Samâ taimu mashin burûsu

I've already seen one low budget and quirky Japanese time travel comedy in the form of BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES, which I loved, so I knew what to expect with this one. SUMMER TIME MACHINE BLUES takes a while to get going; the early 'ordinary world' scenario feels a bit padded out and the acting isn't too hot at times, nor is the occasionally annoying direction (the heat effect being totally overused). Nonetheless once the main plot begins for real, this one picks up nicely. Like much low budget Japanese cinema, the director's love of his craft shines through, the cast give enthusiastic performances, and the time travel plot, while not huge, ties everything up very neatly. It's funny too, which helps considerably.

Summer Time Machine Blues is not a masterpiece but it sure feels like one to me! It's just one of those movies that you watch with a smile during the whole movie because it's just so much lighthearted fun! And to me that deserves to be called a masterpiece, from the same writer of equally amazing time travel film "Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes" Summer Time Machine Blues feels almost like a fun prelude to it- or perhaps even in the same universe?

In the movie we follow a group of friends that run a sci fi club at school who one day after their air condition stops working (this is an important plot point I promise!) they stumble upon a Time Machine and a strange guy from the future, crazy Time Machine antics ensue! At first you kind of feel that the movie presents the beginning in a very nonsensical way, at first I thought it was because the subtitling or the presentation was a bit unclear but trust me, you'll get explanations for everything during the movie- and it is so satisfying to see everything sort of unravelling as the plot goes along. The humour is fun as well, it feels like a very light version to the American movie "Superbad" and that's awesome!

The actors are fun and great, it's awesome to see Juri Ueno from Swing Girls- and you even see some familiar faces from Makoto Ueda's movie "Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes". The movie is also shot in a very 00's Japanese style which I love, with lots of colours in the presentation, oversaturated greens- you'll understand when you see lots of Japanese movies from the 90s/00s, and I love it!

A few negatives that this movie has is that some of the characters can be very annoying and do really nonsensical decisions but in the context of the plot you understand why and they become better as the film goes along!

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, very nostalgic and has that sort of vibe and fun that 00s movies had back then! Check it out! And even better it's available on Blu-Ray if you want to have it at home!

As David St. Hubbins says in SPINAL TAP: "There's a fine line between stupid and clever." This movie treads that line shamelessly.

As far as time machine movies go, there's no such thing as a realistic plot. This film realizes that and takes us in the opposite direction--to the realm of utter stupidity. Oddly enough, this technique works like a charm. There's nothing about global domination, interstellar warfare or deadly viruses; these kids just use a time machine to try to fix their air conditioner. HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE IT???

I interpret it as a good-natured slap in the face of all the pseudo-intellectual scifi films about the infamous "time space continuum" and the catastrophic (but always predictable) effects of meddling in the past. This movie makes no apologies. It dives boldly into the idiotic. And yet, it somehow comes out being more intellectual and airtight than all the rest.

Now a word about technique. Fantastic. Even though this was mostly a campy romp, I was blown away by the unique & creative camera style. How exactly does one depict two concurrent timelines? Answer: split screen! I loved it. And it was amazing how, through the subtle use of sound effects, camera angles and fades-to-black, the director set up a feeling of suspense & tension long before the action kicked in. I was glued to the screen from the first 5 minutes.

And who could overlook that adorable dog? Definitely this is a fun movie to watch. As I'm learning, modern Japanese comedy is the only way to go. Also check out the movies SWING GIRLS, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, CUTIE HONEY and my personal fave, UNIVERSITY OF LAUGHS if you want a taste of solid, artistic comedy from the land of the rising sun. I'm rating this an 8/10 which is very, very high on my scale. Enjoy!

***UPDATE THE NEXT DAY*** I just watched this movie again, and I've officially upped my rating to a 9/10. Folks, if you like philosophy & logic, you've got to see this movie TWICE. I haven't thought this deeply about a story since I read my last Tolstoy novel. Truly a philosophical masterpiece disgused as a goofy comedy!

I think the cast was excellent. This film pictures a peaceful life of a group of students but the story was smart in a way.

People might easily get put off by the title of "Time machine" because most of the time machine movies were not good enough. However, the story in this movie is very different, the time machine naturally comes into to it without making us puzzled for long.

I personally like Ueno Juri and Eita. Although there is no particular main character that the camera focus on in the movie, I think they still shined in the movie. If you like them Ueno and Eita too, I would like to suggest the Japanese TV series: Nodame Cantabile - an extremely entertaining series about a group of students who have passion for music.

Another thing I like about Japanese movies is that there's always something surprising at the end and so did this movie.

After watching this movie, I've decided to keep it in my collection because there is a high possibility that I will watch it again.

This is the funniest time travel movie I've ever seen. There are no big special effects, it's just a couple of bored japanese school kids during a hot summer day at their sci-fi club faced with the tragic loss of their only little bit of relief from the heat: the remote controller for their AC unit, destroyed after spilling Coke on it. But thankfully, out of thin air, a time machine appears...