There are just some things that you can't stop doing just because you enjoy them. Whether it be a sport, a hobby or some weird talent. If you love it, then you'll own it. And no one else shines with that particular spark as Anna Akana.
This talented girl is unstoppable. From scriptwriting to acting and even directing. All together at the same time! Whoah! The horizons are wide for this dreamer whose slowly turning her dreams into reality. She has already caught the hearts of many as seen in the continuing growing number of followers in her social media. Her videos alone on youtube are certified hits. With her charm, talent and down to earth thinking, she'll surely conquer the world, one heart at a time.
Last year she together with other fellow youtubers released the mini-series called "Riley Rewind" which stars Riley Brown portrayed by no other than Anna herself who is not your typical school girl/loser trying to survive the drama that is highschool while harboring a secret. She can turn back time! Joined by a team of actors and actresses playing various colorful roles. Watch her as she goes about life balancing school, drama and magic.
Check out the actual videos in 5 small acts via Anna Akana's channel or her then beau RayWilliamJohnson's channel.
SPOILER ALERT!!
Summary:
Basically the story is about a girl Riley Brown aka Riley Rewind who tries to survive highschool while dealing with a secret. She can turn back time. Only her best(gay)friend Jay knows about this and they are pretty cool. At first Riley is seen trying to win the affections of her crush but then fails epicly. After that she goes about her day. Nothing special just your run in the mill highschool prom issues. Act 1 ends when a girl Angela considered to be an outcast in their cliques is seen commiting suicide.
Act 2 shows Riley contemplating her gift. As explained in the previous episode, using gift takes its toll on her body as it damages her and gives her pain. She tries her best to undo things by befriending Angela hoping she could change her mind therefore her future.
Act 3 shows how jumping back in time has affected a lot of events(Jay no longer has Quinn for a date) and whats worse despite her efforts Angela still commits the unthinkable.
Act 4 shows Riley all shaken up trying to move on from the truth and at the same time helpless about her situation. What good is a power if it can't save people? A series of unfortunate events lead her to discover a bomb set to destroy not only prom but all those in it.
The last act was the cream of the crop. It features Riley doing the best she can to save the people in prom by jumping back in time to discover who set the bomb and why in the school of all places. After discovering that it was the disabled guy Edward Baker who secretly liked Angela aka Suicide chick. Riley strengthens her resolve to commit a lifethreatening time jump risking herself to save everyone. Despite being weak, she is able to succeed and change the whole scenario around with Baker going out with Angela who no longer commits suicide thus no more school bombings for prom in the horizon. Also all is set right as closet queer Quinn ends up with Jay and Riley with her geek of a night Trevor. Seems like its a happy ending for our surprise heroine and the end of the mini series as planned but lo and behold, the menacing men in black as seen in Act 3 which Riley artfully dodged before reappear only this time they prevent her from jumping back as the scene closes. What of our hero? Does this mean there's a season 2. Hopefully.
Comments:
Have you ever done something you wish you could undo? Being human, chances are you probably do. But wouldn't it be great of there was like a reset button or a back button just so that we could go back and change those moments? Or would it?
It's a question of morality really. After all we learn from out mistakes so won't turning back time even if it were possible ruin those learning moments? And even if we could, sure enough like in the story something else is bound to change. Is it worth the price? It is really a grey area for me. Somehow I think there maybe somethings that I wanna change. Some of them small (like how i'd bring an umbrella if it rained unexpectedly or ride that semifull bus that came first instead of waiting further as buses that came after were completely filled to the brim) or big things (like always when I do something I know is bad like eating someone elses food or worse spilling secrets). But then there's another part of me that says otherwise. That this is just how life is and I should deal with it and learn from it instead because as they say experience is the best teacher. After all, we have to realize that life is unfair and that's what makes it oh so special. It is fleeting and permanent, which makes every little thing, every decision worth it. And besides won't it be cheating if it were possible, because instead of making up for our mistakes, we take the easy way and rewind them as we please. That will be just sad as nothing is no longer permanent. Nothing ever truly good nor evil. Nothing.
Just like how events shifted and how Riley's body suffers every time she jumps back, I believe everything has a price. That's why instead of being reckless why don't we think before we act, after all every action big or small has the ability to change everything.
Personally I love the concept of the show. Time traveling has never been portrayed in such an interesting manner as Runaway Machines did. Yes it may seem like a recycled topic but they did an awesome job at making it modern and fresh. I really do like it. Considering this as amateur work doesn't even cut it as it can be said that the people behind this have truly outdone themselves and are in dire need of a well deserved pat in the back. Kudos to you guys for your awesome imagination and turning that imagination into reality.
The storyline/plot although predictable was easy enough to follow and understand. It's the first season and its their first time in all this so its understandable but I can say that it was definitely well written as it was able to push its story thru to people.
The acting was good. The delivery of the lines especially by Anna Akana was awesome. Sure she needs a few polishing here and then in some scenes but that can be forgiven as she was able to meet the standards or outdo them most of the time. The same can be said for most of the characters. Actually, thinking about it now I think most of them did really well as I can't find any single one that I remember thinking "oh my! This one's acting sucks". That in itself shows how everyone took their parts seriously no matter how big or small their screen-time. Lots of shining moments too esp. from the character Jay in episode 5 when he told off Riley for being so reckless. It was heartfelt and you can tell there was sincerity in it. Riley on the other-hand was able to keep the energy up on that scene as she explained her side albeit emotionally. That scene really moved me. It was kind of unexpected but a welcomed surprise none the less. The facial expressions were all good.
I like how I learn something from her whenever she opens her mouth esp during her excerpts every starting scene. It just show how well thought out it was and how imaginative and talented the person is. She not only funny but you learn a thing or two from her too. Its a win win situation. The video was funny to watch too. All the punchlines were epic. It wasn't boring at all and proceeded at an appropriate pace(heck even my Aunt can watch and I'm sure she'll get it)
The music used were spot on. They were able to hit all scenes with the right song choice I believe. Everything was in perfect harmony. The opening and ending cuts were really good too. It did not look amateur at all. This seriously passes for a good movie. Considering it may be low budget and the actors, actresses handled a lot of different jobs as they went their way like Anna had to juggle acting and polishing the script and all must've been nerve-wracking but she did an awesome job. All in all its a perfect 10 for me. Some of you may argue with that but hear me out. This has a lot of heart and you can tell they poured their souls out in making it. I'm just giving it the praise it deserves. Yeah it may have flaws but the flaws make it genuine. It's perfect.
PS I just wish they'd pursue continuing the series as it left the 1st season with a cliff hanger. I'm itching to know what happens next. Pls pls pls support the writers/actors/actresses.
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