WHAT I HAVE WATCHED THIS MONTH / ISSUE 4 / october
looper
issue #4 looper illustration james kay words, design richard walker special thanks to luke thompson wihwtm.tumblr.com youtube.com/wihwtm iamjameskay.tumblr.com
FILM l o o p e r liberal arts k i l l i n g t h e m s o f t ly
pe rks of b ein g a wallflower
looper dir - rian johnson star - joseph gordon-levitt, bruce willis
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this time travel shit just fries your brain like an egg I don’t even know where to start. This film is so good it hardly seems worth reviewing. It’s just going to be me saying that it’s amazing over and over again but I guess I should probably give it a go. If you watched any of the trailers for Looper you probably had a good idea what it was about, time travel with Bruce Willis right? That’s exactly what I was expecting but it turns out director and writer Rian Johnson was giving us the complete lead on all along because about half way through everything goes mental. When Bruce Willis comes into the picture the story gets flipped like a truck by a kid with telekinetic powers. Before Bruce come in though we are looking into the world of Joe who lives in the year 2072 and is a person who deposes of people that are sent to him from the future via a time machine these assassins are known as Loopers. The catch is that you have to eventually kill yourself in case the police figure you out, so your future self is zapped to your past self with a lot of gold strapped to them, this is your reward. However what Joseph Gordon Levitt didn’t realize is that his future self is Bruce Willis who is not going to die in a hurry which leads us on a huge chase between the two. What they don’t show you in the trailer is that Joe is suffering from a bad drug addiction so when he is forced to be on the run he has to sober up which is how Emily Blunts character, Sara, comes into the story. What director Rian Johnson has done with the cast is incredible everybody in Looper gives their best performance of the year. Even acting heavyweights like Bruce Willis and JGL put the rest of their year to shame when they take up the role of Joe. Emily Blunt is the real surprise in Looper, she is just incredible. I’m not saying she’s not usually very good but she is a completely different actor in Looper who owns the screen every
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time she is on it. Her character Sara is farmer in the middle of the countryside and lives alone with her son, Cid played by Pierce Gagnon. He is hands down one of the best child actors I have ever seen, he is relatively unknown having only been in two films prior to Looper: The Crazies and The Way Home. When it comes to the supporting cast again Rian Johnson does not disappoint building a collection of actors most people would be proud to have as main characters. Paul Dano and Noah Segan make up the crew of the Gat Men, a hit squad lead by Abe, played by Jeff Daniels. From this point on I’m going to talk about some spoilers so don’t read on if you’ve not seen the film yet. Let’s be honest there’s only one thing you thought as you walked out of the cinema and that was ‘oh my days that kid just blew up someone with his mind then Bruce Willis shot him in the face! shit’. As twists go I think this was one of the best ones I’ve seen in a long while. What was the most impressive thing about it as well was how well they managed to keep it a secret so you just didn’t see it coming. When Bruce Willis comes into it and starts the whole Rainmaker storyline it adds a completely new layer to the film that stops it from being a boring Taken style chase film. I think it also added a lot of darkness to the
9*
So you’re telling me there is time travel AND Bruce Willis? I’m in.
Advice: This film is so good you just need to see it.
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film especially when Old Joe starts to kill off the children he thinks could be the Rainmaker. It’s a bold move from Johnson to put child assassinations into the film but it pays off in buckets as it really makes the story intense and constantly interesting. I know some people will criticize Looper for the child hunting and deaths but at the end of the day it’s a film. Get over it. All in all I think Looper is in the top five films of the year it shows up all the other recent futuristic action films like Total Recall and even Prometheus. Superbly acted, beautifully directed and masterly soundtrack-ed you really can’t go wrong with it. If I was Rian Johnson right now I’d be smiling.
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k i l l i n g t h e m s o f t ly dir - andrew dominik, star - brad pitt, ray liotta, james gandolfini
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America’s not a country. It’s a business. Killing Them Softly has had a very understated release, especially when you consider who is in it and who directed and wrote it. His first film since The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford directer/writer Andrew Dominik had a lot to live up and wow he does not disappoint. He beautifully lays out a story of greed, depression and death in front you in such a realistic manner that you could think it was a documentary. His supreme script is helped by an equally incredible cast including Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins and Ben Mendelsohn. Short of having De Niro in there I don’t think Dominik could’ve selected a better cast. Killing Them Softly has always looked it would appeal to one type of audience the cult classic loving Winding Refn worshipers who’s Blu-ray collections consist entirely of Tarantino, Scorcese, Repo Man and Drive. I say that because that’s basically me and I have loved everything I’ve heard and seen about Killing Them Softly. The film fits so perfectly into this category, it’s looks incredible, has an amazing soundtrack and a cast full of classic actors. I was very interested to see how Brad Pitt would fit into a film like this and how he would handle his first proper seedy gangster role. After some of his recent films like Moneyball and Tree of Life I had very high hopes for him and he just comes in and completely owns it. He definitely makes it into the badass cult film actors club with Ryan Gosling for Drive and Tom Hardy for Warrior.
