Customer Reviews

Timemaster [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Glickenhous family comes together here with a stewpot-of-everything for a decent time-manipulation story centering on Young Jesse being the only one who cares enough to convince a cynical Almost-badguy Pat Morita to help stop a future-based life-and-death-of-innocents-stakes time-manipulation competition from destroying his parents' lives. Flawed by a lackadaisical performance from Dorn, this study in how-to-produce-good-action-scenes-on-budget is great fun. Especially so the more you know your hero films. Hopping from a post-nuclear-war desert near-future to the far future to the late 1800's, it's use of remarkably good first and second-unit camera and stunt work and editing makes for remarkable emulations and dead-on copies of famous scenes and stylings. Stylistically accurate, dangerous and detailed scenes from Leone's mean Italian westerns, Mad Max, Dune, classic biker bar fights, and a stunningly accurate and exhausting Swiss spa location copy of the Bond ski chase (featuring the US free-style ski team) all come together for a demo-reel that would impress anyone. All this is tied together with the director's children in the lead roles and a story that isn;t as bad as it feels with the lethargy that seems to emanate from Dorn's tangible uninvolvement with whatever scene he's in. While Patently absurd at $80 for the tape, especially since the wide screen version is on LD, if it's comes to DVD at basic prices, it's easily worth having as an example of how to get a film done on budget and on time and give the kids a good ride. Easily worth the time and trouble to check this one out.

This has to be one of the best low-budget films of all time! Michelle Williams, Michael Dorn and Pat Morita are awesome! Jesse needs acting lessons, though he is sufficient for the film.

I don't think that many people will see this film. I rented it after I saw it in the video store. I have no idea why it is [$$] bucks..., maybe because it is hard to get, although I haven't tried looking for it hard.

This is a cool movie about a boy who travels through time to try and stop an evil plot by Dorn to destroy the Earth for a game. The game is kind of hard to explain. It is played for a life-giving substance called 'Blue.' Blue gives it's bearer eternal life, but if you stop taking it you die.

Pat Morita enlists Jesse to stop this game and save his parents from being prisoners of the game. The plot is very complicated, you'll just have to see this movie. It's one-in-a-million. I give it 5 stars.

What a mess! There was way too much that was not explained, for starters. The kid (Jesse) needs some acting lessons. Some special effects were OK, others were terrible - the outer space scenes were a joke, and when the bank blew up I swear that the guys on the balcony were in mid-air *before* the explosion *started*. Sheesh. The virtual game machines were ludicrous as well, and it was some coincidence that Jesse could just hop in and operate a seemingly complex control panel like an expert. Overall it was very difficult to follow, especially how the main characters memory appeard to be selective depending on what time they were in. The story had potential but the poor execution made it one of the worst movies I've ever seen, if the THE worst.

After reading the plot synopsis on IMDB/Amazon and listening to the narration in the beginning of the movie, I can safely say that I have no idea what was going on in the movie. The story could have been interesting if done properly, but the script was horrible and the time-line jumped around more than a bunny rabbit.

Only watch this movie if you enjoy torturing your brain or feeling like a movie that will leave you confused for 100 minutes.

The kids can't act, the scenery is right out of "Mad Max", Michael Dorn is practically sleepwalking (he was better on ChIPS than he is here!) and Pat Morita should have stuck to standup comedy (they should have gotten the fabulous character actor Mako for this one). The only saving grace this movie has is Duncan Regehr, who is far too graceful an actor to be wasted like this. Unfortunately, he is not on-screen nearly enough. For Regehr fanatics, a better choice is any of the "Zorro" videos or "Monster Squad", where he plays an unbelievably evil Dracula.

I love this movie even though it needed work it was a great science fiction film. The actors did good for being kids. It was great and the title just pulled me in.