Premonition - Review

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Length: 97 min

Rated: PG-13

Distributor: Sony Pictures

Release Date: 2007-03-16

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Nia Long, Amber Valletta

Directed by Mennan Yapo

Produced by Ashok Amritraj, Jennifer Gibgot, Jon J. Jashni, Sunil Perkash, Adam Shankman

Written by Bill Kelly

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Reviewed by Josh Tyler : 2007-02-27 15:13:13

Sandra Bullock either has absolutely no idea how to pick movies, or she simply doesn’t care about how she earns her paycheck. Aside from her barely better than a cameo role in Crash, it’s been string of real crap from her for most of the new millennium. Her choices show no sign of improving, in fact Premonition may be a new low.

In the film, Sandra plays Linda, a suburban housewife with a sometimes dead husband (Julian McMahon). One day she wakes up and he’s dead, the next he’s in the kitchen drinking coffee. It takes Linda most of the movie to figure out what’s happening, but by minute ten you’ll realize that she’s randomly time traveling. The whys and hows of it are uncertain, and Premonition doesn’t seem to think it’s important to explore them. The closest the film comes to an explanation comes in the form of a shoehorned in monologue from a priest, who blames her time travel on a lax church attendance. Actually, perhaps that’s the best thing about the movie. Apparently being an atheist means you get superpowers, which means some pretty great things are just around the corner for me.

The story plays out as if Linda’s walking around in a thick, soupy fog. It’s like watching a movie drunk, there’s no focus to it, the film never seems to be going anywhere because in fact, it isn’t. Linda suspects she’s been spending time in the future, but takes an almost fatalistic approach to it and never bothers to try changing anything until the final act. She simply goes through the motions. Nothing ever quite fits together, and the movie is jam packed with idiotic, logical gaps and blatantly sappy imagery designed to elicit an obligatory emotional response even though it isn’t warranted. It’s just one bad moment after another until the film finally falls to pieces and flops around on the floor like a bucket of suffocating fish on the floor of the theater.

The only conclusion to draw from this is that Sandra Bullock simply no longer cares about acting. It’s not only that she’s picked another bad film to be in, she’s also terrible in it. She may have no control over how much the script sucks once she signs on, but she could do something other than look like a Labrador retriever whose just lost his favorite ball while she follows it. No Sandra, I think you’re running out of excuses. Either retire to Austin and smoke pot with Matthew McConaughey or make movies. Pick one, your fans are suffering.

If there’s a bright spot in the film it’s Julian McMahon who, given absolutely nothing to work with, delivers a marginally believable performance as a working father with an uncertain future. Or at least it’s uncertain to us, if not to him. The film also perhaps deserves a little credit for the way it decides to end. The actual execution of the finale is laughable but they’ve chosen to avoid the Hollywood cliché wrap up for it, so even though they botch it, well at least they tried.

I’m grasping at straws here aren’t I?

There’s just no excusing it. Premonition plays out like the half-hearted, half-formed daydream of a bored, inebriated suburban housewife sick of ironing clothes and cleaning up baby vomit. I can deal with time travel movies that don’t make any sense, it’s time travel after all and you’re probably better off not thinking about it. But it would be nice if Premonition at least made an effort to put together some sort of cohesive narrative. Or maybe it would help if the film had a purpose, a point… anything. Somebody grab a bucket and start bailing, the plot holes are sinking this ship.

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The Inevitible Spoon
March 29, 2008 at 20:00

If the definition of a good film is one that provokes discussion and arguement, then this has to be one of the best.

The glaring plot and continuity errors are surely so obvious that you cannot believe that they were accidental, or that the director thought audiences would be too stupid to notice them. This implies that they were deliberate and that they suggest another layer to the film that is not easily grasped. Perhaps Linda DOES suceed in altering the future or the past.

What happens following the Wednesday is never explained - does Linda live through Thursday/Friday/Saturday again?
As the movie starts on the Thursday, surely Linda has already experienced the preceeding four days - otherwise she would be thinking to herself "Why is today Thursday? It should be Sunday".

I think it best not to think too hard about it. It's only a movie after all. I think I shall stick to romantic comidies for a bit!

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melissa
March 25, 2008 at 23:43

Way too confusing, the ending was a let down and nothing was explained.

There were also loads of inconsistencies like she put the stickers on the window, on MONDAY but the girl ran through the window on TUESDAY and there were no stickers!

