After seeing the time travel movie, Looper, I was reminded of a scene in a different time travel movie, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. (1999) The scene has Austin Powers questioning a paradox on time travel with Basil Exposition. Confused, Basil says Powers should not to worry about such things and tells him to just enjoy himself. He then turns to the camera and tells the movie audience the same thing. (Clip below.) And if you see Looper, you should follow Basil's advice and not worry about any time travel paradox.
Looper takes place in the future. The year is 2044. It's Kansas. The United States is suffering from severe economic distress. Ten percent of the population have a mutation which gives them telekinesis though it's a weak power. Thirty years later in 2074, time travel is invented, though it's illegal. The mob uses time travel in 2074 to send back people to 2044 for assassination. That way bodies can be disposed of without proof of their death. The hit men are called Loopers. They're called that because when the mob is finished with the hitmen in the future, they send them back to the past to be killed by their past selves. The act is called closing the loop.
Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one of the Loopers. His life is dominated by killing, drug addiction and a desire to travel to France. Things change when Joe's older self, "Old Joe" (Bruce Willis), is sent back for him to kill. Old Joe has other plans and escapes. Old Joe has found a reason to live due to a wife (Quing Xu) he meets in Shanghai. She is killed by a super criminal named The Rainmaker. Old Joe's plan is to kill The Rainmaker as a child and thus change the timeline. However, failing to kill your target, especially your old self leads to the Looper being hunted down.
The performances in Looper are just excellent. Bruce Willis as Old Joe uses facial expressions to show a world weary criminal and later a changed man. Jeff Daniels plays mob boss Abe. He's practical and menacing at the same time. English actress Emily Blunt as single mother Sara, delivers her lines in a pitch perfect American country accent. Pierce Gagnon as her son, Cid, is believable which is remarkable for an actor so young. Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the help of mild facial prosthetics, channels a young Bruce Willis. He has a younger Willis' facial expressions and vocal inflections. It's a form of time travel.
Writer and director Rian Johnson uses different genres to make an imaginative film. There's film noir, westerns, and of course, science fiction. Looper is a mix of Terminator, Blade Runner and the Godfather. The film is helped by dialogue that feels real. The movie focuses on the emotional actions and moral decisions of the characters. Johnson also doesn't abuse us with fancy camera shots either. He lets his actors do their job and lets action sequences deliver the excitement. Johnson also has a talent for framing scenes. This is one beautiful looking movie. Many scenes look like a Hopper painting. Kudos to his director of cinematography, Steve Yedin.
Looper is not a perfect movie. There are problems. First, Johnson asks the audience to trust the rules of the movie he sets up. He doesn't explain how humanity got the telekinesis mutation. Then there is a flash forward that can get confusing since the movie doesn't really explain it.
Then there is the issue of time travel. If you're a Star Trek fan, you might have an advantage here. And I'm talking about Star Trek, the TV series. I won't get into the exact Trek episodes or series but time travel here is handled like the original series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever." That means if you change the timeline in the past, you change the future. Looper asks the question, if you could go back in time to kill Hitler as a child, would you? The problem occurs when you think about Old Joe's actions. I won't go over them since it would spoil the movie but all the things that happen to him can't exist. It's like the grandfather paradox in time travel. In fact, the film knows this when two characters Abe and Old Joe talk about the paradoxes of time travel.
Looper is a well made film. It's gorgeous to look at. And the moral choices are thought provoking fare. Just take Basil's advice. Don't think too much about time travel and enjoy the movie. The grade is B +.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Bengals win NFL catfight, 2012
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-10 improving their record to 3-1. With the victory, the Bengals are tied for first place with the Baltimore Ravens in AFC North Division. And before you Steeler fans put down the Bengals for their victories over losing teams, let me just say you have to beat the weak teams. That's called taking care of business.
The Bengals victory wasn't as close as the score would indicate. The Jaguars only led once. After the Bengals took the lead, the Jaguars would never get close. Highlights include a fake punt which Bengals running back Cedric Peerman took for a 48 yard run. Wow. Bengals are getting creative in their plays. And Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins again had a big play. He caught a pass on third and seven and moved the ball 31 yards. The defense played well enough to never allow the Jaguars to get near. Next victim is the Miami Dolphins.