The story starts with small time gangster the Squirrel plotting to turn over a card game that is happening in his town. He reckons it is an in and out job and has already found someone to use as a scapegoat. This scapegoat is Markie played by Ray Liotta, Goodfellas, who runs the game and was stupid enough to knock over his own game 10 years previous. Naturally no one trusts Markie and he is the first one who gets ‘questioned’ by the investigators the other gangster hire. This makes for gut wrenching assault scene similar in brutality to the head bashing scene in Drive. Dominik has used extreme violence very cleverly in this film, he could have very easily used it all the time and the film would still be good but by keeping it to a couple of key scenes he makes the film very shocking and consistently interesting. Technically this is one of the best films I’ve seen all year. Camera and lighting are flawless and some of the shots leave you drooling in particular the sequence involving the final murder is so well put together it deserves an award. The rest of the film has a very dark feel style to it similar to Harry Brown but even better. He introducing some incredible drug trip sequences and manages to avoid the classic drug trip filming cliches. I can guarantee when you finish watching Killing Them Softly you will want to re-watch it straight away. It’s so well made, produced and acted I don’t really know what else to tell you!
9*
Instant cult classic, Brad Pitt is really showing what he’s capable of. Advice: See it in the cinema and pre order the blu-ray!
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liberal arts dir - josh radnor, star - josh radnor, elizabeth olsen
i think it’d be better if we hugged. You know when you watch a film and you just feel good afterwards like Juno or Beginners well that’s pretty much what you will get when you see Liberal Arts. Feel good guy Josh Radnor writes and directs this one and if I’m honest he does a damn good job. I was worried that the whole thing would be a bit like hello Elizabeth Olsen why your mighty nice we should date or maybe not because I’m too old but actually you read books so sod it we should get married, the end. However that doesn’t happen! Him and Olsen do hit it off romantically but it’s not cringe worthy at any point. Liberal Arts is interesting because it uses books heavily within the film so a lot of the references would be lost if your not a big reader and when I read about the film I thought it could be very pretentious because of this but it manages to incorporate them in a way that will satisfy the literary fans but not alienate the film lovers. All in all Liberal Arts is worth your time and effort, solid cast, good direction, decent enough storyline and it’s just a nice 97 minutes to be honest. 10
6*
If you don’t like books you won’t like this film. Advice: A good date night film.
perks of being a wallflower dir - stephen chbosky, star - emma watson, logan lerman, ezra miller
I guess i’m pretty emotional So this is Emma Watsons’ first film since the dreaded Harry Potter series and it was her time to shine yes? No, sorry Emma but Logan Lerman has decided he is going to be utterly amazing so yeah... Based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows Charlie a softmore at high school who has crippling mental health problems but is liberated from them when he meets a gang of new friends. This is a very interesting and different approach to the American high school film and actually faces serious issues like pedophilia and depression head on as well as the usual white girl problems. The film starts well and keeps you interested the whole way through but it has to be said the last 35 minutes is better than the rest of the film put together. After floating along at a safe pace suddenly Charlie is thrust into challenging situations that cause his mental health problems to overwhelm him. Charlie is played by Logan Lerman who just nails the performance and shows up the rest of the cast. I hope to see more of him. Soon.
7*
A different U.S teenage story. Not to everyones taste. Advice: Rent it and go see Looper.
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pitch perfect Dir Jason Moore Star Anna Kendrick Elizabeth Banks Rebel Wilson Release 19 Oct.
IMDB says: Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school’s all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition. I say: This looks like a watchable version of Glee made into a film with the incredible Anna Kendrick at the helm also it is has the seize the day guy from Community in it and he always good for a laugh or too.
excitement 7/10
rust & bone Dir Jacques Audiard Star Marion Cotillard Matthias Schoenaerts Release 2 Nov.
IMDB says: Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali’s bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident. I say: It looks a bit like if Steve McQueen made films with slightly lighter topics, in French, with the woman from The Dark Knight Rises. In seriousness it looks incredible. Watch the trailer and you’ll want to see it.
excitement 9/10 12
end of watch Dir David Ayer Star Jake Gyllenhaal Michael Pena Anna Kendrick Release 23 Nov.
