Our Take on the Film
30-Second Plot Review
How Does It Look?
How Does It Sound?
Bonus Features and Material
Easter Eggs
Parent's Guide
DVD-ROM

OUR TAKE ON THE FILM: 7 out of 10
Let's get to the big question right off the top - yes, Ashton Kutcher is horribly miscast and takes a decent movie and drives it into the ground. I wish I could say otherwise, and I suppose he can get credit for effort as it's apparent he's done his homework and is doing his absolute best to act well here. Unfortunately, when you put lipstick on a pig it may look a lot nicer but, man, you're still kissing a pig. Kutcher can't act, and that becomes obvious real fast. So let's assume that at some point you can get used to that and judge this movie on its merits. I had the benefit of catching this one with a group of three others, a luxury I'm not always afforded but one that can help analyze how the non-jaded folk feel. Technically, the film is excellent. The cinematography, the directing, and especially the editing and post-production are well above average and together with the infinifilm treatment they make this movie a recommendation by me. That said, the movie is way too confusing and jumps way too far to be realistic enough to allow us to invest ourselves in these characters. Things stop making sense early on, and even a little suspension of disbelief isn't going to pull you out. This train doesn't simply fall off the tracks, it sprouts wings and flys to a completely different set of tracks, then splits in half via asexual reproduction and attempts to run both tracks at once. Repeat if necessary. It's hard to get into too much detail without spoiling major plot points, but regardless of my problems with the movie itself, pick this one up and give it a shot, any infinifilm DVD is worth a view.

30-SECOND PLOT REVIEW
Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) is a twenty-something college student still suffering from the same blackouts he has since he was a young child. It seems he constantly represses disturbing happenings with no ability to recall them at all, from violent childhood artwork to a prank gone bad with his friends involving a stick of dynamite. Further troubling is the fact that his father has been institutionalized for years after having suffered what appear to be some of the same problems Evan is now experiencing. When he comes to realize that the events of their childhood have shaped an unsavoury future for him and his friends Evan sets out to unravel the mystery of his blackouts with the assistance of his journals, but when he suddenly finds himself able to travel back in time to change the future he may not be ready for the results.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?
The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen only with the theatrical version on one side of the DVD and the director's cut on the other. The relatively rookie directors have worked overtime to create something that is quite visually intriguing, and they've done a great job with it. This isn't a Star Wars-esque beauty that will jump off the screen at you, and there are good reasons why it shouldn't be. Incredible attention is given to how each and every scene should appear, using visuals to establish mood, and doing so stunningly well. Details like reducing or increasing shutter, picking up contrast, utilizing colour muting and vibrancy, and many other tricks create one of the best mood-visual films I've ever witnessed. Incredible job.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?
The film is offered in Dolby Digital 6.1 DTS ES and Dolby Digital 5.1 EX in English only with optional English and Spanish subtitles. As with 'Final Destination 2' these gents are obviously students of the game, and very good ones. Constantly creating technically superior work on B-films probably benefits from the low expectations, but regardless this movie sounds as nice as it looks. The inclusion of two tracks that, technically, are superior to the primary tracks on most films are evident of this.

BONUS FEATURES AND MATERIAL
Let's make one thing clear - even a bad film is worth watching when given the infinifilm treatment by New Line, and this one is no exception. By now it's probably obvious that 'The Butterfly Effect' won't be winning any of my year end awards, as the film itself is less than great. But kudos to New Line and the folks behind the DVD for creating another great experience with hours worth of informative and entertaining viewing. If you're not familiar with infinifilm I'll be brief - you watch the film alone first, then you watch with infinifilm. What this offers is an enhanced viewing experience that allows you the opportunity to branch off various times throughout the viewing for more in-depth information, deleted scenes at their point of intent, or just about anything else. You can watch it with commentary or fact tracks and essentially get an almost documentary look at the movie. You also have the opportunity to watch the features alone, and they are as follows. Under Beyond the Movie come two documentaries - The Science and Psychology of the Chaos Theory (8:55) and The History and Allure of Time Travel (13:25). Fairly self explanatory these decent featurettes speak with field experts as opposed to the filmmakers to examine two of the major dramatic themes of the film. This section is sealed off with a rather poor Fact Track that contained far too few facts to be worthwhile. Don't waste your time watch the movie again, just add it to the infinifilm viewing and I promise you won't miss a thing. Incidentally, a Fact Track is much like Pop-Up Video - random snippets of info popping up on screen. The second section is All Access Pass headed off with Filmmaker Commentary with Co-Directors/Co-Screenwriters Eric Bress and J Mackye Gruber. This is a great track with two regular guys who know their stuff sharing everything they possibly can with you. More interesting here is the fact that this film took them six years to make as they refused to sell it outright or, initially, sacrifice their vision to get it made. As the story goes, they had to make sacrifices in the theatrical cut that are fairly significant and now reinstated in the director's cut here (the version featuring all of these features). It's entertaining for average folks and students of film alike. The Creative Process (17:50) is your basic "behind the scenes", and Visual Effects (16:05) doesn't need my explanation I hope. A Storyboard Gallery is followed by nine Deleted/Alternate Scenes (6:33) that are worth watching as they include the theatrical ending and a third alternate ending. The disc closes off with the Theatrical Trailer (2:30).

EASTER EGGS
None that we could find.

PARENTS GUIDE
The MPAA rates this film R for violence, sexual content, language, and brief drug use, and the Canadian Home Video Rating is 18A. Most "violence" is the deteriorating condition of Evan as he progresses in his time travels, usually presented in the form of bloody noses. There are also a few scars, a couple good hits to the head with foreign objects, and one scene involving multiple stabbings. Sexual content consists of a somewhat disturbing scene in which a depraved father forces his 8-year-old daughter and her male friend to film a porn video, a few "beneath-the-sheets" sex scenes, some unsettling sex talk in a prison scene, and one full-frontal nudity shot of a female extra. Language is somewhat heavy with over 50 F-words, 20 S-words, and a good 30 milder curses. Finally, brief drug use involves one character taking hits from a bong and a look at another character's drug paraphenalia as she covers it over.

DVD-ROM FEATURES
Placing this DVD in your DVD-ROM launches the InterActual Player. Follow the movie alongside the original script with Script-to-Screen or take a look at an Image Gallery. The Commentary Digest gives you the chance to check out some production notes alongside the Director's Cut and commentary track, and Scene Medley is an odd little addition that lets you watch specific scenes in the order of your choosing.

This film reviewed Monday, August 9 in Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo Sound on the DVD format.