Palm Springs (2020) - Movie Review

Oh dear, it’s another time loop movie. And I’ve already used up basically every remotely useful way I can introduce these movies; I can’t even go full meta and acknowledge this constant stream of time loop movies itself feels like I’m stuck in a time loop, because I’ve already done that too. These past six years since Edge Of Tomorrow has seen a lot of filmmakers try their hand at this, with both good and bad results, but quite frankly, I’m just tired of it all. It’s been done. The chances of something coming along that can add a fresh spin to the idea is growing thinner by the day. It's part of the reason why I wasn't exactly looking forward to this, regardless of how it turns out... and yet it's also the reason why this is such a blast of fresh air.

Happy Death Day 2U (2019) - Movie Review

Well, it’s February and you know what that means: Horror… movies…

Wait, didn’t I just write this? More to the point, haven’t I reviewed this movie already? Came out a couple years ago, it was this time loop slasher film with a dark sense of humour… yeah, I’ve definitely seen this already. Has all my time bitching about the prevalence of this plot device somehow got me stuck in one myself? Is my Groundhog Day having to review the same movie over and over again?

No, I haven’t quite gotten that far up my own arse to attempt some alternate-reality game shit in these reviews… not yet, at any rate. I’m just using this as a preface because something this bizarre kind of needs to introduced in a surreal fashion. It’s not every day that a film comes out that is both a serious rehash and a bold step into new territory.

When We First Met (2018) - Movie Review

Over the last handful of centuries, romantic comedies have become the sub-genre primed for mocking, containing all kinds of insipid clichés and story tropes that breed incessantly within it like the world’s least useful petri dish. Over the last handful years, time travel narratives have been in vogue, primarily those involving the lead character reliving the same event over and over again, trying to get it "right" and make everyone happy (or, more likely, just themselves). These two worlds have intersected before, like with last year’s Naked, but this is a truly harmonious synergy. A feat of filmmaking that manages to highlight the utter worst of both worlds to create a shining example of why this shit needs to stop.

Naked (2017) - Movie Review

With December fast approaching, I can already feel my brain preparing itself for the ensuing marathon of reviews. Of course, with the increase in aptitude to see films, there’s also an increased willingness to subject myself to... less-than-ideal releases. The kind of films that people would usually come across in passing and never think of again, either because they’re too dull, too stupid, or just too bad in general. It’s the same mindset that led me to reviewing Fifty Shades Of Black last year, a film as useless as it is a failure at what should be the easiest job in the world: Taking the piss out of the works of E. L. James. And now, it seems that Marlon Wayons and Michael Tiddes are back it again with a Netflix-exclusive release… and somehow, it has an even lower approval rating than Fifty Shades; either version. We’re dealing with another addition to The 0% Club today, so strap yourselves in for what will most likely be a complete disaster.

Happy Death Day (2017) - Movie Review

There is an entire singularity of irony surrounding today’s movie. When Groundhog Day first came out, it was well-regarded and seen as a welcome reprieve from the norm. In the wake of Edge Of Tomorrow, everyone and their two-bit production house decided to get in on the time loop narrative trend, resulting in not only crushing that sense of reprieve that made all this work in the first place, but at a frequency that will likely make most moviegoers feel like they themselves are reliving the same day over and over again. With how many of these films I’ve already covered, I am seriously sceptical that there is any new ground to cover with this idea. I know that “Hollywood has officially run out of ideas” is so much of a meme as to lose any real meaning in saying it, but as I delved into not that long ago, it is starting to become even more pronounced than before.

 

So, with the director of the widely-derided Scouts' Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse and prolific producer Jason Blum at the helm, is there going to be anything here that isn’t going to make me repeat myself yet again? Well, this is the year of all things surprising, so I’ll admit to being curious about how this will turn out.

Before I Fall (2017) - Movie Review

It seems that films about time travel, and in particular films involving time loops, are continuing to grow popular. While my affinity for sci-fi should make me glad that such a staple of the genre is gaining ground, I am held back by the simple fact that there are just far too many of them. Looper, About Time, Edge Of Tomorrow, Predestination, ARQ, Doctor Strange to a lesser extent, even previous adolescent-centric films like Project Almanac; all in the space of five years. Yeah, I actually quite like most of these titles but the basic formula that is at large between them is now starting to get stale. Variety keeps the world interesting and unless we find a good third-party premise that can exist beyond both this and the standard superhero suspension of disbelief, it seems that we aren’t likely to get any. Will today’s film at least keep things interesting or will the seams start showing?