Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Movies

Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores

Wide Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Limited Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

58 (Untitled)
96 35 Shots of Rum
56 Adam
72 Adela
39 Adventures of Power
78 Afghan Star
61 After the Storm
66 Afterschool
xx All the Best
58 American Casino
72 Amreeka
48 Antichrist
73 Araya
62 Art & Copy
55 As Seen Through These Eyes
76 Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86 Beaches of Agnes, The
13 Beautiful Life, A
70 Beeswax
35 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71 Big Fan
66 Black Dynamite
51 Blind Date
xx Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly
76 Bliss
35 Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26 Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57 Boys Are Back, The
45 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81 Bright Star
70 Bronson
45 Burning Plain, The
xx Carriers
55 Casi Divas
57 Chelsea on the Rocks
62 Cloud 9
65 Coco Before Chanel
69 Cold Souls
59 Collapse
44 Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82 Cove, The
75 Crude
82 Damned United, The
67 Departures
xx Dil Bole Hadippa
71 Disgrace
xx Do Knot Disturb
70 Earth Days
24 Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85 Education, An
55 Endgame
xx Eulogy for a Vampire
xx Everyone Else
xx Fatal Promises
56 Fifty Dead Men Walking
62 Five Minutes of Heaven
74 Flame & Citron
49 Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80 Food, Inc.
28 Free Style
xx From Mexico with Love
50 Fuel
25 Gentlemen Broncos
50 Give Me Your Hand
58 Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72 Good Hair
89 Goodbye Solo
52 Grace
66 Harmony and Me
81 Headless Woman, The
xx Heretics, The
63 Horse Boy, The
73 House of the Devil, The
xx How to Seduce Difficult Women
74 Humpday
94 Hurt Locker, The
29 I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16 If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75 In Search of Beethoven
83 In the Loop
61 Intimate Enemies
42 Irene in Time
70 It Might Get Loud
46 Killing Kasztner
19 Labor Day
xx Laila's Birthday
41 Little Ashes
41 Little Traitor, The
66 Liverpool
34 Looking for Palladin
80 Lorna's Silence
83 Maid, The
xx Ministers, The
59 More Than a Game
67 Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34 Motherhood
62 My One and Only
xx Mystery Team
48 New York, I Love You
73 Night and Day
66 No Impact Man
47 Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34 Other Man, The
xx Painter Sam Francis, The
54 Paper Heart
xx Paradise
68 Paranormal Activity
68 Paris
44 Peter and Vandy
35 Play the Game
77 Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx Pretty Ugly People
65 Providence Effect, The
76 Rembrandt's J'accuse
69 September Issue, The
79 Serious Man, A
40 Shrink
61 Skin
77 Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx Skiptracers
46 Splinterheads
39 St. Trinian's
89 Still Walking
50 Stoning of Soraya M., The
55 Storm
65 Tetro
70 That Evening Sun
72 Thirst
xx Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61 Trucker
xx Turning Green
83 U2 3D
66 Unmade Beds
66 Unmistaken Child
70 Visual Acoustics
55 Walt & El Grupo
67 Way We Get By, The
69 We Live in Public
64 Wedding Song, The
64 Where is Where?
xx White on Rice
74 Woman in Berlin, A
69 World's Greatest Dad
70 Yes Men Fix the World
69 Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx You, the Living

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Primer

EMAILPRINTThinkFilm Inc.

Primer reviews
68
7.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 28 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Shane Carruth

Directed by: Shane Carruth

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 8, 2004
DVD: April 19, 2005

Running Time: 78 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for brief language

Starring Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford, Jay Butler, John Carruth, and Juan Tapia

While tweaking their current project, two young engineers accidentally discover that it has some highly unexpected capabilities--ones that could enable them to do and to have seemingly anything they want. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity is the first challenge they face. Dealing with the consequences is the next. (ThinkFilm)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Primer unites physics and metaphysics in an ingenious guerrilla reinvention of cinematic science fiction.

Read Full Review >
91

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Consider Primer a successful lab experiment with, as they might say in techie chat rooms, significant indie-cred applications, IMHO. Oh, and :-).

Read Full Review >
90

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

A half-baked conspiracy subplot in the last third makes Carruth's knotty narrative even harder to follow, but this is still scary, puzzling, and different.

Read Full Review >
88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It is maddening, fascinating and completely successful.

Read Full Review >
88

Premiere Aaron Hillis

Refusing to dumb down for a mass market, Primer is "Mullholland Dr." for math geeks, "Memento" for mad geniuses, or simply one of the most inventive films ever made for pennies on the Hollywood dollar.

Read Full Review >
88

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

An ingenious blend of sci-fi and mystery.

Read Full Review >
80

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

A brainteaser of the first order, Primer ranks among the best of recent thrillers such as "Memento" or "The Matrix," which rupture the fabric of reality and radically destabilize the narrative in kind.

