Quentin Tarantino said the whole reason he casted John Travolta in Pulp Fiction was because as fantastic of an actor Travolta is (especially in Blow-Out, one of his favorites) no directors really use him to his full potential and instead pick him up for stupid rom-coms. I would say exactly the same thing about Ashton Kutcher.

Yeah yeah I know you're already giving me looks about claiming Kutcher is a good actor. Honestly, I think that this film proved he was filled with talent. He was excellent in this and if he picked better projects post-That 70's Show, I think we'd be calling him an excellent actor. A lot of the cast give great performances here (even Amy Smart who…

The Butterfly Effect is a fascinating idea that misses a few too many beats to be great. There are stretches of brilliance and utter captivation but there are also inhibiting moments where scenes feel a few drafts away from a sophisticated fruition. Maybe it was the rush of production or a script circumventing the scalpel of a final doctor, but the need for some rearranging, reshoots and tautness is regrettably palpable.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a quality movie with impressive cohesion and edge of your seat thrills. Structurally, it's cogent and devoid of convoluted or ostentatious warping of the timeline. Conversely, when it does have to skew the timeframe, it nimbly does so with effectively incorporated flashbacks…

Miracle son
Only one
Survivor of three
Only me

Shoehorned into existence
Soulless persistence
I was never supposed to be here -
A plague to those I hold dear

What's my purpose here?
A shadow that paints corners bright, so you can see silhouettes at night?
Can I help those who can't see the light?
Can I stop this fight?

The trauma never ends
No time to mend
It doesn't even phase me anymore
I can't even remember anymore

Who is my father?
Why do I even bother?

How could George do this to me?
I scream on my knees
I bleed
I can no longer see

Targeted by the dark
Arc after arc
Tommy is destroying my soul
Nothing…

At the heart of this film is an intriguing concept, unfortunately not all of it actually works when put together on screen. It reminds me of something like an X-Files episode, the sort of thing that Chris Carter would write in his sleep, but with Ashton "I'm famous for fucking Demi Moore" (lucky bastard) Kutcher, this is more like a nightmare. Kutcher's acting can only be described as shit, he has the same facial expression or should that be faecal expression, regardless of what's happening on screen. Amy Smart's not much better, and despite the presence of Eric Stoltz as a pedo and a small cameo from Kevin Durand, this wastes its potential with one too many disturbing aspects thrown…