Time Freak

Reading the concept I was struck by two things. First the philisophical and moral implications of what our antagonist does and secondly just how incredibly creepy the whole thing is.

Quickly the movie further descends into creepiness but it really does make you think.

What I liked about Time Freak is that it doesn't gloss over how questionable the whole thing is, it embraces it and the last third of the movie heavily puts a spotlight on it.

It tells the story of a young man who builds a time machine after his girlfriend leaves him to go back and fix things. You see what I mean about morals vs creepiness?

Starring Sophie "Sansa" Turner it plays out like a generic Hollywood romantic comedy but with this twist. By the end it's fairly hard hitting, thought provoking and certainly got my heart aflutter (But if anyone asks I will so totally deny it)

The awfully titled Time Freak is funny, heartfelt and is one of those film concepts I'll be thinking about for a longtime to come.

Despite the questionable ethics it's a really fun little movie.

The Good:

Sophie Turner

Very original concept

Well woven little tale

The Bad:

The concept is creepier the more you think about it

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Sophie Turner cannot sing

Donkey punch has been demoted to donkey slap

Jason Hervey has been reborn as Skyler Gisondo

This is a fun lighthearted movie that reminds me of Being Erica or TNG episode called Tapestry - where you can go back in time and change past mistakes to produce an ideal outcome. As you can guess, the lesson learned is that manipulating the past does not lead to the perfect outcome. Good idea although nothing new.

What I like about the movie? Skyler Gisondo as the friend Evan IS the heart and humor of the movie. I would watch it again just for his comedic performance that kept me in stitches. I looked forward to each and every scene he was in and he did not disappoint.

What could have been better? I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main leads. I believe that part of the problem lies with how Stillman was written and partially the casting choice.

While Sophie Turner was okay as Debbie, I feel that Zooey Deschanel would have been a better choice. If I closed my eyes and just listened to the voices, it almost sounded like that's what Sophie was going for.

Asa Butterfield as Stillman came off as a bit conceited and whiny. It was hard to feel sympathy for him at any point. The scriptwriter could've made him more likeable and a different casting choice would've helped also. Maybe someone like Adrian Grenier in She Drives Me Crazy (1999)? Someone that you feel sorry for would've helped.

If the script was tweaked a little and different people cast in the leading roles, this would've easily been an 8. They didn't do anything wrong and there were genuinely funny moments, but it lacked that certain spark that could've really made it great.

Stillman (Asa Butterfield) is a physics genius who's girlfriend Debbie (Sophie Turner) breaks up with him and she says that it's because she is unhappy. So he creates a time machine to go back and change all the times that he made her unhappy, with the help of his friend Evan (Skyler Gisondo).

What I loved about this movie was that it doesn't take itself to seriously and there were some genuine laugh-out-loud and enjoyable moments. The acting was top notch from all three main characters. The chemistry between the struggling couple is electric and very relatable and the banter and bond between the two friends is very amusing.

But that said the writer and director (Andrew Bowler) did a brilliant job of understanding the possible consequences of changing the past and creating a "perfect" life. His message is that if we don't make mistakes and struggle in life then we don't learn or grow. We would be stuck in time, never moving forward which is expressed in a romantic "boy meets girl" rather than dramatic "save the universe" way, which I thought was a breath of fresh air.

This movie visualises a situation I for one have thought about, where often someone is the Yin to our Yang and opposites attract at first but over time one of you realises that you're growing a part. When you look back on the relationship after it has ended, your life seems to be over and it's easy to wish you could have a do-over. But that isn't how life works, we're meant to hurt, struggle, make mistakes and most of all learn from them. All so that when someone does come along who seems perfect for us we don't make the same mistakes we did in the past.

A boy-genius meets the love of his life. A few months later they have split up - cue the time machine to get her back.

At first glance I knew I had definitely been here before - but I was wrong.

On the surface you can enjoy this as a very simple, quaint romance with the odd joke thrown in.

The sci-fi element of this is kept on the down low. There are no annoying sequences about paradoxes, dichotomies or accidentally shagging your own parents here. This is all about the relationships of the three main characters and the choices we make in life.

Straight away the leads do not look like they are an actual couple and I assumed their chemistry would be garbage.

This, however, is one of the strengths of the film and what sets it apart.

This will really resonate with anyone who (like me) has gone out with someone who is clearly hotter and more vivacious than themselves. There was something painfully familiar seeing the lead character snowballing trivial disagreements in to major issues due to a lack-of-confidence, fear and jealousy. Then of course the harder he tries to fix things the more damage he causes.

The characters are great in this; they are so believable they almost feel like people from my actual past. The story is simple but non-judgmental - I found myself rooting for all parties involved all the time.

Despite having some depth this remains a nice light watch, there is no nudity, violence, political agendas, and it won't stretch your brains or emotions too far either.

An excellent watch!

I'm someone who wants to fix everything and this was kinda wake up call for me. Just watched when I needed something like this.