Movie Weirdie!

LOOPER review -- time-travel... recalibrated

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 07:53:21 -0500

those of you who think that rian johnson’s LOOPER is just ‘another’ flick in this year’s sci-fi slate and is on par with the scrappy reimagining of TOTAL RECALL can simply kill yourselves. because, apparently, LOOPER is much more than you could possibly imagine. it is SOMETHING ELSE. I guess after the BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY, people are in need to see a fresh, original idea on time-travel. and here it is. it comes in form of rian johnson’s provoking, enigmatic and — more often than not — mindfucking LOOPER.

LOOPER is set in 2044 where criminals take over the streets of US and bureaucracy no longer takes place. above them is an even larger criminal underworld syndicate whose main income comes from killing off people who come from the future via time-travel. why? because in the year 2073 time-travel is invented and is deemed highly illegal for anybody to use. that’s why the kingpins from said year send those they want to kill to the past. these killers in the year 2044 are called ‘loopers’. they are tasked with direct, close-call assassinations of future beings. this is where joe (joseph gordon-levitt) comes in. he’s a highly skilled and stylish looper whose carefree lifestyle leads him into a dementia of imaginary bliss and pleasure… until he finds his future self sent to be killed by him. this act of finishing off these loopers’ own future selves is called ‘closing the loop’. that way, the criminal syndicate they’re working under will no longer have any business whatsoever with them. they have 30 years before they’re sent to the past to be killed by their very own past selves.

it’s a rock-solid sci-fi concept from the man who brought us BRICK. it spins the head off new genre fans and giving them something bombastic yet still delivering some fresh ideas for old-school sci-fi geeks. everything in LOOPER’s dystopian universe is staged out so perfectly and neatly that you’ll wonder from which source material johnson based the flick on. well, as a matter of fact, IT IS an original idea concocted from the synapses of rian johnson. the time-travel depicted in LOOPER is not a miraculous thing to do. it is, instead, portrayed as a risky act that has too many dangerous chain reactions. as realistic as it may seem, the presence of telekinesis-powered folks are also featured in it. i like how johnson avoids the typical future-crimer idea by twisting around audiences’ initial conceptions about time-travel by creating a very thoughtful theory about it that never fails to make sense. with most major scenes taking place in the countryside, LOOPER has this uncanny old-school feel despite its given theme. the action sequences, too, are very reminiscent to those of classic sci-fi greats.

time-travel and the future are not merely gimmicks in LOOPER. they also serve as tools that convey relevant and often touching emotional subtext that would be noticed by the more punctual viewers. both joseph gordon-levitt and emily blunt succeed playing the leads. their characters, whose actions are done by their own different personal motives and reasons, are fully fleshed out they don’t feel like copies of past sci-fi protagonists. every character has their own reasons. it’s in the character development department LOOPER wins over my heart. the presence of bruce willis will also appeal to old-school action fans while they may be immediately turned off by the brainiac theme offered by LOOPER. but yes, seeing gordon-levitt wearing layers of make-up so as to resemble mr. willis kind of disconnects me a bit from the flick.

LOOPER is certainly not your typical good guy vs. bad guy kind of tale. expect, instead, a thought-provoking emotional journey wrapped in a perfect coat of science fiction.

with that in mind, you’ll have the most out of LOOPER. and it will work like a huge pick-me-up for the brain.

herochan: Steampunk Transformers Created by Brian...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:44:56 -0400

herochan:

Steampunk Transformers

Created by Brian Kesinger

T-shirts available at Welovefine

Decoding Hollywood: Chekov's Gun

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:59:25 -0400

themoviedoc:

Remember in old James Bond movies, when Q was always coming up with the perfect set of gadgets for 007? This obligatory sequence in the Bond series is the perfect exemple for the narrative technique which we call “Chekov’s Gun”.

Just like any Hollywood producer, Anton Chekov believed in efficient storytelling. He thought that useful objects or pieces of information had to be mentionned a bit before they were getting used.

“If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”
—Anton Chekhov (S. Shchukin, Memoirs. 1911.)

Hollywood producers don’t complicate their lives with useless exposition. They go straight to the point. Here’s one of the most straight forward exemple, found in Spider-Man 2:

Read More

"take that off, what are you?"

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:11:21 -0400

“take that off, what are you?”

- steve rogers, THE AVENGERS (2012)

That’s the thing with old-school cartoons :)

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:21:12 -0500

That’s the thing with old-school cartoons :)

A little something to calm myself…

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:18:34 -0400

A little something to calm myself…

Trimurti (1995)

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:17:35 -0400

shahrukhlove:

Marvel Sets "Thor" Sequel For Summer 2013

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:07:17 -0400

Marvel Studios has made a full commitment to a “Thor” sequel and are gearing up to have the film open Summer 2013 reports Deadline.

With “Iron Man 3” slated for May 3rd 2013, “Thor 2” has been locked into a July 26th 2013 release - the same last July weekend “Captain America” will open in this year.

While Chris Hemsworth is locked to reprise the role of the God of Thunder, director Kenneth Branagh will not be back as helmer. His departure from the film has been described as “mutual and amicable”, Branagh himself has been extremely happy with both the studio and the film’s performance.

The $150 million-budget film scored pretty good critical reviews and has racked up $437 million worldwide in ticket sales with a few key territories

Has The "Prometheus" Plot Been Spoiled?

