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Looper (dir. Rian Johnson; Gordon-Levitt, Willis)

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She looked really hot in her black nighties.

Then you had her about to put her hand up her skirt, stopping, then pressing the frog, which was on top of the box of tissues. The box of tissues was kind of a funny item to focus on, as if the director was winking at the audience.
 
I loved the movie, thought it was a great thrill ride. JGL isn't imperesenating Willis, both are simply playing the same role, which was really cool to see. I enjoyed the second half, the music was great throughout but became too generic near the end for me. That and 'child actors' I thought it was fine but I can see why some folks might dislike some aspects surrounding the child actor.
 
Dany M said:
I dislike
that whenever he used his TK powers, his face would just be "angry". Its like he was given poor directions
He kinda over did it.
Click to expand...
Well, the point is that
his TK powers come to the surface only when he's angry since he doesn't have control over them. That's why Sara is so significant at the end.

On another note, someone questioned whether the ending was ambiguous. It probably wasn't.
I noticed that the ending fades to white instead of fading to black; probably intentional
 
I love the transition between JGL in China to Willis, it was very seamless and the music that played was fantastic.

I was half expecting the picture in his watch to turn to Sara, for Old Joe. Also, I was semi-thinking that Sid(cid?) would turn out to be Joe, but that would be out of left field. The most visually fantastic shot is when Sid falls and Sarah turns to Young Joe instead of Sid and the room just lifts and "rainmaker".
 
The kid was not a complete shit or a dick, I don't really even understand slinging insults like that about such young children. Seems short-sighted. Like, do you remember being a kid? At all?
He was precocious and prone to outbursts. He was also nice to Joe and Sara at times and wanted to do kind, smart things or do innocent stuff like play with toys. How in the fuck does that make a 5-year-old a douche? I'm imagining you guys seeing some kindergartener say something a little bit snarky and getting all hurt and sensitive. "Damn that kid is an asshole!" No, he's a kid.
 
big ander said:
The kid was not a complete shit or a dick, I don't really even understand slinging insults like that about such young children. Seems short-sighted. Like, do you remember being a kid? At all?
He was precocious and prone to outbursts. He was also nice to Joe and Sara at times and wanted to do kind, smart things or do innocent stuff like play with toys. How in the fuck does that make a 5-year-old a douche? I'm imagining you guys seeing some kindergartener say something a little bit snarky and getting all hurt and sensitive. "Damn that kid is an asshole!" No, he's a kid.
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he
becomes the rain man, the biggest bastard in the movie though, which already makes me biased against him.
i'll admit, he was a "decent" and smart kid, but overall creepy.

really creepy when using tk
 
Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought Jean Grey during that one scene. Does anyone have a pic of Jean Grey levitating Professor X? I've been trying to send it to someone.
 
PK Gaming said:
he
becomes the rain man, the biggest bastard in the movie though, which already makes me biased against him.
Click to expand...


Bastard? I thought it was charming when he danced with Tom Cruise!

At-Last.png
 
PK Gaming said:
he
becomes the rain man, the biggest bastard in the movie though, which already makes me biased against him.
i'll admit, he was a "decent" and smart kid, but overall creepy.

really creepy when using tk
Click to expand...

Tellingly, we see next to none of the rain man's future or any of the havoc he causes other than the mass loop closings (which seedy loopers should have expected to come eventually anyway) and the death of old joe's wife (which was the fault of an idiot henchman). we're not really given a reason to hate the rain man other than Old joe saying that he turns out to be a bad dude. The kid is innocent and vulnerable the entire time and we don't want him to become anything bad. The film 100% aligns us with young Cid and makes old Cid/Rain Maker out to be nothing but a symbol of a terrible future, the one that Young Joe prevents.

He was creepy in his use of power, but it wasn't in a way that showcased his animosity. It only showed that he was confused and scared when under pressure or in pain, like every kid. Never as a child did he seem evil.

Also, the biggest bastard in the film is joe. This is irrefutable. He kills a child.
 
