Halloween Anecdotes or Why it is wrong for today's youth to attempt to streamline the candy acquisition process.

Tonight being that spookiest night of the year, when all the little ghouls and goblins are out chasing their dreams of massive amounts of candy, I thought I would share some observations that I made while I was handing out candy tonight.

First off, Trick or Treating in the city is way different from what it was like for me in a small rural village.  Namely, when I was a kid, everyone knew each other, so once you had recieved your candy, the game was always to see if the people could guess who you were. Really this was just an excuse to shoot the breeze with the neighbours, and your friends parents, while they tried to figure out which one of your cousins was dressed in the gorilla suit this time.  Sure this was a dumb game, and usually having one kid with you who didnt have a mask on was enough of a clue for the people in question to figure out who everyone in your party was. A mild case of guilty by association.  Still, it was fun - and because everyone did it, everyone played along.  Now, likely because I have moved to a different larger small town, and don't really know anyone outside my immediate neighbours, no one cares. Kids knock, say trick or treat, get their candy and leave. Gone is that sense of community. Secondly, I remember Halloween being a pretty big deal, I mean come on! Costumes, AND candy! What's not to love? I saw evidence tonight that today's youth are bored with the whole premise of having to work for their candy. Point in case. One young lady (12-14 years old, so still young enough to have every right to be out, but old enough to know the rules...) dressed in a pink princess outfit knocked on my door, then just stood there with her loot bag open waiting for me to give her candy. She failed to deliver on her part of the bargain as the treater. As the treatee, when I open the door, I expect to hear the magic words "trick or treat". This informs me, that I had better give the treater candy or else I run the risk of being subject to some heinous adolescent trick. These words form a formal verbal agreement between treater and treatee. I give you candy, you don't tp my lawn. Those are the rules. It is just what is done. Instead she just gazed at me with her bored, glazed over, just-give-me-the-candy-already eyes until I reluctantly deposited some smarties into her loot bag. I felt cheapened. And when she then said thank-you, I was a little taken a back, as this proved that she was not too shy to speak to a stranger, just that she was looking to streamline the whole candy acquisition process. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and the last experience I want to share, proves that I am not a kooky candy nazi with unrealistic expectations on the youth of today. Late in the evening I opened my front door to find a very young (18 months) little guy dressed as a lion. His dad was standing at the door as well, prompting him to say trick or treat. But all the little lion would say was "roar" in an adorable, tiny little voice. So darn cute! I had no issues giving him a double helping of candy, especially since I know that his dad was likely going to get a cut of the action. It's what we do after all.

That's My Boy - Adam Sandler takes the absurd, and finds the funny.

