User reviews

In 1994, in her high school prom, Freya McAllister (Navi Rawat) starts to hear voices in her head, is declared schizophrenic and sent to a mental institution. She is treated by Dr. Michael Welles (Peter Horton), who is sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA), and along the treatment, he tells her that she in not crazy, but indeed she has powerful telepathic skills, being unique in the world. Nine years later, she is assigned by NSA to work with agent Brendan Dean (Joe Flanigan) in New York, chasing together the dangerous terrorist Cazal, whose identity is unknown by the secret service.

What a great surprise this excellent movie was for me! Yesterday, when I decided to watch "Thoughtcrimes", I was expecting a common movie just for killing time. However, the intriguing story hooked my attention until its very end. The beginning of the film is a sort of "Nikita" or "Firestarter", but the story works very well. Navi Rawat and Joe Flanigan show excellent chemistry, the characters are very well developed, the screenplay has no flaws and certainly is an attractive entertainment for fans of action movies. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Crimes Premeditados" ("Premeditated Crimes")

Note: On 27 Nov 2021, I saw this film again.

When I first rented Thoughtcrimes, I thought I was going to get one of the usual B-level Orwell knockoffs. The opening did not help much, given that it screams to the rafters that this film was intended as a television pilot. However, in this day when Chris Carter can drag out a series to ten seasons in spite of running out of ideas in the first, or when Joss Whedon can gain a reputation as a guru in spite of putting the audience members most like his characters to sleep, Thoughtcrimes would have made for one hell of a television series. In contrast to Serenity, in fact, it makes a very watchable feature film. Thoughtcrimes kicks off with a setting right out of a teenie soap drama. We even get a mother (I think) telling her daughter that sixty-five percent of prom dates end in sex. I always thought it was closer to ninety-eight percent, but what the hey. Unfortunately for Freya, sex turns out to be the least of her worries that evening when she suddenly becomes aware that she can hear the thoughts of everyone else in the hall.

From there, we fastforward through the local mental hospital (mis)treating her for several years until one day, a doctor by the name of Michael Welles takes over her case and starts training her to control her telepathy. It is this point that earns the show five points right off the bat. We have all seen science fiction films in which telepathic characters can simply project their thoughts and ideas into the minds of others, or read the minds of others. To my knowledge, I have never before seen a film or television series featuring psychic or telepathic characters in which said characters have to struggle to come to terms with their gift, as some call it. Even the recent X-Men adaptations, which strike me as the pinnacle of a story about "those who are different" on film, did not invest this much effort into the pre-mastery element of the story. There is one moment in the film when Brendan, the more conventional hero of the piece, expresses anger at having his authority superseded by a girl who looks like she is barely out of school. Welles' response is to play him a MiniDisc of thousands of voices all layered over the top of each other. This, he tells Brendan, is what Freya has endured for the best part of a decade.

Never, in all the years I have seen films trying to deal with the subject of how the mentally ill, autistic, or just plain neurologically divergent live, have I seen the film hit the nail on the head so hard without even trying. Sometimes, I wonder if certain elements of the psychiatric profession did not slip a few bucks to the right people to keep this pilot from becoming a series, or becoming a wide-release film. It graphically shows how out of touch the medical profession, even those on the proverbial final frontier, have become with the "first, do no harm" philosophy that has guided medicine for thousands of years. There is some contention as to whether government agencies such as the NSA would be better at addressing the needs of Aspies or High-Functioning Autistic individuals, but Freya's attempt to escape also inadvertently highlights that those of us on this final frontier are in such a desperate situation that we need to take help wherever we can get it. If these demonstrations are intentional, then kudos to the writer and director for making them.

Like all television pilots, however, it does suffer a few weaknesses. Plot tangents such as the process of Freya reconciling with her sister are left loose, and we never get a definitive answer as to the fate of the main villain. Joe Morton, on the other hand, makes a good possibly-evil leader simply because the character is written to suggest he is quite ambivalent, and Morton is proficient enough to take advantage of such writing. Joe Flanigan is competent, but this episode allows his character little chance to be anything other than a frustrated straight arrow, and he as an actor does nothing to fight it. Jocelyn Seagrave plays June McAllister in a very 90210-esque spoiled teen style in spite of the fact that the character has apparently put herself through law school. The real surprise is Navi Rawat as Freya. We Aspies have a saying that goes something like "if this guy is not an Aspie, he is doing a great job of impersonating one". Navi does such an awesome job of impersonating a schizophrenic and later a telepath during this piece that she should have won an Oscar at the least. With the right agent, she would be unstoppable.

