Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
gengar843 TIMER pretends to be forward-thinking, then "ironically" twists it so that intuitive human love is correct after all without any gadgets. This to me makes the entire premise anti-human on two levels: (1) that we as a species would actually do something this stupid, (2) that we're just monkeys without the gadgets. So, damned if we do, damned if we don't.What this does is justifies the promiscuity, the "blazing hot anonymous sex" with strangers that es the time until you meet "the one," or else the "it doesn't matter anyway" attitude because "the one" is coming anyway. The movie is furthermore told from an upper-class perspective, so there is the usual digs at privileged living (boring for me to watch). In the same vein, there is a misanthropic anger at people the writer(s) don't particularly like, such as Mary in the nursing home, in a brief scene that really sums up the viciousness of this film.The tender music score belies this boiling anger at love and life. As many have already pointed out, the ending is a middle finger to the entire move, as well as the audience for having participated. It's like they weren't sure whether to fulfill the technological destiny of the vision or go with a complete reversal of our thoughts on Timer, period, but went for a ridiculous middle ground, "whatever turns you on." Besides hedonistic, this is against the premise, that it's NOT whatever turns you on but rather what is supposed to be long-term right for you ,as when Oona met with her father, who seemed to have some insight into destiny - but, stupidly, only because he had a timer :-/Good acting, I guess, for this nonsense. Attractive cast. Good form and pacing. But it's like a pleasant classic statue with paint splotched all over it intentionally. It's supposedly a message but it's really more like a tantrum.
Zev A sci-fi romantic comedy with an intriguing concept: A gadget is invented that lets you know exactly when you will meet 'The One', getting rid of 'all the guesswork'.This movie does some interesting things with it, but not enough, and then it stops being interesting for a flat ending.It deals with a woman who has decades of waiting to do and shows how she is resigned to her fate and only has one-night stands in the meantime, preferably with 'timer-guys' since they aren't 'conflicted'.It explores another woman who's timer is blinking because her One hasn't gotten a timer yet, and her frustrating search for him, trying to get her dates to put on a timer to know for sure if she should stay with them.It also briefly touches on a case of a young boy who meets his One when he is 14 and still inexperienced and confused.But that's as interesting as it gets. I had a million questions and ideas while watching the movie, but the movie just lazily attaches a predictable ending, and you can see they just stopped thinking at a certain point.For example, the young boy: What is the damage to someone who sees his life already mapped out for him at 14? Wouldn't he possibly lash out and try to have sex with as many other girls as possible?If the timer 'only confirms what you already know', then why was the timer's revelation at the end so obviously wrong for everyone? Where are the organized groups of people against the timer? Pick a reason: Religion, adventure-seekers, bohemians, people who don't believe in the One, or in monogamy, etc etc.Why did Steph want to remove the timer? She already knew what it says that it would take 14 more years... there would be no change in her mind after removing it.Why did Dan get a timer after he was so sure that he already had the One and seemed so against it?Technically, how can the Timer read 'Oxytocin' levels ('the hormone of love') if you haven't fallen in love yet? But I suppose one has to ignore things like this and suspend disbelief for a while...And lots of interesting questions that this movie never explores: What if you are supposed to have two Ones (one after the other)? What if you fall in love with two people at once? Why don't people ever doubt the Timer? What if you are supposed to get some life experience with someone who isn't the One before you meet the One? What happens if you meet the One but then screw it up by cheating on them? Why aren't there people who never meet the One? Why don't people think of these and many more questions like these in this movie? And if the Timer is really only measuring hormones, then these questions are perfectly valid and many more like them.And then there's the ending: A confused and unsatisfactory mess. So they force themselves to get to know each other and suddenly avoid people they really care for just because the Timer told them to... not exactly a happy ending, and it doesn't go with what the Timer is all about as well. I can appreciate that things aren't supposed to click all at once, and that what we need (versus what we want for now) may not be obvious at first, but why aren't people doubting that they may be making it happen only because of the Timer? And so on. In summary: This is the kind of idea that could have been 500 times better in capable hands (Gondry? Kaufman?). Which makes this lazy movie that less enjoyable.
Claudio Carvalho In a near future, many people wear a timer implanted in their wrists by matchmakers to find their soul mates and true love. The twenty-nine year-old orthodontist Oona O'Leary (Emma Caulfield) is worried about her future since she cannot find her true love. When she meets the twenty- two year old supermarket cashier and musician Mikey Evers (John Patrick Amedori), his timer shows that they will be together in four months and she falls for him.Oona lives with her stepsister and best friend Steph Depaul (Michelle Borth) that works as receptionist in a nursing home. When Steph meets the widow Dan (Desmond Harrington) that does not wear a timer, they start seeing each other. Meanwhile Oona finds that Mikey's timer is fake and she is affected by her discovery. The birthday of Oona and Steph is on the same day and their mother Marion Depaul (JoBeth Williams) invites Mikey and Dan to the party. On the eve, Oona and Steph decide to remove the timer, but when Oona is ready to take it of, the timer is activated by someone who has just implanted it. Who could be her soul mate?"TiMER" is a charming romantic comedy with a different but silly concept, but also flawed with an awful conclusion. The idea would be acceptable in a future or a near future, but even Oona's father had implanted a timer when she was born meaning thirty years ago. The perfect message would be with Oona daring to love Mikey free of her mother's oppression for using the timer and Steph and Dan together. Further, there are several questions raised along the story without answer. For example, has Oone reconciled with her father? Did he like Mikey's CD? What has happened to Steph and how would be her relationship with Oona if she stays with Dan? My vote is four.Title (Brazil): "Timer – Contagem Regressiva para o Amor" ("Timer- Countdown to Love)
lewiskendell "What's the point in continuing without a guarantee?"A device that tells you the exact amount of time it will be until you meet your soulmate seems to be the perfect answer for heartbreak and uncertainty, but it only causes problems for Oona, who has yet to have her timer begin to count down (because the person she is meant to be with, whoever they may be, has yet to get one). This frustration and loneliness leads her to begin a casual relationship with a young man whose timer countdown is set to end in just a few months. A fairly interesting tale unravels from this setup, that brings up questions of destiny and what's better, the person who is right for us or the person we choose. A novel premise and thoughtful script from a modern romantic drama? AND a likable protagonist that's not the same caricature we've seen a thousand times (Emma Caulfield gets total credit for pulling that off)? I genuinely liked TiMER, for those reasons and others.This isn't my usual kind of movie, but it's so well made that I enjoyed it. Genre fans will like it even more.