The Butterfly Effect
Today's movie is out in theatres right now, so you can go see it and make up your own mind about it if you want to.
First, the premise: Cameras follow a young boy through his quite frightening childhood, complete with blackouts when some of the scary things happen. At thirteen, Evan moves away from his horrid life. We jump ahead to when he is twenty, living blackout free at university. When a girl prompts him to read some of the journals he has kept in order to help him remember things, he slowly discovers that he can travel in time. Following a tragic incident, Evan decides to travel back to make things right. As we all can surmise, every time he tries to put things right, something else goes wrong.
As shocking as this is going to sound from a cruel cynic like me, it is possible that Ashton Kutcher (?) can actually act. I know, movies like Road Trip and Just Married suggest otherwise, but he displayed some real talent here. Don't get me wrong - I'm not pretending that this movie is an A+. Nonetheless, it is powerful and enjoyable.
Personally, I feel one of the true tests of a good movie is what you take away from it. If you leave with a warm, fuzzy feeling, it was okay. If you never think about it again, except when you remember how much it sucked, then it wasn't good. Now, if you spend time afterwards talking about ideas suggested in the movie and the movie itself with the people you saw it with, then it really was worth your while. It's as simple as that.
So, beware. This movie will cause you to discuss, imagine, and recollect. Also, puppies and kiddies get hurt in some awful ways. If you can't handle that, then don't watch this movie.