Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is premiering on BBC2 this Sunday at 10.30pm
shareJust seen it advertised in the Radio Times.
Their reviewer has given it one star (out of five), which I find staggering...
Just watched. Good stuff.
So in conclusion, I hope you realize you're reading my signature.
I got this off the radio times site
Two Pints of Lager director Gareth Carrivick betrays his sitcom roots with this sub-par time-travel comedy. Three slackers (including The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd) walk into their local pub and discover a hole in the space-time continuum located in the gent's toilet. Future babe Anna Faris materialises to mend it and advises the friends on how to avoid multiple versions of themselves in parallel universes. Resembling a leftover Red Dwarf sketch padded out to feature length, this is a scattershot blast at all things sci-fi and geeky, but Carrivick and screenwriter Jamie Mathieson fail to locate the joke. With no flashy visuals or special effects, just mentions of many fan-boy favourites in an attempt to compensate, the dingy action is conspicuously small-scale and virtually laughter-free. Most of the budget must have gone on Scary Movie star Faris who, looking uncomfortable and distinctly out of place, sums up the entire mood of this nerdy fantasy.
DigiGuide gave this 4 stars out of five. It's always worth watching when they do that and I was well rewarded, although I am biased I enjoy anything that corrupts the space time continuum.
shareYep. I was a bit shocked to see that in the RT. The reviewer in question was Alan Jones, whom I not familiar with.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion of course, but I felt he was overly harsh. I would had said 4/5 for its inventive script and its fine cast. At worst, its a 3/5.
just ended, enjoyed it.
shareHaha, loved it.
shareDamn good movie. I can only assume that the radio times critics have the same lack of intelligence that plagued Barry Norman for his entire career.
sharejust watched this by accident on the BBC. Clever, funny and original. A bit Red Dwarfy yes, but what's wrong with that. Red Dwarf was great too. Obviously the RT reviewer believes that a film can only be good if it looks like it's had a lot of money spent on it. What a fool.
shareMore of a sophisticated plot than Inception could ever muster.
shareI agree, I would have liked more. The movie references were great and I love the whole pub thing. The funniest thing about Britain really is the surreality of its mundane things. I only have to look at my local pub to see that. I was sad to see it was dedicated to the director though. A great big screen outing for someone who did brilliant TV stuff. I would like to have seen what he would have done next.
shareJust finished watching this. I thought it was amazing, a real hidden gem. It was very funny in places and the actors did a great job. I thought for a moment that I would just keep thinking of the lead in his IT Crowd role but he really pulled me into the character of Ray quickly.
I felt the limitations of being contained in the pub made it that much more epic, you really couldn't believe you hadn't been further than a few feet from the pub after the journey was done. The theory that sometimes constraints can bring out more creativity certainly rang true with this one.
Also the more down-to-earth take on time travel was fun and allowed someone I know who isn't as much into aci-fi (sorry science-fiction) to enjoy it. We're both really hoping there's going to be a sequel set in the Parallel Universe someday. Please!!
Alas, I missed it and I am unlikely to see it for some time because: -
- It won't be featured on the BBC iPlayer
- The BBC are unlikely to pay the repeat fees anytime soon
- If Alan Jones at RT gave it 1/5, they won't even consider a repaet
- Searches of a torrential nature have yielded no results.
It's a great pity that even now, the BBC do not appreciate what is worth repeating.
They tend to repeat the stuff for which you would gouge out your own eyes to avoid.
I'm off to curse silently.
If that doesn't work, then I'll curse loudly.
<distant sounds of someone cursing loudly>
It's £5 on Amazon.
shareall the reviews i'd seen had called this movie awful but I rather liked it (even with my general dislike of Marc Wootton). I just wish we had a better idea of what was written on that paper that made them rich and famous.
sharei had assumed that what was written on there was the plot of the movie! ie. how to make a movie that was clever and not American rubbish. ie. i thought the whole thing was a tongue in cheek thing that was actually being acted out in the plot of the film. ..but maybe i got carried away.
shareI just wish we had a better idea of what was written on that paper that made them rich and famous.
Here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macguffin
"Alas, I missed it and I am unlikely to see it for some time because: -
- It won't be featured on the BBC iPlayer
- The BBC are unlikely to pay the repeat fees anytime soon
- If Alan Jones at RT gave it 1/5, they won't even consider a repaet
- Searches of a torrential nature have yielded no results.
It's a great pity that even now, the BBC do not appreciate what is worth repeating."
If you have access to BBC HD, it's being repeated tomorrow (Monday the 2nd) at 10.30pm BST.
