Review: Looper

       Time travel movies are notoriously hard to write. Sure, it's possible to just write the story so that you can go back in time to make everything right, like in Superman. However, this technique is considered cheap and is generally derided by fans and critics. The other problem with time travel stories is dealing with the issues and paradoxes backwards time travel causes. There's the issue of deciding whether what happened in the past happened and cannot be changed, or if it's possible to change the past. If the past can't be changed, then what's the point of time travel, and if it can be changed, the writers have to be careful in preventing paradoxes. Looper cleverly writes it's way out of all of these problems. It doesn't get into the details of how time travel works, and while it appears that the past can be changed, because the mechanism of time travel is unclear paradoxes don't occur. In the end, writer and director Rian Johnson breaks the rules of time travel movies whenever he wants and follows them whenever the story needs them. It makes for a very clever time travel movie that puts the story before anything else.

Review: Brick

       Rian Johnson is the talk of Hollywood right now. People are calling him the next Christopher Nolan. He recently directed the big budget blockbuster Looper, but what was Johnson's Memento, what was the movie that put him on the map. The answer, of course, is Brick, which like Looper also features Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Brick is an interesting film because at it's heart is the old noir capers of the 40s, but instead of taking place in a rainy New York City, the story is transposed to a high school in southern California. Brick is a cool movie that's fun to watch, but I'm still not quite sure that the plot makes much sense. But that's okay, because like most classic noir movies, it doesn't matter if the plot makes sense so long as the characters think it does.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Rumored to Play Batman in Upcoming Justice League Movie

He just made himself right at home in the bat cave. Sources say that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has signed on to be the new Batman in the upcoming Justice League movie. Christopher Nolan has said that The Dark Knight Rises was the last story he wants to tell about the character; he is working on Superman reboot Man of Steel, scheduled for release this summer. And though any Justice League movie is still years away, Warner Brothers appears to be rushing to solidify a deal with Gordon-Levitt quickly, leading some to speculate that Batman may make appearances in Man of Steel and other Justice League–related movies.

Via The Daily Beast

Review: Lincoln

       Daniel Day-Lewis is, in my opinion, the greatest actor of his generation. His insane level of commitment to method acting has resulted in him winning two Oscars for Best Actors out of four nominations. For those that don't know, method acting is when an actor draw upon experience in order to portray a character. Most method actors will go for a ride-along with the police for an upcoming role as a cop, while others more committed to method acting will only answer to their character's name while on set. Daniel Day-Lewis takes method acting to a whole other level. For The Boxer his boxing coach said that he could have turned professional after they finished training. For My Left Foot, Day-Lewis refused to leave his wheelchair and had to be spoon-fed by the crew. He lived off the land for six months in preparation for The Last of the Mohicans. For The Crucible, he lived in the film's replica village without electricity or running water and built his character's house using only 17^th century tools. The dude actually worked in a butcher shop to prepare for the character Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York, caught pneumonia after refusing to change out of his period clothing and spent most of his time off-camera sharpening knives, which he learned how to throw with deadly accuracy. While still in character and, from the sound of it, in costume, Daniel/Bill the Butcher also reportedly traipsed about picking fights with strangers during the filming of Gangs of New York. In Lincoln, DDL gives another astounding performance which all but assures him another nomination from the Academy.

Review: 50/50

       Will Reiser is a comedy writer who a few years ago was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on his spine. He is currently in remission and doing much better, but for a while he went through a terrible time in his life. From that dark period, comes his screenplay: 50/50 an intimate look at the effect cancer has on one's own life as well as the lives of people around you. This is also by far the funniest movie about cancer that has ever been made, much better than 2009s Funny People (which interestingly, also featured Seth Rogen). While cancer is at the forefront of this film, it also deals a lot with relationships, not just between lovers, but also between friends and family. This is a heart-warming, touching, yet funny movie dealing with a deadly serious disease.