Project Almanac (M)
Starring: Nobody you’ve ever heard of
TWICE the usual suspects have been lining up to bash this one, and I still can’t understand why.
Maybe it’s because of Michael Bay’s involvement. Maybe it’s the shaky hand-held found-footage style, or maybe it’s the cast of unknowns.
But despite all that, I can report that Project Almanac is actually very good indeed.
This family (middle-aged hubby and wife, plus almost 13-year-old son) tackled it as a Saturday night movie, and every one of us enjoyed it.
The plot focuses on American youth David Raskin (Jonny Weston) who’s looking to a berth at prestigious college MIT.
He gains admission, but is $40,000 away from his tuition fees.
Hacking around in the attic looking for cash cows, David finds an old video camera with a tape of his seventh birthday.
And here’s where things get interesting … because in the background appears a fleeting glimpse of the modern-day David.
And hey presto … in the basement is half a time machine and blueprints left by David’s disappeared mad scientist father.
Now, all this sounds crazy, I know, but it actually hangs together remarkably well.
Enter David’s geek friends, who help him build the time machine, and that leads him to his first love.
But the continual time jumps to find love, cash, popularity and sports cars start to have a ripple effect, and David finds himself chasing his own tail through time as he makes attempt after attempt to repair the damage.
And if you’re not enjoying this, then you shouldn’t have come to this movie in the first place.
So maybe we’re the only family in the world that can’t wait for Project Almanac 2 – but we still can’t wait.
– Jason Beck
