sirensotitan

I'm writing on four hours sleep, but I think I've got my head together enough to write a little something about this movie. I'd want to say this movie was trying to bank off the Back to the Future craze, but this thing came out almost a decade after. I guess it just took nine years to get through to the final draft of the script and to get all the main casting out of the way.

Briefly, in case this movie hasn't been seen by whoever is reading this, the plot involves a man who builds a time machine and the complications that result based on his stupidity. It involves these "chasers" and some people being "chased" and the role of the media and big business in the life of a man that simply wants to...well...I'm not sure what he wants to do, but I think it involves making the world a better place. And that's always a good thing, so you can't blame him for trying.

I enjoyed thinking of the trouble that the makers had to go through in the production of this movie. Such things as bad sound effects, artificial dubbing of villains' voices, and thousands upon thousands of grey shirts to show the passage of time (Go Castleton!!); these are the things we rarely take time to notice. The special visual effects of traveling through time are a thing right out of the 80s. It's a shame that this movie is about five years late for that bandwagon.

Perhaps it can be categorized as a "cult film", but I'm sure whatever cult that saw wisdom in this has long since fallen off the face of the Earth. I guess it could be "science fiction", but I'm hesitant to say that because it could all plausibly happen in the world that we live in today, so instead I'm calling a piece of crap. But seriously, I'm sure that the Giancola family had a good time making it (check out the full credits, it seems to be a family affair), and for anyone who likes to hear some guy who thinks he's a scientist talk about tangents and other wacky ideas ("Pretend that you're this spoon.") I recommend this movie.

One last thing: Is that really Lisa Kudrow?

This is a great show. I wasn't sure if I'd like it based on the quality of the animation, but I realized that the quality is in fact really good even if it doesn't resemble real humans. I'm also impressed with the music and sound effects. For once I wanted to listen to a cartoon in stereo. The action moves at the speed of light, which is just right for my generation. And the humor even got me to laugh at a few moments. Hey, it's even got some samurai wisdom thrown in so you feel like you're learning something. I can picture others saying that it's a simple show that plays on archetypes of well known characters and ideas, but that sure doesn't stop me from laughing and getting me excited about it. Anyone reading this, spread the word about this show. We don't want this to be a casuality in the War of Televised shows.

I've watched this movie too many times to count and I'm always ready to watch it again. It combines everything that makes a great action movie. The three top-billed actors do an extraordinary job of taking on the roles of Stanley Goodspeed, John Patrick Mason, and General Francis X. Hummel. We are offered Nicholas Cage in one of the few action roles that he triumphs in, as Goodspeed. He may not be the typical tough skinned action hero, but he responds to the threats with a realistic amazement.

Add Ed Harris in an uncharacteristic action film role as Hummel and it gets better. We are given a United States General as a villain which leaves us asking, "Why is he doing this?". Like many action movies, one would think that this is where the action simmers down and a bit of drama takes over. In this case, it does turn dramatic, but with the great work of Harris, each line is delivered with fierce conviction that the action truly never stops.

Finally, we are given Sean Connery as ex-SAS operative, John Patrick Mason. It could have been a role with no more than one dimension, but that's not what you'll find here! He is a mythical character who accompanies Goodspeed, and as they take on the evil element, they find that they learn a little bit more about themselves thanks to each other.