I gave Thoughtcrimes an eight out of ten. It is not perfect, but it is a great way to spend ninety minutes. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who knows what it is like to fall through the cracks of the current health system. And that is probably the best recommendation I can make.

Recommended.

The movie has a strange start; the kind I don't get to watch in a lot of other movies. It's blunt, straight to-the-point to what happened, and where the story is going to take off from. I recall watching the same kind in a recent Hindi movie called 'Zinda' (that had a completely different story and theme, by the way).

Also noted by another viewer, one of the aspects that make this movie different is that within the first 15 minutes of the movie, you know that the central character isn't going to discover her strengths on her own; but she needs assistance. Had they not done that, it would have become yet another 'gifted' story. Overall, I liked the movie, and had a good feeling after watching it. There are many loose ends in the story that have been left unexplored, but hey, nobody's complaining.

Navi Rawat has looked great in the movie, by the way.

Thought Crimes arrived on the UK DVD market without much fanfare. I rented it, expecting a cheap B-movie. What I got was a very enjoyable story. I've since shown it to friends, who unanimously agree about its virtues.

The story is about a girl who unwillingly receives telepathic powers. She can hear other people's thoughts. After being driven mad by it, she gets picked up by a mysterious scientist, who trains her to develop her powers, and target them. Soon, she is asked to assist in helping with an investigation.

The movie is well-written, and many pathways for sub-plots and story lines are opened. Some are closed, but quite a few remain open, suggesting that this was meant to start a series. It's a thrilling movie, with a fairly original concept, dramatic moments that are convincing without getting too sappy and crucially, a sense of humour. It is comparable to Wheddon's various series (Firefly, Buffy et al) in its qualities. (Except for one deplorably bad line of dialogue in a crucial scene near the end) In terms of the acting, most people do a fairly good job. The male NSA agent / hero lays on the charme a bit thick, but I suspect the script forced that anyway. Maybe I just dislike male good-looking actors.

I highly recommend this movie for light entertainment purposes. It's more original and enjoyable than most big Hollywood movies these days, and it deserves a larger audience (and a spin off TV series!)

Rented it on the title thinking it would be either a rip-off of Minority Report or something Orwellian. Was neither, but could be a distant prequel to Minority Report. But in its own right it's Psi-Fi of a high order (even down to a guest appearance from Joanne Vannicola from TV's "Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal"). Good stylized secret intelligence world around a plausible rendering of telepathy. The main actor did a good job with the bewilderment of the naive telepath and the guided recovery to functionality. The ending was too smug and triumphal for my liking and spoilt (a little) an otherwise fairly thoughtful thriller. I only recognized one actor but all played their parts well, the suspension of disbelief wasn't really broken at all. Recommended to anyone who likes a good story well told.

So I saw this movie about two years ago and didn't remember anything about it. I was in for a trip down memory lane. It's a well made thriller/action film that kind of reminds me of the Matrix, except nowhere near as crazy and out-of-this-world. The relationship between the two sisters is well done, although somewhat of a normalcy for any kind of movie. The acting is fairly good, and so is the directing. The plot twists were there, but sort of pedestrian for government thrillers like this. That about sums up this movie---while it's fun to watch, there isn't much to make the connoisseurs stand up and take note. It's just another one for the masses, and a genuinely vanilla flavored outing.

Of course it's got good points, such as the final twist before the ending showdown, in the kitchen, that was very nice to watch even if it was a bit predictable. I also quite enjoyed the character Brendan Dean (Joe Flanigan), as he was quite humorous and 'real.' The plot was well paced and you could easily understand what was going on at all times. Overall I'd recommend this to action/thriller fans.

An excellent all round film, from its storyline to its cast. It has elements of X-Men meets Alias. The story runs well taking you from the very beginning to a mouthwatering 'want more' ending. All the characters have their own identities and allow you to understand their feelings and emotions without the need for the usual complex and barely believable plot twists to explain seemingly unnecessary plot rollercoasters. From early on you get very comfortable with the characters and find them very easy to follow and understand, the actors and actresses making this very easy. Special mention must go to Joe Flanagan, (Stargate Atlantis fans will recognise him) who plays a real feeling cop instead of the usual leading Robocop character who never puts a foot wrong, also Peter Horton, (from Sideout and 30something fame) who manages to balance compassion with trying to do the right thing for all people.

Give this film a chance, you will not be disappointed; just nervous stood in a crowd the next day with your thoughts running through your mind. Would you want everyone knowing what you were thinking?

i thought it was entertaining because the music done by Brian Tyler was pretty good. especially the last scene and when the credits roll in. this guy i absolutely recommend for anyone whose hooked on movies soundtracks as i am. the background music i thought totally complimented the scenes and brought out the best in em. guess thats why i watched it 3 times myself. not sure but has the soundtrack been released yet ? I'm going crazy trying to find a listing of the music but still no luck.

maybe if someone knows how to contact a music director or whoever involved with the film pls do tell me. maybe we could get them to post a track listing or whatever. i really think this movie has been underrated. it really does need more publicity so more pol can enjoy it.

anyone out there who can help me with this ?

