There was a point in the 2010s when found-footage storytelling got shoved into almost every genre imaginable, but this little gem remains one of the better examples of that experiment actually working. It takes a familiar teen sci-fi premise and gives it a frantic, messy, increasingly uneasy energy that suits the material pretty well. The first half has a lot of fun with the possibilities of time travel. The second half is where the movie starts punishing everyone for it.
That escalation is the big reason it sticks. Project Almanac understands the appeal of a bunch of smart but reckless teenagers suddenly having access to something way too powerful, and it lets that excitement gradually turn into panic. It never tries to be the deepest time-travel movie ever made, but it does know how to keep tightening the screws. That makes it a lot more effective than its reputation sometimes suggests. Honestly, it’s probably worth your while if you feel like it.
The movie’s cast includes Jonny Weston (Chasing Mavericks, Under the Bed) as David Raskin, Sofia Black-D’Elia (Ben-Hur, Viral) as Jessie Pierce, Sam Lerner (Monster House, Truth or Dare) as Quinn Goldberg, Allen Evangelista (Secret Obsession, The Deal) as Adam Le, Virginia Gardner (Halloween, Fall) as Christina Raskin, and Amy Landecker (A Serious Man) as Kathy Raskin.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Is ‘Project Almanac’ Any Good?
RogerEbert.com posted that Project Almanac has a clever idea at its center, but it gets buried under an exhausted found-footage approach and a story that eventually falls apart. The film follows a group of teens who discover plans for a homemade time machine and start using it to improve their lives, from school and social status to romance and money. That setup gives the movie some early energy, and for a while, it feels like a fun teen sci-fi ride.
The real problem is the format, because the found-footage style feels completely unnecessary here, and instead of adding realism or tension, it mostly becomes a distraction for the audience. As the story goes on, things get more melodramatic and less convincing. David starts making increasingly selfish choices, and the movie leans too hard into forced drama rather than the smarter consequences of time travel. In the end, Project Almanac has a fun premise and some likable performances, but it doesn’t seem to know how to have the best of both worlds.
Project Almanac is streaming now on Pluto for free.
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