Looper (2012)

4/5

Rian Johnson's Looper is a smart, slick film. It takes place in a future where time travel and telekinesis co-exist, where the disparity between the rich and the poor is offensively stratospheric, and where "loopers" kill people from the future and incinerate their bodies. Much like Children of Men, Looper gives us a believable, richly-textured, and incredibly-detailed world while simultaneously advancing an expertly-paced thriller plot. Both the setting and the story are complex and tapestried, both surprise you time and again, and both keep your neurons firing non-stop. The plot is intelligent and fresh, interesting but not too cerebral. It is a marvel of imagination and storytelling. But for me it's missing something.

Except for the Drive-level ultra-violence and over-the-top blood, it's a movie that checks all the right boxes, and yet somehow it doesn't excite me as much as it should. The acting is on-point, the script is well-written, the cinematography is beautiful, the editing is tight, and the directing is pristine. Every individual element is impressive on its own, but they don't cohere into something that truly thrills me. No matter how much I enjoyed the film on an intellectual level, I simply couldn't engage with it on an emotional one. I can't wait to rewatch this movie in case I find myself in the latter camp, but I'm doubtful I'd make the crossover. I can see this movie being very special for many people; as of now it's just not for me.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/

Rent (2005)

4/5

For those who don't know, Rent is about a group of friends in their late 20's as they fall in and out of love over the course of a year while dealing with a multitude of life's problems, including evictions, suicides, and AIDS. For those who haven't seen the play, watching the movie first isn't the way you should be introduced to this wonderful musical, despite what certain people may say. The director made a number of relatively minor changes that add up to a surprisingly different experience. To keep the runtime manageable, they cut out some really cool songs. They merged events, changed scenes, and took a lot of the realism and uniqueness out of the original theatrical production. After each song, there was an awkward, lingering pause, as if nobody knew what to do next. Rosario Dawson's singing sounded flat and dull, a striking contrast to the richness of the other actors' voices. And the final shot still makes me gag (at least they have the alternate ending as a special feature on the DVD).

Perhaps the reason I dislike the small, minor changes the director made so much is because I feel so connected to the play. I didn't like it at first, but I started to love it the more I thought about it. And what made it so endearing to me were all the little things. At the same time, there were a number of changes in the movie that I really did like (Maureen's performance, for example, completely changed my view of her character). The dream sequence in Tango Maureen brought back some of the creativity in the stage version (although I do wish they didn't reveal who Maureen was that early in the play). The story is fantastic. Give it a chance. By watching the play. And if you can't afford seeing the musical on stage as much as you want to, then watch this movie.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/