Looper: See it now or in the future.

**I have found since beginning this blog that I look at things in my everyday life a little bit differently.  I read or hear about something and think, that's interesting.  But then I ask myself if it is interesting ENOUGH to be blog worthy. This is great because it means that I spend more time thinking about and reflecting on things than I did before.   This, in itself, makes this whole blog worth it!!

So, for today I simply must review the movie Blooper. (Ok, so I have proofread this about 5 times and just realized I said Blooper instead of Looper.  Considering it is the only funny thing in this post, I couldn't resist leaving it.  Because, you know, I made a blooper.  Ok that is not quite how you should use the word, but come on.) I saw it.  I loved it.  If you have not yet seen the film, do not worry.  There are no spoilers until it says SPOILER ALERT.  I would never risk ruining a movie for you!

Before you read my review, you should be aware of my credentials.  I have taken one film class (History of Film).  I went to very few lectures and slept through the ones I attended.  I have watched lots of movies, most of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I didn't get Citizen Cain.  I am known by many friends to have low standards in movies and television shows.  I recently watched all eight seasons of Monk and all twelve seasons of Murder She Wrote.  There it is.

Blooper:  See it now or in the future.  

4.7 stars

The Gist:  Old Joe is sent back in time by the future mob to be killed by a hit-man from the past.  The twist, as shown in the previews, is that the hit-man from the past is Joe himself.

Why I loved this film:

1.  The preview looked interesting, but the film was way better than the preview lead me to believe it would be.  Often times, the trailers of films are better than the films themselves, or the best parts of the film are in the trailer.  This is not the case with this movie.

2.  It was not predictable.  

a.  The story line did not follow a predictable path.  Many movies are predictable.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, sometimes it can make watching a movie kinda cozy because since you know what is going to happen, you can just relax and enjoy.  Looper could not have been further from this.  I really had no idea what was going to happen at any point at all.  I loved this because it kept me engaged in the film because my mind was always working to try to figure out what was going to happen.

b.  The shocking moments were CRAZY shocking.   Even when a twist happens in a movie I'm watching, once it settles in I usually think, "Oh yeah, I can see that."  I spent a large part of this film with my mouth agape because I was could not f-ing believe what had happened.  Seriously shocking.

3.  It was subtle.  Maybe I've been watching to much MSW, but usually when there is some little tidbit that will be REALLY important to the plot later on (someone being left-handed or something) it screams 'I'm here because I will matter big time later!!!'  Many aspects of the story that would be of crucial importance later on were woven seamlessly into the story.  These tidbits didn't jump out and act as a clue as to where the story was going.

4.  It made me think, but not about time travel.  In movies that have a schtick like time travel, the best you can usually hope for is to leave thinking about time travel.  This is not the case with Looper.  Although there are some interesting ideas around time travel, I left thinking about bigger life issues like love (and not in a cliche way), sacrifice, age and personal growth, and responsibility.

SPOILER ALERT:  It's down a little, so don't scroll down if you have not seen the movie.

1.  Can you believe old Joe killed that kid??!!?!?!?  I am still in total shock.  I think it was brilliant because it was so unexpected and it helped begin to shift viewer loyalty from old Joe to young Joe.  Also, the fact that they did not actually show it I also think was super smart because I think that would have been TOO much.

2.  My FAV thing:  One of the things I loved the most was that what saved the day (so to speak) was love from a parent for her child.  So often in movies great change happens or the protagonist is 'saved' because of romantic love.  In Looper it seemed like that was going to be the case when it was revealed that old Joe was deeply in love.  Then when young Joe met the Emily Blunt character I assumed (as I think many people would) that they would have a romantic story line and that this would be crucial, as well.  Although these relationships were part of the story, they were not really what mattered.  After young Joe realizes what Cid is capable of he confronts Sara (Blunt's character).  She responds by telling him that she thinks she can make Cid good.  What in the end saves the future (at least the future Joe would have experienced) is his realization that perhaps Sara can in fact love Cid into goodness instead of evil.

*Please keep in mind that I am a new mother, and so it is quite likely that I am seeing greater weight in this whole mommy thing than others would.