In Search of Lost Time Travel

Time travel is in vogue right now.  The subject ebbs and flows in pop-culture, but right now the Venn Diagram of popular and nerdy sits with time travel comfortably nestled in the middle.  Consider the recent and rapid rise in popularity of the BBC's Doctor Who in American TV culture.  Sure America is a few years late in joining the party with the space and time hopping time lord and his companions, but Netflix and the growing geekery have seen fit to go so far as to put Matt Smith's bowtied mug on the cover of Entertainment Weekly!
 
And on the big screen, Rian Johnson's time-travel action film Looper is scoring positive reviews and continuing Joseph Gordon-Levitt's year of success.  Now, I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to give anything away.  I went into the movie knowing only the vaguest premise, having forced myself only to see the teaser trailer, and enjoyed it much more having avoided spoilers.  Basically:  JGL works for the mob, whacking targets sent back in time from a future where time travel exists.  This already works for a compelling premise, but the real kicker comes in when JGL's future self is sent back for execution.  And the real kick-ass comes in when JGL's future self is Bruce Willis.  Seriously.  It's awesome.  But don't look it up.  Just go see it.  Today.  Tomorrow.  Yesterday.  Whenever.
 
Looper's release has prompted a flurry of sites cataloging time-travel rules, time-travel movie moments, and top time-travel stories.  But: So many of these sites contain subtle Looper spoilers, so I don't want to link to them.  (Sorry, Wall Street Journal's "Four Rules of Time-Travel," you get no love from me.)  Thankfully, a few pages exist sans-Looper, so we'll include those.  (Other movies will be spoiled.  But they're old.  After five years, no forgiveness needs to be granted for spoilers.  And beyond fifty years, things that are "spoilers" should enter common knowledge.*)  

Discovery put together a nice tidy list of Top 22 Time Travel Movies with vague descriptions and background information.  Better, albeit more spoilery, though, is TotalFilm's list of the 50 Greatest Time Travel Movie Moments.  Some of them are questionable.  (Did George Bailey really time travel?)  Some are surprising.  (Love that Muppet Christmas Carol made the cut!)  One is... Dali.  And, for all the Back to the Future references, one is mysteriously absent.  It's like the list makers said, "Roads?  Where we're going we don't need to mention the fact that where they're going they don't need roads!"  It's your list, TotalFilm!  Something has got to be done about your list!
 
That's all for today.  Be sure to thank the management... It's Boss's Day!

Worried Animals and Time Travel

 A few of you provided responses to yesterday's Report with your quotes.  One was thrilled with the inclusion of P.G. Wodehouse, while lamenting the Guardian's failure to include Anna Karenina and Catcher In the Rye (though Catcher is mentioned in passing for its similarity to Huckleberry Finn), as well as their terrible oversight of A Tale of Two Cities.  Another interestingly turned my proposal that the rest of the book bears a heavy influence on the lasting fame of the opening line, noting that a strong opening line (and ten pages or so) can be just as crucial to the rest of the book.  If the reader or publisher can put the book down after the first few pages, it's going to have a hard time making a lasting impact...

And before you put this report down before reading the rest of it, let's get down to business.  In a rather appropriate find on my sick day, I stumbled upon these 35 Animals Who Are Kind of Worried About Me!  I must say, I'm not pleased with the Overreacting Cat who doesn't believe I was actually not feeling well...  The hedgehog in 30 is worried about how few of the opening lines I recognized myself from Wednesday's post, while 17 knows how much I've been listening to One Direction.  (Shut up, eagle, they tell me I'm beautiful!)  33, maybe I should hire you to edit the Report.  And 32, I can't promise you everything's okay, but if a dog and a cat can cuddle like that, I'm more inclined to say with some certainty that things will be.

But let's consider again the anxieties of Eagle 17.  Boy bands seem to be making a bizarre resurgence of late.  How did this happen?  I decided to do some research.  I haven't arrived at a conclusion, but I have found a great Radio Time Machine tool to help.  While the Machine allows exploration of the Billboard Top 100 all the way back to 1940, I find I'm stuck in the 80s and 90s.  As the Breakfast Club implores me not to forget about them, Deniece Williams gives the boy a hand, and Dionne Warwick tells me I can always count on her, for sure (that's what friends are for), I am suddenly jarred by Rock Me Amadeus (What the hell is that?!).  I leave the 80s for the comfort of my childhood 90s, where TLC reminds me not to go chasing waterfalls, Toni Braxton wants me to un-break her heart, and R. Kelly believes he can fly, and I find that every song reminds me either of riding in a minivan or rollerskating at Happy Wheels.  (Remember that, NH readers?!)  Trust me, this is a musical adventure while worth plugging in headphones and exploring.  You might just learn something.  (Did you know that Lady Marmalade was in the top 100 twice?! Once in 1975 and then once in 2001!)

Anyway, enjoy the musical time travel.  If you check out 1970, be sure to congratulate Will Arnett's parents on their hilarious new baby!