Favorite Scene Friday! Looper: Old Joe and Young Joe Talk

This week's Favorite Scene Friday and the latest addition in our Escape-athon series is by none other than returning guest Jess Manzo from French Toast Sunday!

One of the best sci-fi movies of recent years is most certainly Rian Johnson's Looper. This time travel thriller was awesomely inventive and felt super fresh for a genre that's been done over and over again with similar results. The film starts with an assassin of sorts. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) kills hits sent back from the future for cold hard bars of gold. His cold and calculated attitude is rocked when his future self ends up appearing in front of him. He hesitates long enough for Old Joe (Bruce Willis) to escape, and Young Joe must go on a manhunt for his own self. He knew that one day he would have to close his loop as they say, but his future self is not ready for it to end.

WolfCadet

One of my favorite scenes isn't necessarily the flashiest, but it contains some of the most interesting dialogue in this film and definitely my favorite line. Young Joe coaxes Old Joe to meet him at his regular diner by carving the word "Beatrix" into his arm (too bad he didn't remember the weekend server Jen). They come face to face for the second time, but this is their first chance to really study each other. Young Joe isn't really impressed by who he turns out to be, while Old Joe is disgusted by the arrogance and naivete of his younger self.



I love how things come to a head in this very bizarre experience between the two. When Young Joe brings up that Old Joe's face looks backwards it's one of those nicer little details that you wouldn't think of right away. The idea that you could be with another version of yourself at the same time is such a far out concept that I can't help but be fascinated watching their profiles examine each other.

Old Joe explains how whenever Young Joe alters the timeline it changes Old Joe's memories and they get hazy. My favorite line of the movie is a bit of screenwriting genius. The line is when Old Joe says "I don't want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we're going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws." Saving himself from having to explain the mechanics of time travel, Johnson just brilliantly threw out the need for exposition. It's also perfect because after seeing this film, my friends and I basically needed to put together straw diagrams to explain our theories on this film to each other.

A great piece about this scene can be found here, where Johnson discusses his writing process.

Robert's Top 10 Films of 2012

How 'do, folks? The year 2012 was a great one for film. Join me as I count down my favorites and don't forget to tell me yours!

10. Chronicle

The first cinematic found footage film? I loved that as the characters’ powers grew and the movie progressed the style of filmmaking and the point of view changed as well. I was quite impressed and I wasn’t really expecting much to begin with.

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 9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A worthy addition to the Tolkien/Jackson collection filled with great effects and great acting, although I doubt I’ll ever consider it an equal to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy.

8. Argo

This film has one of the most tense opening scenes I’ve ever witnessed. The fascinating true story about a CIA agent's quest to rescue a group of Americans from Iran in the 1970s is brought to life by director/star Ben Affleck and a very talented team of actors and filmmakers.

7. Silver Linings Playbook

This film almost shouldn’t work (a family drama, a tale about mental instabilities, a dancing competition) but director David O. Russell pulls it off and then some. The cast is phenomenal and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence particularly shine. I didn’t know Robert De Niro still had it in him.

6. Looper

One of the best time travel movies ever and it doesn’t even have that much time travel. The film features a very unique sci-fi story and engaging performances.

Full review here.

5. John Carter

John Carter is just a big, fun spectacle of a movie. A throwback to thrilling sci-fi/space escapism, the film offers great effects, a story that spans planets, and an old-fashioned sense of fun.

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4. Skyfall

Daniel Craig’s third outing as 007 is so great and so, well, Bond, I feel like it really should have been his first. The best Bond movie ever? Let’s leave it at that for now.

3. Moonrise Kingdom

A fantastic, escapist fairy tale of a film. Very much a Wes Anderson flick, this movie boasts great acting (even from its young stars), fun characters, and an excellent story. “What kind of bird are you?”

2. The Dark Knight Rises

A solid story, powerful acting, an incredible villain in the form of Tom Hardy’s Bane - what more could you ask for from the conclusion of Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s Dark Knight series? How good is this film? It’s better than The Dark Knight, and that’s saying a lot.

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1. The Avengers

What can be said? It’s not just an incredible movie and the culmination of years of films and stories, it’s something that’s never really been done before. It was one thing for it to not be terrible (because it had a lot of potential to be terrible) but another for it to be as great as it is.

Full review here.

Escape by Moving to China: Looper

*spoilers abound!*

There’s a lot packed into Looper. To take it all in, you almost need more...time. *tomato flies by head*

In the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Joe, a criminal in 2044 Kansas that assassinates targets sent back in time by the mob of 2074. The criminals of the future must send their targets back because it’s virtually impossible to dispose of a body in the future.

So the Looper program is so secretive that, when the mob wants to terminate a Looper’s contract, they actually send them back to 2044 for assassination by their younger self. This is known as “closing your loop”. The film really gains steam when Joe’s friend and fellow looper Seth (Paul Dano) allows his future self to escape upon being sent back for assassination. This is known as “letting your loop run”.

