Film Review: Looper

Looper. Rated MA 15+ (strong violence). 118 minutes. Written and directed by Rian Johnson.

Verdict: A fascinating time-travel premise combined with a top cast results in a compelling drama about honour, integrity and responsibility.

Boasting a truly fascinating time-travel premise, a top-notch cast and a wicked (if not entirely unexpected) sting in its tale, Looper is marvellously involving cinema from the little-known Johnson (Brick). In a year where many of the cinematic offerings have been variations on well-worn themes, the threads of a heightened moral responsibility for the integrity of the lives we lead (and those of the people who rely on us for their very survival) that are woven through this film, are never less than utterly compelling.

Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises. Rated M (violence). 164 minutes. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan.        

Verdict: An overwhelmingly masterful experience of the perfect fusion between creative vision and cinematic storytelling.

With the final instalment to his Batman trilogy – Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) – Nolan has delivered not only one of his finest films, but one of the best films of the year, if not the decade. From the extraordinary opening aerial sequences to the final five best movie minutes in recent memory, Nolan and his team immerse us – flawlessly – into an overwhelming experience of the perfect fusion between creative vision and cinematic storytelling. It is, in short, brilliant, masterful work.

With the Batman (Christian Bale) in retirement and nursing his physical and psychological wounds, the evil Bane (Tom Hardy, pictured) unleashes his dire plan for the domination of Gotham. When his mother’s precious pearl necklace is stolen by cat-burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), Batman finds himself forced back into defending the now entirely lawless Gotham from Bane’s destructive ambitions.