Timescape

I wasn't too sure what was going to await me here. What a pleasant surprise! Jeff Daniels and Ariana Richards make up a team with lots of intensity as father and daughter. Suspense is gained without many special effects, what a relief in all this overkill of technology. Great little sci-fi/mystery spoof, very enjoyable, and the DVD looks just outstanding (just like almost everything done by Anchor Bay)

No one I know, outside my family of 4, has ever heard of this film; what a tremendous loss that is to science fiction, ideas, thoughtful and intelligent stories, and old-fashioned entertainment. The film is based on a fine old short-story, "Vintage Season," which, like the movie, is probably not reprinted in any current anthology. I am happy to have the tale in print, and happy to own a copy of this well made film created from it (I taped it 2 or 3 years ago from, I believe, HBO). Search this one out--perhaps it'll be on one of the premium cable channels again one day?--and enjoy clever, witty, and surprisingly memorable movie-making. You'll ponder the end of this one for weeks, guaranteed.

This is a film I often think about. There aren't many sci-fi films from this era that are so accessible, it has good family drama as well as mystery elements. The setup of a single father and daughter is very typical of 1990s films but I can't think of any other story quite like it. It's not perfect, and there are some moments that were a little corny at the time and will feel even moreso now, but overall it's charming and has some great performances.

Now let me justify that bold summary. Sure, PITCH BLACK and CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK have a zillion bucks of special effects up there on the screen. And I did actually enjoy PITCH BLACK for what it was. But it was pretty hard for me to get involved with the characters and care much about what happened to them between all the explosions and monsters and whatever. Let's face it, balancing truck loads of creatures, spaceships and other eye candy with a script (yes, these things do have a script) - and I mean the story in that script - is a tough job. Even Spielberg lost control of his story in a couple of films.

I'm really not putting down what director David Twohy has done since. I just think, in many cases, that a film can benefit from having technical limitations. It forces the director - and everyone else in the cast and crew - to focus on what really makes a great film: the story. THE GRAND TOUR has that big time.

It has characters that you can care about, because they're written well in the story. Ariana Richards is just right in this pre-JURASSIC PARK role, for example. Plus we get nice performances from character actors like George Murdock. There are some fairly decent twists to the story, because, well, there is a story. Which means the actors get some decent lines and don't spend the time screaming or saying things like "gotta kill a few people", or something just as insightful. The effects shots are kept to a minimum, most likely due to budget. So they matter less here, and we get nearly all of the camera time on the characters. And that makes the film work.

So what's my point? First, if you like sci-fi, especially low-key character driven sci-fi drama, then GRAND TOUR is a film worth seeing. Second, I think David Twohy the director is better when he lets David Twohy the writer really go to town. The only thing I like better of his, would be THE FUGITIVE (he wrote it but did not direct). Now GRAND TOUR is not perfect, and it's no FUGITIVE, but it's pretty entertaining and for Twohy in the director's chair, it's my favorite.

I do understand the need to "give 'em what they want" with the CGI and all, but one can balance story and visuals. I hope to see a Twohy film written this well get a real budget. Who knows, maybe folks would even go see it.

This excellent science fiction is well worth watching. The acting is very good, especially Jeff Daniels, and the story line keeps you interested right from the start. It is a film the family could watch, but it is not Walt Disney style. While this film is not a blockbuster, it rises way above the junky B grade movies. If you do not usually like science fiction flicks, don't be put off since this film does not have any weird effects or monsters.