Here's the story with video highlights.
The Bengals victory wasn't as close as the score would indicate. The Jaguars only led once. After the Bengals took the lead, the Jaguars would never get close. Highlights include a fake punt which Bengals running back Cedric Peerman took for a 48 yard run. Wow. Bengals are getting creative in their plays. And Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins again had a big play. He caught a pass on third and seven and moved the ball 31 yards. The defense played well enough to never allow the Jaguars to get near. Next victim is the Miami Dolphins.
Here's the story with video highlights.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Reds win a big one
The Cincinnati Reds won a big game today. They defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 in the last home season game. You might question why it was a big win. After all, the Reds had already clinched the National League Central Division. Well, the Reds have been in a stupor lately. They've been batting only .229 for September. So when the Reds won today's game in the ninth after trailing 1-0, it was an emotional lift.
The game was a dreary one for the Reds bats. They were shut out for eight innings. In the ninth, the Reds got two outs. Then Reds third baseman, Todd Frazier stepped up to the plate. He launched a bomb over the right-center field fence and into the artificial grass. Tie score. Then Jay Bruce singled. Reds catcher and former All-Star Dioner Navarro came to the plate. He slammed a high breaking ball that went into the right field gap. Bruce was running on the 3-2 pitch and scored all the way from first. Reds win 2-1. Video below. By the way, we've been getting great stuff from Navarro. He's been bouncing around the league and been looking for that All Star performance. Let's hope he brings it to the Reds in the playoffs.
Yes, the Reds have come from behind many times this season. But they're headed to the playoffs. Baseball is mostly a mental game. A win like this will give them confidence in the post season. Here's the story with video.
The game was a dreary one for the Reds bats. They were shut out for eight innings. In the ninth, the Reds got two outs. Then Reds third baseman, Todd Frazier stepped up to the plate. He launched a bomb over the right-center field fence and into the artificial grass. Tie score. Then Jay Bruce singled. Reds catcher and former All-Star Dioner Navarro came to the plate. He slammed a high breaking ball that went into the right field gap. Bruce was running on the 3-2 pitch and scored all the way from first. Reds win 2-1. Video below. By the way, we've been getting great stuff from Navarro. He's been bouncing around the league and been looking for that All Star performance. Let's hope he brings it to the Reds in the playoffs.
Yes, the Reds have come from behind many times this season. But they're headed to the playoffs. Baseball is mostly a mental game. A win like this will give them confidence in the post season. Here's the story with video.
Jon Stewart on the NFL referee labor strike
Here's why The Daily Show won an Emmy. Host Jon Stewart is fantastic in his delivery. And the writing is witty and smart. Here's his take on the NFL referee strike. Special hilarious guest spot by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Sir Patrick Stewart.
Samuel L. Jackson urges you to vote for Obama
God, I love the Democrats for having the coolest celebrities. George Clooney. Sarah Silverman. And now Samuel L. Jackson aka Nick Fury (The Avengers) has done a hilarious video urging you to vote for President Barack Obama. The Jewish Council on Education and Research Super PAC produced the video and four years ago, they produced The Great Schlep starring the lovely Ms. Silverman. Anyway, Jackson does the video like Dr. Suess but with his um, colorful use of the "f..." bomb. So watch out and enjoy.
Stephen Colbert takes on the bacon shortage and mocks Cong. Louie Gohmert
Stephen Colbert may have lost the Emmy to Jon Stewart's The Daily Show but he can take solace in his Peabody Award for television excellence. Look, his satire is just brilliant. Yesterday, he took on the bacon shortage and blamed President Obama for it. Ha, ha, ha. He then mocked crazy, conservative congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) for accusing Obama for bringing back The Ottoman Empire. Great stuff. Check it out.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Conservatives get desperate
The polls are beginning to show President Obama opening up a lead on conservative Republican Mitt Romney. And the conservatives are getting desperate according to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. She reports they're accusing Obama of being in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood to Ralph Reed's survey accusing Obama a danger to American freedom. Reed's survey is hilarious by the way. It's not objective and way over the top, to say the least. Check out Maddow's piece.
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