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:01:52 -0400

io9 has been forwarded a lengthy piece of text which, if true, basically spells out much of the plot of Ridley Scott’s upcoming sci-fi epic “Prometheus”.

It explains how the whole thing serves as a prequel to “Alien” (namely the origin of the derelict alien spacecraft) and incorporates the “Chariot of the Gods” mythology Scott himself confirmed as a big influence this week.

The site does warn that “We’re fairly dubious that this is the actual plot. And not only are we skeptical about the authenticity of this outline, but we’re really hoping that our skepticism is justified”. Here’s the possible synopsis in full:

“Archaeological digs in Africa reveal alien artifacts that humans were genetically engineered by a advanced alien race (space jockeys). These “Alien Gods” also terraformed Earth in order to make it habitable for their human creations. Amongst finds are coordinates to the Alien God’s home-world, to Paradise. Months later the Weyland Corp launch the spaceship PROMETHEUS and his crew, into deep space to make first contact.

Thanks to faster than light travel a few years later the PROMETHEUS enters the Zeta Riticuli star system. Humans are greeted by their makers, then transported further into space to a scary yet fascinating world. The Alien Gods are proud of their “children”, their first creation to reach such levels of intelligence.

As a reward they share bits of their astonishing bio-based technologies with the humans. But for one crew member of the Prometheus it’s not enough. In a treacherous act he steals the “bio-source code” to Terraforming, a technology at the origin of all Gods’ power, that could make humans equal to the gods. The Alien Gods may be scientists but are also ruthless conquerors, destroyers of worlds who will not accept humans as equals.

They unleash on the escaping human crew their favorite bio-weapon, a creature used to “clean up” worlds before colonization. But something goes wrong in the process and humans manage to turn the bio-weapon against their makers. Giving birth to a smarter, nastier, bigger breed of gut eating creatures. Creatures that will be the demise of Paradise. What’s left of the Prometheus crew manages to escape the doomed planet.

On their trail a survivor Alien God in very familiar ship with one ultimate mission. Bring the wrath of the Gods to Earth.”

caffeinatedrabbit: A great work of art done by the great artist...

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:39:43 -0400

caffeinatedrabbit:

A great work of art done by the great artist Drew Struzan.

To own this would be part of a living dream.

herochan: Good Morning Bebop - by...

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:09:21 -0400

herochan:

Good Morning Bebop - by Jago313

(via:sosuchan)

Hmm… Mashing ‘em up doesn’t seem like a bad idea…

Directors Ditch "Akira" Remake & "Uncharted"

Fri, 27 May 2011 03:32:35 -0400

First Keanu Reeves jumped ship, now long-attached director Albert Hughes (“The Book of Eli”) is also exiting the live-action “Akira” remake at Warner Bros. Pictures reports Deadline.

Sources say the split comes down to “amicable creative differences” and the studio will try to put him on another movie right away.

At the time of Reeves’ departure, a studio spokesperson said “Production on ‘Akira’ has not halted or been shut down, as the film has not yet been greenlit and is still very much in the development stage.” With Hughes’ departure now, one wonders if that’s still the case.

Meanwhile Variety reports that David O. Russell, who was set to write and produce the film adaptation of best-selling videogame series “Uncharted” has left that project .

His split is also being put down to “creative differences”. The film was one of several on Russell’s plate and in interviews about it, his answers seemed to indicate he’d barely played the game at all and the film he was developing bore little resemblance to the property.

Photo

Fri, 27 May 2011 03:25:04 -0400

"I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched."

Wed, 25 May 2011 06:17:11 -0400

““I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.””

- Edgar Allan Poe (via lipsticksmiles)

The sharp-looking Mr. Eisenberg

Wed, 11 May 2011 01:27:53 -0400

The sharp-looking Mr. Eisenberg

The awkward moment when you have 36 presents but last year you had 37.

Sat, 07 May 2011 20:55:52 -0400

kristinakramer:

The sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is...

Sat, 07 May 2011 20:53:36 -0400

The sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is finally revealed! It’s currently titled Pirates of the Caribbean and the Anonymous Tumblr User! LOL

Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield as Kathy H and Tommy D in...

Sat, 07 May 2011 02:01:50 -0400

Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield as Kathy H and Tommy D in Mark Romanek’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel titled “Never Let Me Go”.

Accidentally found this in my school’s library. God, how I...

Fri, 06 May 2011 02:46:02 -0400

Accidentally found this in my school’s library. God, how I miss the great ol’ Eastwood…

Tarantino's Next Film Gets Title, Storyline

Sun, 01 May 2011 02:02:49 -0400

A Twitter photo of the cover page to the script for Quentin Tarantino’s next film has made the online world quite excitable over the past 24 hours.

The photo indicates the title of the spaghetti western flick is “Django Unchained”. IndieWire confirms that Tarantino’s final draft has been handed over to The Weinstein Company and a source gives away brief plot details.

The story reportedly follows Django, a freed slave, who assists a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) in taking down some bad guys for profit. Taken under the man’s wing, the pair track down Django’s slave wife and try to liberate her from an evil plantation owner.

A source says it’s a popcorn and revenge flick, but it “deals with racism as I’ve rarely seen it handled in a Hollywood film”, and essentially rips into Southern slave owners in this the way he did with the Nazis in “Inglourious Basterds”.

Waltz is the only confirmed cast member right now, though Franco Nero and Keith Carradine are also said to be starring. The story is partly inspired by the Sergio Corbucci original 1966 film “Django” (which starred Nero).