One thing that I really wonder about is at the end, when
Young Joe comes to the realization of what he has to do, does Old Joe get it as well? I mean, it's established that once Young Joe experiences something, Old Joe gets a crystal clear memory of it. But at the same time, the two were at complete odds with one another for the whole story. But it seems like once Young Joe realized why the kid became the Rainmaker, that memory should have been ingrained in Old Joe's mind as well.

I don't know. That time travel stuff really does fry your brain.
 
big ander said:
The kid was not a complete shit or a dick, I don't really even understand slinging insults like that about such young children. Seems short-sighted. Like, do you remember being a kid? At all?
He was precocious and prone to outbursts. He was also nice to Joe and Sara at times and wanted to do kind, smart things or do innocent stuff like play with toys. How in the fuck does that make a 5-year-old a douche? I'm imagining you guys seeing some kindergartener say something a little bit snarky and getting all hurt and sensitive. "Damn that kid is an asshole!" No, he's a kid.
Click to expand...

I thought he was a bit of a shit because he knew he had that power and seemed to intentionally hold the threat of using it over his mother. Also, he seemed to be super intelligent and far more than just a kid.
 
big ander said:
Tellingly, we see next to none of the rain man's future or any of the havoc he causes other than the mass loop closings (which seedy loopers should have expected to come eventually anyway) and the death of old joe's wife (which was the fault of an idiot henchman). we're not really given a reason to hate the rain man other than Old joe saying that he turns out to be a bad dude. The kid is innocent and vulnerable the entire time and we don't want him to become anything bad. The film 100% aligns us with young Cid and makes old Cid/Rain Maker out to be nothing but a symbol of a terrible future, the one that Young Joe prevents.

He was creepy in his use of power, but it wasn't in a way that showcased his animosity. It only showed that he was confused and scared when under pressure or in pain, like every kid. Never as a child did he seem evil.

Also, the biggest bastard in the film is joe. This is irrefutable. He kills a child.
Click to expand...

but I thought that was more a necessary evil type thing? I tried to explain to my gf with the whole "would you go back in time to kill baby hitler?" if you did manage to go back you'd be seen as a baby killing monster but it reality you'd have (presumably) saved millions of life's they would have clue about. I just thought Old joe was more like an anti hero than anything else.
 
Lionel Mandrake said:
One thing that I really wonder about is at the end, when
Young Joe comes to the realization of what he has to do, does Old Joe get it as well? I mean, it's established that once Young Joe experiences something, Old Joe gets a crystal clear memory of it. But at the same time, the two were at complete odds with one another for the whole story. But it seems like once Young Joe realized why the kid became the Rainmaker, that memory should have been ingrained in Old Joe's mind as well.
I don't know. That time travel stuff really does fry your brain.
Click to expand...
I think
the film showed there was a little bit of an adjustment period where it takes a little bit after young joe makes a decision for them to become "memories" for old joe. a short period, but enough time that young Joe would have to take action immediately or risk sara dying.
I...think
Napoleonthechimp said:
I thought he was a bit of a shit because he knew he had that power and seemed to intentionally hold the threat of using it over his mother. Also, he seemed to be super intelligent and far more than just a kid.
Click to expand...
he really didn't hold it over her.
he held his idea that he wasn't her real child over her because that idea, combined with his unique power, made him feel out of place and alone. but he didn't threaten to hurt her or anything. he just threw tantrums when he could help it. which is what every single kid that age does, and they need to be taught self-control by a parent. which is what sara was doing (and successfully did in the field). it's part of growing up and it's something you also went through.

he was super intelligent but he wasn't more than just a kid. like I said, he was precocious. and yes, of course he was unnaturally smart and handy. because he's a super-genius who will pretty much either lead society into prosperity or further darkness. but there are a lot of children who are oddly smarter than they should be. I don't know when you last talked to a 4-year-old, but some will make abstract weird connections between things that seem to actually have a unique logic behind them. they'll comprehend what you don't expect them to and be completely confused by basic social tendencies. it's development. he was exactly just a kid.
 
