Project Almanac 2015 9 out of 10 (SPOILERS) (Time Travel Movie #3)

Project Almanac 2015  9 out of 10

In Project Alamanac Time Travel meets the Lost Footage genre.  I remember thinking the trailer looked cool last year when the movie came out--but I never got around to seeing it.  Lost footage films are interesting--yet often really unrealistic by the nature that someone keeps filming the whole time.  

I was able to suspend my disbelief (as one of my Podcast co-hosts says) in this particular lost footage film.  The story captured my attention from the beginning.   I will pretty much watch any movie that has to do with Time Travel and so when I was returning from Hawaii this past weekend it was able to watch this on the plane I leaped at the opportunity.   I personally loved Project Almanac even more than I expected to.

The movie follows a group super smart teens who stumble across weird footage on a VHS tape of one of their 6th birthday parties in which one of the teens sees himself in the background of his own party.  This discovery lead them into his dad's basement where they find plans for a Time Machine.  They tinker with the plans until they finally succeed and are able to test the Time Travel device with small little group missions to try and fix small problems in their life (like failing a mid term exam).

They set up rules  (Very much like in the Lost Footage Super power movie  Chroncile.   They will always jumping together, etc....

They then start letting the power corrupt them with a trip back a day to win the lottery.  The main character then spoils them all with a trip to a concert that has already happened with backstage  VIP passes he bought online for a couple of bucks after the fact. He misses his moment to kiss the cute popular girl and when that moment fades days later he decides to go back to the concert and this time not blow his big moment and go in for the kiss.   This changes everything for him and when he jumps back she is his girlfriend and everything is perfect.....or so he thinks.   Apparently going to the concert --caused a Butterfly Effect that started a chain of terrible events -that have changed the world in a negative way. They discuss as a group going back and trying to fix things --by not going to the concert in the first place.   The main character starts leaping back and trying to fix things and instead keeps making things worse.  

I thought it was a clever and entertaining Time Travel film.  The story was interesting. The cause and effects were fun to watch play out.  You wait in anticipation for the moment that kicked off the film where the main character jumps back in time to visit his own 6th birthday (the day his dad died).   I've seen many people online arguing about the ending--but I actually loved it.   I would definitely recommend the film for fans of Time Travel.  I enjoyed the nods to previous Time Travel films within the film as well.

 It makes me want to do a list of my favorite Time Travel films.

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Evidence 2013 7 out of 10

Evidence 2013   7 out of 10

Evidence was a twist on the lost footage genre.  It follows some cops trying to piece together some killing from on some video footage left behind by several of the victims.  The video footage was shot by a filmmaker that was making a video documentary on her friend while the killings occurred.  The movie has a bunch of twists and red herrings which makes it nearly impossible to piece together exactly what is happening.  Even though the plot is really far fetched---I give the filmmakers some credit for trying a different approach to the genre.  

The story follows a group of three friends that are going on a bus trip to Vegas for a video shoot or something ----It doesn’t really matter why –because they never make it to Vegas.  Instead they get butchered in some random abandoned town on a dirt road after their bus breaks down.   Of course in the real world the people would probably stop filming –but of course the movie would be over if they did so you need to accept this unlikely premise to buy in.   There were so many false leads that after awhile I just gave up on trying to figure it out ---because like the twist of the movie that baffled the cops ---the audience is lead down a certain path as well.  I can’t decide whether this was super clever or manipulative on the part of the film makers.    If you are a fan of the lost footage genre I’d say check this one out ---just for the added element of the story of the cops piecing through the Evidence.

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Chronicle 2012 9 out of 10 (Directed by Josh Trank - Star Wars Spin-off director)

Chronicle 2012   9 out of 10

Star Wars news has been coming fast and furious lately.  It is hard to keep track of all the breaking news.  When it was announced that Josh Trank would be directing one of the new Star Wars Spin offs ----all I could think was " Who the hell is Josh Trank?"   I wanted to to hear names like Joss Whedon  or Spielberg...not Josh Trank.    I immediately looked him up and noticed that he had directed Chronicle a sci-fi movie in the lost footage genre that focused on a story about three high school students that make a discovery in an underground cave while attending a barn party.  The three kids end up with mysterious super hero like powers.  I had put this 2012 movie in my Netflix queue awhile back, but hadn't gotten around to watching it yet so the Star Wars connection moved it to the top of my queue.

The lost footage style of the film seemed forced as usually, but the story of these three friends discovering and learning how to use their new found powers was excellent.  I had thought several years ago that if I ever wrote an invisible man story it would be based on how having these powers could break down a persons o mortality and this film did exactly that with super powers.  We get to see the main characters at first having fun with their new powers in childish ways that most teenagers in reality probably would. They test their powers in the backyard and then play pranks on people at the grocery store as their powers grow.   Of course their goofing off leads to someone getting hurt and they then must discuss that they need to establish rules for how they can use their powers.  It was a strange film that really got into how having these powers would effect someone in the real world.  I absolutely loved the story and how it went down.  Definitely one of the better lost footage films I've seen so far.

The Star Wars Spin off connection:

I now know who Josh Trank is and if his handling of the Jedi like abilities of the characters in this film are any indication of what he may be capable of with a Star Wars spin-off then I'm all in.  The movie was excellent and really got into how a person could become in touch with his darker side with just a little nudge here and there.   A normal person could keep his morality --but someone with super powers may have a harder time walking in the light side of the force.   I would have liked to see Josh Trank's take on the fall of Anakin after seeing this film.    So well I still hold out hope that Whedon will one day get his hands on a Star Wars film.....for now ..I'm excited to see what Trank brings to the table

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The Troll Hunter 2010 8+ out of 10

The Troll Hunter 2010   8+ out of 10

This a great entry in the Lost Footage horror genre.  It follows a group of students that are documenting a series of mysterious bear killings --but instead stumble across a hunter that is hunting more than just bears.   This guy is out looking for Trolls.   The film was done in a very effective fashion much like Cloverfield ---yet letting us actually see the Trolls themselves. 
I've seen numerous Lost Footage films such as the overrated  Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity and this is a much more enjoyable film than those. 

      It was a well executed film.  If the subject matter hadn't been so crazy unbelievable it could have actually been believed.   The documentary style of this film felt really authentic.   The film is out of Norway and is subtitled as a result, yet this didn't hamper my enjoyment for the film.  The story was interesting enough that I almost completely forgot that it has subtitles by the end of the film. 

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Episode 50 2011 2 out of 10

Episode 50  2011 2 out of 10

Who hasn't watched TV shows like  Paranormal State or Ghost hunters and thought about writing a movie where the Paranormal team actually bumps into some serious Paranormal activity.   I know I've personally thought of several ideas based on this premise myself.   That is the focus of this film...someone actually made a movie about it.   2 competing paranormal tv shows with different points of view are set to  explore one of those most haunted spots in America.   One to de-bunk it and the other to prove the existence of inhuman presence.    The concept is good.....the movie NOT SO MUCH.  It is boring and dull and bland and not scary at all.   It says it is in the tradition of Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity....--but abandons the  LOST footage concept freely whenever it feels like it.   There is nothing scary to see here.....you have more of a chance being scared or creeped out by one of the Ghost hunter shows that at least are well edited to make nothing happening but a few random door squeaks and  "What the hell was that?" seem interesting........Skip Episode 50  not worth the effort.