds. This is an excellent concept and Ashton Kutcher gets to be more dramatic in this role than in his prior TV & movie parts. I thought this was a well done movie and expect that the U.S. DVD release will have some interesting bonus features to further explore the concepts of the movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Poor mans version of Donnie Darko
Review: (see above for a full film synopsis)

In short, this film is about a man who finds out he can travel back into his past to change events, which inevitably leads to tragedy. His main reason was to save his girlfriend from tragedy, but then by doing so, other tragic events happen as a result (the chaos theory comes into effect), and he has to keep going back to alter them.

This is an incredibly depressing film! Literally nothing happy happens and its one tragedy after another, dealing with murder, prostitution, vandalism, even paedophilia.
Its not a bad film, its quite well executed, well acted, but for me the actual way he can go back in time (by reading his journals??? - its a simple as that) is just lazy writing. Its never explained how this 'phenomenon' works.

This is a poor mans Donnie Darko in my mind, but I'd rent the dvd and not buy it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great story, good direction and not suitable for children
Review: Let me start by saying that I viewed this movie in the theatre and was, as I am with many movies today, appalled to find that people are bringing children to R-rated flicks. This is a wonderfully directed blend of eerie mystery, dark comedy and offers a refreshing view on relationships and sacrifice. The direction was beatiful and the content mature. As a major critic of Ashton Kutcher's acting ability I must say that this role bodes well with his often aloof expressions, and did recommended it to my friends. Definitely worth owning.
Hope this helps.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Reflect Upon Life for a While...
Review: Critics need to lay off with their comments of the obnoxious teen movie days of Ashton Kutcher. Everyone's got to pay the bills, so finally he's gotten the opportunity for a different genre. Let's just forget about the past credentials for a minute, ok?

Anyways, not many movies give you that funny tingling feeling in your brain. Well let me tell you that the tingling you experienced would be deep and thoughtful cerebral activity. Ok, that was pretty lame, but this movie is actually pretty good. His acting was pretty good, still room for improvement. It really made you think about how each choice and decision you make has a great effect on the future of yourself and others. Pretty darn good from where I'm sittin.

5 stars for the plot
4 stars for the acting

4.5 stars with a very generous rounding up to 5 stars


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