Johnlenham said:
but I thought that was more a necessary evil type thing? I tried to explain to my gf with the whole "would you go back in time to kill baby hitler?" if you did manage to go back you'd be seen as a baby killing monster but it reality you'd have (presumably) saved millions of life's they would have clue about. I just thought Old joe was more like an anti hero than anything else.
Click to expand...
what solo said.
Old Joe did nothing for the good of society. we have no proof that Rainmaker even made society worse. it was already pretty shitty in 2044 and the city was controlled by a gang. all rainmaker did was unite the already in-power mobs. technically, he may not have made things any worse. even if he did, old joe only acted against rain maker because one of rain maker's henchmen accidentally killed his wife. it doesn't get more selfish than that. Especially when you consider that he's killing three children. THREE. He's not grabbing all three and attempting to figure out which one is rain maker and then murdering a child. he's going on a spree because he's too short-sighted and emotionally charged to even think about other people.
 
Easiest way to explain why Joe is the villain/asshole here: if
Joe didn't exist, neither would the Rainmaker.
Joe
created him and then tried to destroy him
because, once again, he is an asshole. Wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
 
Just got back from seeing this movie. Really, really liked it, though the schizofrenic
two-part nature of
the movie was a bit odd. Dug most of it though.

Have one thought; where the hell did they find this kid?!
 
By the way, one little touch I really liked that I haven't seen mentioned was when
Old Seth is tricked into coming right to the gat men by having "BE AT wherever" carved into his arm. Then a bit later on, Old Joe gets a carving of his own, but all we are shown is "BE AT", so it seems almost like they got Young Joe too. But instead it was Joe doing it himself, and he wasn't writing "BE AT" anywheres, but rather "BEATRIX". Then of course the Jen joke is the icing on the cake.
 
Saw this earlier today. It was a fun film, but I really couldn't stand the kid and would have preferred to see as little of his tantrums and tk as possible. While I don't have a problem with the movie ultimately revolving around the kid, I'm disappointed that so much time was spent on the kid when it wasn't telling us anything really very interesting about him.

Solo said:
Easiest way to explain why Joe is the villain/asshole here: if
Joe didn't exist, neither would the Rainmaker.
Joe
created him and then tried to destroy him
because, once again, he is an asshole. Wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
Click to expand...

I don't think the rainmaker's existence has anything to do with Joe.
He existed in the timeline in which Joe went to Shanghai, where Joe had nothing to do with him. The only instance where the rainmaker would exist because of Joe was one which ultimately did not take place
 
big ander said:
what solo said.
Old Joe did nothing for the good of society. we have no proof that Rainmaker even made society worse. it was already pretty shitty in 2044 and the city was controlled by a gang. all rainmaker did was unite the already in-power mobs. technically, he may not have made things any worse. even if he did, old joe only acted against rain maker because one of rain maker's henchmen accidentally killed his wife. it doesn't get more selfish than that. Especially when you consider that he's killing three children. THREE. He's not grabbing all three and attempting to figure out which one is rain maker and then murdering a child. he's going on a spree because he's too short-sighted and emotionally charged to even think about other people.
Click to expand...
Young Joe kills people for money. He was never a saint. The only time he really changed his ways was when he saw the destructive consequences of his selfish actions.
 
Here's my theory about Sid and Joe:
Young Joe has trouble remembering his childhood because he's just as much a possible-future incarnation as old Joe is. Young Joe just happens to be a possible future incarnation of Cid that has ended up in the past.

I think this realization caused Joe to kill himself.

Also, Sid's father is a time traveler, which is why Sara knows about Loopers.
 
Or... the conflicting approaches to time travel have left us with a shaky plot and many questions that will forever remain unanswered (probably due to aforementioned problem).

A time travel question/thought that isn't completely related to the movie:

If time travel didn't create alternate time lines/realities then I have to wonder would paradox collapse all of reality completely, or just everything up to the point that created the paradox? Maybe the universe would get stuck repeating that moment until the person made a different decision that ensured the continuation of the timeline, thus rendering a paradox impossible (because the universe wouldn't exist if it was).
 