Okay, I want to get one thing out in the open right away.  I am an Adam Sandler fan, and have been for a long time. I am not ashamed to admit this.  I honestly think he is a very talented, very funny guy who has been able to carve out a pretty decent career catering to a very specific audience.  I have enjoyed Sandler since his early days on Saturday Night Live, and think his early films, Billy Madison, and Happy Gilmore, are pieces of comic gold. Granted, they are aimed at a very specific target audience, but for what they are, they are FUNNY!  He has perfected his loveable, kooky staple roles in films like 50 First Dates, Big Daddy, and Grown Ups. He has also flexed some very interesting acting chops in films like Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish, and Funny People.  However, this does not mean that I appreciate all of his work.  On the contrary, I think he has been involved in quite a few movies that have been just awful.  Jack and Jill and Little Nicky for example.  Wowzers, those were both unbelievably bad!
So I went into That's My Boy, expecting to be amused, but knowing to have realistic expectations.  I have to admit that my expectations were blown away in the first 10 minutes of the film.  Its not that the movie breaks any new ground, or showcases Sandler's talent in a new way.   Rather this film takes Sandler's personal brand of left field comedy so far beyond anything that he has produced to date, that you can't help but sit and laugh at the absurdity of the scenarios you are presented with on the big screen. 
The plot is pretty out there: Middle Schooler Donny Berger has a consensual affair with his hot older teacher which is eventually discovered and also results in an unexpected pregnancy.  Berger gains world wide fame and notoriety for his conquest while the teacher is sentenced to 30 years in prison for her actions.  The child of the union is raised by Donny's father until Donny turns 18, at which point he gains full custody.  Flash forward 27 years.  An older, no longer publicially revered Berger (Sandler), is destitute and in trouble with the IRS.  His son, Han Solo Berger (played by Andy Samberg), has changed his name to Todd and hasn't spoken with his estranged father in all most 10 years. Throughout the film it is made very clear to us that Sandler has not been a great father figure for his son.  He has made a lot of mistakes, many of which have had lasting repercussions.
The best thing about this film is that it doesn't apologize for what it is.  It embraces its absurd comedy, so much so that it borders on being a spoof on the genre.  Sandler's character is such an over the top, clueless douche waffle that it is often hard to think of him as a honest person with a full emotional spectrum, but once you consider that he is a product of his environment, you start to understand, and appreciate some of his choices. 
There are too many absurd circumstances to go into in detail, but I do want to make sure that I give Kudos where they are due:  A sly tip of the hat to the hilarious guest star role played by Vanilla Ice.  Yup.  There it is.  Vanilla Ice.  When he first appeared in the film, I thought it was just a quirky cameo, but it really is so much more than that.  He is featured in the film in a way that I never would have expected.  Here's where I admit that the first tape I ever purchased was in fact a copy of Vanilla Ice's To the Extreme, and at one point in my life I did know all of the words to Ice Ice Baby, so when Ice and Sandler go "rollin' in Five-point-Oh", I lost it.  Absolutely laugh out loud funny!
Ultimately, while I can definitely see that this film isn't for everyone, I laughed out loud a lot, and found myself wondering just how far the cast was willing to go for a laugh.  The answer...as far as it takes, and then some!

Taken 2: More of the same, but different, but the same...

Got out the other day to see Taken 2 featuring Liam Neeson.
I had some pretty high expectations for this film, since I enjoyed the first movie, but ultimately the film fell short.
The plot picks up pretty much where Taken leaves off, Neeson's character is still working private security, and the families of the men who kidnapped his daughter in the first movie have sworn vengeance.
Neeson's ex wife is going through a messy second divorce so Neeson invites both she and their daughter to join him in Istanbul after his latest security project concludes for a family vacation to help take their minds off of everything.
The bad guys track down the entire family, and this time they successfully abduct Neeson and his ex-wife while their daughter is able to elude capture.
Neeson, being a specialist in this type of international kidnapping scenario is able to walk his daughter through successfully locating where they are being held, through the use of a concealed cell phone like device.

The rest of the movie is really just a blur of car chases, foot chases, brutal hand to hand combat, and a couple of tough choices for Neeson's character.
Here's the thing, I really disliked what Liam Neeson brought to the role.  Yes, he is a big, imposing guy, even with the greying hair I buy that he could be working private security.  In fact, I totally would buy him as Jason Bourne, from the original novels, the older, more detached Bourne that Hollywood stayed away from in favour of Matt Damon's fiery younger version.  What I don't buy is that he loves his family.  The character is just so calm and detached from everything, that alot of the dialogue gets delivered in the same unemotiomal blank drone.  Perfect example, during the big car chase, Neeson is riding shotgun, shooting at the baddies while his 16 year old daughter, who doesn't have a license, drives the get away car.  She is having trouble operating the car to his standards, and he just sits in the pasenger seat droneing "Faster Kim, come on,go faster" for the whole 3 minuite chase sequence. Between this and all of the other references that the film makes to him being a total OCD nutbag, it is hard to develop any kind of relationship with tje character.  Ultimately the film ends up feeling like another American ode to freedom.  American's good!  Random Muslim terrorist types bad!
For my money, I think I would rather see A Good Day to Die Hard.

Iron Man 3 Trailer

I found this super sexy new trailer for the latest installment of the Iron Man franchise this morning and thought I would share.

I really enjoy Robert Downey Jr. in the role, and I think the potential for the this to be another fantastic comic book super hero movie is pretty high.