Read Full Review >
80

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

A dense and dazzling science-fiction mind-bender unassumingly dressed up in a tech geek’s short-sleeved oxford shirt, pocket protector and safety goggles.

Read Full Review >
78

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It's hard to always know what Primer is saying or where it's heading, but it looks fantastic while it unfolds and you won't be able to forget what you've witnessed.

Read Full Review >
75

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The movie may be too precious for mass consumption, but its filmmakers' willingness to assume the best of their audience, combined with its Everyman origins, suggest a movie that deserves a chance.

Read Full Review >
75

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Primer is obviously not for all tastes, but if it connects with you, prepare to be obsessed.

Read Full Review >
75

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Shane Carruth's extraordinary work of shoestring speculation throws you into a deep ocean of techno-jargon and lets you dog-paddle or sink like a stone.

Read Full Review >
75

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The screenplay is convoluted but fascinating, flawed less by its built-in complexity than by the limitations of the characters' psychological depth.

Read Full Review >
70

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Frustrating as I ultimately found it, Primer is undeniably geek heaven. For everyone else, it's a nice antidote to big-budget bogusness.

Read Full Review >
63

New York Daily News Robert Dominguez

One of those purposely head-scratching films meant to be viewed more than once. The extra ticket sales should easily cover Carruth's initial $7,000 budget.

Read Full Review >
60

The New York Times Dana Stevens

At a certain point, Mr. Carruth's fondness for complexity and indirection crosses the line between ambiguity and opacity, but I hasten to add that my bafflement is colored by admiration.

Read Full Review >
60

Empire Kim Newman

It's a puzzle as much as a plot, but when it's in focus (which it isn't for long stretches) it's remarkable brain-food.

Read Full Review >
50

San Francisco Chronicle Neva Chonin

Doesn't always work, but it challenges, nonetheless.

Read Full Review >
50

TV Guide Ken Fox

A fascinatingly obtuse puzzle box that manages to be gripping even after it stops making sense.

Read Full Review >
50

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Love it or hate it, you won't be able to leave it alone.

Read Full Review >
50

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

May be too clever for its own good. Essentially, it's the story of weekend scientists who build a time machine in a suburban garage. But this nearly gets lost in a miasma of technical jargon and scientific conjecture.

Read Full Review >
42

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Every frame of the way, it's eminently clear that Primer is the work of an engineer, not a film- maker.

Read Full Review >
40

Film Threat Eric Campos

Inspires plenty of head scratching and maybe a little irritation.

Read Full Review >
30

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

As Primer progresses, it just gets murkier and the experience of it more drudgelike.

Read Full Review >
25

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A real head-scratcher that somehow won the grand jury prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 28 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mick gave it a10:
One of the strangest viewing experiences i've had; it won't be for everybody!

David K. gave it a10:
Primer is a brilliant cinematic science fiction thriller! Unfortunately for the non-science enthusiast, the screenplay dialogue is absolutely overrun with swift moving unexplained techno-jargon that may unintentionally frustrate those viewers to the point of disappointment as they find themselves getting more and more lost between plot lines. But for everyone else, this spellbinding sci-fi mystery thriller is a terrific must see film! It is a complete success, and an incredible achievement by both Shane Carruth and David Sullivan.

David H. gave it a10:
A modern-day masterpiece. The further the film progresses, the more fascinating and innovative it becomes. The this is the first feature film Carruth managed to make, lets hope it isn't the last.

Susi gave it an8:
Fantastic and demanding. Really enjoyed the visual framing and the very bald acting style/non-style. Even the storytelling, despite the frustrations with audibility and narrative patchiness. Thanks for a film so devoid of sentiment and so full of ideas. Not for everyone, but nor is any film and it's great to see something that credits the audience with a bit of intelligence and a few ideas themselves. I'll be looking for Caruth's next outing - and re-viewing this one while we wait

Jeff S. gave it a10:
What at first appears to be bland dialogue between uninteresting characters begins to very cleverly remind us of the lengths that the film is going to establish a sense of realism. This science fiction film succeeds in its abandonment of cliche and hand-holder storytelling, and yeilds instead a glimpse into the real-world implications of such a mind-bending event. The characters are real and flawed, and the eventual breakdown of clarity as a story device is brilliant.

Pete M. gave it a4:
Unfortunately it does fail. its all mind bending but not fascinating because there just isn't enough clarity and stability about whats going on. Both the action in almost any given scene and the voice overs are opaque and unresolved. such an (apparently) sophisticated story needs a first rate director and screen writer to be comunicated adequately.

Coinne B. gave it a3:
The Blair Witch of science fiction. A celebration of poor professional standards, wrapped in mystifiyng techno-babble and saying very little about anything much. Very disappointing, alhough something about it says it could have been OK-ish. Maybe if the soundtrack wasn't so fuzzy and they had used a tripod now and then? Anyway, I am tired of this "made on a low budget with credit cards" drivel. It was never true. Not in the 1980s, not now.

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use