Rian Johnson’s time-travel action thriller ‘Looper’ hit theaters Friday, September 28, 2012 and competed with the family friendly ‘Hotel Transylvania.’ Initial reports show it holding up relatively well with a modest $21 million premiere and the reviews have been relatively positive. ‘Looper’ showcases stellar acting from its main protagonists, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, but falls short on some of the story elements and character development.

Spoilers ahead!

‘Looper’ takes place in the not-too-distant future where we follow the life of Joseph “Joe” Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who is the titular Looper, or someone who is paid by a future mob boss to murder people that the boss sends back in time. The Loopers are paid handsomely for their work until they are no longer of use. When this happens, the Looper’s future self is sent back and he is required to kill him.

Shortly after meeting our protagonist, Joe’s future self, played by Bruce Willis, is sent back, but the encounter does not go as planned. Future Joe is not tied up so he knocks the young Joe out and escapes. He leaves a note telling Young Joe to run, but Young Joe ignores it and returns home only to find his boss’ henchmen looking for him. The two Joes later meet up and discuss what the problem is. Future Joe lived a full life and eventually got married to a lovely woman in Shanghai, but when the Looper henchmen showed up to collect him, they killed his wife.

Future Joe found out who ordered all the loops to be closed and it turned out to be a mysterious man called the Rainmaker. He found out there are three children who potentially grow up to be the Rainmaker so he wants to kill them to prevent the future death of his wife. However, Young Joe doesn’t care about finding the woman who changed Future Joe’s life and pursues him through a cornfield.

Young Joe finds the scrap of paper with coordinates on it that Future Joe had been carrying and finds a farm with a young mother, Sara (Emily Blunt), and her son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon). He tells her he thinks his future self is going to come after them so he will stake out the farm until he shows up. She reluctantly agrees as long as Young Joe stays away from her troubled son. From there, the chaotic events tear the mother and son’s world asunder and force Joe to make harrowing decisions about his future.

‘Looper’ has great cinematography, good dramatic moments, and phenomenal acting by the main leads. Levitt’s body of work is already impressive with films like ‘Inception’ (2010) and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012), but this movie proves that he can handle the limelight as the main character. He imitates Bruce Willis’ grim smiles and verbal tics magnificently while still providing his own voice as the Young Joe. Willis is an action flick veteran and puts his best foot forward as the psychologically and morally tortured soul known as Future Joe. His pain is palpable and presents a load of questions for the audience to ponder over the course of the film.

However, ‘Looper’ has a few issues. First, the time travel concept always creates confusing continuity questions that are not always addressed. For instance, there is a bit where Young Joe does kill Future Joe right as he appears and then they later show the version where he does not kill Future Joe. Thus, which of these events actually happened? It is by far one of the strangest parts of the film.

Second, the morality theme the movie plays with is long, exhausting, and may be grating to some viewers. Neither version of Joe is a good person. He is violent, he is addicted to drugs, he is unbelievably selfish and shortsighted, and he is generally not a nice man. However, the film seems to imply that Young Joe is the one the audience should be rooting for because he protects Cid and Sara, but at the same time, Future Joe only wants to protect his future wife. Both of them do unspeakably horrible things so it is hard to relate to either one or want them to succeed.

Third, one of the minor characters, Kid Blue (Noah Segan) is a thoroughly useless character who has no arc and serves very little purpose, but he uses up such a large part of the screen time that his ultimate fate is disappointing. It seemed unnecessary to include him when his story does not enhance anything else in the movie.

‘Looper’ takes some risks and loses a few times, but overall, it is worth a watch.

GRADE: 3/5

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It is past the halfway point of the 2012 Florida Film Festival, and we’re in to the home stretch. After a huge variety of film types from independent to foreign Oscar nominated films, we arrived at a tiny indie film. ‘Dead Dad’ is considered a micro-budget film, well below the one million dollar mark. The film’s small budget was at times noticeable, but it may have also helped the very character driven story.

The relationship between the two brothers and one sister drove the movie to both funny and emotional places. The film was written by Ken J Adachi and Kyle Arrington, who both also directed and starred in the film respectively. They, among others, were in attendance, and hosted a Q&A after the screening. They were very gracious, and took the time to explain what it was like making a movie on such a limited budget.

The next screening I attended was for a Norwegian movie not yet released in the US: ‘Headhunters.’ ‘Headhunters’ is an action-thriller about an art heist gone wrong that leads to a brutal cat and mouse chase with twists and turns throughout. The movie was gripping and intense, and felt like a high quality thriller that could have come out of Hollywood. This movie stole the show for me, and should be on everyone’s radar when it arrives stateside.

Before I went to my next showing, I was at the bar at the Enzian Theater, where I experienced a great surprise. The legendary Cloris Leachman emerged from the theater, where they just screened ‘The Last Picture Show’, and began tending bar. She poured shots for the crowd that gathered, and I was lucky enough to get one.

After that affair, I attended the midnight feature ‘John Dies At The End’. This movie is nothing but b-movie horror comedy. It’s full of goofy monsters and deadpan one-liners, and it may have been one of the strangest movies I’ve ever seen. The director, Don Coscarelli, was there for a Q&A afterwards. Coscarelli has a cult following with his previous movies like the Phantasm series, and many of the questions were about his older films and his cult style.

The next film I saw was a low budget British drama-comedy, ‘Up There’. It was about being in purgatory and proving your worth to get into heaven, while also dealing with your own demise. The concept of purgatory here was very good, and all of the inherent drama was broken down with some dry British humor.