Also on the WEDNESDAY, the girl had no scars!

When Jim died he was blown up but at the funeral his head was chopped off??

The acting was good though but if you're thinking about watching it don't!!

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Wayne.N
March 19, 2008 at 14:30

...oh and also, to Triple T: do you have a short term memory when watching a movie??
The daughter in the end had healing scratches on her face not because "the director forgot to take them out", but because she ran through a glass door!

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Wayne.N
March 19, 2008 at 14:30

You people who said this movie was crap are either total ignorants, or incredibly stupid not to understand this movie. Sandra plays a woman who has premonitory dreams for a couple of nights where she discovers her husband has died, and in the next dreams she understands how and when he died. The last day, when waking up, she attempts to save his life but unfortunately he still dies in the car accident.
In the end she finds herself pregnant because the night before she cherished her husband and made love to him. THE END.
understand???
The moral of the story is that:
1. You cannot change destiny after having a premonition (maybe wrong)
2. Cherish every moment in life because "each day is a miracle"

And to those who criticise her acting..did you see the movie? she was fantastic.
thank you.

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Oh Lord.....
March 19, 2008 at 04:58

I found my calling! Thank you! Once I am a strong Christian I am going to this atheist convention and allowing God to work through me to show these poor atheists what they've been looking for thier whole lives. Hey, if anyone, especially athiest people, wish to talk about "religion", I would really love to communicate with you and hear what you have to say. I am certainly not an expert nor am I even what I would consider to be a good Christian (what i define as one who loves, obeys and has a close relationship with God). I am still quite young and have yet to read the whole bible so I will not have all the answers, but I'd still like to share what little knowledge I have because even that may do some good. Hearing what all the atheist had to say did anger me and made me think that it is just ingnorance speaking because I have a rebuttle for all their criticism; however, criticizing them, would do no good and explaining calmly would take up too much space. So if anyone would like to debate civily or just to talk to and explore the topic with someone, well I'm your girl. Please feel free to email me at. Go ahead, I don't bite. Feel free to talk to me about anything, doesn't even have to be "religion", but please, do not e-mail me to harrass me or for bs because that is just plain stupid and would be a waist of both of our time. I just want to be there for people who may just want to talk. So please, only sincere letters. =)

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Atheist
March 19, 2008 at 04:56

OH LORD SAYS: Once I am a strong Christian I am going to this atheist convention and allowing God to work through me to show these poor atheists what they've been looking for thier whole lives.

----------------------

OH LORD SAYS: Hey, if anyone, especially athiest people, wish to talk about "religion", I would really love to communicate with you and hear what you have to say.

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Doesn't sound like you want to hear what Atheists have to say to me, or to carry on any kind of discussion. Sounds like you want to walk in, and tell Atheists what to do. You're incredibly condescending.

Why do you assume just because someone thinks differently than you that they are "ignorant" or uninformed?

You haven't even read the entire Bible!

Most Atheists are in fact well versed in the Bible and a variety of different religions. Most of the ones I know were raises as Christians and have in fact, not only read the entire Bible (unlike you), but devoted a lot of time to studying it and then come to the conclusion that it's a bunch of bullshit.

This garbage that Atheists are ignorant or just don't know any better is simply propaganda drummed up by the world's various religions to keep people like YOU from actually thinking about all the beliefs you spend so much time spouting and trying to force on other people.

If anyone is ignorant here, it's you. Maybe Atheists should show up at your next religious convention and show you poor christians what you've been looking for your whole lives.

The arrogance sir. Your Christ teaches humility. Look into it.

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Sarah .M
March 15, 2008 at 17:45

Ctually ..i didn't undersatnd the end of the movie :S:S it's so confusing ..some help here !!!!!!!!!

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anonymous
March 12, 2008 at 02:18

To the athiest... "We love him (god) because he first loved us."
-1John4:9-10

"The name of the lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." -Proverbs 18:10

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CrazyMovie
February 24, 2008 at 22:40

This movie was unbelievable! The critic was soo right, I just wish I could have read the review before hand so I could have watched it as a comedy.
The ending was absolutely pathetic. This is only my opinion because I have found that I watch movies for the entertainment and a good closing ending. The entertainment of the movie was good but the ending ruined the whole thing.

