I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. This week I have a look at the Netflix drama “Fair Play,” the travel drama “The Royal Hotel” and the quirky sci fi film “Relax, I’m From the Future.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the hellacious “The Exorcist: Believer,” the gripping “The Royal Hotel,” the relationship drama “Fair Play” and the sci fi comedy “Relax, I’m From the Future.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
“Relax, I’m From the Future” is remarkably thoughtful for movie that bills itself as a “dirtbag time travel comedy.” The low-budget sci fi flick plays like an absurdist riff on “The Terminator” or maybe a more serious “Sleeper.”
Rhys Darby is Casper, a time traveler who crash lands in the present-day Canadian suburbs. “I thought it would be cool to come to the twenty-first century,” he says. “Not as cool as the twentieth, but… I found a portal. Accidentally. Instead of reporting it, I did some prep and I went through.”
He is a fish out of water, a man out of time, with a hope to ensure a bright future for the world. Trouble is, he doesn’t really have a plan to a place to stay.
His fortunes change when he meets Holly (Gabrielle Graham). At first the cynical former activist doesn’t believe he’s from the future, but when he correctly predicts random, upcoming events, she buys in. Using his knowledge of the future, they make money on the lottery and betting on sports, enough for him to rent a dingy bunker from Chuck (Zachary Bennett). “I’ve got money now,” he says. “I can buy a hot dog whenever I like.”
He collects artefacts from present day, what he calls forgotten art, introduces Holly to Percy (Julian Richings), a fast-food clerk whose political cartoons will one day change the world, until the arrival of Doris (Janine Theriault), a ruthless bounty hunter from the future.
“Relax, I’m from the Future” is a quickly paced slice of silly speculative fiction that appears written as a showcase for the energetically off-kilter comedy stylings of New Zealand actor and comedian Darby. He’s an edgy Mork from Ork, an otherworldly being, charmingly childlike but not above doing the drugs Holly offers him.
He’s nicely paired with Graham who is as grounded as Darby is whimsical. They are an interesting odd couple, keeping our interest as the movie rushes through a bunch of third reel plot additions and story twists that slow the movie’s momentum.
But despite an overstuffed final twenty minutes or so, “Relax, I’m From the Future” is a bit of fun that might actually make you think about the possibility of an individual’s impact on the world, the search for meaning and the repercussions of an overly optimistic attitude. It’s pop psychology, and ultimately succumbs to a preventing-the-end-of-the-world twist, but writer/director Luke Higginson manages something unique with the doomsday/time travel genre.