IMDB says: Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel, during a routine traffic stop. I say: I’m excited for this because it seems to have tapped into what Rampart started, showing a much more emotional and personal side to the U.S Police Force. Both Gyllenhaal and Pena are tremendously under-rated actors and having Anna Kendrick in there as well is the icing on the cake.
excitement 7/10
the man with the iron fists Dir RZA Star Russell Crowe Lucy Liu Release 16 Nov.
IMDB says: In feudal China, a blacksmith who makes weapons for a village is put in the position where he must defend himself and his fellow villagers. I say: Backed by Tarantino you know there’s going to be blood everywhere. It looks like a hyper reality version of Kill Bill where people are made of gold and prostitutes kill people by turning their tongues into snakes?
excitement 5/10 13
t.v
l oui e boardwalk
empire
O'Banion: I thought Torrio had you on a leash?
al: Well he left town and I chewed through it.
you can’t be half a gangster I think Boardwalk Empire is entirely to blame for my un-tanned skin, slipping grades and lack of female companion. Steve Buscemi you are the reason I’m a loser sat at a mac at two in the morning writing about why I love a program about bootlegging 1920’s gangsters. The thing with Boardwalk Empire is that it is so well made it’s impossible not to get sucked in, with a show like Spartacus for instance yes you get sucked in but the slightly cheesy effects aren’t for everyone. Whilst with Boardwalk Empire there are no faults with it meaning anyone who doesn’t like it is soulless and has questionable morals. So needless to say I was very exciting for season three to come out after we got left with an insane cliff 16
hanger at the end of season two. I was excited but also a little bit nervous because what if season three isn’t as good? what if it’s peaked? Let me answer that question straight away. It’s not. I want to travel back in time Looper style and slap myself around the face for ever thinking it. You start back a few months after last seasons finale and Nucky is back on top now that James Darmody has been taken out, he is in business with the usual crowd Rothstein, Horvitz and White. Other characters haven’t faired so well namely Agent Nelson Van Alden who flee’d after murder allegations last season, you find him with the nanny in a new town with a new name selling irons for jerk of a
boss. Al Capone is once again stuck under the whip of Johnny Torrio but I can tell Al is going to do big things this season. We are only four episodes in so it’s hard to tell but so far he has shown a level of anger and brutality that out-ways everything we’ve seen prior. Come episode two Eli gets released from jail to find Doyle waiting him and doesn’t take well having to work under him, it has to be said though Shea Whigham has been the stand out actor so far this season. Everyones favorite Richard Harrow is back again as a glorified baby sitter for Jimmy’s kid but faces cruel bitch Gillian Darmody on a daily basis now. My favorite Chalkie White is back in fine form when Samuel (Maybelle’s boyfriend) asks him
for his blessing to marry her to which Chalkie reacts completely the opposite of what you would expect. He also later that episodes goes full on badass and beats up some guys in a bar. Finally, a new character is introduced, Gyp Rosetti, the new gangster trying to destroy Nucky and Rothstein and take the big A.C. Don’t under estimate this guy I think he’s going to cause big big problems for everyone. So if you’ve not seen any of season three yet stop watching Glee and turn Boardwalk on. This season is shaping up to be something very special and you’d be an idiot to miss it.
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“I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping as we all should. I dunno. You don’t live that long. It doesn’t matter. I mean, life isn’t that long. Eighty some odd years. Buy some shit. Use it. It breaks. Try to fuck somebody. Hope your shits don’t hurt too bad. I’m 44 now - you start doing that math. And it’s happy math now. Like, when you’re in your 20s, you’re like, ‘how long will my life seem? I hope it’s a nice long story and I hope like I feel I didn’t die too soon. You get to your forties and you’re like, ‘I’m almost there, man. Alright! Yeah!” - Louie This season of Louie has been unlike any show I have ever watched, from start to finish it didn’t dip in quality, originality or humor. Louis C.K has created a very rare program with Louie because not only is it hysterically funny it is so well written a lot of the episodes could pass for high quality literary short stories but this isn’t enough for Louis because he then combines it with directing that puts a lot of big budget films to shame. The previous seasons of Louie have been fantastic don’t get me wrong but there is something special about the third season. The story now takes much darker and more emotional turns that really expose the vulnerabilities in the character of Louie and especially towards the end of the season show how he longs to change. The real highlight in this season were the three part Tonight Show episodes, where Louie is led on to thinking he might be in line to take over from David Letterman on The Tonight Show after rumors start that he is leaving. These three episodes show the process from Louie 14 18
louie