To close out the festival, I attended the very last screening: the upcoming summer release ,’Your Sister’s Sister’. This movie stars, almost exclusively, Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, and Rosemarie DeWitt. The movie is the three of them hanging out in a cabin, and all of the romantic complications that ensue.

That being said, it is not like any stereotypical romantic comedy you have seen. The movie is very charming, and the characters work very well together. There is a good amount of humor to keep it light throughout, and the story is very unique and clever. The story and the humor will no doubt keep your attention till the end.

After all that, the festival is over. It felt like forever, and no time at all. Ten days since the start, the Florida Film Festival 2012, comes to a successful end.

Image Courtesy of     Florida Film Festival – Official

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For the first time, hungry celebrities attending the 2012 Sundance Film Festival had the chance to nosh on offerings from Udi’s Gluten Free Foods. Throughout the event, festival attendees were greeted with Udi’s goodies, including bread, bagels, granola and more with zero gluten and the 100 percent high-quality taste Hollywood’s elite expect.

Many of the television, music and movie stars who stopped by the booth were already familiar with Udi’s products and most importantly, the reality of living gluten free. At the red carpet for the Creative Coalition’s Annual Spotlight Initiative Awards Gala Dinner, honoree Annalynne McCord revealed that she recently discovered her own gluten intolerance and the need to make dietary adjustments.

The actress was thrilled to learn that the entire dinner was being sponsored by Udi’s Gluten Free Foods and prepared using gluten free ingredients, including Udi’s Gluten Free Pizza Crusts and White Bread. As with other healthy eating movements, celebrities are known for being early adopters and trend-setters.

“Based on our experience at Sundance, it’s safe to say that the entertainment industry is ahead of the curve in terms of awareness of gluten free foods and the medical and non-medical reasons for eating gluten free,” said Denise Sirovatka, vice president of marketing.  “We feel fortunate to have met so many vocal, Hollywood influencers, and Udi’s is committed to helping them and their fans live a happy, gluten free lifestyle.”

During the festival, famous faces, including Elizabeth Olsen, Emily Blunt, James Marsden, William H. Macy, Ice T, Lil Jon and many more, sank their teeth into Udi’s delicious gluten free offerings. Eager to share their love for the brand, one actress even requested that Udi’s send products to the set of her hit TV show.

The decision to participate in the flurry of activity in Park City during the annual Sundance Film Festival was an easy one for Udi’s leadership once the festival theme, “Look Again,” was announced. Whether consumers have never gone gluten free before, or they haven’t yet found the fun in living gluten free, Udi’s is on a perpetual mission to encourage consumers to “look again” at how great life without gluten can be.

Going gluten free — whether mandated by a medical condition or by choice — has become a major trend among consumers and in the food industry. Shoppers are buying more gluten free products — like Udi’s foods available at grocery stores across the country — and restaurants are adding more gluten free options to menus.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/sundance

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Who’s doesn’t love garden gnomes? Ever since the Travelocity started doing commercials with the garden gnomes I can’t deny that I’m a fan. Of course the story of Romeo and Juliet has been told so many different ways, why not do it another way? The concept of Gnomeo and Juliet is the same Shakespeare tale only told in a garden-world.  The rivalry stems from the color of the gnome’s hats, blue and red. Blues and reds can not be together, why one might ask? Well, just like In Shakespeare that is something unexplained.  All of the gnomes complete to have the greatest garden display and it becomes a true battle between the blues and the reds. When in reality, this is all happening under the home-owners nose.

James McAvoy and Emily Blunt voice to the two star crossed lovers who have to face major obstacles in order to make their new found love work. McAvoy voices Gnomeo who is the ultimate heart-throb of the blue side. He’s cute, charming and knows how to race a lawnmower, what more could a gnome gal want?  Blunt voices the rebellious Juliet who is a red, she’s beautiful, brave and loving. It’s a match made in Gnome heaven.  Extra’s Ashley Jensen voices Juliet’s confidant frog friend Nanette who also has to keep their love a secret.

Sir Michael Cane voices Juliet’s father while Dame Maggie Smith voices Gnomeo’s mother. Also Patrick Stewart, Jason Statham, Julie Walters and Ozzy Osbourne also do voices for the family film.  That’s what makes this film so charming is that there are all these gnomes and garden creatures with these British accents. I can just imagine kids running out of the movie theater talking like Brit for weeks. So, a warning to all parents when you take your kids to see this movie and it may cause them to speak in a British accent.

While the film was telling a very cute tale, it also had a lovely musical accompaniment, Elton John. Throughout the film they intertwined some of his greatest hits. Which was lovely, but honestly a bit misleading. Usually, when a film is featuring music from an artist, particularly such a legendary one like Elton John, one would expect some new music. In this film that was unfortunately not the case.  Don’t me wrong the classic songs of Elton John like “Your song”, “Benny and the Jets” and “Crocodile Rock”, I cherish but I’ve heard them so many times before. It would have just been nice to hear some new music form such an amazing artist.

It would have added something extra as well because this is a story that has been told so many times it at least would have had something new. The songs while used well and in the right places in the film, made me feel like I was watching a jukebox musical. Love John’s music but if I want it listen to it, I’ll just get out my ipod. I know this was a new vision that they decided to take with this film but if it was such a new vision they should have used NEW music.

Overall, it’s a very lovely family film but more so for the kids. It will teach them not only the story of Romeo and Juliet but also that when it’s true love it doesn’t matter what color hat they are wearing.

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