Looper

There are three directors I've taken a liking to that have made names for themselves in the last ten years. One is Ben Affleck, who is has definitely proven himself to be a better director than actor. The other is Steve McQueen, who is practically re-inventing cinema. (To answer your question, yes, I look forward to seeing Argo and Twelve Years a Slave.)

The third director is Rian Johnson. His debut Brick is one of the best noirs of the past fifteen years. His sophomore film The Brothers Bloom was a nice tribute to the crime capers of the 1960s. Both films also have very clever scripts written by Johnson, which is always a good sign for a promising director.

Johnson's newest film Looper is a sort of re-invention of the time travel film. (Johnson also has a strong penchant for blood throughout, but not in the same sense as Tarantino and Refn perhaps.) He also shows that you don't need to be a complete genius to understand a sci-fi film.

The main stars are pretty good. Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to prove that he's a viable actor. Bruce Willis continues to prove he's not the kind of guy you want to fight. (He's John McClane, people. Don't mess.) Emily Blunt is good, even though the chemistry between her and Gordon-Levitt is lacking. (There's also some amusing supporting work from Jeff Daniels and Paul Dano.)

Looper is very good, but it has its flaws. It stumbles towards the end of the second act. A few parts you can see coming a mile away. (Definitely not including that ending.) That said, however, it's one of the best sci-fi films of the last decade. This deserves to be seen on the big screen.

My Rating: ****1/2

The Brothers Bloom

Rian Johnson was introduced to the film industry in the form of the neo-noir Brick. Later this year, his third film Looper will be released. But what did Johnson do between these two films starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt? The comedy crime caper The Brothers Bloom.

Starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Rinko Kikuchi, the film is a throwback to heist films of the 60s and 70s. (Johnson cited The Sting as an inspiration, and Paper Moon as an influence.) Though its style is more reminiscent of Wes Anderson's work than that of Brick.

The fact that Johnson got three Oscar winners (Brody, Weisz, Maximilian Schell), an Oscar nominee (Kikuchi) and a future Oscar nominee (Ruffalo) in his cast is interesting. Bear in mind Brick had a number of unknowns in its cast, so getting a roster of actors like that is impressive, especially for a sophomore effort. (Then again, the scope of names Steve McQueen got for his third film Twelve Years a Slave is fucking amazing.)

Just a small observation. It's amusing that the four leads look like they just came from a magazine photoshoot. If I had to say which ones, it would probably be GQ for Brody and Ruffalo, maybe Harper's Bazaar for Weisz, and maybe an alternative fashion magazine for Kikuchi. (I'm not very good at naming fashion magazines.)


The Brothers Bloom is very clever, a rarity among films nowadays. The actors play their parts fantastically. This is one of those films that gets more and more fun with each viewing...at least that's what I'm told.


My Rating: ****1/2 

Brick

After seeing Inception, I got interested in other movies with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Since seeing it, I saw 10 Things I Hate About You and (500) Days of Summer, now Rian Johnson's directorial debut Brick.

After finding his ex-girlfriend dead, Brendan Frye (Gordon-Levitt) begins an investigation into her murder. He gets involved in an underground drug ring that may tie in the murder.

Recently I've taken an interest in film noirs, so it's no surprise that I really liked Brick. Gordon-Levitt gives probably the performance of his career (though my personal favorite of his is (500) Days of Summer). The mood throughout mirrors that of film noirs of the past. But I felt a little underwhelmed by it. But still, I liked Brick very much.

My Rating: ****1/2