As a huge Joe Flanigan (Brendan Dean) fan, I was rather excited to see this movie: and I wasn't disappointed. His acting was at it's usual best, making viewers laugh and empathise with his character.

However... the lead, Freya McAllister, I'm sorry to say was rather disappointing. She seemed to overact every single detail - right down to basic breathing. However, I didn't turn off the movie and persevered throughout and did find that it was enjoyable.

It seems as though there should be "And next week on 'Thought Crimes' as it did seem quite like a pilot to a new series, but as it stands it just a stand alone movie.

An enjoyable movie, but don't count too much on the acting skills of the lead, other than that, acting was spot on!

I just saw 'Thought Crimes' and was very impressed. The plot was well written and the characters were very fleshed out, in part, due to the fact that we could hear what most of them were thinking.

I think as the movie progressed, we found out what it was like for Freya to come to terms with her gift, and because she was more at ease with it, we were able to see some of the less serious aspects of mind reading. "Scooby dooby doo, where are you, we got some work to do now..."

Rare is the TV-Movie that captures the perfect blend of action/drama/humor, but I think 'Thought Crimes' really hit the nail on the head.

10/10

No well, this is not one of the worst movies you'll ever see but it simply isn't great stuff either and certainly not worthy of all the praise it is receiving on here. People actually rate this movie a 10, 9 or an 8? Some people really should start watching some more movies.

In the first halve of the movie the main character is trying to cope with- and tries to life and use her abilities to read people's minds. This means that the first halve of the movie mostly consists out of drama. Then suddenly the movie completely changes and turns into a fast going action/thriller in which the main character must prevent a terrorist attack. It then also introduces the movie its second main character Brendan Dean (Joe Flanigan). Much too late of course. It all perhaps could had worked out if the first halve of the movie was trimmed down to a 15 minutes intro in which the main character tries to control her powers. It now instead is a movie with very messy story-telling, with two total different halves that just don't really connect with each other. But also the rest of the movie simply is an example of how not to tell a story. It's extremely messy, leaves lots of loose ends (it simply doesn't bother to explain things at times), steals ideas from other movies and on top of it all features an highly unlikely story that progresses in a even more unlikely manner.

It's obvious that this is a movie that was orientated toward the DVD market. It therefor is a rather cheap looking simplistic B-movie, that only mildly entertains, which prevents this movie from being a completely unwatchable one. The action is minimal and mostly consists out of running and jumping people. Too often too little interesting is happening in the movie.

It's pretty obvious that director Breck Eisner got inspired by the two Matrix-sequels that were released around the same time. This is most notable in the way he handles the action, with a pretty laughable end result at times.

Elements of this movie all got handled better in way better movies.

5/10

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Thought Crimes is a very powerful drama that also provides enough action for action movie fans. This movie is certainly well thought out, extremely well directed with a cast that fits the movie perfectly. I don't want to sound like the movie starts out slow because it really doesn't. Its captivating from the beginning and keeps building momentum all the way to its finish. The very last scene also leaves room for a sequel. In fact, thats why I'm at this site. I'm hoping to find its sequel. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it. Its a riveting movie and fit for all but the younger preteen audience. This is certainly a 5 star movie! Its worth renting at the video store or purchasing it for your DVD collection!

plot (if there is one...)

All of a sudden a high school teen gets the power of hearing thoughts of other people. Why and how this happened nobody knows not even the director. This power overwhelm her and she goes insane but accidentally she discovers that by reading she can quiet the voices in her head. In that moment a group of high-tech scientist realize that she has the 'power' and take her for training in order to combat the international terrorism by reading the mind of the enemy.

Cheesy, unbelievable almost ridiculous though funny. I can only recommend it for seen in cable TV.

This movie wastes no time on long, forced-in background stories, you get right into it and you'll figure everything out as you go. It managed to make me watch it without looking away, checking the runtime or even pausing it for a bathroom break.

The acting is just as good as the fast-paced storyline, the characters are played realistic, humane and compelling. Nothing is overdramatised neither handled too casually. You don't realize they're acting, and that's exactly the way it should be done in this type of movie.

There's nothing about this movie I didn't like, except for the fact that, like all movies, it had an end.

