Frequency

This ambitious but frustrating timeshift thriller never quite manages to jam together two distinct stories. In 1999, freak weather and an old ham radio allow Queens cop John Sullivan to communicate with his fireman dad, Frank (Quaid), dead these 30 years. Coincidentally, a murder mystery from 1969 is revived after John (Caviezel) and his partner Satch (Braugher) discover new evidence. Things get weird when John tells his much missed father how to escape the warehouse fire that killed him. The effects are unpredictable and frightening, especially when father and son try to prevent the '69 murders. Their efforts repeatedly place Frank at the scene of the crime, eventually making him prime suspect. And who was the investigating officer back then? Why, a much younger Satch. With me so far? The script's original concept opens up fascinating possibilities, then disappointingly plumps for the boring serial killer option.