Do you ever see a trailer for a film, and see who the actors are, and what the plot is, and think ‘how did I miss this?’ That’s how I feel about Omni Loop, a film we watched last night (via AppleTV+). Mary-Louise Parker (of Fried Greed Tomatoes and Weeds fame) and Ayo Edibiri (of The Bear fame) are the stars, with Parker in the main role. (Other cameos include the guy who played Tag on Friends, and the guy who played the Vigo, the ghost in the painting in Ghostbusters II.)

Parker’s character Zoya is in a time loop of her own making. She wakes up in hospital after a diagnosis of a black hole in her chest, which is expected to take her life in less than a week. This is a world similar to but not quite like ours, in that black holes (yes, the type you’re thinking of) are prevalent enough that there are pamphlets about them that doctors give to patients. There’s also the ‘nanoman,’ who was shrunk and keeps shrinking, though he doesn’t feature as prominently.

Zoya keeps reliving these five days, then, at a surprise birthday gathering for her (a couple of weeks before her birthday), she always gets a nose bleed. She takes a pill that she has hidden in her closet, and then wakes up in hospital again. Everything is the same every time – you’re familiar with how this goes for a bit if you’re ever seen Groundhog Day or Palm Springs. But one time, during a visit to her mother at a care home, Zoya literally bumps into Edibiri’s character Paula, who happens to be holding one of the science textbooks Zoya authored.

Things progress from there, with Zoya and Paula working together to try to figure out the pills in an attempt to save Zoya, but I won’t spoil the specifics. What I will say is that the plot points about time travel and black holes and such aren’t really … important. They are, in that they keep the film going, and give our protagonists a purpose, but the film isn’t about the science of time travel. It’s about how one views one’s life, one’s relationships, and what one would do to have more time. Does the amount of time matter if the quality is shit? What do you miss while looking for answers to other problems? What about regrets – do they matter, or do they make us who we are?

I was surprised by the movie. I very much enjoyed it, especially the last third. The very last minute or so is a bit of a coda, and unnecessary in my opinion, but it doesn’t ruin the film or anything like that. I’d recommend for those in the mood for a film with a fairly absurd premise but a lot of heart.

4.5 Stars

I read the book Wicked is based on in 2018 and did not like it. But I’d heard some of the songs from the musical and so the next year for my birthday my partner got us tickets to go see the production in the West End, and I absolutely loved it.

When I heard about the film version being made, and that Ariana Grande had been cast, I had some doubts, because she was known to me mostly as a pop singer, and I was concerned someone who wasn’t primarily a musical theater actor wouldn’t be able to do the part justice. I didn’t have concerns about Cynthia Erivo being cast given her musical theater background. I had further doubts when I learned that the film was being split into two parts, and that the first part was going to be as long as the musical itself was. Why? Why was this necessary?

I’m thrilled that I was wrong to be skeptical about the casting decision and the choice to split the film in two. I’d known for awhile that I was wrong about Grande’s casting, because I am on TikTok and so had seen so much of her performance before being able to watch the film itself. Last night we finally were able to stream it at home, and it was absolutely spectacular. Yes, it was two and a half hours long, but I loved nearly every minute of it.

There were parts that dragged a little and could have been cut shorter, but I also think that the film’s storytelling helped make the different aspects of the plot and the characters much clearer than the stage musical. I mean, it makes sense – facial expressions are easier to read, and multiple takes mean you can get the best version of a scene before the viewers. But being able to linger on a scene a bit longer can help address one of the issues that I think so many musicals have – jumping from song to song without any character development in between. I also think the acting was incredible from both Erivo and Grande. Grande had me laughing out loud multiple times – and the choices she and Erivo made during the songs were incredible.

I loved the sets and costumes as well. I know some folks didn’t like the color choices or the lack of color saturation, but I think it really worked well. Some of the effects didn’t work so great (specifically the lion cub – I briefly thought I was watching the Lion King remake), but others were breathtaking. And the direction of the large production numbers was fantastic. I cannot imagine singing and dancing live while doing repeated takes of such athletic numbers.

Beyond the quality of the production itself, I think the story it tells is important. Selfishness, overconfidence, bullying, being an outcast, being taken advantage of, having values that are different from one’s friends (or at least having different lengths one is willing to go to in order to support those values) – all of these themes come into play, against the backdrop of such a fantastical world.

I’m happy we chose to buy and not rent it, because I’m looking forward to watching it again.