*** Official THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Lou Sytsma]

Finally caught this last night at home. Great flick that kept you on the edge of your seat. Liked the director's cut much more than the theatrical.

 

[LanieParker]

I was not going to see this movie, but a friend told me that I should get over the fact that Ashton Kutcher was in it and rent it. So last night I watched it.

What a disturbing movie. I had a really hard time watching it. Some scenes were just too much for me. The story was interesting, but it was so predictable. The acting for Kutcher was alot better than I am use to with him (sick of his stupid idiot roles). All in all it was an okay movie, probably not one I would see again.

Oh yeah, and I watched the directors cut not the theaterical release...so what was the difference there?

 

[Chris]

 

[MikeEckman]

Does anyone know the name of the song that plays in the movie right after Evan changes his life and he wakes up in Kayleigh's bed in the sorority and he is walking down the hall to the bathroom to clean up his nosebleed? It is an instrumental techno sounding song. On the commentary they mention a Chemical Brothers song, I am not sure this is even the song they're talking about. Either way, does anyone know the title of that song? Thanks.

 

[EricSchulz]

If no one knows here, try doing a search in the movies section of AdTunes.

 

[MikeEckman]

I found the answer to my question guys. The song is by the Chemical Brothers and it is called My Elastic Eye.

 

[DustinLC]

Here's something to ponder about:

Director's cut. I haven't seen the theater's version.


1. Even's mother said that she had two stillborns before Evan was borned. Could it be that both of them (the stillborns) also had the ability to time travel and also decided, like Even, to terminate himself before birth?

2. Why did Evan's father try to kill Evan when he visited? He's labeled insane the same way as Evan was in one of his drop in his time travel. His father wasn't really insane. Perhaps he's been traveling using the photo album and somehow decided that Evan has to die? Or perhaps he didn't have the photo album to time travel and therefore needed to force a scenerio so that he would be shot?

 

[Jeff B.]

I just finished watching this. Wow. This movie surpassed my expectations in every way. This is one of the best movies I've seen in a LONG time. I put off seeing this film because of the Ashton factor, but I decided to rent it tonight because it seems like I've seen so many crappy movies lately, what would be one more.

I thought Kutcher did a fine job. Yes a lot of other people could have done it just as well or better, but at least he showed, imo, that he is a decent actor.



Very nice Dustin, that didn't even cross my mind. Seems like it could be a possibility. I also watched the directors cut Dustin, and the ending absolutely floored me.

I don't want to see this movie again for a long time. I think the more I see it, the more I would be aware of some plot holes. I really enjoyed this flick because I tried not to focus on Ashton, or any flaws, and just the emotion of the film. I thought overall the story was written intelligently, dealing with a subject (time travel, and altering history) that is almost impossible to make a totally cohesive story.

 

[Charles J P]

I saw this in the theaters and bought the DVD on release day. I really like the movie. I'm not trying to be a jerk but nitpicking over time travel movies is a waste of time. They will ALL have paradoxical inconsistancies. There is nothing you can do about it. If you know that kind of thing is going to make you think the movie is "weak" then dont watch them. I defy ANYONE to come up with a time travel movie that doesn't have a plot hole. Hell, how do we know that at some point he doesnt go back and change one little thing and he just decides not to keep journals? There are a million what ifs. If your only gripe with the movie is that the way they handle time travel is unrealistic, I have to ask, what is a realistic way to handle time travel?

 

[Andres Munoz]

I rented this movie and was able to see the Director's cut only.

What a great film. I saw it 2 nights ago and I'm still thinking about it. That only happens to me with very few films.

Anyway, very dark film but I wouldn't say it had "unwatchable" parts like some of you have said. The mother and baby getting blown up or the dog getting fried, none of that was actually shown, only implied, so I don't get what was so unwatchable about it.

I thought all actors involved did a good job. Ashton was actually very good here.

Can someone explain again the difference between the theatrical release and the director's cut endings?
I apologize for not understanding the previous answer to that question.

 

[Charles J P]

The difference between the directors cut and theatrical are pretty basic.

In the directors cut, Kutcher actually kills himself in the womb. In the theatrical cut, kutcher lives, but he sees the girl (Kalie or whatever her name is) at an early age and he violently threatens her so much so that it is presumed the never speak to each other again or have any realationship. In both endings, that final choice meansthat everyone lives a pretty happy life, except kutcher has a relatively happy life in the theatrical cut, but none of them are really friends, whereas in the directors cut, he is dead. That directors cut also had a few very sort scenes of forshadowing the death of kutcher that were not in the theatrical cut for obvious reason. (Like a fortune teller lady telling him he is dead and is a mistake, doesnt exist, etc. followed by the conversation with his mother which after the ending, makes you wonder if previous babies of hers have met the same fate as kutcher did in the directors cut.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Thanks Charles.

 

[JonZ]

SPOILERS........




"followed by the conversation with his mother which after the ending, makes you wonder if previous babies of hers have met the same fate as kutcher did in the directors cut."

Thats the way I took it when I saw the end, I remembered what she said about the previous miscarriages. When the complications with Even in the womb began,his mother even says "Not again" or something like that.

After Evan dies and we see how everyones life turns out, his mother is seen happily holding a baby, but its with a different man than Evans father.

 

[Niko Nykanen]

Also she talks about Evans father going through school with top grades without opening a book.
Apparently the father had done some time travelling for some time.

Extremely cool movie. Everyone who sees the DC of the movie just falls totally in love with it where as the people seeing the theaterical version just think "it´s ok".

Movie of the year for me.

 

[Charles J P]

I tend to agree as the DC makes the theaterical cut look very "hollywood". However, my wife was pregnant at the time we saw this movie and I'm really glad the "hollywood" ending was shown at the theaters.

 

[Joel C]

I know this is an old thread, but I just saw this on DVD. While I liked it, I found the themes it dealt with pretty disturbing (whether the violence was shown or implied). I can too closely with the pain in the characters' lives - the boy and girl getting molested, the brother who is screwed up by the dad's abuse and his violent outbursts, it seemed too real (as in, I know things like that happen all the time).

This doesn't make it a bad movie, of course, but not something I'd want to watch again. I actually felt kind of nauseous for a while, probably because of the sex video scene and the whole junkyard/dog burning/stabbing scene.

I'm also very glad I saw the theatrical version, since I couldn't handle the director's cut after such a depressing movie.

 

[Holadem]

This film (DC) is much better than it was given credit for.

Kutcher however was quite a bit overpraised. His performance was barely ok. I guess everyone was shocked because he wasn't a total disaster...

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H