Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Colin Trevorrow is another director who's gone from small budget indie to huge blockbuster; in this case Safety Not Guaranteed to Jurassic World (2015). Although his reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise is arguably the best of the recent trilogy, (not saying much) it's a long way in terms of quality from this terrific little film about three magazine employees who set out to interview a man who placed an advert in a newspaper seeking a companion to join him in time travel.

Aubrey Plaza is convincing (even if it's a little close to her character from televisions Parks and Recreation) as the intern travelling with Jake Johnson's Jeff (who hates his life and makes the journey to meet the time travelling man more in attempt to rekindle a romance with an old flame than any care for his work) and the third aspiring journalist is Arnau, a fairly stereotypical virgin who somewhat inevitably will 'right that wrong' during the bonding between the three of them.

The films' standout though is Mark Duplas as potential time traveller Kenneth, who despite being an oddball finds plenty in common with Plaza's Darius, who he chooses to travel back in time with him.

The film is funny and heartfelt, with solid performances and showed plenty of promise from Trevorrow, and after most recently directing Jurassic Park: Dominion (2022), it would be nice to see him venture back into the world of indie film making to see if he can reproduce the qualities on display here. 7.3/10