Tag: Rian Johnson

the last jedi red throne room
Movie review, Spoiler alert

The Last Jedi takes the franchise in a challenging new direction

The two most recent entries in the Star Wars franchise weren’t exactly ground-breaking in the way that the original trilogy was, or even the prequels – say what you will, but they were hardly conventional as compared with the original three.  If both The Force Awakens and Rogue One “filled in the edges” of the Star Wars universe, the same cannot be said about The … Continue reading The Last Jedi takes the franchise in a challenging new direction

Josh HammondLeave a comment
Movie review, Spoiler alert

Looper is thrilling, even if you’re not into dystopian neo-noir time traveling hitman movies

looper

How many original (that is, non-remake, reboot, sequel, prequel, or adaptation) action films get made these days?  How many high concept action films?  God bless the studio that greenlit Rian Johnson’s dystopian neo-noir time traveling hitman flick Looper.  While it may appear to be targeting a very specific demographic, anyone who likes solid action, good writing, and great direction will be pleased.

Johnson appears to have a thing for film noir.  In his debut, Brick, he successfully grafted it onto a high school melodrama; here, it’s Kansas City in 2044.  While Brick was definitely more of a classic noir, Looper starts with a standard noir plot – someone is taking out all of the hitmen in town – and expands into something much grander.

Continue reading “Looper is thrilling, even if you’re not into dystopian neo-noir time traveling hitman movies”

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