Time After Time..."Kate & Leopold"

Kate & Leopold (2001)

Rated PG-13

Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer

Directed by James Mangold

The Story:

Stuart (Schreiber) has discovered a wormhole in time and is checking out New York in the 1800s when he is followed back to the present by Leopold (Jackman). A respectable gentleman of the past is suddenly surrounded by the modern society and he has much to learn, yet also has a few things to teach as well. When he falls for the lovely Kate (Ryan), it's a match made for the ages, but how can two people from two different times ever really be together?

This is one of those romantic comedies that has been bashed far too often, for far too long.

This was Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers, before someone told her that it would be a good idea to get plastic surgery because she was getting older.

If I had a time machine, I would use it to go back and tell her it's not worth it, bad things are going to happen!

This was also Hugh Jackman before he became... Hugh Jackman!

Not yet the megastar he would become, yet he is so effortlessly charming, any plot holes you may have with a time travel film (and there's always plot holes!) are willingly overlooked just by how sweet this film really is.

Not to be left out Breckin Meyer who gives another great "aw shucks" character that he can do in his sleep, as Kate's brother. He is integral to the plot in both teaching Leopold a few things about the present while also accepting some sage gentlemanly advice from the man he is convinced is the greatest method actor of all time! :)

So if you haven't seen this one in the last 15 years, or managed to somehow miss it completely, both Netflix and Amazon have it streaming.

Considering some of the stinkers that Jackman has had lately (where he was usually the best part of the film), it was nice to revisit a movie at the start of his career where the movie was good and he simply made it that much better. You see a star being born, and it's a pretty cool experience.

Final Grade: B

The Place To Go To Learn "FAQ About Time Travel"

FAQ About Time Travel (2009)

TV-14

Starring Chris O' Dowd, Mark Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly, Anna Faris,

Directed by Garreth Carrivick

The Story:

Ray (O'Dowd), Toby (Wootton) and Pete (Kelly) are best friends who decide to cheer up Ray at the pub after he was fired from his latest job. In the pub, Ray meets Cassie (Faris) who claims she's a time traveler. Ray assumes his friends are setting him up as he is a huge science fiction geek. But when Pete goes to the bathroom and travels to the future, something is definitely amiss at the pub!

Well, that was pretty fun!

O'Dowd continues to kill in just about any performance I've seen him in. This time, he actually has some funny support with Wooton and Kelly as they react with amusement to the business of time travel, and then continue to change their tune as the time travel issues continue to crop up for them.

As with all time travel stories, the less you hear about them, the better they are.

Let's just say, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one.

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime, and I don't think Netflix even has it as a disc rental. Shame.

Final Grade: B

Gotta Get Back In Time..."Project Almanac"

Project Almanac (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista

Directed by Dean Israelite

The Story:

David (Weston) stumbles across a home movie of his 7th birthday party. Much to his surprise he swears he sees himself in a reflection of a mirror.  The reflection is of himself, now, a decade later. How can this be? That's when he discovers that his dad was working on something to do with time travel.  As David and his friends work to perfect the experiment, they set up some rules so that nothing can go wrong. But alas, when love enters the picture, their travels through time may just jeopardize the entire planet!

This is a smart little science fiction thriller that has a lot of fun with the conventions of time travel.

The amazing part, it is shot like a found footage documentary, yet doesn't feel like it, or like it is contrived to shoehorn that aspect of the plot into the movie.

As with all time travel movies, don't think about the plot holes, or it just ruins the whole thing.

Instead, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

That's all.

The less you say about time travel films, the more chance you have to enjoy them without being spoiled.

Final Grade: B

Time For A Dip In The "Hot Tub Time Machine 2"

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

Rated R

Starring Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott

Directed by Steve Pink

The Story:

Lou (Corddry), Nick (Robinson) and Jacob (Duke) are enjoying the benefits of having used the Hot Tub Time Machine, but Adam (John Cusack) has apparently disappeared from sight. The boys party on without him though, until an assassin shoots Lou!  Desperate to keep that from happening, the 3 guys jump into the Hot Tub and fire it up to go back and prevent the shooting!  When they wind up in the future though, it appears that they have to fix the present to save the past!

Yeah..time travel!

File this under "I can't believe that they made a sequel to a movie that I never thought they would have made in the first place."

Because really, whoever thought Hot Tub Time Machine would be made? That and be moderately successful?

About 5-7 people, and they probably all work in Hollywood.

But apparently it was, and I can't lie, I watched the first film, and there are indeed some laugh out loud moments.

