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Tag Area: Time Travel Trope
Novelette

The Six Fingers of Time


The story does not involve time travel, but it does have speeded-up time as in “The New Accelerator” by H. G. Wells. —Fred Galvin
I awoke this morning to some very puzzling incidents. It seemed that time itself had stopped, or that the whole world had gone into super-slow motion.
Pen-and-ink drawing of streaks of wind blowing by the head of an older,
                smirking man.
  • Fantasy
  • Time Phenomena
Feature Film

Groundhog Day


In the quintessential time loop movie, jaded weatherman Phil Connors (no relation to John Connor) is in Puxtahawny to cover the Groundhog Day goings-on, continually repeating the day and—after losing his jaded edge—striving for Rita’s heart. —Michael Main
So this will be the last time we do Groundhog together.
An apathetic Bill Murray (as Phil) is trapped in an alarm clock as fed-up Andie
                MacDowell (Rita) gives a patronizing smile.
  • Eloi Gold Medal
  • Romance
  • Comedy
  • Definite Time Travel
Short Film

Coffee Time

  • written and directed by David deMena
  • (Highbridge Film Festival, 21 April 2018)

Tiffany’s coffee takes her back and forth through time to help with her hectic college life. —Michael Main
Tiffany [waking up late]: Oh, no! It didn’t go off. I thought I’d turned it on.
No image currently available.
  • Science Fiction
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

Boss Level

  • by Chris Bore et al., directed by Joe Carnaham
  • (premiere, ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood, California, 11 February 2020) [Original cut, now available primarily outside the US.]

After visiting his estranged wife, Jemma, at her top secret lab, retired special forces agent and ne’er-do-well Roy Pulver finds himself endlessly repeating the next day, which always starts with the same assassin in his apartment and always ends with Roy dead, even as he learns more and more about Jemma, their son Joe, Jemma’s work, and how to kill endless assassins.
translate It’s like being stuck in a video game in a level you know you can’t beat. —from the Hulu varient
Manly Joe Grillo (as Roy Pulver) menacingly points a gun behind images of other
                cast members from Boss Level.
  • Science Fiction
  • Comedy
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things


Mark is living an endlessly time-looping day of skipping summer school to, um, let’s call it “requisition” a front loader, do little acts of kindness around town, and annoy his younger sister when he’s unexpectedly interrupted by Margaret who’s careening her way through the same day while nobody else around them realizes what’s going on.

<spoiler!>One reviewer suggested that the story would have been better told from Margaret’s point of view. Certainly she has an interesting story of her own—one of loss so intense that it stops her world and kidnaps Mark. And yet, for me, Mark’s story is both compelling and well told, and I’m glad the author told his story. He is sensitive and lost and looking for his way in an upended world. He’s not particularly aware of how others feel, but maybe he’s getting there, and somehow Margaret grounds him and provides room to grow to the point where he can offer unconditional friendship to her (and to others) exactly when it’s needed. Is that a corny, uplifting story about tiny, perfect hypercubes that were meant to be? Yes, enjoyably so. I also enjoyed the nods to other popular-culture time travel escapades, though not so much the handwaving attempt at grounding things in science with Mark’s algebra teacher.</spoiler!> Sorry. Sometimes I feel a compulsion to drop into critic mode myself. —Michael Main
Hi, uh, I’m Mark. I just had a quick question. . . . I was wondering—this is gonna sound really strange, God, really bizaare, but—are you experiencing any kind of temporal anomaly . . . in your life?
Casually dressed teens Kyle Allen (as Mark) and Kathryn Newton (as Margaret)
                walk hand-in-hand in front of a spinning background of small events from the film.
  • Eloi Gold Medal
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Comedy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Definite Time Travel