As mattdevney points out (see below), it is now available on BBC iPlayer for 7 days (there's often a lag of an hour or more between a programme being screened on the BBC and it becoming available on iPlayer).
BTW: FAQATT was actually produced by BBC Films...
Err... I just watched it now on iPlayer, after missing the last 30 mins (thank you Sky plus... not). You can stop cursing now and regain your sense of optimism!
sharewell i have just watched this fantastic movie and just HAD to have my say.... What a brilliant, quirky, fantastic film this is!!! It has a brilliant ensemble cast, who has excellent comic timing, and was a joy to watch from start to finish. There were plenty on hidden in-jokes to keep us film buffs amused and the writers and production team clearly love the whole sci fi (sorry, Science Fiction) genre! The genre in the UK has been overshadowed somewhat in recent years by the reinvention of Dr Who, so it is refreshing to see film makers take a step towards comedy and the tradions set by Red Dwarf (BBC take note. Shouldn't leave it to DAVE to ressurect a much loved TV Show grrrrr). I did not read the RT review, but I gather it was somewhat harsh. It is, the first feature film from director Gareth Carrivick, who is sadly no longer with us, after there were complications with stem cell surgury for leukaemia. I think there can be more fitting a tribute to this director who has worked on Goodness Gratious Me, The Vicar of Dibley and Two pints of Lager and a packet of crisps, that so mant people have clearly enjoyed this film for the first time tonight. I hope they do make a follow up, maybe a direct sequel, or maybe an unrelated film to throw our hapless heroes into...maybe Frequently Asked Questions About... Alien Abduction / Conspiracy Theories / Expence Claims etc etc. Overall though, this is a must see movie, and I have added it to my DVD to buy list :o)
shareNice review. Also:
"maybe a direct sequel, or maybe an unrelated film to throw our hapless heroes into...maybe Frequently Asked Questions About... Alien Abduction / Conspiracy Theories / Expence Claims etc."
Thats a genius idea. It seems at the end there were hints to a "FAQ About... Parallel Universes" so follow-ups in this vein with Aliens etc would be funny.
When the film ended I felt it could benefit from a TV series even. Maybe 1 hour episodes with each episode featuring a different science-fiction mechanic/angle. They could even do a second season with takes on the fantasy genre what with the Narnia hint. If they did that then the roles could be reversed and the "anti-sci-fi" guy could become the one the others groan at for being overly-enthusiastic since he said he loved Narnia.
There's just soo much they could do with it all. Would love to see some kind of continuation.
funny, I thought "TV Series!!!!" when it when the film ended, perhaps with them starting out in the pub and then heading out to muck up history a bit further each week, as there is so much scope for them to explore, but, then again having the characters reacting to something completly diffrent for another 90 or so minutes would be equally great. its such a great ensemble cast I think they could tackle diffrent subjects and (and genres) from the comfort of the pub with similar comic results. Can you imagine their reactions to a Frequently asked questions about bodysnatching scenario? The writers have uncovered comedy gold here....
Not knowing anything about the film I assumed it was a back door pilot for a new comedy show (which I would watch every week if it were ever to be made) so yes a series of stories with the same characters exploring a different Sci-Fi (sorry SF!) theme or other aspects of Imagineerism would have been more than welcome.
Such a shame that the director died.
I really want to see more of these guys.
this film is fantastic...best film ive seen for ages...i watched it last night...and have sky+d it on hd tonight....hours of fun...watching for clues like the ant...:)
shareI loved this movie. There were no OTT FX (apart from Millie's built-in weapons and the ant) just 3 fairly ordinary blokes each with his own quirks thrown into a mind-blowing scenario and all within the confines of the local pub - brilliant!. I had the foresight to record it on my PVR so I can take it a bit more slowly and pick up the bits I may have missed.
I loved the references too. The one that made me sit up was Ray's warning not to step on any butterflies. That is a reference to an old short story that I had only recently been thinking about. Does anyone know the name of this short SF story and/or its author?
Yeps, Ray Bradbury. Think it's The Sound of Thunder. Been trying to find another sci-fi short story where the parents are waiting to take 'a jump' and if you try and stay awake whilst going through you feel like you're stuck in your head for eternity (or near as darn it). One of the kids manages to and the written image of the kid screaming after being in their head for so long has stayed with me. Just seen Inception which really reminded me of that story but can't find details of it anywhere and I was sure it was a Bradbury one.
Anyone know?
Thanks Sarky. I'm afraid I can't help with your's tho'.
Smudge.
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Well i watched it last night, as i had recorded it. I'm so glad i did! What a cool movie.Indeed I might keep it to watch again.
:)