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When Harry Met Sally (1989)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
1989 | Comedy, Drama, Romance

"C’mon. Is every scene in this movie perfect? Yes. I could watch this movie over and over on a loop. Actually, I’m pretty sure they do that on cable. It plays quite a bit. Meg Ryan is nothing short of magical in this performance. And the time lapses are, for me, what make this film really work — because we truly believe that this oil-and-water couple will stay together and they ought to. I sure hope they do in the sequel: When Harry Stayed With Sally."

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The Spirit Clearing
Mark Tufo | 2012
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ok, this book took me a little bit longer to read because I had to read it slower so I didn't miss anything. There was so much in this book.. and the ending.. omg the ending threw me for a loop. I didn't see that coming at all. It was an amazing book, the characters, the plot all of it. I thought it was going to end a different way then it did.. I almost cried at one part. It was so sad and yet not sad at the same time. I loved it!
  
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Dean (6921 KP) rated Triangle (2009) in Movies

Jan 15, 2018  
Triangle (2009)
Triangle (2009)
2009 | Mystery
8
7.6 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Amazing twist (0 more)
Very original thriller
A very good thriller that uses a time loop to good effect. It's not particularly gory or scary, but the deserted ship does make a creepy location for this type of film. Quite a few seem to find it hard to follow, I thought it was a lot easier than say Memento to understand first time round. True it can be a bit open for you to draw your own conclusion by the end of what and why it's happening, but the clues are there. They maybe one or two plot holes by the end, but nothing major that spoils the effect of the film. Overall a good thriller, different to the norm, that most will enjoy figuring out.
  
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Lee (2222 KP) Nov 5, 2019

One of my favourite movies. Melissa George is amazing.

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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated In a Holidaze in Books

Oct 29, 2020  
In a Holidaze
In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren | 2020 | Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A joyful and flirty holiday romance
Maelyn Jones spends every Christmas at her favorite place in the world: a cabin owned by her parents' friends in Utah. She joins her (divorced) parents, younger brother Miles, and two other families for a magical Christmas experience--cookie baking, snow creature making contests, holiday scavenger hunts, and more. She's been sleeping in the basement in the "kid bunk beds" with Miles and family friends Theo and Andrew for years, despite the fact that they are adults now. But this year, it's all ruined: their friends are selling the cabin and Mae is humiliated after an embarrassing encounter with Theo. As her family drives away from the cabin one last time, she makes a desperate plea for happiness. Then she sees a car headed straight toward theirs, and it all goes black. When she awakes, she's back on a plane headed to Utah, headed to the same holiday trip. As various disasters return Mae to the plane over and over, she realizes she's in a time loop--she needs to break free, and figure out to find true love and happiness, once and for all.

"So I ask the universe, simply: Can you show me what will make me happy?"

I know I must have read this synopsis when I requested this book, but I didn't reread it before starting, because hello, CLo, enough said. So I was slightly surprised by the Groundhog Day-esque story to this one, but I went with the flow. Luckily Mae is funny and charming enough to make just about anything fly, even a crazy time loop plot where you're not exactly sure how or why she's in it or quite what she's supposed to do to get out of it.

"'I think it's possible I'm in the past, repeating the same holiday, and I'm the only one who knows it.'"

It took a little while for the romance to heat up here, but once it did, the book was off and running. And boom! It's a sweet read, but flirty and romantic too. I loved Mae and her crush--they crackled and simmered. Honestly, the time loop piece was secondary to their joyful love. Seeing Mae come into her own made everything else less important, including Mae's reliving of her holiday. (And I enjoyed how she took to it so quickly--don't eat that, you're going to need this, tell me a secret so I can prove this to you next time--you go girl, embrace the loop!).

So, yes, while this book is a little crazy, it's also sweet and happy, too. It's a perfect Christmas read for a snowy day (or a fall day when you feel like the world is falling apart). 4 stars.
  
You Were Never Really Here (2018)
You Were Never Really Here (2018)
2018 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

"I was at Sundance for 36 hours this year and this was one of two movies I wasn’t going to leave without seeing. Lots of friends worked with Lynne Ramsey on this one, and told me tales of the production, and in other cases I can usually see such stories in the finished products. But not this one. This was its own untouchable thing, hovering far above from whatever means it took to make it, barely there and unbearably heavy at the very same time. I went to see it a second time opening weekend, and then listened to the score repeatedly until the movie itself was released on iTunes, at which point I let it become background music, playing on a loop as I drift around the house, hoping to subconsciously siphon off some of that tough magic."

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Happy Death Day (2017)
Happy Death Day (2017)
2017 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Other films have tried to do the time loop plot, most successful was if course Groundhogs Day, which gets a pretty cute shout out in this film, but those other films did not have the cleverness of this film. By taking a horror plotline and injecting some dark humor and murder mystery, Happy Death Day becomes a refreshing, darkly comic, at times truly suspenseful horror film. The repeated day is done each new reset with a slightly different visual take, enough differences to keep it from being boring. The reveal of the killer was extremely shocking, at least to this reviewer. If you enjoy dark comedy and horror in the same movie I highly recommend this film
  
The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator (1984)
1984 | Action, Sci-Fi
The first - and, in my opinion, best - film in The Terminator series, where Arnie first portrays what would become his signature role: the story goes that he was originally approached for the role of Kyle Reese before reading the script and opting instead to play The Terminator, the unstoppable cyborg killing machine of the title, with 80s action hero (and James Cameron stalwart) instead taking on the role of Reese.

