Primer

Pros: Very original story, makes you think
Cons: Hard to follow at time, very short

Primer tells the story of two young engineers who accidentally create a time machine. It is an independent film that has been nominated for numerous awards, and actually won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It was made for ...

Pros: Engaging, film that succeeds without Stars
Cons: You'll have to return to really figure out the story

Primer creates a feeling in the viewer that matches the emotions of the lead characters in the film because as we look back across the cinematic landscape after its ending we are confronted by a singular challenge to find the point where reality started ...

Pros: Shane Carruth's Direction, DIY Style, Obtuse Format, Grainy Photography, & Performances.
Cons: You Will Have Your Head Scratching Over What Just Happened.

Note: This review was written on 6/14/04 during the Atlanta Film Festival. This year’s Sundance film festival showed an array of films from new filmmakers that is changing the face of films. This year’s Grand Jury Prize is for a psychological, ...

Pros: Intellegent, realistic, original concept, thought provoking
Cons: No easy answers, no simple explanations, requires close viewing

Films simply put are my passion, I love everything about them and love to discover new films. I had first heard about Primer when it first came out but never got the chance to see it since it was a challenge to find. Luckily I finally got the chance to ...

Pros: Cinematography, directing, acting
Cons: plot is confusing

I like a good sci-fi as well as the next person, but this movie had me bewildered and befuddled and glad it was a free rental. This movie is an Indie movie and won a couple of awards at the Sundance film festival and was nominated at several other film ...

Pros: …
Cons: …

I like science-fiction stories because of the possibilities that they open. This is especially true of time-travel movies. The problem with time travel is that it can be very easy to lose the audience. Pile on too much jargon and techno able and you ...

Pros: not the film itself, but the promise it shows in young director Shane Carruth
Cons: well, pretty much the film itself. Too soft and muddled in its focus.

Primer: directed by Shane Carruth Shane Carruth .... Aaron David Sullivan .... Abe Casey Gooden .... Robert Anand Upadhyaya .... Phillip Carrie Crawford .... Kara Jay Butler .... Metalshop Worker John Carruth .... Man On Couch #1 Juan ...

Pros: Thought-provoking plot structure. Ingenious use of a tiny budget. Rewatchings are rewarding.
Cons: Cannot be casually viewed. Attention span must be rapt.

Money doesn't buy happiness, least of all in Hollywood. For every action-sub-packed lame-duck CGI extravaganza (est. budget: $120 million dollars), Shane Carruth could have made over 17,000 versions of his fabulous debut/only film Primer, which he ...

Pros: Thought-provoking original story, acting, directing, musical score.
Cons: None (in my epinion).

Shane Caruth is my new hero. While the big studios are spending $50-$200 million per picture, turning out one bad movie after another, Shane Caruth shells out a measly $7,000 and serves up a film that will leave you thinking for weeks. "Primer", ...

Pros: So amazingly tricky to untangle that it even won a surprise Sundance Film festival award
Cons: Could be considered work not entertainment

Main Entry: prim•er Pronunciation: 'pri-m&r, chiefly British 'prI-m&r Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin primarium, from Late Latin, neuter of primarius primary 1: a small book for teaching children to read 2: any ...

Pros: It is fun trying to figure this film out.
Cons: Less jargon would have helped it reach more people.

This is a bit of information that might help bring the movie into perspective: Primer from a genetics perspective - A section of a DNA or RNA sequence that corresponds with another DNA sequence, which may be used for replication via DNA polymerase. ...

Pros: Unique dialogue based in technical fact
Cons: Technical facts overwhelm the story. Characters/plot become casualities of an intellect on overdrive.

This is an express review.

This movie was definitely a labor of love (as confirmed in the DVD commentary) and it does have an interesting plot. Two scientists discover how to create a time machine and the film explores the moral quandries they deal with.

The exposition about four men in business together doesn't set up or support much of the rest of the story. Side stories and relationships are kind of thrown in as devices to set up the moral questions. I did like the questions that were posed, but they weren't posed very comprehensively - much less addressed.

Overall, it's an unfortunate film by a young techie turned filmmaker who would have benefited from more collaboration or development.

Pros: at least it wasn't too violent
Cons: absolute senselessness

my girlfriend said it best, "the last time i understood a movie this little, it was in german with spanish subtities." (she speaks french and english).
we tried to just say what happened, the plot, afterwards, and failed. we really have no idea what the movie is about. they make a thing, and it does something. that's all i can say.