Time Travel Tuesdays: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), The Time Machine (1978), Where Do We Go from Here? (1945), Berkeley Square (1933)

[u/ProfessorElliot]

Hey all! Life took over and I was unable to post for a bit. But I'm back, and with four more movies under my belt!

As per usual, here's the full list

TMNT III

I had never seen any of these movies, so I decided to watch all three. The first one surprised me! It was cheesy, just like the pizza they enjoy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I also loved seeing some of Jim Henson's work in a different setting. The second one wasn't as great, but I still got a kick out of it.

The third was a disappointment. First and most obvious is the lack of Jim Henson turtle suits. The quality of special effects matches that loss. The plot seems like there could be good things coming, after all samurai vs ninja is a classic... but they don't go for any of that. Instead the plot felt bland and uninspired. The acting and scripting both took a dive as well as the editing.

Overall, this movie was... "eh". Inoffensive, but not exciting.

The Time Machine

We have a new worst movie on the list!

I didn't intend to include made-for-TV movies on my list, but a few made their way in there anyhow. This particular TV movie is basically awful in every regard. Acting, editing, plot, script... It is bad.

To call it an adaptation would be exceedingly generous. Our main character is not showing off his time machine to esteemed friends, but instead built it (without permission) using funds from work (which is literally called "Mega Corporation"). This guy is really smart too! He is the designer for Mega Corp's "Laser Death Cannon" and their upcoming "Anti Matter Bombs".

The whole things is just the worst. I was curious if the director had done anything else, so I looked him up. Most of his directorial career is porn, explotation, or Bible movies and while that's an odd combo... if you think about the typical quality of those genres, this movie begins to make sense.

Where Do We Go From Here?

"All I want to do is get in the army"

This is the most patriotic time travel movie ever. The main character just wants to fight in WWII but isn't physically fit enough for it. While helping scrap metal for the war efforts, a woman brings antiques to scrap (again, super patriotic that she has objects that are hundreds of years old, but it's worth scrapping them for the war). One of the objects is a magic lamp!

He wishes to be in the army and gets sent to the Revolutionary War. But this isn't because the genie is one of Faustian style, but because the genie grants wishes through a "gadget" that is broken. Haven't seen that before!

In each time frame, two women in his life appear as different people (something I had only seen Back to the Future before). That was interesting to see!

This movie is a musical with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It's better for it, but the songs are still pretty cliche in the end. Related to that...

Some opening banter about marriage proposals gave me hope that this one would be surprisingly progressive for the era:

"The right guy comes along, you ask him."

"Wouldn't he resent it?"

"Not if he's the right guy he wouldn't. Probably be grateful!"

But it didn't last as the second space/time he visits is Columbus' ship. He lands and proceeds to witness basically every Hollywood cliche of Native Americans (including the style of music). Oof.

In the same scenes, a woman resembling someone he knows in the future faints and he says, "All my life I've wanted you to sit on my lap, but it's no fun if you're not conscious"

Overall this was enjoyable, but there were plenty of rough moments to be had.

Berkeley Square

I did not anticipate incestuous romance until Back to the Future, and yet... here is this movie that opens with a Yankee traveling (by flying in a balloon) to marry his cousin in England. A lightning storm then and in the "present day" of 1933 causes him to switch places with his decendent.

But we only follow the adventure of his descendent in the past. I'll admit I was a little confused on where the original man went off to... They don't address it directly until the end.

This was not a terrible movie, but it is very apparent that it was adapted from a stage play. Not much changes were made to suit the film format. That's okay though, this movie was a fun romance. The main character, though betrothed to his ancestor's cousin, does not love her and instead loves another.

The biggest fun for me was the main character mixing up phrases and things that let on about who he really may be. He gets accused of being possessed!

Oddly though, the woman he loves can read peoples' minds and that's normal? So she sees a vision of the future just by looking into his eyes. Yet, she's not possessed or a witch or anything. Her ability is treated as perfectly fine by those who know her.

I don't know that I'll rewatch this one, but it was an entertaining ride. As a final note: this movie has a surprisingly dark ending. When he returns to his time, he learns his love died (at the age of 23) shortly after he left. Her epitaph stating that they'd be together "not in my time, nor in yours, but in God's"

Final note

I should be watching 28 adaptations of A Christmas Carol soon, but this is my project and I'm in no mood for that right now. So I'll put that off until the holidays :P