Outlander

Not to be confused with the 1981 classic with Sean Connery "Outland", this story takes place a few thousand years earlier. In fact, this story takes place in what is now Norway in 700 and change A.D. Basically a group of Vikings meets a guy from the future who crash-lands his ship on earth with a stowaway in the form of a bio-luminescent dragon.

James Caviezel plays the uber-tough ET. John Hurt and Ron Perlman play warring kings and are totally convincing. Well done guys. Jack Huston plays a king wannabe and romantic competition for the space traveler. Sophia Myles is that love interest and tougher than nails daughter of the reigning king. See the story developing?

There is a thin spot in the plot that is never really cleared up, but it does not really matter. Why was this space traveler transporting the bodies of his dead family someone other than where he lived, and what caused his ship to crash? Did the stowaway cause the damage that lead to the crash? Perhaps, but that is never made clear.

With an R-rating for violence and some gore, this movie could easily have been PG-13. I'm guessing some lobbying was done to get the R-rating in the hopes of more ticket sales.

Watch this movie with someone who likes dragon movies.

Deja Vu (2006)

Time travel is solid fantasy and sci-fi stock, but it is used brilliantly here in a crime drama. In fact, it is done so well, you almost don't realize its being done. There are no flashy time machine scenes, and few, if any, special effects. This is as much psycho-thriller as anything else. And it is very well done.

Denzel Washington does a great job playing the smart, funny, caring cop he plays so well in other movies. He is surrounded by a great supporting cast as well. Almost too many to mention, but here are a few you will surely recognize: Val Kilmer, James Caviezel, Adam Goldberg, and others.

If you have not seen this movie yet, I recommend it. The story keeps you thinking.

Watch this one with someone who will talk about it with you while the story is unfolding.

Frequency

What happens when you twist a top notch thriller with a mild sci-fantacy with a family drama? I'm not sure either, but in 2000, Director Gregory Hobilt (Fallen and Untraceable currently in theaters) spins a masterful tale of time warped just-in-time heroism. Before Denzel Washington left himself messages in "Deja Vu", Dennis Quaid (The Right Stuff, The Big Easy, and Suspect plus a very good Bonny Raitt video) and Jim Caviezel (Pay It Forward, Unknown, and Deja Vu with Denzel) did it in "Frequency".

Fireman Father Quaid leaves clues as to his murderer, and then finds a way to communicate them to his grown up son Caviezel, decades later. It is a very clever concept, if not a new one. But, excellent acting and editing make this a very fun, exciting, movie to watch. But I fear I may have already given too much away.

Timing is everything, and this movie gets it right.

Watch it with someone who likes solving a good mystery.

Pay It Forward

The concept for this movie was so poignant, and so valid, so timely and timeless, that one of the major insurance companies uses it 7 years later for an ad campaign. The idea is fairly simple; take the Golden Rule, and notch is up a bit. Do something really nice for 3 people who are expected to the same. The expanding wave of good will is supposed to consume society like a tsunami.

I liked this movie more for the concept than for the acting however. Don't get me wrong, the cast is wonderful. Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Jim Caviezel (Mel Gibson's Jesus), Angie Dickinson, Jay Mohr, and even Jon Bon Jovi all do an acceptable job, and are believable. But, they let the story carry the weight rather than strength of performance.

It is a feel-good movie and will probably make you cry with it's slightly sappy ending. But, it's worth the watch, again or for the first time, just to get the Utopian idea into the subconscious.