And not for the first time.

<shrug>

Clint Eastwood has made both Unforgiven, one of the best Westerns ever made, and The Rookie, a crap cop flick with Charlie Sheen.

sixth sense and the happening... need I say more.

Killing Them Softly is my favourite movie of 2012 so far.

Dominik delivers again. This owes more to Chopper than TAOJJVTCRF, but it's just as engrossing as the latter. The cast and performances are stellar, some of the scenes with Pitt and Gandolfini are just brilliant. The cinematography is stunning as you'd expect, and the soundtrack is excellent.

A masterclass.

Really looking forward to this. Glad to see Dominik didn't shoot his whole wad on one film.

97 minutes?

cant stand gandolfini because hes a lardarse that is completely unbelievable... but if it's good, what does it matter.

that looks very interesting

I'm catching Looper tonight, be jealous!

I just watched the trailer to Looper last night. Looks very interesting. I like time travel/butterfly effect stories (books & movies both). I read that they did some extensive CGI to make Willis/Gordon-Levitt look a lot more alike. I'm not usually a fan of Willis, but it does look interesting.

Off topic, but does anyone but me think that Gordon-Levitt looks a lot like Heath Ledger with black hair? I was amazed when I saw a Dark Knight trailer last year with him in it. I'd never heard of the guy up until that point (haven't been to the movies/rented in years due to illness). I thought they could be brothers or something, given the hair color change. Since then I've seen a few films with this guy, and I'm pretty impressed so far with his acting.

Around the 30 second mark of this video some noted he sounds like The Joker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzX9j...e_gdata_player

When I found out that Looper involved Shane Carruth, the guy who made Primer, one of the GOAT time-travel movies, I knew this movie had the potential to be amazing. Can't wait to see it.

How exactly is he involved? Has no mention of it on his IMDB page.

Happened to run across Rian Johnson's IAmA on reddit (writer/director of Looper) and he talks about Shane's involvement.. which is very little.


"I just met Shane through some weird connection, I think my DP Steve had met him somewhere and introduced us. He gave some notes on the script but wasn't involved beyond that, sadly. As fun as it would be, I wouldn't want to work with Shane because I love what he creates and I wouldn't want to mess with it - he's got such a specific vision in his head, we're all better off having it undiluted."

I saw that. It's also not listed on his Wikipedia page, but if you go to the page about the film, you'll see it in the "Production" section.

So it's not exactly like he wrote the thing, but I'm happy he was involved.

Edit: Slow pony responding to a post without reading the one after it. Thanks for the clarification of his level of involvement, Blindoath.

My Looper review. Contains minor spoilers in the beginning, all of which are seen in the trailer for the film. I'll throw this out there one more time, if anyone is interested in checking out my blog hit me up with a DM. I'm always on the lookout for a skilled editor (no pay ldo).

Looper is a phenomenal film Directed by Rian Johnson, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. Johnson and Gordon-Levitt worked together in a brilliant neo-noir thriller, Brick (2005). I highly recommend watching Brick before or after Looper.

The setting takes place in Kansas, 2044. Joe (Gordon-Levitt) provides the audience with the premise of the film. In the future, it’s difficult to kill a person and dispose of the body. When mafia types want someone dead in the future, that person is sent back in time 30 years where a Looper is waiting to kill them and remove all traces of the body. The victim has silver bars tied to their back for payment.

Loopers are well-paid, well-respected and carry themselves like they own the city. Loopers drive fancy cars while the rest of the city drives old junkers powered by solar energy.

Joe is the most grounded of all the Loopers. He has long-term goals with plans of leaving the lifestyle. The rest of the Loopers are happy to spend their earnings on drugs, cars, clothes and prostitutes.

There comes a time when each of the men must “close the loop,” an assassination which earns a much larger payday in gold, it’s also the time they kill their future self. Instead of mourn their own passing, they celebrate with more booze, drugs and women.

One night Seth (Paul Dano) rushes to Joe’s condo in a desperate plea to ask for help. Against Joe’s better judgement he takes Seth in. Seth was unable to close the loop. Old Seth revealed important information to Young Seth, causing Seth and Joe to second guess their profession.

Let’s stop there for this is all revealed in the trailer for the film. Let’s talk more about the performances, direction and everything else which makes this an outstanding film.

