Butterfly Effect

[Tarryk]

Saw Butterfly Effect - Director's Cut last night (I'll watch the theatrical release later tonight)

Let me clear a couple things up first...

1. I don't have, nor do I ever watch, cable television. Whatever Ashton Kutcher typecast himself into in the eyes of the public therefore doesn't apply to me. This is the first time I've really seen him in any role.

2. I love a good story with a good ending.

Review --

Best movie I've seen in a couple years at least, and I'm going to look for any special edition DVD to actually purchase.

Ashton is a terrific actor. He really poured himself into this role, and it shows. When the action begins and you start to get a feel for this special "ability" that the main character has, the whole movie is like a roller coaster of emotion. Every other scene is another "oh sh**" moment.

Overall Rating: A+ then some

Some may think it's a bit too high, but I don't really recall any particular points that I dislike about the movie, it seemed like a perfect movie that really made me sit there and think for a good hour-plus after it was over -- even the pacing was perfect. Perhaps after I see the theatrical release tonight I'll have a different rating for that, we'll see.

[Boinky]

I have seen Ashton's other works(and by the way Tarryk I get your point about not having cable, but you had chances with Dude Where's My Car & Just Married to see his other type of work), but obviously this movie was out in left field chewing gum compared to everything else he's done. Still I found myself fairly uninterested. But with your glowing appraisal of it I may check it out now.

[Tarryk]

Yeah haven't seen those movies either, so I still don't have any viewing history on Ashton to speak of.

And keep in mind that I'm told the endings are significantly different between Director's Cut and Theatrical. I haven't seen Theatrical yet, so don't base that version against my li'l review.

[Tarryk]

Now that I've spent a few hours at work the follow day after seeing Butterfly Effect, the movie has definitely earned it's review. Haven't had a film do this to me in a very long time:

It's just STICKING with me. It's in my head a lot. Life is a little more surreal, probably for another couple days. (the rare movie can do that to me...and I love it)

[Cowtipper]

A guy at work was telling me he watched it last weekend. He wasn't too fond of the performance by Ashton or the lead girl, but he says that the story really was good and it left him with a feeling much like the one he had when he watched The Matrix for the first time.

I haven't seen it myself. I saw previews of it and such before it came out and I thought it would be pretty good, but I had nobody to go to the movies with me at the time that wanted to actually watch it. I might pick it up on DVD as well seeings how two people seem to have been surprised by it, and they weren't female with a crush on Ashton

Thanks Tarryk.

[Tristalyn]

I saw the theatrical ending and that's what formed my opinion. The ending I saw was lame.. silly and not thought out well. I guess the directors cut is better.. I hope it is. The movie had a great concept but the end was just beyond me.. how such a great movie would have such a stupid ending frustated me.. So I highly reccomended everyone to stay as far away from this movie as possible. Ending sucked and Ashton didn't even look good in it. Hair uncut, unshaven and just shaggy lookin. (I actually love most of his movies cuz he's just so damn cute).

I'm glad they changed that horrific ending. It'll take quite a bit of motivation to get me to try watching the directors cut for the change.. evidently it's a pretty dramatic difference.

[Ultronn]

i don't know, i liked the original ending. i just thought it was was refreshing to
an ending that's different from the usual boy finds girl, boy loses girl, boy fights to get the girl back, boy gets girl, The End. just my opinion though.

[Tarryk]

Okay I have to be honest here...and I know it's all a matter of how the heart works with which ending you think is better...

I've watched them both now.

Tristalyn, you told me in the private forums that you saw the ending 'with the baby'. That was the director's cut, which is the ending I saw the first time. And that was the ending that I loved.

That's most definitely not the theatrical cut. I just now watched it.

I'm appalled that they made that version the one that people saw in the theatre. It is the sole reason that the movie did so horribly. That is hands-down the worst ending I have ever seen. Compiled with the fact that--other than the ending--the only major difference between the two is that the theatrical has a BILLION key scenes removed from it. The most notable of which is the palm-reader. That scene, which only exists in the director's cut, MADE the movie for me. It's the scene that really explained WHY and HOW everything is happening. And it's completely absent fromt he theatrical, along with several other closely related scenes. Hollywood editing truly sucks.

The "baby" ending, the director's cut; the one that I saw the first time...that was truly the ending that the movie was meant to have, and I'm SO glad it's the one I saw first.

If anyone reading this has not seen Butterfly Effect yet, and you rented it...make absolutely unequivicably sure that you have the Director's Cut on. The theatrical is not even worth it. If you must see it, watch the director's cut first and then skip to the very last scene of the theatrical to compare them. You'll see what I mean. But if you're not masochistic, you'll skip it altogether and stick with the director's cut.

That was the movie that's still making me think. The one people walked out of the theatre from was a piece of shit.

[ShadeRaven]

too lazy to try and read so early in the morning so i'll just say im not a big fan of ashton kutcher but i did like butterfly effect and can't wait till tuesday when hellboy comes out =D

[ShadeRaven]

when we rented it the theatrical one didn't work so we had no choice but to watch directors cut =D