The comic book nerd in me wonders where it will fall into the whole Avengers timeline.
And who the villain will be this time around. Looks like the Mandarin will at least make an appearance. Check it out here.http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=5EjG-1U3wqA&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5EjG-1U3wqA

A Walk in The Park

Today was a really great day to take a stroll through a wooded park in K/W and just reflect and enjoy the little things in life.

It was perfect for relieving stress and tension, since we all seem to have too much of that in our lives these days.

So I guess that's my advice for today: Go outside and experience your own little corner of the world.  Do some exploring, have a quiet adventure.  I can't guarantee that it will work for you, but it certainly always makes me feel better.

Cheers!

Wil Wheaton on Talking Dead

Well, I was right about the fact that a little name recognition goes a long way!
Will Wheaton's appearance on the Talking Dead tonight brought in a lot of traffic in here at wwwwd.  1226 hits in the last 3 hours to be precise.  So I would be remiss not to write a short blurb celebrating the appearance.
This week Chris Hardwick welcomed Wil Wheaton, and  Nick Gomez to the couch.  The topic, what else but Season 3 Episode 2.
Gomez, who played Tomas in tonight's episode, had a lot of interesting anecdotes to share regarding the filming of the episode.  It was also interesting that he was the secret cast member guest star tonight, since his character featured so heavily into the plot and action of the episode.  Despite the fact that tonight's episode will be his last appearance on the show, he certainly left an impression.  This is to be expected when you earn a machete to the skull from Rick Grimes!
It is apparent that Wheaton is a huge fan of The Walking Dead, as he seemed giddy to be on camera discussing the episode throughout the broadcast.  He wasn't actually called on to answer questions very often by Hardwick, doing most of his talking later in the episode - specifically to offer a pretty insightful commentary on the potential duality of Rick's current mindset in regards to the events of tonight's episode, ie killing Tomas, and leaving Andrew to die.  I also appreciated the take he had on Carl's actions this week, and I chuckled at the fact that he totally plugged Where's Carl (His own utube film) in his response.
To close out the episode Hardwick asked Wheaton  which Star Trek Captain he would prefer to have by his side in the event of a zombie apocalypse.  Wheaton's response:  James T. Kirk, cause he'd kick more ass. I certainly can't disagree with that logic.But who would win in a fight?  Rick Grimes or James Tiberius Kirk?

Laser Quest - Legendary Entertainment!

Got out last night with a friend for a truly entertaining evening of excitement. 
Our original plans for the evening had fallen through due to circumstances beyond our control, so we decided to try something that I haven't done in almost a decade.  Laser Quest!
We wondered in off the street to a completely empty lobby, thinking we were going to be out of luck...without enough players, there is not much point in strapping on a pack and attempting to play this family friendly form of laser tag.
Luckily the staff member behind the counter rushed us into the briefing room to join a big party that was about to start their first game.  We selected Codenames - Yoda, and DeaDPaN, two full grown adults out for an evening of fun, and walked through the airlock into the briefing room and found ourselves right in the middle of a pack of 16 screaming 10-12 year old boys...We had totally stumbled into a kids birthday party!  With only one other adult supervisor in the room we were seriously out numbered.  Yoda and I shared a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation and decided to dive right in and enjoy ourselves.  The kids started chanting that they wanted to play kids vs adults (16 vs 3) despite the fact that it was supposed to be an every man for himself free for all.
Yoda and I decided to team up and watch each others back to increase our chances of survival...just to level the playing field...16 vs 2 aren't exactly the best odds.  We strapped on our packs and the first game was on!
Having never been to this location, we didn't know the layout of the combat zone, so we took it pretty slow, working our way around the perimeter until we were able to find a ramp to an upper level.  We traded laser fire with lots of small groups of kids, holding our own, but getting surrounded alot as we made our way through the maze.  It was hilarious, gangs of screaming children swarming 2 adults in the midst of a black light laser tag game.  I had total flash backs of Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother blasting his way through hordes of howling pre-teens in an epic game of Laser Quest!  It really was legendary.  Unlike Barney, Yoda and I had no qualms following the rules of fair play while fending off the advancing hordes of sneaky little ankle biters...sure, we did team up, but that was just common sense.  We spent the first game roaming around the combat zone, getting the lay of the land and destroying any pockets of resistance we encountered.  When the smoke cleared and the buzzer sounded signifying the end of the first match, we exited the combat zone only to discover that we had gotten pwned by the kids.  I was in 4th place and Yoda was in 7th.  It made me feel a little better to realize that the other adult, the father of the birthday boy had come in just ahead of me in 3rd place.
Round two added 6 more players to the mix, 5 more kids, and another adult mother, but we were taking no prisoners!  Yoda and I changed tactics slightly and found a defensible  mid level position that gave us clear lines of sight on four highly traveled routes.  We dug in and protected each others backs for the majority of the game, only moving on when the children had learned their lesson and stopped trying to assault our position.  All of those hours spent playing Socom, and Call of Duty really came in handy!  We were unstoppable!  It really did remind me of the episode of How I Met Your Mother when Barney and his bro team up for a Laser Quest challenge against a similar horde of howling tweens. LEGENDARY!
When the smoke cleared and the game was over I stood victorious at the top of the scoreboard, a full 200 points above the next closest player.  Yoda's ranked 8th overall, with an improved score.
We worked well as a team, and while we laughed about it later, it was a fun way to spend a night.  Maybe next time we'll invite a few more players our own age...since there is really only a very small glimmer of satisfaction to be had from besting a group of children at this kind of activity. ;)

