User reviews

I have watched all episodes on Facebook and i must say that i am quite surprised.

When watching this series you'll easy forget that it is made by Ray William johnson, why? it's because its made very very well. You wouldn't even see the difference between a high budget series or this one. The actors, special effects, lighting music etc.. they all look really good and are well executed. I do not believe that there is anyone out there that can do better with a 75K budget.

This shows the potential that ray has to offer to those Hollywood suits people with bags of money. He shows that you can make a good series with very low money/resources.

He also shows that if you put enough time and effort in it (love in what you do), that you can make everything work. I am truly amazed by how far our midget has become (love you ray).

There is a bright future ahead of you, keep on holding it and you'll be sitting next to the stars that we all desire to meet.

Hopefully will see the sequel to this well made web series! keep up the good work ray!

7/10

While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it was lacking in a few places, and there were a few things that it could have done without. I understand that this was a first for the director, writers, and producers. I feel they hit the gay story just a little too hard (and by that I mean a LOT too hard. Too much gay story going on.) The acting was pretty hard to not laugh at on some scenes as well. Knowing Anna Akana's work, I felt like she was being herself, and not Riley. I did love the cartoon cut-scenes of introduction. Great for laying out parts of the story. I also loved the humor in many of the lines. Overall, I would definitely recommend to friends and family. I'm excited to see Runaway Machines next project.

So if you are a fan of Ray William Johnson you were probably waiting for this one , plus the constant reminding helped to , you were waiting for this because what ever Ray did in the past he did it with everything he got .

You remember YFM it was amazing .

So going into this I was exited , because it was his first time directing , and it was a story close to home for Anna , so I was exited to see how it was presented , I gotta say

I loved it , I loved it so much , specially because it's an indie movie done cleverly .

Story : Story ways it's was very simple and yet very calculated , we all know what happens if someone manipulate the past , this was like that but calculated , and specially how some people react when something goes differently off the sudden , like you can't be someone's friend just like that and want to change his life .

Yes there were some , were they could've written it better , like the last act it could've been written better .

Acting :

There are some who did a really great job , and some who suffered from over acting to a degree that it was awkward , I won't drop any names you can find that out by you self .

Directing and story telling : The directing was unbelievably great specially for a first time director , you can see the care put in screen it was great to watch , and I love how Rays love for comic books played in the story , oh yeah the story telling , I love this kind of story telling for the end to the beginning seriously keep it up Ray .

All n all I loved this movie although specially because it is indie I felt It was I little short keep the love and care in your projects you can go to the sky with it , trust me . ( hoping you are reading this Ray ) lol .

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As a long time fan of both Anna and Ray, I was expecting myself to be bias as i was awaiting the release of Riley Rewind therefore I watched it with a purely critical mind.

The concept of a high school teen that can inexplicably 'rewind' time can be misread as cheesy or cliché, but with minimal amounts of verisimilitude the narrative of this story really comes to light. Although there is the occasional cliché moment, (it is set in a high school so what can you expect) The introduction of serious hard hitting subjects negates them into creating a continuous balance throughout the film giving it a really fun yet serious feel. The story, yet being rather simple at the beginning; soon unfolds to be a great climax which had me debating my own morals somewhat.

In terms of production quality, I was impressed by how great it look aesthetically. There are blatant traits of 'semi-low-budget-independent- ness' but this is not a flaw in their film, as the special effects looked believable where placed; the camera framing was good; lighting was well coordinated. It could easily be mistaken for something on a high quality TV show. It's well paced , although scenes can feel a little jumpy at some points, as it can quickly move from scene to scene.

Regarding possible cons, there are some minor elements that could be improved upon, for example the overused repetition of the soundtrack theme; the interaction between characters in a dialogue can feel somewhat staged sometimes. But these are minor, and they will surely learn from this experience and get better and better.

In conclusion, definitely worth watching. The narrative is captivating, the production value was great, the acting was good; and it all came together for a brilliant piece of film.

