good back-story, and good acting

best movie i've ever seen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

If the premise of this little 25 minute short about a meek office worker caught in a time loop, doomed to live again and again the same one hour, sounds all too familiar, it's because it is. Harold Ramis had no moral qualms in practically lifting it wholesale and turning it into GROUNDHOG DAY three years later. But can anyone really blame him when that one is a modern classic of sorts and 12.01 is nothing more than a curio and a missed opportunity? That director Jonathan Heap's career sunk after this Oscar nominated short in a string of half-cooked, average action flicks reveals a lot of what is wrong with this one. Someone had the epiphany of the time loop idea but didn't really know what to do with it. Apart from the central premise, Ramis lifted quite a few things more: the protagonist trying to do the right thing, committing suicide in an effort to escape the loop, being angry, resigned etc. But he also wove the idea in the context of a meaningful story. 12.01 gets caught in the usual ludicrous sci-fi mumbo-jumbo trying to explain the loop, at parts it's clumsy, awkward, and shot in a very bland 80's way. It never really convinces it's anything else than a framework for a great gimmick. But it still has a great idea and you can't take that away from it. It just goes to show that the first flash of inspiration is only the tip of the iceberg.

BLOWN-AWAY.That was the result of watching this 25 minute short film made almost 20 years ago. Obviously, I'm another one of those Groundhog Day fans that, out of curiosity, wanted to see this movie. And I thought it was absolutely fantastic. It was like a true Shakespearean play; fascinating, and original story (it was adapted from a short story, but this was the first film of many that dealt with "time-loops" and "repetition of time"), as well as a tragic and profound end. Interestingly enough, after watching the movie, I felt it was one of the best shorts I'd ever seen, and maybe only one or two were better, including "The Lunch Date", which I found out is the same short film that beat "12:01 PM" at the Oscars in 1991. So, for those of you who are GH fans, this is a must, and for anyone who is looking for an amazingly unique film experience in only 25 minutes or less, this movie is for you.

I remember watching this film when it was first broadcast on Showtime. I really liked it then, and still do now. Good writing and performances all around, especially by Kurtwood Smith who rarely gets a chance to play the lead in any project.

The similarities between this 30 minute "movie" from 1990 and the feature movie "Groundhog Day" from 1993 are too similar for them to not be more closely related. The latter surely must have been influenced by the earlier movie.The stories are very similar, but even more similar is the outstanding way in which both movies are directed. Even though the "same" timeframe is being repeated, the director shifts the camera perspective and dialogue encountered each time so neither film is boring.