Just so you don't actually think I am actually a  huge jerk I also want to share the following story:  For the record, I would like to note that there was also a younger little girl, who was maybe about 7 years old, playing in both games with us.  I assume she was a sibling to the birthday boy, as she stayed pretty close to their dad.  Any time Yoda and I encountered her, I would deliberatly let her tag me and not knowingly aim my laser fire back at her targets.  I wanted to make sure she was having fun and being included without feeling overwhelmed or picked on.  My own parental sense of fair play kicked in, and I hope she had a great time with her brother and all of his friends.  It actually made me think that I would like to one day take the thief out on an excursion like this, when she's a little older of course! 

Wil Wheaton on The Walking Dead?

It's funny how a little name recognition can go a long way! 
The interweb is apparently abuzz with individuals who are slightly misinformed about Mr. Wheaton's upcoming guest appearance.
A few of these people have wound up here at my blog...thanks Google!
So I figured I would write a quick post to better inform these poor misguided folks, just so that they don't get frustrated and start leaving me hate mail.
This Sunday Wil Wheaton will actually be featured on the AMC show The Talking Dead, an open forum discussion that airs after each new episode of The Walking Dead.  The Talking Dead features cast members, and producers from the show, answering fan questions.  They also occasionally invite celebrities who are fans of the series to come on and share their opinions and insight on the latest Walking Dead episode.  And this seems to be the case in this instance.
I'll be sure to watch this Sunday, and will likely blog about what Wil has to say...
So, sorry to dissapoint anyone who was hoping Wil was going to get the full Robert Kirkman treatment...not this time.
But...in the mean time, here's a fun image I have borrowed from Mr. Wheaton's tumblr page - who doesn't love a good Vegas Pimp Zombie Photo?  Thanks Google!



Also, in honor of The Walking Dead and Wil Wheaton, I have included this link to his short film: Where's Carl. Enjoy.

Sinister - A film that is creepy as hell!