I'm very impressed with Runaway Machine on their first project, and I hope to see more of them in the future!

i loved Riley Rewind! it was powerful, emotional, had great special effects and the acting (for the most time) was pretty good. never thought midget Ray would make something this amazing!

the special effects: the effects were awesome! i loved how they showed animated sketches, it had a really great touch to the series. and there's the bomb explosion at the start of Act 1, which was awesome as hell! the bummer is that i didn't get to see it again, which made me sad a little. but overall, awesome.

the sets: Riley Rewind's a low budget independent project so at first i was like "i don't know if i'm gonna like the sets". but i was dead wrong, the sets are fantastic! everything looked so real and well done. props to everybody on that!

the script: this thing has a fantastic story: Anna plays a normal girl named Riley Brown who can time travel (or "rewind") to change her past. i thought that was awesome. it was written by Anna and honestly she did a really good job. i liked the dialogue too, it was really well written. and you end up caring about everybody in this movie, all the characters were amazing.

the acting: for the most part, the acting was way better than i thought it was gonna be. there are those moments in the series where everything gets dark and it makes you tear up (like the scene where Angela commits suicide, i leaked a few tears at that part). granted, sometimes the acting can get a little bit too cheesy and weak, but overall everybody did their job really well (especially Anna and Lamar).

Overall: i loved the show! it had me at the edge of my chair the whole time. i laughed and i ever cried it was so good. Ray and Anna, you're the best! keep on the great work, i gotta see more from you :D

9.5/10

This "movie" is (at the time of reviewing) ranked on IMDb with the same score as Citizen Kane, which is obviously a travesty. From reading some of the reviews it seems that this is thanks to the overzealous support of their preexisting fan base.

On YouTube it might get a thumbs up for effort, but when you're running with the big boys, this doesn't cut it I'm afraid. I might have given it a 2 or 3 if it wasn't for the arrogance of the writer getting herself cast as the female lead (Riley). She is upstaged in just about every scene, mostly due to the fact that the other people in it can act at least slightly.

If you're like me, and use IMDb to try to find great films via their ratings on here, then please do not bother with this. I understand that their fans want to support them. However, I believe that IMDb should be a level playing field, and Citizen Kane this is not.

It hit me in the same Vein as Clerks, Low Budget, But you can feel love went into making it.

I really enjoyed Anna's Monologue Solo Moments, and she could totally carry a TV show she has the kind of Charisma Corkiness as Mindy Kaling from The Mindy Project.

I hope Runaway Machine continues making Riley Rewind and see's a bigger budget come their way to really push this series into a whole other level.

Anna the Time Travelling Superhero. It could be cool if this took a Kick Ass Approach and maybe she trained so it didn't effect her so hard?

Maybe chased by a Time Travelling Government and she Pull's a Nicolas Cage from Next (get's shot, rewinds, dodge's, Punch to face :)

There are so many possibilities don't stop! the passion translates and things will only get easier and better from here!

Time travel movies have always been a favourite in the movie world. The Terminator, Back to the future and so on. Yes i know this is a 'web series' but they were calling this a movie for the most part and then just changed it. The story was OK, a girl tries to save multiple lives using her ability to travel back in time. But towards the end (Act 4/5) it just goes really fast and is a very rushed ending. The actors aren't the worst, but certainly aren't the best. A lot of the time it sounded and looked like they were just reciting the script rather than acting, and that took away from the story and made it feel less like a movie and more like a amateur high school drama skit.

With knowing how much time and effort was spent into creating this amazing production, I can honestly say that I am extremely proud. Ray and Anna have worked their butts off for months upon months and finally seeing this, is reward enough. Being a subscriber to them for years, and seeing their passion towards what they do is unbelievable. Patiently awaiting the release of Riley Rewind was completely worth the wait (Aside from Anna's sneak preview last night ha ha). I am so excited to see how Runaway Machine will grow and become, what I believe, one of the greats. I love and adore you both ( Anna & Ray ) and Riley Rewind was truly astounding. The camera work, acting, light, sound, visual, the whole thing. Gave me chills, which doesn't happen often. Overall, Im very pleased and happy to see more!

