Perhaps the only precursor to today's arty time-leaping flicks is Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, a tough story about a man adrift between the decades, attempting to stop a terrible virus from destroying the world. After staying in the present day (the 1990s) for a while, he's put in a mental institution where he begins to believe that the post-apocalyptic future is just a crazy hallucination.

The new wave of time travel flicks represented by Timecrimes and Primer use the idea of time travel to explore madness in the same way Gilliam did. In both movies, our time travelers are clearly going mad - in Primer, madness seems to be one of the side-effects of time travel. We see a similar trend on FOX series Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, where all the characters who have traveled through time struggle with madness and traumatic flashbacks. With madness-loving director David Cronenberg working on a remake of Timecrimes, and a new Terminator movie in the works, we're not likely to see an end to this trend soon.

Madness makes almost any story more literary*, of course, if only because it takes a certain degree of art to represent reality through the eyes of somebody unsure of what's real. Even healthy minds are time travelers: In our imaginations, we jump around in time constantly, comparing what's happening right now to an event ten years ago, or recalling vividly a person who is long dead. So perhaps the idea of time travel is particularly suited to complicated, literary stories. It's a simple way to translate mental states into plot devices.

But why is time travel the plot device that arty types want to steal from scifi right now? Why not create indie flicks about aliens or space travel? Possibly because it's hard to create non-laughable aliens on an indie budget - so don't expect lit writer Jeanette Winterson's recent alien novel The Stone Gods to get the arthouse treatment any time soon.

I think there might be something else going on here, though, something connected to many people's realization that humans won't be traveling to space en masse in the near future. That dream died in the 1980s, when the moon landing honeymoon was finally over. These days, we don't all share a dream that one day we'll go to the stars, the way kids watching the first moon landing did. Instead, perhaps the most widely-shared scifi-flavored dream is of escaping to the past or future, instead of to the stars.

Certainly the fantasy of escape is at the heart of Timecrimes, where a man called Hector strays from his wife by idly watching another woman undress through his binoculars. This small act of betrayal sets in motion a psychotic adventure with time machines, self-tripling, and unbearable guilt. Is the movie really about time travel, or just the consequences of sexual anxiety?

Anyone who has seen an ordinary time travel film like Back to the Future would hardly recognize Timecrimes as part of the genre. Hector is not trying to change the past in order to make the present better, or even just to revisit a beloved lost time. His travels back to the recent past are clearly surreal representations of his own knotty psychology where sexual desire somehow always leads to murder. Not exactly the typical stuff of science fiction.

Still, it is science fiction - at least, a version of what SF would be if completely unleashed from the idea of genre. What's intriguing about the new wave of time travel indies is that they are unafraid to turn the conventions of hard SF into metaphors. There is no effort here to be "scientific," or to create a plausible time loop scenario. Instead, we are treated to a genuinely startling exploration of unknown territory in the human mind. And we get a glimpse of what science fiction might look like in years to come.

* You can see metaphorical time travel cropping up in non-SF literary work too: Joseph Heller's famous war novel Catch-22 is about a man whose madness causes his very narrative to become unstuck in time. (Unlike a similar work, Slaughterhouse Five, where the narrator is literally, not metaphorically, unstuck in time.) And both Marge Piercy and Joanna Russ have written literary SF novels (Woman on the Edge of Time and The Female Man respectively) that mix time travel with possible madness.

Magnolia Pictures is running a free screening of Timecrimes at the Embarcadero Center Cinema next Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7:30. You can RSVP by writing to timecrimessf@gmail.com, and we hope to see you there!

Why did you want to make a movie about time travel?

I'm a devoted science fiction fan. I'm really into that kind of stuff from novels to films. Into the genre of science fiction this sort of genre, time travel it was one of the most challenging genres you can work. Because you can not repeat the same thing that has been done already you're forced to be original. And at the same time you have to work on scary stuff that is funny at the same time. This for me is the quest that is making this kind of film.

What kind of science fiction inspired you to write this type of film?

For example my inspiration from this film came from the books of Philip K Dick and other writers that took it to the edge. But as far as movies the movie I have on my laptop all the time is Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. Most of his films they have situations that are both pretty dark but also pretty silly. The Birds is a movie that can be a pretty dark horror film but at the same time it is a comedy because it's about birds attacking people. But if you're looking for closer examples to this type of film I must say that I was in love with Twelve Monkeys when it first came out. I love that kind of structure and I love that kind of film and I was impressed with how it was such a depressing tale but the whole thing was filled with jokes.