Got out last night to catch a double feature on cheap Tuesday, and movie number one was the new horror flick Sinister starring Ethan Hawke.
As I have said before, horror films aren't my typical first choice for an evening of entertainment, but with Halloween fast approaching, I thought I would take a chance.
While I was expecting a Slasher flick, what I got was more of a supernatural psychological thriller.  And a good one at that!
The plot is solid, Ethan Hawke plays a struggling true crime writer who moves his family into the home of a family killed in an unsolved homicide in an effort to write his next novel.  His wife and children are unaware that their new home actually belonged to the subject material for his next book, and that 4 of the 5 family members were actually hung from the tree in the back-yard.  This hanging is actually the first scene of the film, and it gripes the audience right away, setting the tone for the film.
As they are moving in, Hawke discovers a box of home movies in the attic, a box that doesn't appear in any of the crime scene photographs of the house.  The box contains not only footage of the murder of this particular family, but 4 other grisly murders as well, spanning 5 decades, all with the same circumstances.  One child from each family is always missing from the murder scene, and often a rare demonic symbol is left somewhere at the scene of the crime.
This is where the supernatural comes into play in a big way.  Hawke enlists the help of a criminologist specializing in the occult, who is able to identify the symbol, and the creepy deity that is associated with it.  I dont want to name it, or include any images because it scared the sweet bejezus out of me.  And that's all I am going to say about that. 
The atmosphere in this film plays a huge part in building the suspense and raising the stakes on the creepy factor.  As the movie goes on and as day progresses into night, and back again, a pattern emerges that the audience can zone in on, taking advantage of the daylight to catch a much needed breather from the creepy night time terror.  There aren't alot of cheap thrills and chills throughout the film, but there are definitely a few moments that made me jump.
Lighting and its effect on the tone and mood also played a huge factor in the film.  I can say with certainty that it had an effect on my perceptions.  To illustrate, here's a quick run down of the narrative that was going through my head for the majority of the second half of the film:  "Just turn on the god damn lights!  For the love of god!"  "Seriously!  What the hell!  You are seeing creepy shit around your murder scene home in the dead of night, and you don't think to flick on the light switch?  For the love of christ, what is wrong with these people..."
All in all I was impressed with the film, it went that extra mile to make you think about the events it depicted, and when it did go for the shock factor, it didn't pull any punches...two words...yard work.
Now that's an image I just can't seem to shake!
See the film for yourself and see if it leaves a similar impression on you.  Oh, and let me know how you sleep afterwords.

Seven Psychopaths: A Dark Dark Comedy

The second film of last lights double feature was the new film, Seven Psychopaths, and I must say that I was very amused.
The trailers don't give much away, so I wasn't entirely certain what to expect.  But the stellar cast caught my attention, so I thought I would check it out.
What I got was a dark comedy that had some serious laugh out loud moments.  Be warned, there were not cuddly kitten falls off the back of the sofa funny moments. No, these were some sick, twisted laughs, and I must admit that I really enjoyed them!
Colin Farrell plays a screen writer, struggling with script for his latest film idea.  All he really has is a title:  Seven  Psychopaths.
Sam Rockwell plays his best friend, who attempts to give Farrell a bit of a push with his work...by...well, lets say...generating a little conflict in his life.
Walken and Harrelson also make appearances, as 2 of the 7 psychopaths...and each does a stellar job with the material.  This really is a film about a film, where the content of the lives of Farrell, Rockwell, and Walken's characters suddenly have tremendous baring on the screenplay that Farrell is writing.  They actually go so far as to brake the forth wall in one instance and have fantastic conversation about how the movie Farrell is writing (which is mirroring the movie the audience is watching to a certain extent) should progress from that point forward.  Some of the dialogue and commentary that they provide is fantastic!  It is not a device that I have seen in a lot of films, but as a comedic element it was certainly very effective.
A couple of times it was interesting the way they integrated the strictly fictional characters of Farrell's movie into the 'real life' events that the characters were experiencing.  Based on the title of both films, I expected to encounter 7 actual individuals, but this was not the case.
I really do see this more as a Festival piece than a solid piece of mainstream media, but it was certainly highly entertaining.  I don't think it brakes any new ground, and Quentin Tarantino will always do a better job with this type of violent, dark, yet disturbing comedic content, but Seven Psychopaths definitely holds its own.

