Clockstoppers (2002)

Who hasn't fantasized about being able to stop time and move things around? A watch with this power drops into the hands of Zak (Jesse Bradford), a teenager who yearns for speed. He uses it to impress Francesca (Paula Garces), the beautiful girl he's got a crush on, but soon they both find themselves running from a government agency led by a ruthless executive (Michael Biehn from The Terminator) who wants the watch at all costs. Clockstoppers suffers from a lack of any internal logic, but the basic idea fuels a reasonably swift story and some decent special effects. The soundtrack is unusually strong, with pop offerings from Blink 182, Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, and others. Also featuring French Stewart (Love Stinks) as a hapless scientist and Julia Sweeney (It's Pat, God Said "Ha!") as Zak's mother. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Fantastic picture quality and good sound

This DVD can be used as a benchmark for your plasma monitor (or large-screen LCD).

... and aside from the excellent photography and good sound, its actually a good movie....
if you happen to like teenage films (and I do).

Check the scene in the consulates mansion on the first date... particularly the honey bee in flight against the
pink flower petals.... the "frozen" water of the sprinkler... the close-ups of the faces
in the kitchen scene.... the rat scampering along the tiles.

From the point of view of lighting, focus and high quality imaging it
deserves 5 stars

I watch a LOT of movies... and I am also a professional photographer...

trust me, this disc is just the thing you need to restore your confidence
in your home theatre setup.... after watching all the "other" movies !! January 28, 2008

Frakes -- did you just dupe me?

It could be the handful of hours rest that I am currently working on or the pathetic excuses for film that I am currently enjoying, but "Clockstoppers" didn't anger me or make me smile. This was a near-perfect example of a film that played it safe, worked with the teen audience, and boasted special effects that honestly, were appealing to the eye. "Clockstoppers" won't win you awards at the company Trivia Night, nor will it impress your co-worker's mind at the water cooler the next morning, but it doesn't make you go into a fit of rage either. The script is loose at best, the acting fits well into the predestined can of cliché, but it is the special effects that really make you sit and watch this film from beginning to end without fits of rage. This may be surprising to my loyal readers, but I could not willingly sit here and bash a film that honestly engaged my inner boredom as much as this film did. "Clockstoppers" was a film dedicated to hitting the median, not going above or below, and wildly succeeded.

"Clockstoppers" is one of those simple PG plots which involves a boy, a watch, and no need to corrupt the system. A kid, unlike you or I, finds a watch from his super-genius father that can literally slow down time (actually, speed up his molecules so that time seems to be going slower). Instead of stay in that time forever, growing old and experiencing the powers of "invisibility", he uses it to win over the heart of an unknown girl and stop the world from catapulting into utter annihilation. Yep, something I would do if I could stop time. Like any other film of this nature, I am sure you know what ultimately happens in the end. Helmed by "Star Trek's" very own Jonathan Frakes, "Clockstoppers" boasts the talents of Jesse Bradford, Michael Biehn, and French Stewart - with a cast like this, who needs enemies. Using amazing CGI to bring this story from the page, where Frakes falls short are the characters and his inability to grapple with the technology he is filming. I am not going to cover my issues with the molecular speed-up, because I am sure they have been nauseatingly been said before, but they did force you to consider the unmentioned possibilities. Why wasn't this whole film done with slowed time? How could some inanimate objects fly through the air in slow time, while others fit into the pattern of going slow? Why didn't Bradford fall through the floor? Age issues - don't make me go there! Again, this could be a whole topic of conversation, but instead, lets talk about the other pivotal downfalls of this film, and how they related to me feeling decent after watching this.