A lot of your previous work is very funny, is that necessary in your films?

I like to work with comedy but not from the script. If you read the Timecrimes script there aren't any jokes in the script. But I love to shoot things as if they were a comedy. If I can use the camera or the elements to find the comedy element in a situation, that's something I can not avoid. I love to work with comedy but from the film making not from the script.

Well in your opinion what was the best off the cuff moments in Timecrimes then?

One of the funniest moments is when the character Hector falls onto his knees. And the second guy falls on his knees again, and when I was making the movie I could not help but find the ridiculous element in it.

Was it difficult to take Hector down that dark path?

I knew this wasn't going to be a great movie in terms of money or budget or in terms of special effects. I knew the special effect would be the script itself that was great. So I worked on it very many times it went through many different drafts. The character of Hector was pretty difficult to work with in the script. It was also pretty difficult to work with the actor because he's an average person and at the same time he's a psycho killer and at the same time he is something else. I think his work is brilliant because he managed to play different roles but at the same time he's playing the same role.

You really beat the hell out of Hector, do you have a lot of fun doing that as well?

Oh yes of course, if you don't have a lot of fun making films then you should not make films.

Did you enjoy watching Hector commit crimes and become what he is in the end of the movie?

I love it because when you are making a story (this is difficult to explain even in Spanish [Laughs]) when you are playing with a good versus evil idea in a story but in an obtuse way...I love the fact that a character that the character can be the good guy and the bad guy at the same time. I love it when you're dealing with that stuff. Instead of dealing with the traditional story where you have the good character and the bad character. I love to play with ambiguity and this kind of weakened psychology.

Do you think that Hector is representative of any person, like that is inside of all of us?

That's a good question because he is an average person but he is hiding something terrible. I think that a character with contradictions and ambiguity is a more realistic character plain good or plain bad. I'm afraid to say that Hector is a good representation of an average person. But at the same time I believe in complicated characters more than plain characters.

This is such a time loopy story, did you have difficulty writing this script?

I made a lot of drafts with the scripts. I made 12 or 13 different drafts of the script trying to put them all together. But the shooting was also difficult. You have to be very careful what you're showing and at the same time you have to be very careful as to what you're hiding.

I read that Tom Cruises' United Artists purchased the rights to Timecrimes, have you heard anything about the remake? Are you worried about Hollywood getting involved with the project and changing everything?

The people involved with the remake of the script are awesome. Timothy J. Sexton the writer from Children Of Men, one of my favorite films last year. I feel very honored, this is my first feature, this is my first experience in feature film making. I feel so amazed that these people want to do a remake. This will really help me with my career in the United States so I can not help but thank these people.

How is work on the remake coming can you give us an update?

I can tell you that I had the remake script in my hands, but I didn't read it. I can't even tell you the number of pages. I had it in my hands but I didn't open it yet.

We're all really excited for your new UFO and car jumping movie Ramp, how is that going?

I'm just writing the third draft right now and once I finish it I'm going to show it to the world, so let's cross our fingers and lets see what happens. But right now it's not a project that has been looked at by anyone yet, it's a project I'm writing but I have to finish it in less than a month.

Seriously the idea for this movie could be one of the best ideas I've heard in a long time, can you tell our readers what it's about?

It's about a giant ramp it's about a guy who is going to use the ramp with a car and he's going to jump off the ramp and land on top of a UFO. He's going to make contact. Think of the classic UFO shape it's ready for us to fall onto it.

Oh yeah what kind of car are you going to launch?

It has to be a very light car, it's a little car, if you use a Hummer you will destroy the UFO.

What is your fascination with UFOs?

Well not only in The Ramp but UFOs have appeared in many of my scripts I'm not interested in UFO-ology in in the real UFO or real close encounters. But I'm interested in UFOs as a pop culture icon.

So do we get to see little green men?

That is a question I'm not allowed to answer.

I heard you were looking to work with zombies next?

I made my time travel story and now I want to make my zombie movies my superhero story and my ghost movie. I want to be close to the horror to the scifi and to the thriller.

The release date for Timecrimes is December 12.

Star Trek:

Two more grayscale posters, this time showing Uhura and Nero. The most revealing thing about is that you can gaze upon Eric Bana's crazy tattoos up close and in detail. [GeeksOfDoom]

Sci Fi Wire saw some concept art for the movie, including uniforms, phasers and tricorders reminiscent of the original series. There were also a larger and more complicated version of the shuttlecraft from the original show, a medical evac shuttlecraft with red and white markings like a regular ambulance. The Klingon warbirds looked like the ships from the original show, but with some details changed.

