Looper Review

"Ask yourself: who would I sacrifice for what's mine?"


This quote sums up the theme of this weeks latest blockbuster action movie, Looper. It examines selfishness in a world that promotes self-absorbency and excess. In the world of Looper, the main character Joe --  who is played by Joseph Gordon Levitt -- is an assassin who kills people in the future and pockets a hefty paycheck, which he is supposed to blow in his mafia's club on drugs, prostitutes, and other vices. In the beginning of the story, Joe is the epitome of a self-absorbed jerk, who drives a nice sport cars through the slums, nearly running over people in the process, and living the high life with all his looper buddies. However, once his mafia sends back his future self and Joe fails to kill him, all hell breaks loose. Joe's change in character development doesn't occur until after he arrives at a small farm -- at the direction of his future self -- owned by a single mother, with whom he slowly builds a relationship with. While Joe is hiding from his former mafia on the farm, he begins to see the value in other people and he slowly begins to transition into a selfless character, who shows the depth of his devotion to others at the end of the movie.
Besides a deep theme, this movie had a riveting plot with all around good pacing, magnificent special affects, and of course some of the most memorable action sequences I have ever seen.


















The plot of Looper was definitely one of the most intriguing and mind boggling I had ever witnessed. It is close to the same level of Inception, which most people classified as a mind(expletive). However, even with a good plot, this movie would have fell flat without good pacing. Luckily, Looper delivered. With constant valleys and peaks, it was hard to predict which turn the movie would take next. A perfect example of this is the scene in which Bruce Willis appears. It starts out showing Joe's typical pre-assassination routine,until he checks his pocket watch and realizes  his "package" is running late. Slightly disturbed, Joe returns to focusing on the drop zone, when suddenly, Bruce Willis appears, knocks out Joe, and flees. In the scene, the slow rhythm in the beginning dramatically shifts into a faced paced Hans Zimmer-esque melody. All of a sudden, your heart races as you realize, "Holy crap, that's Bruce Willis and Joe's future self! Now the movie is really starting!"



The plot of Looper was definitely one of the most intriguing and mind boggling I had ever witnessed. It is close to the same level of Inception, which most people classified as a mind(expletive). However, even with a good plot, this movie would have fell flat without good pacing. Luckily, Looper delivered. With constant valleys and peaks, it was hard to predict which turn the movie would take next. A perfect example of this is the scene in which Bruce Willis appears. It starts out showing Joe's typical pre-assassination routine,until he checks his pocket watch and realizes  his "package" is running late. Slightly disturbed, Joe returns to focusing on the drop zone, when suddenly, Bruce Willis appears, knocks out Joe, and flees. In the scene, the slow rhythm in the beginning dramatically shifts into a faced paced Hans Zimmer-esque melody. All of a sudden, your heart races as you realize, "Holy crap, that's Bruce Willis and Joe's future self! Now the movie is really starting!"


The plot of Looper was definitely one of the most intriguing and mind boggling I had ever witnessed. It is close to the same level of Inception, which most people classified as a mind(expletive). However, even with a good plot, this movie would have fell flat without good pacing. Luckily, Looper delivered. With constant valleys and peaks, it was hard to predict which turn the movie would take next. A perfect example of this is the scene in which Bruce Willis appears. It starts out showing Joe's typical pre-assassination routine,until he checks his pocket watch and realizes  his "package" is running late. Slightly disturbed, Joe returns to focusing on the drop zone, when suddenly, Bruce Willis appears, knocks out Joe, and flees. In the scene, the slow rhythm in the beginning dramatically shifts into a faced paced Hans Zimmer-esque melody. All of a sudden, your heart races as you realize, "Holy crap, that's Bruce Willis and Joe's future self! Now the movie is really starting!"