A really amazing movie I just saw on the USA channel. It has many twists and turns and it really has the drama, action and thrills all in one film. It is about a girl who is gifted who reads minds who ends up saving lives by the end. She learns to use her power which ultimately makes her a one of a kind hero. I really enjoyed how realistic the movie really was. This is the kind of movie that you feel a part of. If anyone has seen 'Taking Lives' then you'd absolutely love this one. The beginning tells Freya's struggle on realizing that she is telepathic and later on accepting that she is gifted. She ends up becoming part of the NSA in Ny solving crimes by reading peoples minds. This is the movie that will leave you guessing till the very end.

I just happened to come upon this show and only stopped flipping when I saw Navi, but was entranced by the show. It is has been a long time since I saw something on TV that I literally didn't want to leave during the commercials because I was worried about missing a minute. It's very entertaining, well-acted, exciting and even the score is extremely well done. The directing is top-notch, it couldn't have been easy to develop scenes so often where thinking and speaking have to go together in a way that the audience isn't confused. Extremely well-done, and clearly meant to be a series pilot: many questions remained unanswered, and I'd love to see some of them bared out in a TV show. Come on networks - it's not like there's a glut of entertaining TV shows??

..As in, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.

I chose to watch this movie solely based on my addiction to all things Joe Flanigan, its one of his better roles IMHO. I actually found myself enjoying it for reasons that had nothing to do with my Joe fetish. I'm in agreement with the previous comment made on this movie - it could have been a damn good TV series. What I liked about this was that Freya wasn't some X-Men type ass-kicking super babe, she was basically a normal girl who suddenly developed an an abnormal gift that threatened to destroy her life. It wasn't just glossed over with the typical "she's got powers & suddenly she can master it in a second" thing that you see on other movies or TV shows with telepathics. She actually struggles with it and starts learning how to focus it at first with difficulty. I thought Brendan Dean's first few scenes were funny - spitting up cough syrup all over himself and the repetitive humming of the Scooby Doo Theme song in the privacy of his own head (who knew that could be so annoying?! & really a guy of his age with Scooby Doo stuck in his head, its enough to make you worried). He definitely came across as not liking having to take a back seat to Freya in investigations especially without knowing why & watching him trying to figure it out was amusing. At times, Brendan's humour was rather similar to that of Joe's current TV role as Col. John Sheppard on Stargate Atlantis - perhaps those elements are something Joe brings to the roles himself rather than what is written in scripts. This movie is really good, the only bad thing in my opinion was it seemed to end just as it was getting to the best part of the story - Freya mastering her gift & using it. It should have been the start of a great TV series! I'd definitely recommend this movie whether you like Joe's work on not.

Freya is a telepath who is "rescued" from the loony bin, only to be recruited to work for the NSA.

The lead actors are perfect and have a great supporting cast around them. I think this should become a regular television series. I would LOVE to find out what happens next!

I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed by Ms. Rawat's dramatic range.

I totally forgot her character in THE OC, and bought Freya hook, line and sinker. As for Joe Flanigan, he makes me want to watch him in anything he does, and not just because he is handsome. His portrayal makes me want to stay tuned for more.

I really enjoyed this movie concept and thought it was a little like Dark Angel which was one of my favorites. The idea of utilizing a telepathic individual as a 'weapon' has pros and cons but bottom line is that it would be most helpful if the gift could be controlled.

The way the voices are provided helps us understand how most people would think this person was crazy when indeed she was just gifted. Her ability to assist the NSA is the crux of the movie as well as her inner fight to deal with her gift.

The reason I'd like to see this concept turned into a series is that a lot could be done with the plot lines making very interesting and complicated story lines. Also, delving further into her relationships with people and how she would be able to control her gift to not invade their personal space.

I didn't realise that this was a movie! I watched it on Ten HD about a week ago thinking it was the premiere to a new television show. I was so excited because when I watched this I thought it would be an awesome TV series. They could really develop the relationships between all the characters- in particular the mains. And it would be really interesting seeing how they'd tackle the cases given to them. It was very entertaining! But,to me, now knowing that there will be no more follow up showings, it seems that not much was really resolved. It's such a shame that there won't be a continuation from it. Because I really hoped there would be!

When I bought it, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I bought it mainly because it had Joe Flanigan in and I love his work in Stargate: Atlantis, so I thought 'why not?' Now, I've only had it a couple of weeks and have seen it so many times. It's my favourite film in my collection.

For a film that wasn't promoted or that I'd ever heard of...it's unbelievably good. The storyline keeps you hooked till the end, even if you've seen it before. You always pick something new up every time you watch it...be the chemistry between the two lead roles...or an extra line of dialogue you didn't hear right the first time. It keeps me entertained.

I give it 10.