Plus there was a Starfleet Academy lecture hall with the Golden Gate Bridge visible in the background, and the Enterprise shuttle bay with the familiar launch doors but much larger and with more shuttles inside. (Not unlike the Galactica's flight deck.) One drawing depicted a starship nacelle with "quantum warp ports." A "medical tricorder" looked like the communicators from Galaxy Quest, and there was Kirk's futuristic motorcycle, a green-lighted BMW (product placement!) with no spokes or hubs in the rims.

Most excitingly, there was a "time ship" that was circular and blue, with "a crescent-shaped element at the front." [Sci Fi Wire]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Another day, another batch of toy spoilers. This time, there's yet another blurry pic of a Soundwave toy, this time showing his head and shoulders. And the good news is, he's got a design very reminiscent of his 1984 version, with a blue "crown," faceplate and visor. Meanwhile, there's official packaging for the "Superion" toy, and the packaging includes a spooky set of eyes at the top of the box. Apparently those are the eyes of the Fallen, the movie's ultimate villain. [TFW2005 and TFW2005]

The Incredible Hulk 2:

Tim Blake Nelson is still on board to play the Leader in the sequel to this past summer's less-successful Marvel adaptation. If it ever happens, which is still a bit dubious. [MTV]

Special:

Here's a new synopsis for the medical-experiment superpowers indie movie:

Michael Rapaport plays Les, a parking enforcement officer who is lorded over by his micromanaging boss and fanboy friends Everett (Robert Baker) and Joey (Josh Peck). Out of boredom, Les unceremoniously decides to participate in a scientific study that documents the effects of a new medication; what he soon discovers is that those effects are not only feelings of energy and wellness, but genuine superpowers, starting with levitation and moving on to teleportation and time travel. But when Dr. Dobson (Jack Kehler) informs him that his results are not only unusual but deadly to the study's proprietors, Les finds himself on the run from Jonas (Paul Blackthorne) and Ted Exiler (Ian Bohen), two suit-wearing executives who appear to have developed superpowers of their own.

[IGN]

The Day The Earth Stood Still:

Here are some new stills from the Keanu Reeves remake. They look very similar to stills we've seen before, but maybe show a bit more of the action sequences. [IESB via AceShowBiz]

Timecrimes:

Shocktillyoudrop summarizes this time-travel thriller:

Timecrimes is the cyclical story of Hector (Karra Elejalde), a husband attempting to piece his life together detail by detail after traveling back in time in less than hour. Yes, less than sixty minutes. Yet somehow, in some way, he manages to muck things up good by roping in a young woman, a scientist and a scissors-wielding killer whose face is wrapped in gauze.

Lost:

Looks like those rumors about the island getting zapped back to the 1970s were spot-on. An extra who played "mom on swing" and pushed an eight-year-old girl has spilled some beans. She wore 1970s fashions to play the mom, which included walking to a fence and talking to a "Dharmite." She walked right past Sawyer. And later, she herself got to play a "Dharmite," and here's her Girl-Scout-esque uniform. (It's sort of odd that Lost will be going back to the 1970s, just as it's paired with the Life On Mars remake.) [SpoilersLost]

And here's a longer version of that Fray music video featuring footage from season five. Are Juliet and Sawyer holding hands? And there's a theory that the Aijra airlines thing has to do with Sun chartering a plane to take her back to the island to look for Jin. [E! Online]

Heroes:

Here's the official description for the Dec. 1 episode, "Our Father," which is the penultimate episode of the "Villains" storyline:

Hoping to find a way to stop Arthur (guest star Robert Forster), Hiro (Masi Oka) and Claire (Hayden Panettiere) band together and travel back in time 16 years to when Kaito (guest star George Takei) gave baby Claire to H.R.G. (Jack Coleman). Meanwhile, Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and the Haitian (guest star Jimmy Jean-Louis) team up to finish off Arthur Petrelli for good but are interrupted by Sylar (Zachary Quinto). Elsewhere, in the lab, Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has a major breakthrough with the formula that will likely change everything.

