I could show you things that could make you sick

I saw Looper this week!  Read on for SPOILER-filled reaction comics:

One of the things I liked best about the film was the slow (like, embarrassingly slow) realization that I was NOT rooting for Old Joe.  Him killing that little boy was a point of no return, but I didn't realize until the final confrontation that Old Joe was not our protagonist.  We are so conditioned to side with characters who are motivated by love, it takes time to see that Old Joe is not the wiser of the Joes.  In actuality, Young Joe comes to understand the nature of love far better than Old Joe does--he chooses self-sacrifice for the greater good over preserving one individual's experience of love.  He sees beyond himself and breaks the cycle so that others can thrive.

I mean, you all saw the movie.  You know this.  But can we talk about it a bit?  That was amazing!

At Sara's first appearance, I asked, "Is this our prostitute friend (Suzie)?"  I was not the only one in the group who assumed that it was.  Diversity please.

Okay so this movie you guys.  Two days ago I would swear up and down that Safety Not Guaranteed was the best film of the year, but now...I think I'm on team Looper.  Just.  Wow.  It almost never happens that a movie is that surprising and makes sense.  That it also makes statements about ending the cycle of violence, self-sacrifice, and the subjectivity of good/evil at the end of a shoot-em-up action movie?  Incredible.

Details I absolutely loved: Old Joe's falling-in-love montage, Sara's mimed smoke on the porch, Abe's understated death off-camera cuing that he is not our main antagonist, Joe practicing French while waiting to kill someone, frog toy booty call, final shots of Sara and Sid going through daily life together.

Read my reactions to other movies:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, Magic Mike, Brave, Prometheus

These times are changing and reshaping into something I can't face

I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (in 2D, non-iMAX, and I-can't-remember-how-many-fps)!  Read on for SPOILER-filled reaction comics~

 

I started twitching in my seat after 2 hours, but the movie held my attention throughout.  I enjoyed revisiting the rich world of The Hobbit, and appreciated the time lavished on the sets and creatures.  The designs were incredible!  The diversity amongst the dwarves' designs, the shots of The Shire and Rivendell, the gobelins and orcs and trolls and stone giants...amazing!

 

Okay, I had one big issue and it was with the horrific staging during the chase scene where Radagast leads the Wargs/Orcs away from Team Gandalf.  What the hell was going on in that scene?  Back and forth and back and forth, it felt like Team Gandalf was stuck behind the same rock the whole time, even though it was suggested that they were moving.

 

*Gollum (thanks, Ann)