Frequency

3/5 stars

During the biggest solar storms of memorable history, Frank and John Sullivan find that they are able to speak to each other through time. On October 10, 1999, John hears a voice on the other side of his father’s old ham radio. The voice identifies itself as Frank Sullivan, John’s father who died on October 12, 1969. He thinks the guy is playing a joke on him, until Frank accidentally burns the desk, creating a burn on the desk Frank is sitting at, only it’s cold. John gives Frank some advice on the fire he’ll fight the next day (“don’t go with your instinct…go the other way”) But in changing his father’s fate, he changes his mother’s as well, who subsequently becomes a victim of a serial killer. Together, Frank and John work across time to fix what they put wrong.

As with most movies involving time travel or faster than light communications, I had to turn my inner-scientist off for this movie. But factoring out the questionable science, I enjoyed the movie. It borders on touching — telling a story of second chances — but doesn’t become overly sentimental.