Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

This is a Japanese comedy, set in a ryokan or inn, where the staff and guests get trapped in an endlessly repeating time loop that is precisely two minutes long. The main character is a young woman, Mikoto, who works at the inn.  She and the other staff adjust to the idea that they are in a time loop remarkably quickly, their top priority being to reassure the guests. These too adjust surprisingly well to their new situation.  A writer is pleased he no longer has to worry about his deadline for the novel he is writing.  A couple of young guys are happy to hear that the beer they drink will replenish itself every two minutes, and they won't get drunk. So there's plenty of fun in the early iterations of the loop.  Fortunately memories are not erased when the loop resets, so that the characters can progress.   Mikoto is in love with Taku who works in the kitchen.  She confesses to him that she is responsible for the loop because she prayed to one of the g...

This is the sort of film I feared wasn't getting made any more - a romantic comedy that's sweet and funny, and clever and original, in which the two leads are trapped in a time loop à la 'Groundhog Day'. Nyles is played by Andy Samberg, who was the best thing in 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'.  He’s very likeable and charming, and just naturally funny (see his dance moves here in an early scene, for example).   He's fated to repeat the same day over and over; since it is at a wedding in Palm Springs it could be worse I guess but like Bill Murray the monotony and pointlessness of it all has driven him to try killing himself.  All to no avail, and so he keeps waking up with his boring girlfriend Misty and then having to find some way to entertain himself. Sarah, the half-sister of the bride, is played by Cristin Milioti.  I’d seen her previously in the classic Black Mirror episode “US S Callister" where she also plays a character trapped in an endless loop of sorts...