Time Freak

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!

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.

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.

I'm a sucker for time travel movies and trying to fix what went wrong. Add a romance to that and I'm often a bigger sucker.

This movie is okay. It's sweet and silly and sometimes a bit ludicrous, but above-average fun.

I think that the biggest surprise and the movie's saving grace is Skyler Gisondo as Evan. I've never seen him before, but his work here is remarkable. He takes what could have been a thankless, ridiculous second banana role and arguably makes the whole film so much more than it would be without him.

If you watch this movie just to see what Skyler does with his part, and think about - and this is apropos for a time travel movie - the acting choices he could have made, or what another lesser actor might have done with the role, you won't be sorry.

Put this on not expecting a lot but also because I enjoy time travel movies. I am sure there will be people who didn't like it ot will spell out all the problems with the time travel theories. But if you just sit back and watch this movie and dont take it too seriously it is pretty good. Enjoyed Sansa Stark as well.

Over-all 6.4