MY TOP 10 TIME TRAVEL MOVIES

I was recently relistening to an older episode of The Film Cynics radio show that featured my co-host for the MILFcast, the one and only Heather Roddy. On the show, she was asked to give a list of her Top 5 Time Travel movies. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I LOVE Heather’s lists. Next to me, she’s probably the best around! However, while listening, there were some great films for this sub-genre that I noticed failed to be mentioned.

As a result, I feel compelled to throw my 2 cents out there because, honestly, I think Time Travel might be my favorite kind of film. So, I present to you, my fine feathered friends, MY TOP 10 TIME TRAVEL MOVIES. Here they are (in order):

HONORABLE MENTION: TRIANGLE

I’ve been pimping this movie on this site for months and no one that has taken me up on my recommendation so far has been disappointed. The only problem is I’m not sure if it’s technically a quote-un-quote “Time Travel” movie. It may in fact ba a parallel dimension movie. For that reason, it merely gets an honorable mention but if I get proof to the contrary it would easily shoot to #5 on my list.

10. THE TIME MACHINE (2002).

This one is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I know most people tend to prefer the original film adaptation of this H.G. Wells classic but I have a soft spot for the Guy Pearce version. As cheesy as the film can be, there are some great images in this film (such as the moon cracking to pieces) and I love where this film takes this Time Travel story after starting as a search for lost love type of film.

9. A SOUND OF THUNDER.

WARNING: If you ever do go back in time, don’t step on a Butterfly.
This film is supposedly based on a Ray Bradburry short story. I haven’t read it. I did, however, see this film in theaters and completely love it. Apparently, it was a complete bomb at the box office and, to be quite honest, I was very surprised to hear this film cost about 80 million to make as the effects border on SyFy Channel bad. However, that kind of gives this film a B-movie charm that completely won me over. Speaking of Butterflies…

8. THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.

I don’t know if you know this but Ashton Kutcher actually made a really good movie. Unfortunately for this film, you probably don’t know this because a lot of people panned it mainly because it stars Ashton Kutcher. Don’t let them deter you… The Butterfly Effect is a really good film that a takes a look at the dark side of Time Travel.

7. TERMINATOR 2.

I’m probably going to get crap for this as most people would probably put this film at #1 or #2 on their list. I’m in the minority in that I honestly don’t love the Terminator films as much as the common man. However, as far as Time Travel movies go, you have to respect them and one of them had to be on this list. I think most would agree that as good as the first film was, particularly on a much smaller budget, T2 is the greatest film in the franchise.

6. GROUNDHOG’S DAY.

Why Time Travel isn’t used in comedy more often is beyond me. Thank God that when Hollywood decided to make that move they cast Bill Murray in the lead. I don’t know about you guys but this one might make my all time Top 10 Comedies list as well.

5. 12 MONKEYS.

With the exception of a couple of films, I’m really not a big Terry Gilliam fan. This film is one of the exceptions. Bruce Willis is at the top of his game playing the lovable loser which is the best type of Bruce Willis next to the gun-toting narcissist. Not to mention it features Brad Pitt doing the nut job thing which is when Pitt is at his best in film.

4. PRIMER.

This is a very cerebral film about a couple of guys who stumble into inventing a Time Travelling machine in their garage. What’s most impressive about this film, aside from how smart it is, is that it was made for about 7,000 dollars. An amazing feat though I have heard some people complain that it is a little too smart and they get turned off by that as they think it’s a bit over their heads. I would recommend sticking with it and just ignoring a lot of the scientific jargon that is spoken in this film as it actually can distract you from what the picture is going for.

3. TIMECRIMES (aka: LOS CRONOCRIMENES).

If there’s one film on this list you have to see it’s this one. That’s all I can really say as I want you to know as little as possible before sitting down to watch it. I will tell you that it’s good enough that Tom Cruise is set to star in a 2012 remake of this amazing little film.

2. STAR TREK (2009 REBOOT).

Star Trek is by far the best Blu-Ray investment I have ever made. I can throw that disc in at anytime and enjoy it beginning to end. Except for the young Spock stuff. That’s a bit boring. Still, this film is brilliant in that it used Time Travel to keep the existing Star Trek mythology intact and justify a new cast and series of films taking place in a new Trek timeline!

1. BACK TO THE FUTURE.

Really wanted to put a more interesting and less obvious choice at #1 but let’s face it, Back to the Future is a hell of a film that still holds up to this day. With its zany characters, interesting storylines and incestuous relationships, it’ll be hard for another film to come close to this Zemeckis classic!!!

So… what do you think?