Palm Springs (2020)

BIG SPOILERS BELOW

BIG SPOILERS BELOW

BIG SPOILERS BELOW

Unfortunately I knew the basic hyphenated two word concept going in, but thankfully it gets revealed 12 or so minutes in, so it wasn't too big a loss. It's a clever way to introduce the concept, which I don't think I've ever seen before, and indeed the treatment of it for the rest of the movie feels mostly unique. Sure it's got the standards - casual suicide, detailed routine learning - but having multiple characters in the loop (which is what I'd hoped a certain slasher time-loop comedy sequel was going to do) and then making it mostly about how they all individually react to this nightmarish situation as well as their relationship gives an extra depth to the sub-genre's various tropes. It reminded me of Colossal.

As well as knowing when to reveal things, it also knows what not to reveal or explain. In particular, I'm enjoyably intrigued by the mystery "wake up" whisper. Is it God? The last second of a looped dream? A quantum overlap of Sarah saying it on their first morning out of the loop, perhaps explaining the vision of the goat at the start of the movie? I expected a neat reveal, I didn't get one, and I'm glad.

All the actors are great, but Samberg and Milioti give gorgeous, fun yet vulnerable performances. It looks and sounds great, too.

Rating: Very Good.

Paper Girls posters and volume covers

Along with my compilations of the Paper Girls single issue covers, I had hoped to put together all the 4-part posters. Unfortunately, the digital versions were missing a couple of pieces:

I didn't want to spend money on physical copies just for this, and couldn't find anyone online willing or able to scan them in. However, just a few days ago, someone on Reddit posted their complete version. Like me, they had started with the digital versions; they found a physical copy to scan in for one missing piece and "redrew the other based on a blurry photo of a printout". It looks really good!

In the comments, someone also links to this photo of the six volume covers, which also link together.

I love how many different little puzzles this series provided for the reader!