The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor

With Season 3 of The Walking Dead set to air tomorrow night on AMC, I thought this would be a great time to share my thoughts on the first novelization to be spawned from this fantastic comic book series.
Credited to series creator Robert Kirkman and newcomer Jay Bonasinga, Rise of the Governor provides the origin story for one of the first arch villain's to be introduced into the series.  Philip Blake, also known as The Governor, is one of the most diabolical individuals encountered in The Walking Dead.  As portrayed in the comic book, Philip is the leader of the survivor community of Woodbury.  Best known for keeping his zombie daughter Penny chained on a leash, brutally raping Michonne, and arbitrarily hacking off Rick Grimes' right hand, Philip is portrayed as a sociopath who has no qualms about destroying the lives of others for his own twisted benefit.
  The novel provides all of the back story for how he ended up as such a sick, depraved son of a bitch.
  The novel follows the journey of Philip, his daughter Penny, his older brother Brian, and two of his drinking buddies, in the first days and weeks after the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse.
While Robert Kirkman is credited as an author on the novel, it is glaringly obvious that he acted much more as a consultant.  Despite sharing the mythos of world of The Walking Dead, the tone of the novel is just too far removed from the typical feel of both the comic book and the AMC television show, to have actually been written by Kirkman.  The interactions of the characters take such a backseat to the journey that in the end, the reader ends up questioning the shocking twist that is revealed at the end of the book.
I really don't want to go into spoilers here, but I will say this: Right from the beginning I felt it was odd that a novel focused on the life of Philip would begin with a chapter focused on Brian.
Fans of the series should read this story for themselves, just to form their own opinions.

The Walking Dead: My First Comic Book

So I just finished reading all of the existing issues of The Walking Dead.  102 issues in under 4 days, all while working a 40 hour work week.  I will be honest, it became something of a compulsion.  I just couldn't stop!  I got sucked in.
Another confession: Before this I had never really read a comic book.  I know!  Shocking right!  I have no problem admitting to the world at large that I am a full on super hero geek.  But comic books weren't  really something that I had access to as a kid, and while I certainly was exposed to alot of mainstream comic book super heroes in my youth, it was usually through either big screen movies (Superman, Batman) or cartoon adaptations (Spiderman, X Men).  While I always recognized that these characters had their roots in the comic book format, it was never really something that I chose to delve into.  (The one exception to this statement was Marvel's Wolverine: Origins Graphic Novel when I was in my mid 20's because like every other Wolverine fan out there, I just had to know...).

The Walking Dead has been a really wild introduction to this medium.  I was first introduced to the franchise through the fantastic television adaptaion on AMC (only 8 days until the launch of Season 3!!!), but the comic has actually been around since 2003.  The premise: Small town cop, Rick Grimes, awakes from a lenghty coma after having been shot while on duty only to discover that his world is now populated by hordes of shambling flesh eating zombies, re-animated by some unknown global (At least I assume global) catastrophy.  All of the modern convieniences that we have come to rely on are gone, (electricity, running water, telephones, the interweb, grocery stores, everything!) along with established government and social order.  Small pockets of survivours band together in an effort to increase their chances of survival.  Scavenging for food, gasolene, and ammunition and securing defensible living quarters have  become the keystone for the continued existance these individuals. 

What makes this series so interesting to me is the interactions between the various surviving characters.  While there are zombies throught this series, it is the human element that really stands out.  In a society with all of its rules stripped away, The Walking Dead really puts it's central characters under a microscope.  The choices that they make when faced by such hardships are what really define them.  They are all faced with hard decisions, and time and time again they are put in situations where they have to make choices that directly impact not only their own suirvivial, but the survivial of those around them.  People that they have come to feel responsible for.  Because of the breakdown of society, there is no law enforecement or judicial system, so everyone is limited only by their own sense of morality and what they deem as acceptable behaviour to ensure their own survival.  Each and every member of the "core" group has their own motivations for these choices, often in direct conflict with the choices of other members of the group.  It is the dynamic of these relationships that really kept me engaged throughout the series.  They core group also frequently encounters other groups of survivors who are working at cross purposes to their own desires, and this is when the fireworks really start. The scripts are really well done, and much more focused on the human element than I would have ever expected from a comic book.