The plot of Looper was definitely one of the most intriguing and mind boggling I had ever witnessed. It is close to the same level of Inception, which most people classified as a mind(expletive). However, even with a good plot, this movie would have fell flat without good pacing. Luckily, Looper delivered. With constant valleys and peaks, it was hard to predict which turn the movie would take next. A perfect example of this is the scene in which Bruce Willis appears. It starts out showing Joe's typical pre-assassination routine,until he checks his pocket watch and realizes  his "package" is running late. Slightly disturbed, Joe returns to focusing on the drop zone, when suddenly, Bruce Willis appears, knocks out Joe, and flees. In the scene, the slow rhythm in the beginning dramatically shifts into a faced paced Hans Zimmer-esque melody. All of a sudden, your heart races as you realize, "Holy crap, that's Bruce Willis and Joe's future self! Now the movie is really starting!"
The plot of Looper was definitely one of the most intriguing and mind boggling I had ever witnessed. It is close to the same level of Inception, which most people classified as a mind(expletive). However, even with a good plot, this movie would have fell flat without good pacing. Luckily, Looper delivered. With constant valleys and peaks, it was hard to predict which turn the movie would take next. A perfect example of this is the scene in which Bruce Willis appears. It starts out showing Joe's typical pre-assassination routine,until he checks his pocket watch and realizes  his "package" is running late. Slightly disturbed, Joe returns to focusing on the drop zone, when suddenly, Bruce Willis appears, knocks out Joe, and flees. In the scene, the slow rhythm in the beginning dramatically shifts into a faced paced Hans Zimmer-esque melody. All of a sudden, your heart races as you realize, "Holy crap, that's Bruce Willis and Joe's future self! Now the movie is really starting!"
The plot of Looper was definitely one of the most intriguing and mind boggling I had ever witnessed. It is close to the same level of Inception, which most people classified as a mind(expletive). However, even with a good plot, this movie would have fell flat without good pacing. Luckily, Looper delivered. With constant valleys and peaks, it was hard to predict which turn the movie would take next. A perfect example of this is the scene in which Bruce Willis appears. It starts out showing Joe's typical pre-assassination routine,until he checks his pocket watch and realizes  his "package" is running late. Slightly disturbed, Joe returns to focusing on the drop zone, when suddenly, Bruce Willis appears, knocks out Joe, and flees. In the scene, the slow rhythm in the beginning dramatically shifts into a faced paced Hans Zimmer-esque melody. All of a sudden, your heart races as you realize, "Holy crap, that's Bruce Willis and Joe's future self! Now the movie is really starting!"
Surprisingly, action scenes were not the main portion of this movie. Their was far more introspection on the different characters' parts and character development was substantial. That is not to say that there wasn't a lot of good action, instead the action sequences were usually very short, fast, and visceral, or slower and broader. For example, in one scene, probably the most epic scene of the movie, Bruce Willis single-handedly kills about 50 people while taking out the looper mafia with  the fury of his akimbo P-90's in a ten minute scene. In contrast, their were many short fight scenes or just one shot assassination scenes that were powerful because they were so punctual and gory.
Surprisingly, action scenes were not the main portion of this movie. Their was far more introspection on the different characters' parts and character development was substantial. That is not to say that there wasn't a lot of good action, instead the action sequences were usually very short, fast, and visceral, or slower and broader. For example, in one scene, probably the most epic scene of the movie, Bruce Willis single-handedly kills about 50 people while taking out the looper mafia with  the fury of his akimbo P-90's in a ten minute scene. In contrast, their were many short fight scenes or just one shot assassination scenes that were powerful because they were so punctual and gory.
All in all, Looper was a freaking amazing movie that I give a 9 out of 10.

The special affects were also expertly done. Slow motion was used sparingly, which maximized their effect. And the shifting camera angles and CGI were woven in only when it suited the scene, which prevented a sensory overload for the viewer and the movie from looking fake.

The return of South Park with new episode Sarcastaball

Halfway through its sixteenth season running, South Park opened with a rather mellow mid-season premiere. Of course,  the word "mellow" is relative when talking about South Park, a show with a long history of controversy. Adept at mocking almost every facet of society, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker took it to the NFL and school safety policy in this weeks episode. 
The episode began with Stan's concerned father, Randy Marsh, sarcastically endorsing the schools new policy that banned kick-offs in football games. He then sarcastically proposes the most unmanly and pathetic game possible, which he calls Sarcastaball, as a super safe and fun to watch alternative, in which the children wear bras, tinfoil hats, hug their opponents, and use a balloon instead of a ball. This new sport is immediately endorsed by the listless masses, who couldn't understand sarcasm if it pegged them in the nuts with a football (get it, reference to the longest yard), and it eventually makes its way up to the NFL, where all the football commentators, coaches, players, and hardcore fans enjoy the sport as sarcastically as possible. 



From the get go,it is obvious that the running theme of this episode was sarcasm and the recent NFL debacles. It is typical for most South Park episodes to have a running comedic theme such as this, but they also have some type of shack and awe humor that causes the most controversy and laughs. This week's episode did not disappoint in that department, however the chosen shock joke for this episode was a little too graphic and repulsive to go into. If there was any pitfall in this episode, it was that the sarcasm was so heavy; it reduced the usual bang and pandemonium that most South Park episodes effuse. I found myself getting a bit lost in the sarcasm and losing my interest, but more low brow jokes brought me back. All in all, it wasn't the best South Park episode ever, or in this season, but it was a solid premiere that casually introduced people back into the show.