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Needle in a Timestack | 2021 | R | – 2.2.5
Why is “Needle in a Timestack” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few kissing scenes, partial nudity with costumes for dancing, several timeline shifts depicted by shimmering waves washing over people that leave some with bloody noses, an accidental death off-screen, and over 5 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.
Sci-fi movie about a loving couple (Leslie Odom Jr. and Cynthia Erivo) that struggles to stay together when shifts in their timeline threaten to tear their relationship apart. Also with Freida Pinto, Orlando Bloom, Laysla De Oliveira, Alessandro Juliani, Jadyn Wong and Hiro Kanagawa. Directed by John Ridley. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in Portuguese without translation. [Running Time: 1:51]
Needle in a Timestack SEX/NUDITY 2
– A husband and his wife kiss in a few scenes. A husband kisses his wife’s face and neck.
► A man kisses a woman on the forehead and they hug. A husband and his wife snuggle in bed together. A husband and his wife dance closely and caress each other. A husband and his wife hold hands. A man and woman hug and the woman caresses the man’s face. A man and a woman look at each other lovingly across a crowded room. A woman puts a man’s hand on her abdomen and he understands that she is pregnant.
► A husband and his wife are shown in bed together and the woman wears a low-cut camisole that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders (the man is asleep). During a choreographed performance two men hug and dance, then move in combative gestures while a woman photographs them (they are shirtless and we see their bare chest, abdomen and back). A shirtless man dances and we see his bare chest, abdomen and back to the upper buttocks. A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. Male and female dancers dance around and with each other; they caress each other’s faces tenderly (we see the men’s bare chest, abdomen and back and the women’s cleavage and bare legs to the lower buttocks).
Needle in a Timestack VIOLENCE/GORE 2
– People flinch and recoil as a shimmering wave washes over them and we hear that it is a timeline shift (one man’s nose bleeds); people call their loved ones on their phones to make sure that nothing has changed, and one man calls his wife in a panic fearing that something has changed or that she might have disappeared (we see the woman’s nose bleeding). After a timeline shift, a man finds himself driving a car along a two-lane road, he swerves and stops and falls out of the car onto the road.
► A man throws a radio into the street breaking it. A wife tells her husband that she met with her ex-husband and that he gave her a gift (a radio); the man becomes upset and throws the gift into the street. A man buys a timeline capsule that stores his memories.
► A woman describes “jaunting in time” to change the events that killed her friend. We hear that a woman fell while rock climbing and she died; we see a woman falling through the air but do not see the impact. A woman describes calling a woman’s parents to tell them that their daughter died and found herself repeating, “She’s dead, your daughter is dead,” because they don’t speak English and she does not speak Portuguese. A man breaks up with a woman. A husband and his wife argue in several scenes. A man threatens to go back in time to hurt another man that he believes is trying to break up the relationship between him and the man’s former wife. A man worries about another man trying to break him and his wife up. A man says that he will not join his sister on a rock climbing adventure because he doesn’t want to get killed. We hear that a couple is divorcing. After a timeline shift, a man is confused by having a cat when he is convinced that he doesn’t like cats. A man worries about the possibility of having had children and not knowing after a timeline shift. A man tries to call his wife on the phone and his phone is unable to find her name in the contacts. A woman jokes about amputating a man’s leg after he hurts himself biking. A woman says that she is going cliff diving and asks a man to join her. A man is told that nausea and disorientation are normal after traveling in time and he says that he doesn’t feel well.
Needle in a Timestack LANGUAGE 5
– About 7 F-words (2 not fully enunciated), 7 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (jerk, weird, different, odd, pathetic, caveman, stupid), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus Christ, oh my God, Jesus). | profanity glossary |
Needle in a Timestack SUBSTANCE USE
– A man is given a liquid to drink before traveling in time (we do not know what it contains). A man and woman drink wine in a few scenes, people drink alcohol in a cocktail lounge, people drink at a party, two partial glasses of wine are shown on a table, people drink at a beach party, and a woman talks about her and her husband getting drunk like a couple of kids and dancing.
Needle in a Timestack DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Fear of loss, loneliness, time travel, time shifts, happiness, separation, divorce, ego, insecurity, wealth, guilt, luck, time crimes, morality, fear of change, changes in architecture due to environmental impact, monogamy, scams, misery, selfishness, modern living, adoption, accidental death.
Needle in a Timestack MESSAGE
– Happiness is the only thing more fleeting than time.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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