 Ofcourse I would be remiss not to mention the fantastic art work of The Walking Dead as well.  Drawn entirely in gray scale, the art lends an incredible amount of depth and detailt to the post-apocalyptic world that the characters inhabit.  The tone that this black and white rendering adds to the project as a whole is quite incredible.  As a contrast all of the the cover art is drawn in colour, and I enjoy the flashes of insight that these isolated glimpses reveal.   I have included some of my favourite cover art throughout this post so you can get a sense of what I'm talking about.  While these are only 4 of the 102 issues covers currently availale, I think all of these images speak volumes. 

Now that I am caught up to the current issue, lightyears beyond the television series, I honestly can't wait for the next issue to be released...8 days and counting.  This is something I hope to be able to follow for years to come!

Time traveling execution victims makes for very, very engaging cinema!

Got out last night to see Looper with a couple of friends and I have to say that I was very surprised by what unfolded on the big screen.
What I thought I was going to see was a movie about time traveling assassins from the future.  Pretty friggin cool!
All of the trailers had lead me to believe that the primary focus of this film was going to be watching Joseph Gordon Levitt track down his older time traveling self, portrayed by Bruce Willis.  While this was certainly a big part of the film, there is another sub-plot that involves Willis' attempt to locate and kill the younger version of a future crime boss that over rides the cat and mouse plot that I was expecting.
While the concepts driving the film are far from new to the film industry, think 12 Monkeys, Terminator, Back to the Future, their are also some very strong undertones of the InFamous video game franchise.
Set in the not so distant future, Looper shows us a glimpse into a broken, poverty stricken society run by crime lords with ties to time traveling crime syndicates from 30 years in the future.  Looper's are the society's assassins, 20 something young men, contracted to kill and dispose of targets that are sent back in time from the future for ease of disposal.  The target simply appears at a given time and place, bound, gagged, and hooded, with the Looper's payment - 4 bars of solid silver, strapped to his body.  The moment the target materializes, BLAM! The Looper blasts them with a specialized shotgun, designed to be deadly from within 15'.  The looper then disposes of the body, which technically doesn't exist in their timeline, and waits for their next assignment.  Its a pretty friggin cool concept.  However, there is a big catch.  Every looper agrees to the fact that at some point they will be expected to assassinate their older selves, sent back from the future to be executed, hence 'closing the loop'.  So the loopers live large, reveling in the moment, wasting their money on drugs, women, and fast cars.
Joseph Gordon Levitt gives a great performance as a detached, torn young man, so very distanced from the morals our that society so values.  Bruce Willis is also stellar as his older self...brought back from the brink of death and addiction by the love of a woman, Willis is driven by motivations that the younger version of himself, Levitt, can't begin to comprehend.
Without giving away too much of the plot, I want to take a moment to touch on one of the most disturbing torture scenes I have seen in a long, long time.  Early in the film, One of Levitt's looper cohorts fails to close his loop, allowing his future self to run off.  The younger version of this looper is eventually captured by the crime syndicate and it is explained that they can't kill him because of the ramifications it will have on the future. While the older version tries to flee the city, his extremities suddenly start to disapear, and he suddenly finds himself the bearer of a very specific, very new, very old scar.  As time ticks on, more and more of his body is suddenly displaced and replaced with scar tissue.  The theory  being that while the syndicate can not kill the younger version of the looper, they have ways of keeping him alive while inflicting horrible amounts of very specific damage. I thought this was a really interesting and graphic way for the film to depict the direct results of altering the time space continuum...alot of the audience around me cringed as the scene went on and on...and while no actual violence or dismemberment were shown, everyone knew exactly what was going on.
It was very intelligently done.
That last statement can actually be applied to the entire movie.  There are no loose ends.  The film makers allude to very specific details early in the film, then as the film progresses, all of these concepts are brought into play.  It was great to see a time travel film that didn't leave us asking 'but what if...?' or 'are they now stuck in a continual time paradox?', or 'does this mean that we are now dealing with split and divergent timeliness?'  These are things I have often asked about other films, because it is the kind of thing I like to spend time pondering.  Looper answers all of your questions in a very direct, straightforward manner.  Which means that the writers spent the time to figure all this stuff out, they didnt just say 'ah well...who cares if this plot point doesnt make sense. Just go with it" And that I appreciate.