Starring Gordon Joseph-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt
Face your Future. Fight your Past. A Looper, someone who is hired to kill people sent back in time. However Looper Joe, played by JGL, finds out that one day the man sent back will be his future self.
The first thing i would have to say about this is how amazing not only the camera work and scene shooting was but the visual effects of making JGL look like a young Bruce Willis. His eyes, nose and hair line mirrored that of Willis and he even had some of his mannerisms making the role being played very believable. Willis played the typical Willis role which is something that doesn’t bother me and when he and JGL were together in scenes, especially in the diner, they really played off of each other making the audience fully concentrate on what is happening. Emily Blunt was a great character dropping some f-words here and there and bring a bit of humanity to the film whereas her kid was incredibly scary at times but was definitely a scene stealer.
Recommend
A film involving time travel will always interest me and this was no exception. Willis has always been a favourite of mine and JGL is becoming a favourite too. The film did have some slow moments but these were needed to help the story progress. The film was fun, exciting and added some twists that really made the film something special. I loved the look of it and am already looking forward to it coming out on bluray. See this film!
TheFriedGold rating – 4/5
Film Fact
This is the third time Bruce Willis’ character time travels and encounters his younger self. The first was Twelve Monkeys and the second was The Kid.
Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
8 years have passed since Batman took the blame for Harvey Dent’s death to give Gotham the real hero that they deserved. During this time Bruce Wayne has become a recluse and is living his life in Wayne Manor while the Bat suit has been hung up. However when a new force comes to the city in the form of Bane, Bruce must put the suit on once again and prove to the whole city that he is the real hero.
The concluding chapter to Nolan’s Batman trilogy The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR) and Batman must once again battle an enemy who is trying to take over Gotham City. Bane is the new enemy, played by the wonderful Tom Hardy, who fits very nicely into Nolan’s telling of the Batman story by keeping the character grounded in the real world and a totally different type of enemy when compared to Ledger’s Joker. Other characters added to story are Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman (although she is never called this throughout the whole film), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL) playing a young cop called John Blake and Marion Cotillard playing Miranda Tate who is a business lady and Bruce Wayne’s love interest. These characters are in addition to the regulars of Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.
The film definitely has that final film feeling to it while rocking out at a massive 165 minutes with a lot of this seeming to be 1 on 1 conversations between characters. However this doesn’t detract from the amazing story that is being played out along with the fantastic camera work and the brilliant music of Hans Zimmer. Hathaway and JGL were nice additions and fitted into the trilogy easily plus Hathaway looked great in her outfit.
I believe this to be a great film that gave you exactly what you wanted from the third and probably final Batman film that Nolan will be directing. Yes I think there are a lot of bits that were made for the fans and the comic book lovers but this is why I loved it. Is it better than The Dark Knight? I’m unsure. I’ve seen that film so many times I know it better than the back of my hand. I will need to see TDKR a few more times before I can give that question a proper answer. I did like the little Easter eggs and cameos in the film to give true fans a nice nod to certain themes or characters.
Recommend
This film was hyped up so much that I believe it has affected the way that some people have viewed the film. Some people have said that the lack of Batman fighting let the film down. What people need to realise is that Batman is technically a Detective not an all-out arse kicker so I had no problem with this side of things. Having waited for this film and jumping on the hype bandwagon I have not been disappointed by what I saw and I will definitely be making repeat viewings. Go and see this film!
TheFriedGold rating – 4/5 – A fantastic ending to a Bat-tastic trilogy
Film Fact
Christopher Nolan said that the film’s theme deals with “Pain”. For Batman Begins, it was on “Fear”, while The Dark Knight deals on “Chaos”.
Following thefriedgold’s recent post on top 10 films to look out for in the rest of 2012 and the comment of not having Brave (how can Brave not make the top 10? It’s Pixar dammit) on the list, here are the next 10 to look out for. These could go either way in terms of quality, but I think they could be worth a watch.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
Directed by Crispian Mills
Starring Simon Pegg, Sheridan Smith
Crime author Jack has an overriding fear of being murdered. His big break comes followed swiftly by a bigger breakdown.
