Time travel films are always fun. Whether it's Marty McFly trying to get back to the future, Colter Stevens trying to prevent a bomb going off on a train, or Bruce Willis collecting insects in 12 Monkeys. Looper does something different again. Joseph Gordon Levitt is Joe, a "Looper"; a hired gun in the present who's job it is to kill the mafia's unwanted from the future. Sounds simple enough; but of course it gets more complicated, especially when Joe's older self (Bruce Willis) is sent back from the future and present-day Joe is meant to kill him, so-called closing the loop.
The main story then revolves around the idea that old Joe has come back to kill a man (known only as the Rainmaker) who in the future is hunting down and killing all the retired Loopers; it just turns out that he's a kid right now. JGL is starting to demonstrate that he's a very versatile actor, though for a while I wasn't entirely convinced that it was him as he has been made to look like a convincing younger Bruce Willis. That aside, he manages to imbue his character with the right blend of suave, confidence and intelligence befitting someone in his profession. Emily Blunt is fine as Cid's Mum (the kid who'll grow up to be the Rainmaker), and Bruce Willis is effortlessly cool. The real surprise was an excellent performance from Jeff Daniels as Abe, the guy who runs the Looper operation in present day.
There are many nice subtle details made possible by the time travel in the film, mix this with some moments of excellent violence and beautiful cinematography and Looper becomes a very entertaining and worthwhile movie.
I had seen Inception at the cinema last year when it was released, but I had forgotten how good I thought it was. Now don’t get me wrong, I like the odd summer blockbuster. I have recently enjoyed Super 8, Cowboys and Aliens, and I’m looking forward to ROTPOTA; but Inception is a brilliant tonic to the usual fayre that we are used to digesting in the summer months. Christopher Nolan actually forces us to pay attention, think, and then apply what we have learned. We are introduced (whether we know it or not) to the concept of Lucid Dreaming; the idea that we can control our dreams, and in this case to dream within a dream. To an extent we are left questioning whether what we see is real; rather like The Matrix. What sort of a blockbuster is this? A ruddy good ‘un, that’s what!
Cobb (DiCaprio) and his associates Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Ariadne (Ellen Page), and Eames (Tom Hardy) are mercenaries who enter people’s dreams to steal information (short version!). The film centres around a job to plant an idea into someone’s mind, a process called inception. In this case the target is Robert Fischer (Cilian Murphy), son of a powerful businessman (Pete Postlethwaite) who is on his deathbed. The man who has commissioned this job is Saito (Ken Watanabe), a businessman in competition with the Fischers, who wants Robert to dissolve his father’s entire company. This is the idea that must be planted into Robert Fischer’s mind.
To try and explain the subtleties and nuances of entering people’s dreams, what happens at each level of dreaming, and the story arc of the main character Cobb, is far too ambitious. If you have already seen the film then you know what happens; and if you haven’t, then trying to explain it will just be far too confusing. Suffice to say, you should definitely see it. Christopher Nolan has crafted a very involved, somewhat complicated, thought-provoking, yet very stylish and accessible film. The central idea that this group can enter peoples dreams to steal information is one of those simple ideas that, with a few tweaks, is just brilliant (I’m thinking also of the game “Portal”, and “Blink”, one of the episodes of Dr Who).
The cast is all great. I think Ellen Page got a bit of stick for coming across as being a bit stupid and just being there for the exposition. I think this is unfounded; she is perfectly good, and let’s face it, someone had to be there to help the exposition. She was also good as the one person who stood up to DiCaprio’s character, as she was the only one who saw the danger that his unconscious posed to the operation. DiCaprio once again demonstrates his ability to lead a film, from his action packed introduction to the heartbreaking climax of his story. Tom Hardy is very smooth as the brains of the operation as much as anything, and Gordon-Levitt demonstrates that he can do action just as well as he can be a pretty boy.
Added to this are some fantastic special effects. Arthur’s fight in the hotel corridor is absolutely brilliant; not to mention Ariadne remodelling the Paris cityscape. Cobb’s limbo world also looks amazing, helped enormously by some wonderful cinematography from Wally Pfister (who seems to be a Chris Nolan favourite). The score from Hans Zimmer is also top notch, as they tend to be.
So, a blockbuster that’s a break from the norm, definitely; the best film of 2010, most probably. Great cast, great idea, great story, amazing special effects and wonderful music. Overall, a pretty brilliant film.
500 days of summer is, essentially, your average Rom Com; though, the narrator does say at the beginning of the film that it is a story about boy meets girl, but it is not a love story! The boy (Tom; Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets the girl (Summer; Zooey Deschanel), in the office of the greeting card company that they both work for; Day 1. The days then jump backwards and forwards between 1 and 500 (although the film doesn’t actually start on day 1), so that we jump between the developing relationship of Tom and Summer, and then Tom pining/complaining to his friends, or getting relationship advice from his younger sister! Ultimately (Spoiler!) they split up; Summer meets someone else and very quickly gets married to him. On day 500, Tom meets someone else just before a job interview.
I enjoyed the film; there are far worse ways to pass 90 minutes, but it is just a Rom Com. Even if you were a connoisseur of Rom Coms (which I’m most definitely not), I’m not sure what would make this stand out from the crowd. I’m now desperately trying to think of a Rom Com that would stand out from the crowd! Does Happy Gilmore count? Four Weddings and a Funeral? There’s Something about Mary?
There are some nice touches; the fact that the plot does jump around (in a way more reminiscent of Sliding Doors than Pulp Fiction), works well and stops the story from becoming too predictable. I did particularly like the scene after they have first slept together: Tom has that great morning after, everything-is-wonderful-with-the-world feeling, he looks at his reflection in a car window to fix his hair, and his reflection is that of Han Solo! The narration at the beginning of the film gave it an almost Amélie feel; and I also liked the way that split screen was used: to show Tom and Summer growing up for example. Also at one point Summer invites Tom to a party and the split screen is used to show Tom’s hopeful expectation of events and crushing reality at the same time.
In this way Director Marc Webb (soon to be of The Amazing Spiderman fame), is quite inventive but doesn’t do anything amazing; but I suppose Rom Coms aren’t the arena to be revolutionary. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are both good as the main characters, nothing fantastic, but both are believable enough and never appear cringe-worthy (certainly no Andie MacDowell from Four Weddings). As I said, an inoffensive way to spend 90 minutes, with some novel-ish ways of telling the story; but then Rom Coms are not my thing.