finding out he could be a contender for the job, through the strain of him training physically, mentally and practically in the field of hosting only at the last minute to find out he was being used as a bargaining tool to get Letterman’s fee down. The genius with these episodes was how the character of Louie was going through some deep stuff with the job and his family but the show was still very funny. It’s the only show where a balance like that can work. Guest stars have been all over season three, I guess as the show gets more and more popular people want to be in it but its been full of famous people. Here’s the list: Chris Rock, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Melissa Leo, Robin Williams, F Murray Abraham, Dane Cook, Joan Rivers and the incredible David Lynch. Louis C.K has built a fantastic platform with Louie where big stars don’t mind coming on the show to play a complete jerk. Jerry Seinfeld for example is horrible to Louie and tries to jepodise his chances for the Letterman job. With any other show I can’t see high profile people would be up for playing hate able characters let alone cameo on a show and be a complete jerk but all that does is show how good Louie is. Upon writing this Louis C.K is fresh from the Emmy’s with two awards for season two, I think this time next year we will be seeing him with a wheelbarrow trying to get his Emmy’s down the red carpet. It was announced that Louie will be renewed for a fourth season comprising of 13 episodes. If it’s anything like season three look out because it’s going to be incredible. 15 19
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1. Family Guy, Road to Germany, S8 E7
2. The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror V, S6 E6
3. I.A.S.I.P, The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell, S4 E11
4. Blackadder, Back & Forth
5. Community, Remedial Choas Theory, S3 E4
6. Doctor Who, Daleks in Manhatten, S3 E4
7. Deja Vu, 2006
8. Hot Tub Time Machine, 2010
rewatch
To get you ready for Looper in this months Rewatch we’ve collected films and tv episode all about time travel. Enjoy. 9. Midnight in Paris, 2011
1. Family Guy, Brian and Stewie end up back in Nazi Germany and have to save Mort from being killed. Tasteful: no. Funny: eh. 5* 2. The Simpsons, Homer is in The Shining then goes back in time and accidentally makes Flanders king of the world. 7* 3. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dennis, Charlie and Mac try and get Paddy’s made a landmark by making up an incredible story. This episode also features one of the best I.A.S.I.P lines, talking about Dee a Nobleman says ‘I pray you, who is that fiery wench?’ 9* 10. The Terminator, 1984
4. Blackadder, Blackadder travels back and forth through time getting into weirder and weirder situations. It’s creepy he has a beard. 6* 5. Community, Not strictly time travel but different time lines. Say hello to Evil Abed. 8* 6. Doctor Who, I know Doctor Who is awful but it’s about time travel. This episode is o.k because Andrew Garfield guest stars. 2* 7. Deja Vu, Denzel Washington is once again a badass for a couple of hours. 6* 8. Hot Tub Time Machine, an alright comedy with Darryl from The Office in it. 4*
11. Primer, 2004
9. Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen’s dive into the world of time travel sees Owen Wilson annoy people from other centuries. 7* 10. The Terminator, despite Arnie’s recent admitting of cheating he’s still amazing in this film 7* 11. Primer, what just happened? 8* 12. Groundhog Day, Bill Murray has to do the same day over and over again and starts to go crazy. It’s no Ghostbusters but it’s still pretty good. 5* 12. Groundhog Day, 1993
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back to the future, 1985 dir - robert zemeckis, star - michael j. fox
PROF. BROWN: A time machine. Marty has to sit down to take this one in. PROF. BROWN: I always knew it would work. I knew it would work when I built it 33 years ago. But I was never able to harness enough power to test it. Power is the key. Massive amounts of energy to accelerate matter to the speed of light while creating an intense gravitational field. But generating that kind of energy has never been possible...until this afternoon. MARTY: Because of that Coke. PROF. BROWN: Precisely. Brown takes on the characteristics of a tour guide as he explains the machine. PROF. BROWN: The Power Converter, now operating at peak efficiency, thanks to the chemical makeup of Coca-Cola, channels energy into the Flux Capacitor, which releases several jigowatts in a fraction of a millisecond. Electron acceleration takes place here...and the result is the temporal displacement beam you saw a few moments ago. The entire process is triggered when I release the rope. MARTY: I thought that Power Converter thing operated on solar energy. There’s no sun. PROF. BROWN: Solar energy would have worked just fine...if I could have placed the Converter about a mile from the surface of the sun. Instead, I’ve created similar conditions in this reactor here. The higher I raise the cadmium rods, the more energy I release from the Plutonium core, and the further through time I can send an object. MARTY: The Plutonium! That’s what I came over here for! Professor, where did you get that stuff? PROF. BROWN: Why? MARTY: I just got stopped in the street by Federal Agents checking me for radiation! I figure they’re after your plutonium! Professor Brown glances at a digital clock in the lab. It’s 9:01:50.
7*
Come on. It’s Back to the flippin Future what more can I say.
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h.w.t.m
what i have watched this month ISSUE #4 kill the rainmaker
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sept. 14th new issue featuring
breaking bad