Summer Time Machine Blues

Summer Time Machine Blues

(サマー タイム マシン ブルース)

The Story:
To the members of the Science Fiction club, summer means hanging around in the clubhouse with the air con blasting, but when a string of bizarre events result in the destruction of the air con remote, they're forced to face the full heat of summer. The next day, after a run-in with a strange kid, the group stumble upon a strange machine inside their clubhouse. A strange machine that looks oddly like a time machine. After fooling around with the device, one of the members finds himself back in the day before. Now, with a fully-functional time machine at their disposal, the SF has one goal in mind: to steal the air con remote from their past selves before it is broken.

 

 

The Reason:

I'd heard very good things about this movie long before I had the chance to see it. It's a must-see.

 

The Stars:

The SF club

5 idiotic friends with no interest in Science Fiction who use the club as an excuse to hang out kill time.

The Review:

The film starts with the members of the SF club playing a game of baseball while the girls from the Photography club take their pictures.

Strange things start happening around them, but it's too hot to care. The group would rather just fool about in the clubhouse instead. That is until the bizarre chain of events results in the air con remote getting destroyed.

Faced with a summer of no air conditioning, the SF club is left with no choice but to put up with the heat if they can't find some way to fix the air con.

Suddenly, a strange kid appears in their clubhouse riding a strange machine. The kid disappears before the group can find out what's happening, leaving only the machine behind. Upon closer look the machine appears to be a time machine, but since such a thing couldn't possibly be real the group starts fooling around with it

When an accidental activation results in one of the members getting sent back to the day before and appearing in the background of a photo, the group realise they have possession of a real time machine. Not knowing what to do with it, the SF club resolves to fix their air con problem by traveling back to the day before and stealing the remote before it is destroyed.

While several members of the club are off having wacky adventures in the past, the remaining members of the club find out that if the past is changed even the slightest could result a paradox. They have to go back and stop themselves from seeing themselves and causing the destruction of the entire space time continuum.

Overall:
This is one of the best done time travel films I have ever seen. Close attention to detail is paid throughout, and the result is a hilarious comedy about 5 idiots trying to avoid the destruction of the universe. Several of the scenes at the beginning of the film make no sense until the real cause is revealed later on. An excellent movie that is a must-watch.

Stats:

Watched: Raw

Understood: Yes. Had to pay close attention though.

Does it matter: Yes.

Would watch again: Yes. Awesome movie. Already watched at least 4 times so far.

Recommend: Excellent comedy that is a must-see for fans of time travel

Rating: Must see

Amazon Link

Bonus:
Pay very close attention to the opening scene for several 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' shots slipped into the background.

Boku No Kanojo Wa Cyborg

 My Girlfriend is a Cyborg
(僕の彼女はサイボーグ)
A.K.A. Cyborg She

The Story:

Lonely college student Jiro spends every birthday alone until the year a quirky girl randomly joins him. Together the two go on a wild chase throughout the city. When the girl abruptly leaves him with only a cryptic farwell, Jiro is depressed that he'll never see her again. His life goes on as usual until the day one year later that the miraculous girl enters his life once more, but things aren't quite what they seem. She is really a cyborg create by Jiro's future self, modeled after the girl he'd fallen in love with, and sent back through time to save Jiro from a terrible accident. Jiro suddenly finds himself tasked with teaching his new robot girlfriend what it means to be human.

The Reason:

The title alone was enough to spark my interest. It sounded good, so I watched it.

The Stars:

Jiro

A lonely college student stuck in a rut that spends every birthday alone pining over the mystery girl that got away.

Cyborg Girl

An advance robot created by Jiro's future self and sent back through time to protect him and learn how to be human.

The Review:

This is the movie that asks what would happen if we replaced the Terminator with a cute Japanese girl? It takes this premise and runs with it, featuring some surprisingly violent scenes for a romantic comedy. The pacing jumps track quite a few times throughout the movie but overall works very well.

As a lonely college guy, Jiro's first response to the news that his future self has sent him a cyborg girlfriend is what you'd expect it to be.

She's not that kind of robo-girl.

Jiro finds himself taksed with teaching his new companion what it means to be human as her bizarre behaviour and strange quirks become apparent.

As Jiro adjusts to life with a robot girlfriend, he soon finds himself falling for her while learning what it is like to truly live.

Overall:

A tale of a boy and his bot. They live, they learn, they love. There is comedy, there is tragedy. Overall, an entertaining romantic comedy that jumps track quickly, but still manages to hold steady enough to keep interest. The copious amounts of time travel in the ending is enough to make you taste purple, but that's okay because it works. A great movie for when you want to watch something light-hearted.

 

Stats:

Watched: Raw

Understood: Yes. Mostly.

Does it matter: Yes, at least if you want to know what's going on.

Would watch again: Yes. Great movie.

Recommend: Great for those looking something light to watch.

Rating: Must see / Trace amounts of What did I just watch?

Amazon Link

Bonus:

A manga adaption was made based on the film. Feels like a film that should be based on a comic instead of the other way round.