Gordon-Levitt is a chameleon playing a younger version of Bruce Willis. He has incredible screen presence, owning every shot and simultaneously oozing confidence and vulnerability. JGL makes the performance look effortless, completely natural, helping the audience suspend their disbelief.

Willis has some mileage on him, brilliantly portraying a man with some wear and tear. One scene in particular involving Willis brought me to tears, he gave this role his all and put 100% faith in Johnson.

Johnson (Director) weaves the tension and suspense like a master puppeteer. The scene where Joe fails to close the loop is among the most suspenseful scenes of recent past. The ticking of the pocket watch, the look in Joe’s eyes as he realizes he’s looking at an older version of himself and the removal/lowering of sound makes for a blend which literally had me holding my breath. Johnson dances across the line of film taboo, however he handles it with such care and respect he gets a free pass.

Johnson’s script is nothing short of brilliant, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats from the opening to closing frame. It’s a bold script, Johnson trusts the audience to follow along with minimal exposition. The story moves along at such a wonderful pace, it’s the quickest 118 minutes you will spend watching an incredible film unfold.

Looper is beautifully shot by Steve Yedlin. Scenes are shot with careful precision and a high amount of style. Visuals are essential in a film, Yedlin is up for the task. Yedlin and Johnson worked together in Brick which also contained several gorgeous images and memorable shots.

The supporting cast is exceptional: Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels and a stealth bomber (borrowing from Jason Reitman) performance from Garret Dillahunt. Each of the listed players deliver memorable performances and add so much to the film.

Looper receives my highest recommendation. It wouldn’t shock me to see Looper placed in many “Top 10” lists of 2012. There are still plenty of highly anticipated films yet to be released in 2012, but Looper cannot be ignored. Don’t miss your chance to experience something wonderful at the movies.

Yes, exactly my feelings. I've seen it 4 or 5 times now. It's an achievement.

Fans of Tarkovsky and slow moving, enigmatic films (i.e., Rushmore) should check out Once Upon a Time in Anatolia by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan who has two movies on instant watch.

Finally saw Moonrise Kingdom. Anderson is now batting under .300 on my scorecard. Nearly all qualities that make Anderson movies endearing were lacking this time around. In fact, I thought Anderson's entire style was severely corrupted with this attempt and as much as I dislike the phrase, he'll have to do some sort of reinventing himself to get back in my praises.

Hodgepodge of thoughts:

I don't have any dislike for the effect, but the whole "doll house view" in the intro is played out at this point. It's his thing and it was kinda cool before but now I'm distracted with thoughts of "gee, seen this a few times before".

Tenanbaums is an absolutely hysterical movie in my estimation. The effective quirkiness and delivery from quality actors of a dry script is a thing to behold, but I can only imagine at this point Anderson behind the camera shouting "Drier! Drier!" after every take. There is nearly zero surface emotion coming through these movies. Clooney had the most electric performance in 5 Anderson movies and we didn't even get to see him on screen.

I don't get the love for Norton's performance. Was surprised his screen time wasn't longer going by the praise others had bestowed.

Tilda Swinton was great, very funny.

I need to start becoming more of an early adopter so I don't get huge hopes from reading reviews, perhaps it would've lessened the blow. This one didn't work for me.

John Cole,

Are you a fan of Chantal Akerman's films? I'm learning about her in Cinema class this week. Her films sound very interesting.

I've got this in my cue and have been meaning to watch it.

wow, I've just watched it and I have to say that the movie mindf***ed me on so many levels. Wow, just wow. 9/10 imo (maybe if I watch it some more times I would give it a 10)

You guys should now watch Videodrome, the earlier Cronenberg film that covers the same territory

will definitely give it a go

the cathode ray is the retina of the minds eye.

that movie was WAY before it's time. it plays on so many levels and all before the cable TV had really made the mainstream... broadcast TV was still the norm.

One of my favorite lines in that movie is where Dr. Brian O'Blivion says in an interview... the "only way I will appear on TV, is On TV!"


next time you do watch it... keep an eye for the really SUBTLE "textural" nuances that cronenberg uses. feeling/touching textures and sensory envelopment that the main players all go thru as the story progresses(clearly seen as Allegra Geller is walking around the "country gas station" experiencing the total immersion). even in the VERY beginning of the movie, in several scenes you can see that Pikul was very subtly rubbing his cheek where a tooth was giving him problems. Of Course you know what he did with that tooth later in the movie.

I refuse to appear on TV... except, On TV!

I needed to fix that