James Ward Byrkit completes his journey from storyboard artist (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) to story man (Rango) to writer-director with this overextended but mostly enjoyable trip into the Twilight Zone. (The writing is sharp and clear; the direction tends toward jittery-jumpy, with frequent fades to black thrown in for the sake of disorientation.) The trip comes courtesy of a passing comet that somehow puts eight friends who have gathered for a dinner party into the box with Schrodinger’s Cat. What does that mean? Here’s a hint: as one guy writes a note to leave on the door of a nearby house, the exact same note gets left on his own door. Much time and energy is spent on doping out the mechanics of just what is going on, but the actual drama is more personal and relationshippy. And the eventual collision between mechanics and drama, while intriguing, isn’t as shattering as it might be. (2013) — Matthew Lickona
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