Napoleonthechimp said:
Young Joe kills people for money. He was never a saint. The only time he really changed his ways was when he saw the destructive consequences of his selfish actions.
Click to expand...
I...never said Young Joe was a good guy. ever. In fact all of that was rooted in me saying that Joe is the biggest bastard in the movie.
Solo said:
ALL versions of Joe are unrepentant assholes. That's kinda why I don't like or buy the ending.
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I still enjoy the ending because
it's not so much a reversal of character as it is a realization that his actions could prevent someone from experiencing the pain that he experienced. It's still rooted in the founding motivations of the character.

Plus, he's factually not unrepentant. After killing a child Old Joe is struck by a moment of guilt. And Young Joe isn't fully happy about giving up Seth. They still do those things and are assholes for doing them, but they are not unrepentant.
Mondriaan said:
Here's my theory about Sid and Joe:
Young Joe has trouble remembering his childhood because he's just as much a possible-future incarnation as old Joe is. Young Joe just happens to be a possible future incarnation of Cid that has ended up in the past.

I think this realization caused Joe to kill himself.

Also, Sid's father is a time traveler, which is why Sara knows about Loopers.
Click to expand...
I mean, fun-sucking theories isn't my goal, but this is lofty stuff that nothing, absolutely nothing, in the film points to. theorizing that
cid is joe
is about as constructive as theorizing that Juror #5 in 12 Angry Men was an android, just because
 
I think the similarities between them enable Joe to sympathise with Sid and thus have an emotional connection with him when considering his possible orphaned future (something Joe obviously regrets in his own life).

There was no mechanism within the Looper movie universe to allow for Joe to have any new memories of a possible future (only old Joe could have them), so therefore what he saw was what he imagined an orphaned Sid would go through.
 
big ander said:
I still enjoy the ending because
it's not so much a reversal of character as it is a realization that his actions could prevent someone from experiencing the pain that he experienced. It's still rooted in the founding motivations of the character.

Plus, he's factually not unrepentant. After killing a child Old Joe is struck by a moment of guilt. And Young Joe isn't fully happy about giving up Seth. They still do those things and are assholes for doing them, but they are not unrepentant.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those are the reasons why it worked for me, as well.
Joe is a jerk and he's definitely self-serving (I mean, let's face it; Old Joe didn't go back for the good of the rest of the world) for the most part, but he's not immune to guilt in both incarnations, as evidence by the mental and physical anguish that Old Joe has after killing the first child, as well as Young Joe trying to drown out his sorrows over selling Seth out to Abe by dropping and screwing. Young Joe also has a very different perspective on the situation regarding Sid, one that Old Joe can't have because of his wife's death making that impossible to reconcile.
 
Salvor.Hardin said:
Saw this earlier today. It was a fun film, but I really couldn't stand the kid and would have preferred to see as little of his tantrums and tk as possible. While I don't have a problem with the movie ultimately revolving around the kid, I'm disappointed that so much time was spent on the kid when it wasn't telling us anything really very interesting about him.
Click to expand...

Why Johnson chose to turn the movie into some random episode of Walking Dead, I have no idea. Why does some shitty kid have more screen time than Jeff Daniels? Ugh. Cannot get the bad taste of this movie out of my mouth. Pretty dissappointing year for Sci-Fi films between this and Prometheus.
 
I think the darkest ending would have been
Young Joe letting Old Joe kill Sid, thereby granting them both a Rainmaker-free future. Basically following through to the extreme on Joe's self-absorbed ways.
 
Movie was good. I though the kid was good actor but I hated how they made him so smart for his age. Joe was a total dick old and young. This made the ending unbelievable for me. But the truth is I still liked the move alot and will go see it again.
 
After they mutilated Joe's friend would they have to keep him alive for 30 years before sending him back?

Just thinking about the above question makes me believe the logic regarding time travel is nonexistent in this movie.
 
Only got to see half of the movie till the power in the theater went out...ugh. Got a free ticket, but I think imma just use it for another movie and watch for bluray release
 
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