The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Directors: Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart & Elden Henson

* * *

Man, it's a shame when a good idea sells out like this one did. I can safely say that these filmmakers sold-out without a guilty conscience on my part because I watched the interviews on the disc. They sprinkled their speaking time with bullshit phrases like "high concept script" and how child abuse means so much to them. Here's some advice: don't make a film about fucking time travel if you want to deal with child abuse. You also don't let Ashton Kutcher play your leading man. I could understand casting him if it was his TV-to-film debut. The kid wants to prove his chops. He's got more riding on it. By the time this movie started filming, however, Kutcher had already proven himself as kind of a one-trick pony. Perhaps it was fitting casting, though, because the script has the same kind of one trick gimmick going itself. A great premise that turned into a mediocre script with a bad actor, The Butterfly Effect should have been so much more than it turned out to be. The DVD rubs this fact in the viewer's face, too, as it has several documentary-like features where prominent scientists in various fields speak passionately about the possibilities of chaos theory. The butterfly's wings that led to this one getting made should only get cancer.

March 10
apartment TV, afternoon

* * *

D

Walkabout (1971)

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Starring: Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg & David Gulpilil

* * *

A father takes his two children out to the Australian Outback and tries to kill them. Unsuccessful, he sets fire to his vehicle and shoots himself in the face. Now the children must face the harsh environment of the Outback in their quest to make it home. An aboriginal boy finds the children and helps them on their sojourn as he gradually makes explicit his romantic feelings for the sister.

Walkabout features several graphic and explicit images of animals getting killed by both each other and by human beings. It's not uncommon for the main characters to be scantily clad or fully nude. It's a primal and unapologetic film, and it's jaded as hell.

The aboriginal boy is clearly meant to be filthy and repulsive to the viewer. This portrayal may be meant to mirror the sister's impression of the stranger, but despite its possible intent, the film just reeks of racism. The sister--a young English lady living in Australia--is stubborn and absurdly tries to impose a code of proper British conduct in one of the harshest and most competitive landscapes in the world. Her younger brother is intentionally obnoxious, just as a young boy would be in such a situation. Not understanding the extreme danger his group is in, he treats their journey like an adventure or a game. No one comes out looking good in Walkabout, especially not the English girl.

Walkabout makes a point about dichotomous (un)civilization, modern convenience/barren landscape, etc., but it's such a bitter message. The film is incredibly frustrating and not for those that are put off by senseless killing and stubborn fools.

March 9
apartment TV, morning

* * *

D

Laurel Canyon (2002)

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale & Natascha McElhone

* * *

Another quiet film by the writer/director of High Art, Laurel Canyon seeks to describe a way of life in the Los Angeles canyon country that exists between Hollywood and the Valley. Unfortunately Cholodenko stretches her story and her characters too far. Characters take actions a regular human being never would. The plot is ambiguous. The motivating factor behind the film is vague if it even exists. It's a fun film to watch if you're a Frances McDormand fan. Unfortunately, there's not much more to the film other than her great performance. It has too many characters with too little motivation and a plot that doesn't hold up even under the most preliminary examination. Watch High Art instead.

March 8
apartment TV, morning

* * *

D