Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to a brand new segment here on the Freakin’ Awesome Network! I join forces with my cousin-in-law (or is that just cousin?) Matt Stetler to help you decide what to put into your Netflix Instant Queue. Truth be told, it’s mainly so we can deplete our ever-growing queues. Each week, one of us will pick a film that’s streaming to review. We don’t talk to each other about the film, nor give either one a hint as to how we feel. We watch it, write our review, then stay hush until the article is posted.
Instead of a star or grade rating, each film will be given a main reason to put it in your queue and a main reason to not put it in your queue. Sometimes, we may say to completely avoid. Other times, we may say to seek it out immediately. Other times, we’ll be split on it. No matter the case, we’ll have two reviews ready to help you decide what to watch. We’re like the ZAGAT of movie critics.
Without further ado, here’s our very first installment. It’s Matt’s pick, so he’ll start things off with his review of Nacho Vigalando’s “Timecrimes”.
Plot Synopsis: Hector (Karra Elejalde) witnesses a woman being stalked by a bandaged stranger and goes to help. Once the attacker’s attention is diverted to him, he escapes to a silo in the mountains. Inside is El Joven (Nacho Vigalondo), who is working on a time machine. He uses the machine to help Hector hide, but it results in Hector going back in time. Now, he must find a solution to this dilemma or face unforeseeable consequences.
Matt Stetler
First off, I’d like to say that I believe more kids should be named after appetizers. Now, as for Timecrimes, when you take your basic thriller and try to get too science fictioney with it, things can easily spiral out of control and the film becomes one of those “too smart for the audience” types of movies. That’s not the case with Timecrimes. It is a science fiction thriller with time travel as its subject, however, it is successful because not only does it keep things simple to follow, it does so while still keeping the film very interesting. Every time things start to make sense and you think you know where it’s heading, it throws another curveball at you. Yes you do have to pay attention, not only due to the subtitles, but because of the time travel aspect as well.
That being said, it is so well done that you won’t have to constantly pause the film to ask yourself the who, what, when, where, why and hows. Director Nacho Vigalondo keeps everything moving along at a great pace. It wasn’t a surprise to me that he directed segment A of the ABC’s of Death, which was one of the better segments. He never lets the “high tech” subject matter become the focal point of Timecrimes. The focal point is actor Karra Elejaide. He nails his role (or should I say roles) perfectly. He hits all ranges, from bumbling fool of a husband to a time travelling pro, with ease. He’s believable at all times during the film.
My only question is, does anyone ever time travel and not screw up the present or future? I think it would be best if we all just left time travel to people in DeLoreans. I highly enjoyed Timecrimes. It seems like it could be such an over the top mess of an idea, yet is kept simple and effective by great direction and a fantastic job by its actors.
Why you should put this in your queue? It’s a well-made thriller. Regardless of its time travelling subject matter, it keeps you on your toes trying to figure it out, but doesn’t break your brain while doing so.
Why you shouldn’t put this in your queue? It’s a foreign film with subtitles. Some people just can’t get on board with having to read while watch.
Justin Oberholtzer
The brilliance of “Timecrimes” comes from Nacho Vigalondo’s writing and direction. Tackling time travel is a tricky situation, as it comes with inherent flaws from a story writing aspect. Since most of us don’t know the mechanics of time travel (even the ones working on it probably don’t), it’s easy to mess with the timeline. The plot itself could crumble simply because the actions in the alternate time dimension may match up too easily with that of the first, making one believe none of these actions can occur at all.
“Timecrimes” seems to be going that way and Nacho knows that. He purposely made it so. He’s manipulating the audience into thinking the story is starting to crumble. Once we discover it’s not, our minds are blown. That effect would only last if the rest of the film lives up to the revelation and it thankfully does. Brilliantly, I might add.
Even when it comes to tricking the audience into thinking the film is crumbling, Nacho is meticulously making sure the timeline(s) works. Every little detail from the first timeline carries over to the second, with events taking place in the second having already taken place in the first. This seems like an obvious trope, but it’s one that can easily be missed. Especially when dealing with the intricacy this film has.
It’s this tight direction and grasp that Nacho has over the film and the audience that makes “Timecrimes” a tremendous success! Early on, I was enjoying the film, but questioning it’s twists. I started to feel like this was a misfire, albeit a clever one. Then, it slowly unfolds into an intelligent sci-fi drama that had me falling in love with it. That’s the result of a master filmmaker at work!
Why You Should Put This In Your Queue? It’s an excellent time travel film that messes with your mind and stays with you long after viewing it.
Why You Shouldn’t Put This In Your Queue? There’s no reason not to. Put it in your queue now!