So here we are, five years later, and most of the group is back.

Why Cusack didn't come back is a mystery. Come on John, I've been watching some of your direct to DVD releases, and this wasn't going to sully your resume any worse than some of those.

But they work around him as best they can, bringing Adam Scott to fill the role by playing a long lost son.

It works, because it's Adam Scott, and he is a great character actor.

In fact, all of the cast makes the movie better just by dialing the crazy up to 11.

If you liked the first one, take a dip back into the water, you'll probably have as much of a good time this go round as well.

Final Grade: C+

A "Quantum Leap" Ahead Of Its Time

Quantum Leap (1989)

Starring Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell

Created by Donald P. Bellasario

The Story:

Dr. Sam Beckett (Bakula) theorized that it was possible to time travel within the confines of your own lifetime. Hoping to prove his theories correct and continue funding for his project, he entered his own experiment, and vanished. He finds himself popping into the lives of other people, and with the help of Al (Stockwell) who appears to Sam as a hologram, they attempt to put right what once went wrong, hoping with each leap that Sam will leap home.

I don't watch a lot of science fiction shows, but when I do, I try and make sure they are good ones.

This, this was a good one.

I have fond memories of watching it with my dad, and then later with my wife.

We all loved the show, and aside from dabbling with an "evil leaper" later in the series run, for me, this show never jumped the shark.

Sadly, this show never gained the mainstream success and popularity of one of Bellasario's later creations,  NCIS or earlier effort Magnum P.I.

But I will take this show any day of the week, and twice on Sundays.  I think most of the fans of the show would also agree.

Bakula got to offer a great range throughout the series, by leaping into a wide assortment of characters. No topic or idea was off-limits as Sam wound up inhabiting people of different race, color, creed, gender, ability and so-forth.

Putting right what once went wrong was often something as subtle as making sure someone didn't get married or making sure they took a left instead of a right.

They were very human interest stories, and while they tried to show that they weren't sent back in time to change anything major (JFK assassination, things of that nature) the life events for these people, it was indeed very major.

Bakula brought humanity and an earnest performance to every episode, a touch of class and a bit of humor. He was teamed with Stockwell who brought the sleaze, brought the funnies, but brought the friendship and guidance that Sam desperately needed. The two worked amazingly well together throughout.

Most of the series is available to stream on Netflix as of this viewing.  However, the pilot and the finale are not.

In a way, I'm glad the series finale isn't, because it's one that requires a box of tissues after viewing.

Well worth the time to revisit, or to try for the first time if you missed it 25 years ago.

Final Grade: A

It's About Finding Love... "About Time"

About Time (2013)

Rated R for language

Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy

Directed and written by Richard Curtis

The Story:

Tim (Gleeson) learns from his dad (Nighy) that the men in their family have the ability to travel back in time.  Tim attempts to do just that, and finds that yes indeed, his dad was right.  So Tim is out to find true love, when he meets Mary (McAdams).  It will take some doing to get that meeting just right because like any time travel story, if you tinker just a little bit, you face repercussions.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this film.

Curtis has given us Notting Hill and Love Actually among others.

So yes, a good romantic comedy was probably coming.

And it is.

But so much more.

As the film unfolds, subtly, it becomes about a love between a father and son.

When Tim learns of the limitations of what time travel can do, it sets up an emotional finale that will put the proverbial lump in your throat.

McAdams and Nighy do their usual perfect roles, but I was impressed with Gleeson.  This is the first starring role from him that I am familiar with.  He comes across as very charming and fun.

He's the new Hugh Grant.

Yes, that's a great compliment.

I also thought to myself as I watched it, that while I don't watch the show, this guy seems like he would make a great Doctor Who someday.

We'll see.

My only real complaint with this film was the rating.  I think the overall audience and reach of this film could have been greater with a PG-13 rating and dial the language back a notch.

Just my take.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I would be willing to watch it again.

An Idea Most Fowl... "Free Birds"

Free Birds (2013)
Rated PG

Starring Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, George Takei

Directed by Jimmy Hayward

The Story:

Reggie (Wilson) is a turkey who cannot make his flock understand the truth about their fate.  Enter Jake (Harrelson), a turkey on a mission:
To go back to the first Thanksgiving and get turkeys off the menu.  Using an experimental time machine named S.T.E.V.E. (Takei), the birds take flight and wind up in Plymouth.  With the help of the local population, these two birds must outwit the pilgrims who want them dead...and cooked to a delicious ending!  Who will succeed?