Riley Rewind manages to merge the online culture and the television-feel perfectly. With its vlog style used as a narration tool it instantly connects with the audience, making them feel a part of the experience. And with its attention to detail and high production value, it makes it clear that it's not "just another online show".

Ray William Johnson joins the list of pioneers that includes Freddie Wong, and David Fincher, who are making top quality content for the Internet. And this being Johnson's directorial debut for a feature like this, it was an excellent job. This was Johnson's and Anna Akana's (Riley Rewind writer and Riley) baby, and it shows that they did their best to produce something worth watching.

The premise is a very well known one (time travel dilemmas), but the take on it is different enough to look passed that. The acting is a little cheesy, and so are some of the lines, but in a way it makes Riley Rewind a bit more charming, and might have been done intentionally. If not, it's something to work on for future projects, which I'm sure will happen. Because Riley Rewind's strength is its ability to connect with people, and that is one of the most valuable traits any sort of media could hope for.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for Runaway Machine.

For an independent Youtube series, Riley Rewind has very high production values (on par with some TV series, actually).

The show was very well directed. It has a very good rhythm and I never felt bored while watching it.

The plot and dialogs are pretty decent too. Not very innovative, but still interesting and very entertaining. People who enjoy time travel stories you will surely find something to like here.

I also liked the acting and the characters. In the beginning I was worried about the show being about high school kids going you parties and things like that, but that's the case. Sure, the setting is a high school, but this is is not a high school comedy; the show is all about time travel.

Overall, I would say that Riley Rewind is a pretty good show.

If you want to see something where you can't easily predict the ending and 95% of the cast can convincingly act on a shoestring budget, then Riley Rewind awaits. A great concoction of science fiction mixed with super heroine that is blended on high in the TV drama paradigm; it opens on Facebook with subsequently infinite curtain calls on Youtube. Director Ray William Johnson and writer Anna Akana (the successful Youtube duo) have done what Romeo and Juliet could not: undo suicide and rewrite time to the plot's benefit. A personal tale written by Anna Akana that alludes to her own sister's real life pain provides a resilient framework that fails to be depressing, making it all the more noteworthy as a freshman effort. Ray William Johnson professionally compliments the script with directorial choices that are seamless. The $100,000 spent may be the best outing ever for a pop culture, science fiction TV series. A must see for anyone raised by the internet.

I mean it's an indie film project, which took time, effort, and money to make. Personally, I enjoyed it! - Looking forward for Season 2 if any... Everything from the screenplay/story, (good job Anna!) acting (especially that gay dude!), Editing (Video Post was my favourite part about this film) was spot on! - also Ray (that fake and gay-homo-fag :-) ) did a good job directing, getting the most from the characters. what I didn't like though was the scoring/music - or at least the sound quality. Mix wasn't that warm, and audio didn't stand out to say the least. This may or may not be biased by personal passion in music production, scoring, and sound design, but the music in film left a lot to be desired. All in all though, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and was hooked almost immediately!

Fist off, I didn't really like the format: five videos of about 10 minutes. I would have enjoyed it better (and taken it more seriously) if it was a 1-hour movie watched in one shot. The mini- series format works when the episodes are published gradually to keep us waiting, or when each episode is long. But 5 times 10 minutes - doesn't make sense to me.

Also it was really over-hyped by RWJ.

The acting gave a very amateur vibe, although Lamar Legend ("Jay") and Christina Marie Leonard ("Angela") were kinda good.

The story pitch is good. Seen before (Butterfly Effect), but pretty good still.

I really liked the effects and overall video editing.

Overall, I think it's got potential. Everyone involved in the movie has potential if set with more experienced professionals surrounding them.

I would love to see a comedy from RWJ.

Good luck on your future projects!