Movie Monday: Looper

The first time I saw the preview for Looper, I was all “is that Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Nah…thats not him. No wait, IS that him? No can’t be. But wait, I think it is…hmmmm……”

I read very little about it before we went to see it and it seemed very intriguing. All I really got was that JGL was from the future of sorts and he was bent on killing Bruce Willis. No real idea why. I’m a big JGL fan though so here’s my $8.50, I’m in.

Sometimes I think its better to know very little about a film. So often previews give away so much about the film that by the time you pay your money and plop down in that cushiony seat at the theater, nothing about it feels new…exciting. Its just a longer version of a story you have already seen. Looper was different. This movie had a whole bunch of stuff going on in it that literally was not even touched in the preview.

like.at.all.

I found this refreshing. Like a little bit of Christmas morning right in the middle of your movie. Surprise!

And a great surprise it was.

I am a great fan of time travel movies even though they usually make my head hurt afterward. This one was no exception. They do a great job of trying to explain away some of the more obvious “wait a minute….” time travel questions that jump out at you while watching. But by the end…your brain is twisting and turning trying to make sense of it all.

The movie centers around the JGL /Bruce Willis character. Oh, that’s whats going on. JGL is supposed to be a young Bruce Willis. That’s why he looked so….different. They changed his nose, eyebrows, chin and lips. So it was him, but not.

In the beginning, honestly it was a little distracting. He just looked so like himself but also not like himself. About halfway though though I got used to it, especially when they threw the “twist” at you. (The one they don’t even hint at in the preview.)

This movie was pretty fantastic. I’m going to go ahead and put it in the top 5 best movies I have seen this year. The story was entertaining, well told, well acted and you thought about it for at least two days after seeing it. That is always a winner in my book. Don’t just entertain me for two hours….entertain me for 48 hours. That’s totes worth $8.50.

My goal in this review was to stay true to the previews and not even hint at the twist they throw at you in the middle of the movie. Wanted to keep it real. I will tell you its tough to swallow. One of those great moral questions that are awesome to discuss at parties. A question that makes you think, “what would I do?” Your answer (if you are even able to answer) helps you to know yourself a little bit better. Now you have to see it. See what I did there?

Yep. $8.50 is totally worth it.

Overall Rating: Large popcorn, medium drink
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Tagged as: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper, Looper movie, Movie Monday