Repeaters (2011)

This movie tries to take the 'Groundhog Day' idea into darker territory, with three recovering drug-addicts in rehab getting to live a bad day over and over again, until, presumably, they get something right.Besides the dark edge, this movie also promises interesting developments by having three friends go through it together in different ways. At first, and after the confusion, they have wild fun with it and even hold up a liquor store. But then two of them start introspecting when they have to deal with their families and a suicidal jumper. The third, however, seeing the endless hate his father has for him, decides to give up and give in to the dark side of his insecurities, and turns to a nihilistic life of brutal crime, since there are no consequences to his actions anyways.So it starts becoming interesting, and in a sense, they become god-like beings that can get away with anything, except that the more conscience-laden duo now also have a 'super-villain' on their hands to deal with, while the regular world suffers the consequences.But then it stops being interesting, fizzles out, and just ends.Their attempts at stopping him never become creative (for example, they don't even bother finding out who starts their day first by a few seconds, thus giving that person a slight edge). Their time-loop and personal dramas are solved with only a couple of lazy pop-psychology revelations and confessions. The development of the bad guy is way too fast and extreme - it could have worked if they had to repeat a hundred times or so, but to turn into a suicidal-rapist-murderer within 3-4 days is a bit much. And their 'thoughtful' introspection about consequences for their actions ends abruptly when one guy says: 'I need it to mean something'. Way to go, Schopenhauer.And so on. It just doesn't develop its ideas in any way. And then there's the ending where the bad guy gets to repeat himself, while the rest move on. If you think about it, since none of them see any meaning in their lives and its only about whether they get caught or feel bad for their family, the ending means that the bad guy gets to live it up without consequences, and the good guys have to live with their consequences and bad decisions. So even the faux-moral ending is a product of muddled and lazy thinking. Lazy movie-making does not produce great movies.

Repeaters is a familiar idea - get to replay days over & over until you get it right. But I liked this one as there is an interesting take on how different people see this gift/curse differently. Makes you think what would I do with a second chance? Even though the theme is basically the same as Groundhog Day that's where the comparison ends. Best moment - girl tight ropes on a bridge - pretty tense. Worst moment - when Mike goes over the edge at the end (pretty predictable). Actually if you are interested in this theme read REplay by Ken Grimwood - a new slant on the theme - much better than this movie. (Or Stephen King's 11/22/63) DonB

A Canadian flick that repeats Groundhog Day, but just not as well. It doesn't have the same ethos as Groundhog, it doesn't show the progression of effect that repeating the same day over and over for days, months, perhaps even years that Ground does. Minor Spoiler ensues...In fact, the characters in repeaters set in their new patterns almost immediately -- perhaps in two or three days. It really makes it seem unlikely that goodness emerges so quickly. In Groundhog Day, we get the sense that months and maybe years pass by before real change occurs. This rings more truly in my mind than the almost immediate change in the Repeaters. At the end of Repeaters, there's some relief, but no joy as in Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is a 10. Repeaters is a 5.

This movie is captivating, but more from a psychological stance than in terms of nitty gritty action and is in essence about amends. Three recovering addicts in a rehab facility re-live the day they are supposed to make amends again and again. It's not easy to understand what happens in recovery from addictions and this is a psychological portrait of how people deal when faced with confronting their own demons and taking responsibility for their actions.If you like to think about psychology- you'll enjoy this movie. If you want easy-on-the-eyes- and-and-brains entertainment then maybe give it a miss.