[Heroes Television]

And here are some pics from that episode. (Sorry they're kind of tiny.) These pics seem to confirm some rumors, including the rumor that Claire dies — but then when the Eclipse thingy is over, she comes back to life. Claire joins forces with Arthur, who wants to keep her alive, and meanwhile Sylar and Elle join Angela's team. Meanwhile, Peter and the Haitian succeed in shooting Arthur Petrelli dead. And then in the following episode, the end of "Villains," Claire will shoot HRG dead. For reals. Claire will feel like her dad is against her, but later she'll regret shooting him for the rest of her life. [Heroes Television]

Here's a promo for tonight's episodes of Heroes and Chuck. [SpoilerTV]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here's what happens in the Dec. 8 episode, "Alpine Fields," which is the last one until Feb. 13: "Sarah and Cameron work to save a family on the list with a connection to Derek in the future. Meanwhile Jesse's life hangs in the balance." [SpoilerTV]

Also, there's a casting call for episode 17, "Ourselves Alone." We'll meet Molly Malay, a Sarah Palin-esque worker with the Department of Child And Family Services, and a high-priced lawyer named KO Simpson who has a bodyguard. Also, there's an overworked nurse in a doctor's office, and a high-priced hooker. [SpoilerTV]

The Survivors:

The remake of the 1970s plague show aired yesterday, and we'll have a review/recap later today or tomorrow. But for now, one major spoiler — the show's surprise death was Jenny (Freema Agyeman), a character who survived the entire run of the original version. (But a lot of Jenny's personality is bestowed upon Anya, a doctor, who does survive the first episode just fine.) Also, good-looking playboy Al Sadiq meets up with devout muslim boy Najid, and changes for the better. [SurvivorsBBC]

Here's how Paterson Joseph describes his character, Greg Preston:

Greg is Mr Independent/Practical. He wants to be on his own, on a small farm maybe. He's had a very corporate lifestyle but even before the virus hits his work as a systems analyst was making him feel like he was trapped in an office the whole time. He was making a lot of money but wasn't connected with the land or with the seasons. He just felt a pull to it. So much so that he kind of lost his family.

[BBC]

And apparently, nothing is resolved in the first miniseries, so you'd better hope there's a second series at some point. [Sky]

Batman: The Brave And The Bold:

This pop-art-influenced fun Batman cartoon won't have any links with previous animated series featuring the character. Settings will range from Mars to Atlantis, and genres will include science fiction and mystery. And at some point we'll meet Robin, and he'll be Dick Grayson. [MediaBlvd]

Stargate Atlantis:

In the Dec. 5 episode, "Infection," we'll get to see what the big bruiser Wraith, the guards with the masks, look like when their masks come off. And it isn't pretty. [Sci Fi Wire]

Stargate Universe:

The show's opening storyline may be expanding from a two-parter to a three-parter. And one character, Dr. David Rush, is looking like a "handful." The show's mid-season two-parter, episodes 10 and 11, will include betrayals, twists and ticking clocks, plus a surprise guest star. And SGU will be more "intimate" than other Stargate shows, because it's about a group of people trapped on a small ship in deep space. [Gateworld]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Besides Cronenberg, Vigalondo expressed interest in Kurt Russell or Bruce Willis for the remake's leading man (and what scifi fan could blame him?). Vigalondo also has hopes for Adam Brody as the scientist and Joan Allen for the main character's wife. Timecrimes is about a man who travels back in time and discovers that infinite possibilities lead to infinite corruption. And that's before he comes face-to-face with himself. [Blog de Cine via Shock til You Drop]

Timecrimes, which has one of the least appealing titles of recent memory (Seriously, what says "Direct to DVD movie starring some faded 90s action hero" more than "Timecrimes"?), is a remake of last year's Spanish movie Los Cronocrimenes from director Nacho Vigalondo. With a plot centering around a man accidentally traveling thirty minutes into the past, meeting his past self and then becoming embroiled in an unlikely and unclear crime, the movie was unsurprisingly a hit at last fall's Sundance Festival before being given a limited release in October last year. This remake is being produced by United Artists, so expect to see Tom Cruise doing his concerned yet firm face in the lead role when it makes it to a cinema near you.

Children of Men scribe to pen Timecrimes [Hollywood Reporter]

Vigalondo says:

You can be sure my next one hundred movies won't have time travel in it. Well, actually you never can tell. I'm thinking now porn and time travel would be an incredible combination: People fucking themselves!

Timecrimes will be released later this year, unless time travel actually gets invented, in which case you will have already seen it.

Nacho Vigalondo interview [Bloody Disgusting]

[Bloody Disgusting]