If you are given the chance to play God, would you? Do you think you could actually take on that responsibility? Well, that is exactly what these two men do. Welcome to The Butterfly Effect double feature!
The Butterfly Effect (2004):
A young man named Evan (Ashton Kutcher) blocks out harmful memories of major events in his life. Once he's grown up he finds a way to remember these lost memories while also being able to alter his life by Supernatural forces.
I really like the concept of this movie because it's an interesting conversation topic. If you had the ability to change certain events in your life, would you actually do it? I know we all have a lot of events that taken place in our life that we wouldn't mind changing. Hell, I have a shit load of things that happened that I wouldn't mind changing but I'm not sure if I would go through with it.
The acting in this movie is pretty decent and shouldn't disappoint the audience too much. Ashton Kutcher did an okay job as the lead role but I don't think he's that great of an actor. I don't think he's horrible but he wouldn't be my first choice in a movie. Or my second, third or fourth. He's not even in my top ten. I'm just not fond of the guy.
Amy Smart fell kind of flat in this movie. I really do like her as an actress and think she has a lot of potential but I don't think this movie was right for her. I think I just like her in comedies, I feel like her acting ability shines through better in that genre.
The supporting actors (Melora Walters, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, John Patrick Amedori, Irene Gorovaia, Keven G. Schmidt and Jesse James) were pretty good and they held their own. Even though their characters played a huge part in the movie, I felt like they weren't memorable enough. I understand this movie was mainly centered around Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart but they still could of stood out more.
Besides the decent acting and the awesome concept, this movie was just eh. I still liked it a lot but it still made me think "eh". The way they pieced together the flashbacks to when the characters were 13 years old, 7 years old then adults wasn't that great. They didn't follow each other that well and at times I found myself confused at what was going on.
The story line was way too depressing. I know that this is a horror/thriller but the whole entire story line doesn't need to be so fucking depressing. They could of shown some hope for happiness but they didn't. It was just one depressing scene after another. You would think that the ending would be a happy one but it kind of wasn't.
Yay for awesome concept, Nay for not being made that well.
I give this movie 3 1/2 out of 5 Skulls.
The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006):
Nick Larson (Eric Lively) suffers from a brain tumor that allows him the ability to change his past by simply looking at pictures of previous events taken place in his life. He takes on that challenge once he realizes that it may help keep the people he loves out of danger.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! This sequel is how the first Butterfly Effect should of been. The acting is A LOT better and more memorable. Eric Lively did a great job and he's a better actor than Ashton Kutcher. IMO. He's also super hot. Hello! ;) Erica Durance shined through as the leading lady and the rest of the cast (Dustin Milligan, Gina Holden, David Lewis and Lindsay Maxwell) were amazing at their performance. Some of them only had a couple of lines but they still made an impression.
The whole story line wasn't depressing. There were some depressing scenes but it wasn't just one depressing scene after another. The depressing scene would follow with a happy one that actually gave you an ounce of hope. The first one didn't even give you that. The flashbacks to old and new events cropped together well and it didn't leave you feeling confused, it made sense.
I'm not sure if I like the concept in this movie more than the first one. We all know that having the ability to change your past is very unlikely. But I do think if you are able to do it then I can see it mainly happening from supernatural forces rather than a brain tumor. It being supernatural makes more sense. Again, IMO.
I feel like they made the right decision to make a sequel since it shows what the first movie did wrong and what it's lacking. It's no surprise that I am not a fan of the constant making of sequels and remakes but I do believe there are some movies that should be remade since the original was awful. 'Maniac' comes to mind. I feel like this type of movie doesn't need a sequel, if the actual sequel was the first one to come out. It also doesn't need to be a trilogy.
There's an awful trend going on in the lands of Hollywood Horror. It's movies that should of died after the first one or third movie that's keeps coming out with sequels making it a franchise. The franchise 'Saw', 'Scream', 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Final Destination' are prime examples of movies or franchises that have been done to death.
This trend needs to stop. For the sake of my sanity and the rest of the horror community as well, knock it off.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 Skulls.
Wahoo! Thanks again! :D
ReplyDeleteNo problem! You did a wonderful job! :)
Delete