PROJECT ALMANAC

(2014) 106 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review:  Originally supposed to premiere last year under the name WELCOME TO YESTERDAY this movie was held back until this year as it was feared to get lost in the intense competition from movies last spring. Dropping it here in February doesn’t seem to have helped in terms of box office numbers especially with AMERICAN SNIPER dominating the theaters.

Anyway a cast of unknowns whose character names I can’t recall  discover the plans for a time travel machine hidden away by the brainy protagonists late father. The kid along with his equally nerdy two best friends, his sister and a classmate that is his budding romantic interest manage to put the thing together and get it to work.

Instead of using it for big picture things like stopping 9/11 the gang indulges in bettering their lives by going back to cheat on exams, win money in a lottery and rock on at Lollapalooza with back stage VIP passes they bought on the internet long after the concert was over.

Thing go wrong at Lollapalooza when the hero inadvertently squashes his budding romance with Jesse (okay I remembered one name!) and breaks the groups self-imposed rule of never time jumping alone to go back and fix his screw up. It works…he cements his relationship with Jesse but ripple effects began causing mayhem that culminates in their actions contributing to a plane crash killing nearly 100 people. The hero must find a way to set things right though it may cost him Jesse’s love.

All in all who doesn’t like a good time travel movie? This one was fairly well done and competent. It takes a little too long to build the machine but once they do the movie takes off.

With any luck the “found footage” genre is on its last gasp. This movie would have been a lot better as just a regular movie and scrapping the found footage idea. For instance it is ludicrous to believe that when the hero is on the run from the law he would actually keep filming as he is fleeing!

Best Scene: The final jump back in time the hero must make to restore the timeline.

A.C.’s Rating: MATINEE

On a side note…anyone looking for a really good time travel movie go rent THE FINAL COUNTDOWN from 1980. The USS Nimitz is swept into a temporal storm and transported back in the days before Pearl Harbor. Just a great movie…only flaw was it copped out at the end. I really wanted to see 1980 level technology decimate the Japanese fleet before they could carry out their sneak attack.