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USA. 2012. Directed by Rian Johnson. Story by Rian Johnson. Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis & Emily Blunt

Rating: ★★★½

Looper is the type of film that leaves you questioning everything you know about time travel! The science fiction thrill and thought behind it is evident as the movie progresses. The basic story is about a man named Joe who is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young Joe and Bruce Willis as the older Joe who are future contract killers called ‘Loopers’.

In the year 2074 civilization have created time travel however it is highly illegal to use. It can only be accessed by the biggest criminal mafia organisations in the world. In this future they can no longer simply kill a person & hide their bodies due to personal tracking devices. So instead they send the victims back 30 years and a looper’s job is to kill them and dispose of their body. Making them simply another blip in the missing persons lists. But when young Joe comes face to face with his older self who was sent back to get killed. He hesitates only for a minute and that’s when the plot takes off.Young Joe is determined to go through with killing his older counterpart something which their industry called ‘closing the loop’. They get paid a hefty amount and live their life in luxury for the next 30 years. But the plot thickens when older Joe manages to escape. Only to contact his younger self again to explain his current situation, unsure whether young Joe will choose to help him or continue with his determination to ‘close his loop’.

The storyline was quite confusing to digest and the plot did have many holes, but the movie does a decent job of explaining itself. To be frank, no time travel movie ever makes 100% sense, especially when the characters start crossing paths with themselves. You’ll always question ‘shouldn’t he have remembered what he did and saw everything coming?’ But generally if you come into the film with an open mind and are willing to let go of some of the flaws, it will definitely entertain you and leave you riveting.

The story had emotion, action and sentimental value. We laughed, we cried and we were hooked as it became more and more intense as the hunter became the hunted. The underlining message is profound and it will leave you thinking about it well after you’ve left the cinemas. It’s hard to walk away from Looper and say it’s just another typical pointless action film. And that in my opinion; is enough to pass as a good quality film. Lastly the acting from all three of the main casts were outstanding. This movie proves the legendary Bruce Willis still has it in him. I give this movie a 3.5/5!

Also have to say, I didn't think they could pull off Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young Bruce Willis. But the make up was pretty darn good. I can definitely see essence of Bruce's hay days in Joseph's made up face
 
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I just read a really interesting article on 'Health and Wellbeing'. I know you shouldn't always believe what you read, but this is so appealing I'm going to choose to believe it. According to some research done at the University of Westminster, apparently watching horror films burns calories!

'The Shinning' starring Jack Nicholson pictured on the left burns an average of 770KJ per view!! That's equivalent to me doing a 1 hour combat training class at Fitness First! I knew movies were good for my health. All those times you told me to go to bed and stop watching TV mum and dad, I could've been losing weight. That explains why I'm a chubs now haha. 

If that's true, I'm on the right track with my horror film list endevour. Just need to dig up those really freaky ones, watch a film every night and I'll be a skinny mini by the end of the year.

I wish life was always as simple as this. Read the article for more details on the research & lists of other horror films and their calorie burning capacity. So you can start stocking up this summer :P. It's quite interesting, yet funny at the same time.

Link to article is here http://www.health.ninemsn.com.au/healthnews

 
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USA & UK. 2007. Directed by Gregory Jacobs. Written by Joe Gangemi, Steven Katz. Starring: Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes

Rating: ★ ★ 

I've seen the first movie from my horror list. Wind Chill! The other films are mostly foreign and are proving to be quite difficult to find. Either that or I found them without subtitles, which didn't help at all. 

Unfortunately Wind Chill was a little too disappointing. There was a massive build up without much explanation. Which made me bored more than scared. There were so many holes in the story it was frustrating to watch. (e.g. what happened to the snow blow driver?!?!) And the ending was even more frustrating no resolutions, no explanations & no twists! It was a pointless film! 

The ghosts weren't mysterious at all! It was meant to scare the viewers by making them think they were regular people trudging around. Then boom! they turn around and they've got crap plastered on their face. As you can see in the below picture. But that failed miserably, because the mysterious element is now out. & because you thought they were just people, the scare factor is also out. 

There were plenty of great mystery build up & uncomfortable scenes throughout the film. But the scenes didn't lead to anything or add anything to the plot. Which made the film even more of a frustrating disappointment. Overall the film was a fail but Emily Blunt was cute, that's it. 
 
One of my favourite things to do is to stay in on a gloomy night, turn out all the lights & put in a gripping horror/thriller. I'm not talking about those cheap gores or scare tactic films. I mean a real bone chilling, dramatic thriller with actual character development & intense yet intriguing story lines. The type of films that start to make you paranoid & fear of going to the toilet. Those twisted films that make your skin prickle & your chest heave. 

The problem these days is the lack of a real build up in ambiance and mood in this genre of film. Horror films always seem to revert to disgusting blood, guts and gore, which tend to leave me feeling sick rather than scared. Or cheap scare tactics with extremely long build ups that by the time the monster/gremlin/ghost/ghoul jump out at you. Your bored and saw it coming about 10minutes ago. Especially if they're American horror films. 

Not that I'm being discriminating against Hollywood (because I do enjoy my fair share of Hollywood blockbusters). But I have to say in this case, the foreigners have got it right when it comes to building up the scary atmosphere. It just seems Hollywood always cheapen the thrill of being scared out of your wits or having that lingering creepiness that makes you look over your shoulders (even when your sitting against the wall on your couch). Clear examples are Hollywood remakes like 'The Eye', 'The Ring' or 'Shutter' which already have the basics laid out for them. Yet they always come up short or lacking, can't quite pinpoint the reason. 

I've seen all the famous horror hits. The last amazing horror story that I watched was 'The Woman in The Black Dress' Loh and behold, it's a British film. So I went on a hunt to find some more great horror films that aren't as widely promoted. I've composed a wish list of horror films below that I'll endeavour to finish by Christmas. That's a lot of freaked out nights & 5 second dashes to the loo, but stay tuned for my experience on these films! 
Please let me know what you think of the films on my list. Any reviews, grievances advice would me much appreciated. 
 
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Australia. 2010. Directed by David Michôd. Screenplay by David Michôd. Story by David Michôd. Starring: Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton, Ben Mendelsohn, James Frencheville, Jacki Weaver

Rating:
★★★★½

Animal Kingdom is a riveting insight into a 1980’s Australian crime family. The film trails a teenage boy named Joshua ‘J’ Cody (Frencheville). Due to unfortunate family circumstances J moves in with his grandmother and mentally unhinged uncles.

New comer James Frencheville portrays the slow & vulnerable teenager, flawlessly. His pensive dopey expressions are approriate enough to gain sympathy without rendering him useless. Jacki Weaver’s performance as the grandmother is also absolutely amazing. Her sweet, doting, polite characteristics can also be seen as eerily threatening as the plot progresses.

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The film’s intensity does not waver from start to finish and is definitely not for light hearted entertainment. Animal Kingdom is a perfect depiction of the different rapacious instincts & cunning decisions brought out in each person for their own survival.

**Spoiler Alert**
The one scene I can’t seem to shake, is when J is on the run from his uncle and attempts to get his girlfriend’s family out of their house. To avoid alarming them for their own safety, he simply asks for a lift to the shops. As the family bustles around to leave, the urgency in J’s eyes enclosed by his calm demeanour was insanely nerve racking. I was so intensely enveloped in the scene I began chewing on my hair without even realising it. Not many films have ever caused me to chew on anything other than popcorn. Two thumbs up!