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mabronzwaer
Reviews
Boldly Going Nowhere (2009)
Perfect title
The writers/producers of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" wanted to do a Star Trek spoof series. The pilot never got picked up by a studio but if you want to see it it's currently (still) on youtube.
As a long time fan of 'Sunny' I can see where some of the jokes are coming from and what they were going for but the sad reality is that it just doesn't come together. What makes 'Sunny' so great is the chemistry between the characters but here there is little chemistry to be found. It feels like a bad Family Guy episode where everyone gets to say their zinger but the characters barely interact with one another. It feels hokey and cheap and the jokes themselves aren't that good either.
Positives:
- The captain is played by a Nathan Fillion look- and feel-a-like and it works almost as well as the man himself, really nice performance
- Artemis (from 'Sunny') is called Startemis
- The core concept isn't that different from "The Orville" in the sense that it's a Star Trek spoof with idiot crew members and an overly cocky captain so it's not as if they weren't onto something
- It's only 1 episode (this is a positive if you want to check it out)
Negatives:
- There's little chemistry between the characters
- The characters, except for the fish guy and Cricket, aren't memorable
- Most jokes fall flat
- The '2001: ASO' theme scene (I found this incredibly distasteful)
I would like to point out that I love the irony of this pilot having gone nowhere, boldly. It's probably the best thing about it to be honest.
Toki o kakeru shôjo (2006)
Soaked in tears everytime
(Conclusion)
This is an excellent coming of age story that adults might even connect more with than adolescents. If you like that genre of movie, this is one of the best and a must see. If you only want to see grim action or silly comedy, skip it.
(Spoiler free)
I have just rewatched this movie for the fourth, maybe fifth, time since I saw it for the first time in 2009. The funny thing is, even though I remember "it's a good feelgood movie" I always forget how much I cry while watching this.
This movie has a very melancholic feel of nostalgia to it and expertly captures what it's like to be in the last summer of high school. Central to the story is the theme of not being able to let go of the past, your time as a child, and your past mistakes. All of these are of course paralleled by the time traveling.
It's a very smart movie, and you don't have to be into time travel to enjoy it. The time traveling, while essential to the plot, takes more of a backseat to the humanity of the characters and their emotions. If this movie were now made into a live action movie it would probably be a YA drama, but make no mistake, I'm here crying my eyes out over it at 35. It's just really fn good.
(Spoilers ahead)
One of the best, and to me most hard hitting, parts of the movie is when Makoto evades Chiaki's declaration of love, feeling not ready to grow up and deal with adult stuff like that. And by doing that, she loses the shot she had with him forever in the process. Even with the time traveling, this is something she can't save in the end and it leads to a very strong message: If you can't let go of who you were, you're missing out on who you're becoming.
I love this movie, I've been coming back to it every couple of years and I don't expect this viewing to be my last.