Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Time Travel (15)
Mar 20, 2026Back to the Future Trilogy — Review
The Back to the Future trilogy earns its 9.5 by solving the hardest problem in serialized storytelling: making three films that each stand alone while building a cumulative argument none of them…
May 12, 2026Déjà Vu (2006) — Review
Denzel Washington and Tony Scott's time travel thriller. The four-day-and-six-hour surveillance window that generates dramatic tension through specific constraints. 10/10.
Mar 20, 2026Edge of Tomorrow (2014) — Review
Edge of Tomorrow earns its 8.5 by doing the one thing time-loop narratives almost never manage: making the repetition feel earned rather than gimmicky. The mechanics are internally consistent, the…
May 11, 2026Frequency (2000) — Review
A father in 1969 talks to his son in 1999 through a ham radio during an aurora. Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, and one of the most underrated sci-fi films of the 2000s. Frequency at 9/10.
May 11, 2026Groundhog Day (1993) — Review
Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and the time-loop comedy that doubles as theology. Studied in religion classes and philosophy seminars. Groundhog Day at 10+/10.
May 12, 2026Happy Death Day (2017) and Happy Death Day 2U (2019) — Review
Jessica Rothe in Christopher Landon's time loop slasher comedies. Accumulated physical damage as urgency mechanism. 10/10 across both films.
May 12, 2026Looper (2012) — Review
Rian Johnson's time travel thriller. Joseph Gordon-Levitt transforming into Bruce Willis through accumulated choices. The ending resolves through commitment. 10/10.
May 12, 2026Next (2007) — Review
Nicolas Cage's precognition thriller with two-minute future-seeing capability. The unreliable narrator ending recontextualizes the entire production. 10/10.
May 12, 2026One Minute Time Machine (2014) — Review
Devon Avery six-minute short film. James pressing wristwatch reset trying to seduce Regina. Twisted ending that recontextualizes everything. 8.5/10.
May 12, 2026Paycheck (2003) — Review
John Woo's underrated Philip K. Dick adaptation. Twenty small objects sent from future self solve specific situations after memory wipe. 10/10.
May 12, 2026Run Lola Run (1998) — Review
Tom Tykwer's German structural innovation cinema. Franka Potente runs three times through the same twenty-minute scenario. Electronic music as structure. 9/10.
May 12, 2026Source Code (2011) — Review
Duncan Jones's time travel thriller with Jake Gyllenhaal in eight-minute consciousness-transfer repetitions. The ending elevates the entire production. 10/10
May 12, 2026The Final Countdown (1980) — Review
USS Nimitz time-travels to day before Pearl Harbor. Kirk Douglas commands. Martin Sheen advises. Real Naval cooperation. Authentic F-14 Tomcat sequences. 9/10.
May 12, 2026Time Bandits (1981) — Review
Terry Gilliam's droll British time travel fantasy. Six dwarves with stolen map of holes in time. Sean Connery as Agamemnon, John Cleese as Robin Hood. 8.5/10.
May 12, 2026Timecrimes (2007) — Review
Nacho Vigalondo's Spanish time travel film. Karra Elejalde escalating loop with disappointing ending. Substantial craft with specific weakness. 7/10.