Riley Rewind. The new made for YouTube movie/series from Ray William Johnson, the creator and host of the popular =3 (Equals Three) YouTube series. I have to admit, this one surprised me. From his persona as the quintessential 'nice guy frat boy' character on =3, I did not expect something as heartfelt and moving as Riley Rewind. I am impressed.
A lot of the credit has to go to Anna Akana for the writing, and to the actors who really brought their roles to life. In fact, mr Johnson's character almost stands out against the stronger performances of his cast mates as an avarage-at-best portrayal. I think, however, this might have something to do with his charming persona in his other video endeavors, playing a surly track coach just seemed out of place for him, and an older actor would have better served in the role.
Riley Rewind is a five part series from Runaway Machine that went up last week on YouTube. Plot summary without spoilers: What if a normal high school girl had the ability to rewind her own personal time? It's that simple, and the fact that Riley Rewind is able to farm humor, terror, and heart-wrenching emotion from such a simple premise is a testament to its creators vision and talent. There are a few niggling things here and there, some of the characterizations seemed a bit forced, especially towards the latter half of the series but it's hard to tell if this is due to scripting problems or just leaving a scene or two of exposition on the cutting room floor. There aren't enough problems to detract from what is overall a wonderful bunch of performances, though.
The special effects are across the board excellent, especially during the 'rewind' sections. While the character introductions and important scene transitions covered by a lifted-from-the-comics neon art style opener that wouldn't feel out of place in a blockbuster superhero movie. The cinematography is overall pretty good, a few odd choices in camera angles or motion here and there can take you out of the story if you are someone who notices such things, but nothing too outlandish.
In fact. That's how I would rate this project as a whole. Nothing spectacular, but a very strong first outing for an indie studio, and definately worth looking into. I would very much like to see what happens after the credits roll on the end of act 5, and if the worst thing you can think at the end of a movie is "I wish there were more of it" then you've got yourself a pretty good movie right there.
All in all, I'd give Riley Rewind a solid 8.5 out of 10, you should definately catch this one on YouTube while you can.
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