I must admit, Frakes does a decent job behind the camera. He has learned from his acting lessons and can tell a complete story. Without the science fiction plot holes, the story itself for "Clockstoppers" was pretty cliché, yet straight forward. He didn't try to overdo it, while his actors might have attempted to gobble every line they could, Frakes kept the story simple and the CGI impressive. I have to applaud him for his work here, he could have made this a very dark story, but instead kept it suitable for a teen audience. This wasn't the original "Agent Cody Banks" in any way, but it did attempt to stand on its own, and I must applaud Frakes for his attempt. The acting, as mentioned before, was horrid. French Stewart was possibly at the lowest point of his career with this film. His attempt to be a honest scientist was goofy at best. He was never mad, just loony with his approach to this character. Jesse Bradford was middle of the road. Consistent with the standards of this film, he never went above where we wanted him to be. Oddly, his Ebay selling reminded me of another character from "Transformers", but I don't want to think the two films plagiarized. Julia Sweeny, well, just don't make me go down that tunnel. Paula Garces was middle of the road as well, she played off Bradford with ease because there was nothing they needed to attach themselves to. Could I be any more vague? When I finished watching this movie, I wasn't feeling upset or happy about the results - this was a mediocre film, and I can applaud it for staying within that genre.

Sometimes I listen to music half my age - this film is a prime example of music that is half my age. There was an attempt to take it even further up the tween channel by employing the music of Blink 182 to heavily dominate the scenes of joy, empowerment, or victory. There was the overuse of Smash Mouth, which seems to plague every tween movie today - but oddly, that was allowed this time. Typically, I find myself yelling about how one-sided these releases tend to be. Focusing their marking towards a singular audience instead of just pushing the boundaries, but with "Clockstoppers" I felt their average outing calmed me. It worked I shouldn't have worked, but it did. Frakes subdued me, and I cannot argue with him. The special features surrounding this film were pathetic as well, staged "behind the scenes" which only showed how "fun" a film like this could be - it was disgusting. The music videos didn't fit, and the Saturday Morning interruptions also included were vile as well. See this language, yet I am going to give this film at least three stars. See, Frakes did dupe me.

Overall, I gotta stop this review before I stick myself in a deeper hole. Agents with no names, bad villains bent on total domination using everything in their arsenal outside of the weapon of choice, a cool watch that may have sold well over the holidays, and plot holes the size of Miami. I hate these features on a film, but again, "Clockstoppers" filled a hour and a half of couch time well for me. I never laughed, but I never got bored with this story. Call me a quitter or a lacky to the cause, but "Clockstoppers" never came out of its shell, and I am happy for that. It was pathetic, but delightful in the same sense. I cannot suggest this movie to friends, but if it rained one afternoon and we needed something to kill the time - I think "Clockstoppers" would find its way back to the DVD player! Thank Frakes - you duped me again!

Grade: *** out of ***** August 27, 2007

G'ma of 17

My grandchildren love this movie. They want to watch it when they stay with us. March 13, 2007

NOT TOO BAD...

CLOCKSTOPPERS reminds me of an afterschool special, aimed at a teen audience but okay entertainment for we adults too.
Jesse Bradford plays a young man who stumbles upon a watch that can stop time, which he finds amusing at first but then when corrupt government agent Michael Biehn comes after him, he finds himself in danger.
The special effects are okay and Bradford and his fellow castmates appealing; it's all been done before and better, but this one's passable. March 10, 2007

Fair afternoon special

The concept is not original. You have seen this before many times from Twilight Zones to "The Girl, The Gold Watch & Everything" (1980). Some do it well as in "Timestalkers" (1987) and then there is this movie.

Standard premise, misunderstood youth know better than parents. Yep and of course has to save sire from the evil bad guy that has gone amuck. Zack has Henry's (Michael Biehm) molecular watch and he wants it back. On the side father of Zack can be useful in completing project. So will Zack save his dad or will Francesca runoff to Tahiti with the bad guy?

One plus is the presents of French Stewart; I guess they needed one actor in the movie. And for distraction purposes Paula Garcés.

Timestalkers Starring: William Devane, Lauren Hutton January 15, 2007

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