info-5342 Yes, I understand a lot of people just can't go there - science fiction films... or SF (which can also stand for Speculative Fiction) and one step further - SF films about time travel - has many more people racing for the nearest exit, but here's one so ingenious I'm putting it up there on the top shelf as one of the 10 best cinematic chronology crunchers ever made.When F-A-Q-A-T-T was released in its native UK it was promoted with a very Brit-centric proclamation, "It's Doctor Who meets Shaun of the Dead", and that's not invalid except I don't recall the good Doctor ever starting an adventure in a pub with three pints of stiff stout under his belt.Chris O'Dowd as Ray, Dean Lennox-Kelly as Pete and Mark Wooton as Toby are the pragmatist, the cynic and the dreamer. We collect a few hints regarding their common aspirations - escape their dead end jobs, become famous, rich and get laid but let's face it in their rather sedate time stream none of the above is gonna be happening.So how is it these larger lads end up in a rift that threatens the very fabric of time and space itself, in the process becoming so famous they have fans who hold look-alike parties in their honor! And no, I'm not trying to up sell - that really happens... in the future... and they don't even have to leave the pub to find out about it.You're thinking, "Oh, that's a cheap way to do a movie, build just one set - a shabby pub interior - all stock standard bits and bobs and there's the art direction budget cut in half, right?" Well, yes, but the fact that the location of the story is so constrained, our heroes firmly rooted in one place, it becomes almost impossible for these imagineers to navigate away from the inevitable consequences when they ....OK, OK no Spoilers! Not in this time stream.Let's just say it's delightful to see how the long argued paradoxes of time travel theory become intrinsic to the action, and new complexities are built on the shoulders of other complexities... like Cassie, a time traveling plumber... of sorts... with self confidence issues delightfully played by Anna Faris. She arrives just at the right moment to repair a leak in time and there we are, 30 minutes into the film and everything is fixed and it looks like Ray might even get laid! As if! The boy's hopelessly under exercised hormones and a string of questionable choices result in even more temporal turmoils... and thanks to that we, the audience, have lots more fun! Now, most time travel, or time manipulation movies, generally suck at the timey-wimey bits... really... do not get me started on "Looper" or "Source Code" - movies that relegate the clock conundrums to second or third plot place behind lots of scenes involving good guy / bad guy chasing games... you can throw Terminator in there as well.There are of course exceptions - The "Back to the Future" movies, especially the second film, where the impact of future on past IS the driver of the plot and the challenges for the lead characters come from the impact of alternate futures and pasts on each other.F-A-Q-A-T-T truly man's up to the task and exuberantly throws itself into the mucky stuff of Grandfather and Chaos paradoxes and the really big issue, "Why you should absolutely not have sex with anyone while time traveling!" For once, an SF film created by people who clearly understand the finer points of genre with which they are working.The script is a little fire cracker, a slow burner to start but then exploding into a life of its own. There's a great idea that starts playing with time before we're really even thrust into it and that's to have Ray tell of an experience in flash back, in the middle of what has, to that point, been a chronologically ordered plot - it works, it works very very well and is not at all confusing.These playful story telling techniques makes for some internal treats relating to other time travel films... So, thank you writer Jamie Mathieson and director Gareth Carrivick for not treating your audience as if they are mentally defective or incapable of processing the paradoxes and thank you also for being creative enough to do this all with great wit and some really sharp dialogue.High five to the three lead actors, especially Chris O'Dowd who's comic timing and recurring foot in mouth exchanges with Anna Faris prove he's one of the best.And Dean Lennox Kelly's embracing of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" proves that even the manliest of men really do have a pop diva inside them wanting to get out! The way the joke is played once and then revisited just doubles the fun.So why and how did F-A-Q-A-T-T fall between the cracks of public attention? Well, the reviews were a little mixed... OK they were unkind.... with observations like "mildly diverting" and "feels like a stretched out TV pilot..." wow, thanks for killing the British film industry there guys... like those comments are gonna make anyone line up at the nearest multiplex box office.So, track down a copy and take note - it's one of those films that has more clues after all the thank yous to dolly grips, best boys and honey wagon drivers have rolled up the screen...Yes, there's more movie after the movie!

Prismark10 I reckon at one point Nick Frost and Simon Pegg were considered for the lead roles with Edgar Wright mooted as a director.However the film starts as three guys in a pub talking about time travel when one of them is fired from his job. Ray (Chris O'Dowd), Toby (Marc Wootton) and Pete (Dean Lennox Kelly) are out in the pub going through beers, crisps and moaning about life as well as talking science fiction but strangely no mention of Doctor Who.A trip to the toilet for one of them leads to some sort of time leak where the trio go back and forth along a time-line that could lead to danger. Anna Faris plays Cassie a woman from the future whose job is to repair these time leaks.The film is rather fun, the three leads play well together, they are not irritating and there is a mixture of comedy with some danger and drama. Faris mixes well with the trio and there is some substance with the science fiction elements of the story.

iwhacko OWN WARNING: possible spoilers about time lines (but no real spoilers about the plot). This movie already has a lot of reviews, a lot of them give it a bad score which I do not understand. Let me elaborate on that some more.But first I will agree, it might not be the most funny movie. With this I mean it doesn't have an avalanche of silly jokes. But it is definitely British humor. And there are hilarious moments.Having said that, it IS a great movie. Especially if you are into time travel Sci-fi. I guess that is what put a lot of people off. You have to be able to keep track of the story. This movie has made a great effort to make sure everything fits. For instance, when they travel back in time, you will see their alternates in the background. Details like that make it a great movie in my opinion, because a lot of films can contain inconsistencies. And the maker of this film has made sure that it all fits together. If you watch this movie for a second time, these are great little details to pay attention to. They are definitely not obvious when you watch it for the first time, but you will notice them on you second viewing.All in all if you love time travel movies, this is a must see.

cmbzurz Yes, ten! This will likely go down as one of my "classics". Great special effects? no. Geat acting? Well, it's not Hamlet, is it? Likable characters, interesting concept, funny ( in a "yes, I'm a bit of a nerd, but you are a judgmental asshole you ignorant bastard" kind of way)? YES! Look... You either like it or you don't. hold on a sec.... (Sip's wine....) It doesn't expect anything. It's clever but doesn't act like it is. I enjoyed it. Anyone fancy a pint and some crisps? (spoiler alert) In the future, everyone is American. Chris Dowd's character and Anna Faris' character have sex MANY times ( but thankfully it's not shown in the movie). I think you'll like it if you are smart and not conceited. We know who we are don't we? ( did that sound conceited? Oh well.). ;)