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Triple T
February 22, 2008 at 22:36

When I watched Premonition, I noticed that when Linda gets the message on Thursday that Jim died, the eldest daughter doesn't have any scars on her face. But, when she has the premonition before Jim dies, she has the scars. Then when the premonition after Jim dies comes, the eldest daughter DOES have scars on her face. Did the director perposly do it? or did he accedently miss it when they made the movie? Do any of you know?

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Jen
January 31, 2008 at 22:50

I just saw this movie this past weekend. I have to say, I liked how it started out. It was weird and confusing, but once I started getting it, I too wondered why she wasn't changing anything. It was a good concept but gone about all wrong. First, the movie starts off on thursday. Judging by the chain of events and the 'voicemail' she got from her dead husband, and then what had occured at the end...she was the cause of his death. How the hell did she forget about that the next day? She was there when it happened.
Her kid didn't have the cuts on her face that she got two days before, yet two days after they were there.
And then the ending. I hated the ending. Even the alternate ending sucked. If he had lived and she saved him well the entire movie would have made sense I will admit that, and I even might have liked it more. But the way it ended...makes... the entire point of making the movie..well pointless.
I love sandra and I love julian,, but this wasn't one of my favorite well.. who am I kidding. Julian is a sexy beast, and I still love Sandra, I just wish the movie ended better, maybe happy perhaps. Many I'm sure wanted to slap her character for not changing the fate of her dead husband.. I mean comon.. how many chances do we get to jump through time and save someone we love from dying?! Well I'm gonna say none.

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Shabash Morton
January 3, 2008 at 14:44

I saw it on DVD, which I checked out from the library. The inconsistencies of the movie are clear, which have a lot to do with the poor review by many people. As most might be aware, there are two endings to this movie. The movie would have been better served by going with the 'look in the shower' scene ending. Can the future be changed or is it predetermined? That would have been a good way to leave the audience.

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neon
December 28, 2007 at 22:07

i walked out of the tv room in 15 minutes...this movie plain sucks and is going nowhere with its plot. Sandra Bullock you sucked and continue to suck.

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strickles
December 3, 2007 at 19:13

You nailed this in your review. I couldn't agree more. Just one of the worst movies I've seen in years. I actually had to Google some reviews like yours to make sure others agreed with me.

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James
November 30, 2007 at 03:19

I find it interesting how many people consider this to be a movie that makes you think. It is, however, nothing like Memento, wherein everything actually -does- fit together, even if it doesn't initially make sense. The big, stinking flaw of the movie is that when one tells a story like this, one -has- to be clear why any "inconsistencies" aren't really inconsistent.

SPOILERS hereafter:

I considered the girl's cut face to be foreshadowing that Jim's death was not preordained, and predicted that she'd note that, fix her girls face (by putting up stickers on sunday, and seeing the proof that it worked on wednesday). Instead, nothing of the sort happens, and the inconsistency is left unexplained, strongly implying that the story was just plain told wrong. The lack of any sort of resolution to being committed only makes this worse.

As for the plot being too predictable or unpredictable, I'd have to say it was neither - it was just stupid. There are two main classes of time travel stories: one in which changing the past is allowed and one in which is it strictly disallowed. The story has to specify which it is, otherwise it all falls apart. It's allowed to tease about it, making it seem like changing the past is disallowed when it really isn't, or vice versa, but eventually the story must resolve which one is true. (Time travel is fantasy, therefore appeals to realism do not apply. In general, altering the past -is- allowed, because that is precisely why the idea is fascinating and worthy of interesting sci-fi/fantasy storytelling.)

So, we end up with a mostly consistent timeline ... except for the girl's cut face inconsistency, which, in a -good- time travel story, would conclusively prove that the past can be altered. So either the girl's face not being cut-up at the beginning of the movie was a mistake (therefore the plot was good, but someone forgot to make sure it was correctly portrayed in the movie) or it was on purpose, in which case the classically ironic "oops, my time traveling is what caused the crisis in the first place" plotline just plain stupid (because, well, it wasn't really fated at all, but the story seems to imply that it is fated).

So, yeah, the movie makes you think. It made me think. It was a convoluted enough plot that I figured there -had- to be something logical in it. But no, after thinking about it for a long while, I realized it tried to be very clever and intelligent, in a Memento sort of way, but completely failed. It wanted to say something clever and perhaps meaningful about fate, faith and the meaning of life, and ended up saying, "Well, um, like, life means something."

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Olivia
November 26, 2007 at 11:19

I loved this movie!!!! I had no idea how it was going to end, there were so many possiblities!! I love that the movie kept me guessing till the end. I was crying through the whole movie! I never do that!

