Timeline (2003)

A group of archaeologists become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve a friend. The group must survive in fourteenth century France before they can escape back to the twenty-first century.

Quite mindless entertainment, not tethered by any plot coherence let alone the paradoxes of time travel; lots of talent wasted for the fun.

Halliwell (no star): "Risible adventure, so daft to be almost, but not quite, endearing; the performances are beyond redemption."

Maltin**: "Lively, noisy, convoluted story becomes so confusing it's difficult to know who's who, let alone what's what."

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

A wealthy art gallery owner receives a draft of her ex-husband's new novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.

Brilliant direction and cinematography and an excellent cast can't quite conceal the inconsistency of embedding a fictitious thriller within a romantic revenge tale and making it its trigger; the ending therefore is more powerful than the novel and would work even without all the contrivance.

Unthinkable (2010)

A black-ops interrogator and an FBI agent press a suspect terrorist into divulging the location of three nuclear weapons set to detonate in the U.S.

Highly dubious test arrangement about torture is unnerving with its contrived plot, stilted dialogues - and it's feigned message (in the extended version).

Maltin*1/2: "Attempts to make Jackson's character appear normal only succeed in making him seem even more psychotic. Other than Sheen's chameleon-like performance, there is no upside here. In fact, the whole movie is unthinkable."

Passengers (2016)

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers and two passengers are awakened 90 years too early.

Above.average sci-fi movie, for once not an action-laden shoot-em-up, but an original and interesting tale with a small cast of two (although one would love to see the main story after the film's finale); nevertheless, it's enteratining, suspenseful and offers the goods concerning the effects and visuals.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Very light comedy without any depth you might expect from its director, but the fatnatstical encounters with historical figures are quite entertaining.

Maltin***: "A divertissement from Allen filled with wistful charm, although it won't stand up to scrutiny; either you go along with its fantasy premise or you don't. Wilsin is the best in a long line of Woody surrogates because he truly makes the part his own."