Reason to watch: Pegg.
Release date: 8th June
Ted
Directed by Seth Macfarlane
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis
The creator of Family Guy steps in to the film world with this: a boy has a teddy bear that is alive. What happens if the bear grows up with the boy?
Reason to watch: Lewd humour and the juxtaposition of a child’s toy drinking and smoking. Could be laugh a minute or all the laughs could be below.
Release date: 1st August
Brave
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell
Starring Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane
Merida, an independent young archer, is forced to undo a curse she has brought upon her family.
Reason to watch: Are you kidding? Pixar’s output is second to no-one. Even if you “don’t watch cartoons” I would recommend you see this film – it will change your mind. Plus you get a bound-to-be-excellent short before the main event. See this.
Release date: 17 August
The Watch
Directed by Akiva Schaffer
Starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade
Four friends form a neighbourhood watch to get away from their wives. They are forced in to action when they discover an alien invasion plot.
Reason to watch: Formerly “The Neighbourhood Watch”, The Watch reunites Vince Vaughn with Ben Stiller in a film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad). Potential for comedy greatness if they are all on song…
Release date: 29 August
Total Recall
Directed by Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale
A factory worker suffers from nightmares. But are they actually nightmares – could they be suppressed memories trying to return and could he be a spy with the power to change the world?
Reason to watch: A remake of the Arnie version, directed by the guy who gave us Die Hard 4.0 (enjoyable action, worthy addition), Colin Farrell headlining, written by the guy who wrote Equilibrium (dsytopian sci-fi). I enjoy a big budget complex sci-fi and if they can get close to the quality of the 1990 version, this could be good. The trailer looks really good. Plus Kate Beckinsale is in it.
Release date: 22 August
Dredd
Directed by Pete Travis
Starring Karl Urban, Lena Heady
No nonsense lawman Judge Dredd teams with young Judge Anderson to track and take down a drug supplying terrorist organisation.
Reason to watch: Forget the Stallone version, self-confessed fan Urban is taking on the helmet and becoming The Law, promising a more faithful interpretation of the 2000AD character.
Release date: 7 September
The Sweeney
Directed by Nick Love
Starring Ray Winstone, Damian Lewis, Hayley Atwell, Ben Drew
To protect the law and their city, virtuoso flying squad cops are forced to break the law.
Reason to watch: An update of the 70’s TV show sees Nick Love and Ray Winstone do what they do best – The Sweeney is a Lahndahn film filled with Geezahs fighting other Geezahs. But this time Love is working with an established property and Danny Dyer is nowhere to be seen so I’m hopeful this Brit-flick, which looks classy in the trailer, is going to be a worthwhile watch.
Release date: 12 September
Looper
Directed by Rian Johnson
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
Joe is a hitman, killing people sent back from the future. One day his future self is sent back. What does he do?
Reason to watch: We have JGL playing a young Bruce Willis trying to kill him in a time-travel film directed by the man who brought us Brick. Two heavyweight actors and a strong director playing with a mind-bending premise. What more reason do you need?
Release date: 28 September
Taken 2
Directed by Olivier Megaton
Starring Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace
The father of a kidnapper Bryan Mills killed when his daughter was abducted has retaliated by taking something precious to Mills. This has pissed him off and a rampage will begin.
Reason to watch: If you like action films and haven’t seen Taken yet then you have a treat awaiting you. If you have seen Taken then you know exactly what the reason to watch this is: Liam Neeson waging a one man war. Directed by the man with the best name in action films.
A young boy, Pi, finds himself adrift in a lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger following a shipwreck.
Reason to watch: I’m a big fan of Ang Lee who has a strong record with adaptations (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain) and Life of Pi is based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name. It’s bound to look good, the story will be strong – much will rest on the performance of newcomer Suraj Sharma as Pi.
Release date: 21 December
Obviously all dates are subject to change…I’ll try and put trailers in as and when they are released. And I’m sure I’ve left off something good…
RT @OspreyGames: Take your friends and family to the Wildlands over the holidays! Retweet and Follow for a chance to #win a copy of Martin… 4 years ago
thefriedgold 