{"id":30252,"date":"2024-12-05T22:13:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T06:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30252"},"modified":"2024-12-05T22:13:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T06:13:47","slug":"y2k-has-a-few-bugs-but-features-a-few-laughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30252","title":{"rendered":"Y2K Has a Few Bugs, But Also Features a Few Laughs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/24_0007_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15337\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Running Time: 93 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This feature from A24 opens exclusively in theaters on\nDecember 6<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it all seems funny today, in 1999 there was a great\ndeal of concern about the coming new year. With the worldwide implementation of\ncomputers and new technology, many were concerned about a potential data and\nprocessing issue that could result in chaos. Some were even fearful that it\ncould cause power, utilities and banking information to disappear permanently.\nOf course, nothing disastrous happened, but the new comedy\/horror film <em>Y2K<\/em>\ninvents a worst-possible case scenario for this transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Y2K-03-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30254\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For high school senior Eli (Jaeden Martell), New Years Eve\nin 1999 means just another night of sitting around with best pal Danny (Julian\nDennison), eating chips, playing video games and waiting for graduation. After\nstopping in at a convenience store and encountering popular girl-of-his-dreams\nLaura (Rachel Zegler), Danny convinces Eli to crash a huge class party and make\na move while he still can. Emboldened, the lead agrees and the two do their\nbest to try and fit in at the celebration. But when midnight arrives, things go\nhorribly wrong. All electronic items begin attacking townspeople, leaving many\ndead. Eli and other survivors go on the run and seek shelter, eventually\nforming a plan to try and stop the technology before all humanity is overtaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Y2K-05-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30255\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First off, despite the poster art and some violent moments\nduring the rampage, this is primarily a comedy. Imagine the 1998 teen movie <em>Can\u2019t\nHardly Wait<\/em> fused with the silly 1986 horror picture <em>Maximum Overdrive<\/em>,\nand that\u2019s essentially what you\u2019ll be getting. It\u2019s certainly hard to take it\nseriously and even the filmmakers are often poking fun at tropes seen in those\nearlier titles.&nbsp; There are a number of references to 90s trends that are\naimed to generate smiles instead of screams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story is simple. It is clear that Eli is a teen growing\nup and about to experience major changes in his life when he graduates, but is\nnow being forced to face it head-on when those around him start dying\nviolently. Early scenes with pal Danny are filled with off-color humor and even\nwhen the machines begin wiping out the major characters, it\u2019s played for\nlaughs. The bickering between kids (and some of the adults) usually ends in an\namusingly quick and blunt death. In fact, there is a particularly funny moment\non a driveway involving the fate of a character that has little or nothing to\ndo with the uprising. Director\/co-writer Mooney also gives himself a memorable\nsupporting part as stoner video store employee Garrett. His bizarrely comedic\nencounter with a mechanical creation got a chuckle out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Y2K-07-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30256\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But while much of the film focuses on the absurdity of the\nsituation, there are few serious moments as Eli attempts to process the deaths\naround him. Something of this nature should cause panic, but we never get a\nclear idea of what he\u2019s going through. He simply lashes out at classmates and\nthe social cliques around him. In fact, the character doesn\u2019t even seem all\nthat concerned about his family (who might also be in danger or perhaps even\ndead). These occasional forays into more serious themes don\u2019t work well. And\nwhile there is an amusing cameo in the final act, the climactic confrontation\nbetween teens and technology isn\u2019t as exciting as hoped for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Y2K-02-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30257\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mileage will vary on this picture. Those nostalgic for the\nlate 90s will see many familiar things in the background and enjoy the\nreferences. When the story embraces all of the silliness in having a group of\nteens being hunted and killed by Tamagotchi, flying CDs and other technology of\nthe period, it\u2019s a lot of fun. But the screenplay struggles to add tension to\nthe events or include any deeper satire which might give it an extra bit of\noomph. This reviewer had a generally good time with <em>Y2K<\/em>, but admits that\nthe programming is also a little buggy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Running Time: 93 minutes This feature from A24 opens exclusively in theaters on December 6th. While it all seems funny today, in 1999 there was a great deal of concern about the coming new year. With the worldwide implementation of computers and new technology, many were concerned about a potential data and processing issue that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[215,4660,9319,10168,11141,11963,16575,24568,24569,24570,24571],"class_list":["post-30252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-215","tag-comedy","tag-horror","tag-jaeden-martell","tag-julian-dennison","tag-kyle-mooney","tag-rachel-zegler","tag-y2k","tag-y2k-film-review","tag-y2k-movie-review","tag-y2k-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}