Riley Rewind (2013)

I had some issues with the plot and some of the decisions made in this movie. One striking detail in this movie that I couldn't let go of was the message it seemed to give to me at the end of the movie, when Angela and Edward fell in love with each other and all their troubles seemed to go away.Did I not just watch a movie where time and time again, the protagonist fails to save someone who commits suicide and questions whether she has the right to alter life events? This movie got very deep and the issues raised was super intriguing! ...and then in the last moment Angela is presented with a boy who likes her, whom she never seemed to have a romantic interest throughout the whole movie and yet still seems to fall in love at first sight (a message that is also super cliché and misleading to young romantics everywhere). And during that scene when they both see each other, the viewer gets the impression that their priorities are out of wack since the seemingly unconscious, bleeding protagonist lies there on the ground between them, yet they can't seem to take their eyes off each other. No sense of urgency. Nope, nadda. Their love is much too important to be bothered by panic for someone else's safety and health.And then after that Angela, whose depression was so severe she continuously committed suicide, seemed to be all better with her newfound love interest. No delving into the roots of her depression or the effort of getting better...it just seemed to...disappear! Not to mention the ensuing broken relationship she's just entered into since she never dealt with her issues before dating a would've been (and still could-be) mass murderer. Usually I wouldn't be so upset about something like this, but if the writer was going to tackle serious issues like suicide, at least explore the causes and treatments of depression (especially when a few of the major characters are obviously suffering from it). As a person suffering from depression, watching this film was not only disappointing on this subject, but ignorant towards the complexity of mental health issues, like depression.The last thing that bothered me about this ending was the self righteousness of the protagonist. Throughout the movie she fails at connecting with Angela because of her lack of connection with her. She doesn't understand her so how can she help her? The movie hints at this with Angela's broken home, neglectful mother, and harassment at school. But then the movie doesn't explore this. Instead, Riley is given this magical power to go back in time that fails her again and again to save Angela, making her question whether she has the right to change anything at all. And even deeper...is it even worth saving someone when it means sacrificing her own life and the happiness of others (evident from taking her best friend's date away).But all of this meaningful exploration gets thrown out the window when, yes Angela does become happy with the not-so-homicidal disabled kid, and her best friend does make it to the prom with his date (with the help of the protagonist of course since he could never do it on his own), and her health issues do somehow magically disappear. None of her actions have lasting negative consequences that kept occurring throughout the film. She never learnt anything. She never grew. She deems herself a superhero and that's that. Everyone lives happily ever after. And if suicide is going to be the topic of the day, we might as well end it as the sweetest fairytale ending as we possibly can make it.

I'm a long time subscriber of RWJ on Youtube, but somehow i don't feel like having a moral obligation just for this reason to give this film a high vote by default. However, given the ratings so far, it seems that i'm one of the few who thinks this way. It's a well known fact that fans tend to over-value the works of their idols, but i would expect at least some degree of objectivity and fairness. There seems to be little of that among those who voted and reviewed so far, cause i can't explain myself for what other reason this series would get reviews naming it: "innovative", "entertaining", "well written" etc. and an average rating of 8.5 at the moment. I was particularly disgusted by one review that gave it (obviously) 10 stars and that judged everything about this ... thing as BRILLIANT. That was disgusting, to be that dishonest with yourself and the others: that's cheating life.There is one excuse i've seen used for the failure of this movie more than any: the budget. To that, i will say: they made The Blair Witch Project and Clerks with less money.There's also an appeal some people make, saying critics should give it a break, because it is inspired by Anna Akana's family tragedy, she lost her sister, apparently to suicide. To that, i will say: making an appeal to pity is not a fair thing to do. I feel for anybody who lost someone dear, but that won't make me lie to myself and to them. Judge the creation, not the creator. Many will say i'm a cold-hearted bastard maybe, but to be honest, when i watch a movie, i don't really care if those involved in its creation suffered some kind of loss in the past. I don't care about that, that doesn't make the actual film better than it is. So please, no more "give the movie a break, she lost her sister" non-sense.Overall, this is a flop. I hope they will learn something from it and produce an internet masterpiece next time (or who knows, maybe a real movie) and shut us critics up. I would like to see how a comedy made by Ray would look like, since that's his main field of activity on Youtube. I would like that to happen, cause i'm sure it would be successful.

Knowing the background for all of this from following you both on you tube makes me envious.You are both taking something very close to your hearts and running with it.(the name runaway planet has a lot more meaning now)Making something of it. It's very brave. The series is great. But knowing where and who it comes from, makes it very deep and inspiring. Way to show everyone, even the naysayers, to follow your dreams.Best of luck. Hope to see more inspiring things from both of you.

This short movie has actually turned out better than I had expected.Besides the bad ( but understandable ) acting of SOME actors, the scenes with the "government" men in the middle of the movie and at the end, I enjoyed it very much.Although some say that it was cliché, and perhaps it was, I honestly expected a sad ending and the happy ending actually surprised me.I was also surprised by Ray's work and I see a lot of potential in him.I hope he will continue his work and maybe work with some other people, together with whom he can make a better job.I give it an 8/10.