Of note is how every action Arnie carries out is with an economy of movement (just like a machine), and just how unstoppable The Terminator is in this movie (notably diminished in future instalments), with the plot essentially one long chase scene setting up a temporal time loop, especially evident in the DVD deleted scenes: that warehouse for the final showdown? Belongs to Cyberdene systems.
  
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Pete Fowler recommended Sailor by Steve Miller in Music (curated)

 
Sailor by Steve Miller
Sailor by Steve Miller
1968 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This was the point where Steve Miller set up his own studio and started recording in his own time. He lost himself in that process. I love his take on music – it's his own brand of psychedelia. It's very blissful on one hand, very groovy on the other. He created his own musical world and almost ends up referencing himself rather than taking influences from other people. I love it when an artist has a feedback loop to their own music. The first track, 'Song For Our Ancestors', is the one for me. It's soundtrack-y, incredibly evocative. It starts with a giant foghorn and this beautiful tremolo guitar that seems to emerge from the mists. Again, it's taking you somewhere, imagining this other world, albeit rooted in history rather than just imagination."

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Butch Vig recommended track Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve in Urban Hymns by The Verve in Music (curated)

 
Urban Hymns by The Verve
Urban Hymns by The Verve
1997 | Rock
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I adore this song, my wife and I played it at our wedding and it’s a ringtone on my phone. Every now and then you hear something and think ‘I wish I could write a song like that, something that gets to the essence of what it means to be alive.’ I remember the first time I heard ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ on the radio and I was like ‘Damn, I wish I’d written that song.’ The strings work so well with Richard Ashcroft’s singing and lyrics, which sum up a lot of the complicated feelings you have as an individual trying to get through each day. It’s a perfect wedding of the two of them. It’s wrapped around this glorious production and the sound of the band is really minimal, it’s mainly the string arrangement, which of course was from The Rolling Stones. If they’d just cleared it ahead of time they probably would have done a 50/50 deal on the publishing, but they didn’t, it was too late and they didn’t have any control. The Rolling Stones didn’t need the royalties as badly! I also admire ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ from a producer’s standpoint because I love its simplicity. The drums are the same pattern over and over, I think it’s a drum-loop, for the bass it sounds like they got a two or four bar loop, because the chords don’t change, and the guitar overdubs are all textural, it’s just these blips, bleeps and little echoes flowing through the mix. It’s a brilliant soundscape, it doesn’t really sound like a rock song, where you have blazing, loud distorted guitar amps, it’s got this atmospheric vibe to it and I think that fits the lyrics and the singing perfectly."

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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Happy Death Day 2U (2019) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)  
Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
2019 | Horror, Mystery
Hands up if you laughed your way through this one? *throws hands up in the air*

This is where I love the horror genre, although I wouldn't really say this is horror. It's light-hearted and knows it doesn't need to take itself too seriously. It's sort of a horror comedy... A homedy? A corror? Definitely a homedy.

The trailer was a little misleading, I went in thinking that we were going to see them all stuck in the time loop which isn't the case. I'm probably happy that it ended up being different because I couldn't work out how they were going to do it otherwise.

When the original came out I was so happy to have discovered it. Horror is probably my least favourite genre but throw some homedy (it's happening people, go with it!) at me and I'm there for it. It's why I love the Screams and Final Destinations. HDD2U took it to another level, or should I say dimension?

While I loved this we could now have a potential problem, the third one could step over into Sharknado territory and become the parody but we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it... and if I'm honest, this one was pretty close to that line anyway.

There's no way to deny the fact that 2 is riding on the coattails of its predecessor. It concentrates more on solving the cause of the loop rather than the mystery of who the killer is now and it isn't quite as compelling to watch. Neither is the fact that in this new loop we're given altered versions of the existing characters. We see a lot more of Danielle which if I'm honest isn't a good thing. She's still totes annoying but this time she brings a thespian side that leads to a truly terrible slapstick scene.

For sheer enjoyment as a follow on film it's brilliant but taken on its own merit it wouldn't get such high praise, but I had fun and that's what counts. I did see this for a second time and it unfortunately gave me more time to consider all the slightly dubious bits of it. It really hits hard on the sci-fi side of things, particularly in the mid-credit scene, and it doesn't feel quite right... now I'm wondering if it has already become its own parody...

What you should do

If you enjoyed the first one then you should totally see it, it's entertaining and much less serious about itself than the first but it's also much more ridiculous. Do remember to stay for the credit scene, you'll be able to see why I'm a little worried about any future endeavours.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I'd probably still want Tree's fearlessness and resilience, but without having to die repeatedly to attain it.