Stream it or rent it on Amazon Prime.
Amazon has proven time and time again how little they seem to care about the quality of their entertainment content, which can be both a benefit and a problem. On the one hand, they allow terrible & vapid works like The Green Misty Sky, labeled by some as the worst animated film ever made that is nowhere near worthy of the five dollars they charge for the purchase. But on the other hand, you also get genuine gems like Cosmos, a wonderful and inspiring (albeit slightly flawed) work of art that is absolutely worthy of your time and money. The truth is that Amazon (among a few other platforms) has become the modern-day equivalent of the tiny hole-in-the-wall independently owned movie theater where anyone with a story to tell can have an outlet to show off their work. Again, it's a benefit or a problem depending on the movie itself.
Today's subject, Out of Time, is an admirable (albeit flawed in some areas) micro-budget piece of sci-fi cinema that is indeed my jam. Had certain elements been polished just a little bit, I might have enjoyed it significantly more than I did. Even so, as it stands, It's a worthy piece of curiosity that clearly had a better deal of passion and love put into it than most other films of its caliber.
The story follows Special Agent Cooper (Blake Boyd), part of the security team for a secret research base outside of Los Angeles in the 1950s. They are studying a group of extra-terrestrials who intend to invade and conquer, if not destroy, the Earth. As part of the Aliens' escape plan, they open an experimental time portal and find themselves in modern-day LA. Cooper follows them and enlists a local detective named Lisa (Nadège August) to help him find them before they call for reinforcements. On top of that, Cooper begins to feel the repercussions of prolonged-time travel and must find the Aliens soon before his molecules go bananas, or worse.
This film is commendable in many ways and for good reasons. Aside from the general challenges faced when making a movie of any kind (mostly money), the makers of this film succeed in creating a whole lot with very little. It has a fun, and interesting story, two main characters who feel real & sympathetic, and just the right amount of quality put into the special effects. Even the overall visual style retains a kind of "home-made" feel that I genuinely love and would like to see more of. It is a film that mostly knows its strengths and succeeds in placing most of its eggs in the right basket.
Now, I say "most" because, as much as I want to give this film a complete passing grade, it's not without its flaws that I can't help but feel could have been ironed out a bit better.
There are times when the acting is too wooden and stiff, either due to poor direction or lack of range. Large chunks of the script feel rushed and improperly polished, and the lighting is often too bright (at least for my taste) and seems to lack texture. None of these things are dealbreakers; they're just areas I feel could have benefited from a bit more time and work.
Out of Time is a pleasant reminder of why independent cinema is more important now than it ever has been before. With the inevitable implosion of the Hollywood system inching closer every day, it will fall onto people like writer/director Matt Handy to pick up the pieces and provide better quality entertainment for us all. Independent cinema is far from dead; it's just been relocated and needs our help if it's ever going to survive and improve.
Check this one out.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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