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that never believe the critics, and oh, by the way, he would have died no matter what. If you go to look up the review on www.imd.com, you will find under the FAQ that they say it is so because he would have turned around no matter what due to the fact that he changed his mind on having the affair.

I guess you could argue that if she never tried to win his affection back that he would not have been killed, but either way he would have been gone. If he had the affair, then the marriage was basically over anyway. This way, at least she knew he truly loved her.

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Rita
November 25, 2007 at 00:55

What a lousy movie! My husband and I watched this movie last night and went to bed mad for staying up late. What a waste of our time and money (bought the DVD). If you have not seen this movie yet....DON'T! I love Sandra Bullock but I think this is her worst film ever!

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Steve
November 23, 2007 at 09:47

We just watched the movie and found it confusing as well.
More enjoyable than the movie was discovering that there is an entire forum devoted to discussing the inconsistencies!
I read through them all.
If Sandra ever decides to do another film like this one, it would be interesting if there were a way for the rewind function on the DVD remote to actually change the story plot each time one pushes the button.....

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Tracie
November 22, 2007 at 09:42

"Viewers will be thinking about this movie long after they leave the theater." Yep, they'll be thinking about how BAD it was - I sure do! In my humble opinion, the reviewer was spot on.
***************
The problem many have with born-again Christians is that they believe that THEIR way is the ONLY way and that it's their JOB to FORCE their views on others. Remember, this is America, where our founding father's sought religious FREEDOM. Don't tell me what I believe is wrong and I won't tell you either. That's what this country is supposed to be about.

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Jesus is a Liberal
November 22, 2007 at 09:42

This just in: Critics worldwide bestow the honor of one of the Worst Films of 2007 on Premonition. Obviously those who enjoyed it are a bit dense, masochistic, or both. Don't try to say you're smarter than us just because you liked it, after all, some dogs love the taste of poop.

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jay.
November 8, 2007 at 13:26

ok... 0.0 you guys are weird. Well, the movie wasn't that bad. It's true that I don't enjoy watching predictable movies but this one, somehow, surprised me. I'll recomend it to anyone who has time and mind to watch it.

pst. Why in the world does religion always gets in the way of any conversation? it's always there! :S I'm a Christian, so what? I wish that you could understand why but, you still don't care so, whats the big deal? if you ever get to know why, GREAT! if you don't, MY bad.

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JC
October 27, 2007 at 13:11

pure garbage of a movie. can't believe i watched it. not confusing - just completely stupid with nothing to bring the garbage together in a slight way at least. someone above wrote i can deal with a time travel movie that doesn't make sense - ?? i can't stand wasting my time on anything that doesn't make sense - want time travel - try Memento, or even Sliding Doors is much better than this worse than made-for-tv movie.. Anyone who likes it is a novice at watching and evaluating movies. and to the agnostic above- there's nothing to be ashamed of if you write you're atheist.

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booby
October 10, 2007 at 02:29

My favorite part of the movie is when the husband ends up dying. Very emotional... almost made me cry. Otherwise a confusing movie.

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Lucy
September 24, 2007 at 12:10

i loved this film. went to see it wit my boyfriend, he hated it but i thought it was the best film ive seen for a long time. I would watch it alll over again if i had another 5 pound

long live sandra and premonition!

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Laura
September 20, 2007 at 12:09

Well, the first time I watched the movie it was a little confusing. The second time I understood a lot better. I thought it was good, made you think a lot and you really had to pay attention but I thought the ending was really sad. For some reason when I watched it the first time I thought her husband lived. I thought that was the whole reason they played the priest saying miracles happen. Then when I watched it the second time it just made me really sad.
For anyone who needs help understanding, the days are all mixed up and the whole time she is trying to figure out which day it is. It does go one day alive, one day dead and so on, but each day is in a different order. First it's thursday, then monday, then saturday, then tuesday, then friday, then sunday, then wednesday. The bird dying and cuts on the face are just to help you understand what day it was. They weren't really important. Once you realize what day it is and piece it together it all makes sense. Even the cuts, and the pills, and the page missing....... the ending though she said you trust me is because she knew that is where he died and she was trying to have him avoid getting hit. In the end though she was the whole reason that he died. Of course though, because wednesday happened last and she became pregnant the whole psychward thing never happened. At least I don't think it did......

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