To my knowledge, this is the first full-fledged animation venture from Reel FX Creative Studios.

And for the most part, they do a decent job with what they produced.

The animation looks lush and vibrant and the voice acting is decent.

Basically, it's an okay story that will entertain the kids for 90 minutes and won't sap all of the willpower of the adults who are watching.

The problem with that, we've grown accustomed to Pixar and the other animation studios really stepping up their game in recent years to deliver masterpiece after masterpiece.

When we receive something lesser...

Somehow we feel cheated.

So I'm looking forward to their next film, I just hope they work a little harder on the script.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Sorry, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will remain the only film in rotation so far...

I'm Still Waiting for My Hoverboard..."Back to the Future Part II"

Great Scott!

The Story:

Picking up from the end of Back to the Future, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) returns from the future for Marty (Michael J. Fox) and they even take Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) this time to the future.  It appears that Marty's son is about to make a mistake that will cost him dearly, and Doc wants to prevent that from happening.  But alas, while in the future, Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) steals the DeLorean, goes back to 1955 and changes the past.  This creates a horrible alternate future that Doc and Marty must go back in time once again to prevent from happening.

Was it a case of too much of a good thing?

Back to the Future Part II is much like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  It works for what it is... it is simply darker and more sinister than the awesome film that preceded it.  Then a third part of the trilogy is made, that rivals the first film in tone and quality, and you are stuck forever as the ugly duckling of the franchise.

Luckily for Back to the Future, unlike Indiana Jones, they never made a 4th one to make you realize that the 2nd film wasn't quite so bad after all.

: )

Perhaps Part II is simply too ambitious?

I mean, with the first one, you have 1985 and 1955, and then finish in an altered 1985.

In Part 2, you have 1985, 2015, a changed 1985, 1955.. a whole lot of story had to be crammed into all of this, with a final payoff of getting back to 1885.

So maybe a little rushed... maybe too many layers crammed into this outing...

But it's still really good.

On its own, this would likely be an A/A- movie...

When sandwiched between 2 superior parts of a franchise...

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it... I love it... but yes, while the original gets all the love and attention, Part 2 is the Jan Brady of the series.  : )

Gotta Get Back in Time... "Back to the Future"

To put it simply, one of the greatest movies ever made...

The Story:

The year is 1985.  Young Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is startled to learn that his friend and eccentric inventor, Doctor Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has built a time machine out of a car!  When terrorists come to find Doc Brown, Marty flees in the vehicle and vanishes 30 years into the past... to 1955!  There he meets his parents before they ever met each other, and this random occurrence begins altering the space-time continuum.  Unless Marty finds and convinces Doc Brown in the past to help him get back... to the future.... Marty will cease to exist!!

Odds are, you've seen this film already, and it needs no introduction or anything else for that matter.

If you've been reading my reviews since I started this thing last year, you already know that Back to the Future is one of the 100 Greatest Films Ever Made...That I Own.  It's in the Top 10.

Yep, it's that good.

Pick any aspect of the film, and it is so above anything else, it's not even funny.

The acting?  You cannot do any better than the Michael J. Fox/Christopher Lloyd pairing.  So great is their chemistry, that Eric Stoltz was replaced as Marty because he just didn't bring the charm, fun, spark or chemistry that Fox brought to the role.  Lloyd was already an accomplished comedic actor, and this was his signature role for all time.

You can't utter the line "Great Scott!" without thinking of Doc Brown.  Come to think of it, it's because of Doc Brown that people still utter Great Scott!... nearly 30 years later!

Rounding out the cast as Marty's parents are Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson who both get to play old and young in the time travel caper.

It's hilarious, especially listening to his mom talk about how life was when she was a girl, then to go back with Marty and see that she's an absolute liar! : )

Finally, as I've mentioned before, a hero is often only as good as his villain.  Thomas F. Wilson is the unsung hero of this film by making Biff Tannen possibly the biggest jerk ever filmed in cinematic history.  No small feat, to be sure, and he owns the role.

Director Robert Zemeckis has made a lot of good movies in his career.  This is his best, by far.

The writing?  How about Zemeckis teaming with Bob Gale to craft a time traveling story that not just worked, but transcends generations.  I dare you to find anyone of any age who doesn't like this film.

I'm sure there is someone, but I bet you'll be hard-pressed to find them.

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I've watched it so often, I've lost count.  I have put the Blu Ray Trilogy upgrade on my wish list for this Christmas, as I fear that the DVD will eventually wear out.