Before Seth is abducted by the mob (you can’t just let your loop run, people), he informs Joe that his future self told him that there’s a new boss in the future, closing loops left and right. He’s known as The Rainmaker. It isn’t long before Old Joe is sent back from 2074 for assassination. But wouldn’t you know it - he escapes.

The rest of the movie is a tangled web of Old Joe trying to kill the 2044 version of The Rainmaker (there are larger reasons as to why Old Joe travels to the past but I’ll let you see that for yourself) and Young Joe trying to kill and/or stop Old Joe. Before that unfolds, however, we see an alternate reality where Young Joe successfully kills Old Joe when he was sent back for assassination. The life that we see play out for Joe shows us his motivation for trying to kill The Rainmaker and change the past.

Director Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt again make for a great team and both of them are at the top of their game when it comes to telling Looper’s story. You know that there’s more to Young Joe when he slams on his brakes to avoid hitting a vagrant child. You can practically taste the backstory.

I only have a few complaints with the story (excluding my qualms with the time travel logic - I won’t go into all that for the sake of my sanity and yours). The third act of the movie kinda drags. A lot of it is due to time invested in Sara (Emily Blunt) a farmer whose son may or may not be The Rainmaker. We really can’t do without any of this part of the story, but I almost felt like Sara's tale was another movie in and of itself.

I almost wanted a little closure between the young and old versions of Joe. It’s not that I had a problem with their adversarial relationship, it’s just that they never come to understand each other. The last complaint I’ll lodge is that, if time travel in the future is controlled by the mob, wouldn’t there be some sort of government anti-time travel agency?

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As a technical piece of work, this film is the tits. The design is fantastic and the makeup and prosthetics used to turn Gordon-Levitt into a young Bruce Willis are very well done. Expect an Oscar nod for this film in the makeup department. One visual that I enjoyed was the repeated image of a cloudy, swirling cup of coffee - a perfect metaphor for the murky effects of time traveling throughout the film. 

IMDb

I really enjoyed Looper and the fact that the film has no shortage of great actors is a big reason why. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis are technically bad guys here, but good luck disliking either of them. Emily Blunt is fantastic. I really don’t need to say any more than that, but I will add that her relationship with her son (played by Pierce Gagnon, a truly adorable and gifted little actor) in the film is a huge part of the emotional core of the film and one scene near the movie's climax had me choking up a bit.

I feel like Looper isn’t so much about time travel as it is the effects and consequences of it. One of the best (and most disturbing) parts of the film involves the aforementioned Old Seth. What does the mob do if you escape upon being sent back for assassination? Let’s just say it involves disappearing body parts. This is the dark side of time travel. There is a reason, it would seem, that it is illegal.

The greatest element of the film is the two versions of Joe. Old Joe and Young Joe both order steak and eggs in a diner scene. At the beginning of the film, Young Joe is learning French. We see the payoff when Old Joe travels back from 2074.

I mentioned that Blunt and her character's son are a huge component of the heart of the film, and Young Joe's character arc makes up the rest. In the diner scene, Old Joe accuses Young Joe of being selfish. You might be surprised to find out how wrong Old Joe turns out to be.

Obsessive Cinematic Disorder: Bruce Willis Likes to Time Travel

*spoilers for 12 Monkeys, The Kid, and Looper abound!*

When you think of Bruce Willis, what comes to mind? Action? Violence? Bald swagger? How about time travel?

Wikipedia

Bruce Willis looooooooves to time travel. In a 30+ year career, Willis has starred in three time travel films. I’d wager to guess that he’s time traveled more than any other major film star. All that’s left is for some random person to find Bruno in some old-timey photo.

It could happen.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys is a time travel movie in which Bruce Willis plays Cole, a prisoner from a virus-ravaged future. He’s sent back in time by a group of scientists to gather information on a disease that killed 5 billion people in 1996.

Wikipedia

Other than one other character (possibly two), Willis’ Cole is the only time traveler in the film. Let’s take a look at his escapades.

1. Present (2035) to April 1990

Cole is accidentally sent to 1990 Baltimore, six years before the virus hits. He’s arrested and institutionalized. He meets a psychiatrist named Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and a fellow patient named Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt).

2. 1990 to Present

Cole is pulled from the institution back to the present.

3. Present to October 1917

Cole is accidentally and briefly sent to WWI where he encounters Jose, a fellow time-traveling prisoner from the present. Cole is shot in the leg during the conflict.

Sending Cole back.

4. October 1917 to November 1996, Baltimore

Cole makes it to 1996 Baltimore and abducts Dr. Railly. Clues about the virus lead him to suspect that Jeffrey Goines is responsible for the outbreak. Cole finds him at a party at the home of his father, virologist Dr. Goines. After speaking with Jeffrey, Cole is convinced that he accidentally planted the idea for unleashing a killer virus into Jeffrey’s head back in 1990. Cole escapes the party and flees with Dr. Railly to the woods outside the Goines house.

5. November 1996 to Present

Cole is pulled from 1996 back to the present. Thinking they’ve solved the mystery of the virus by connecting it to Goines, the scientists issue him a pardon. However, Cole tricks them into sending him back one last time.

6. Present to December 1996

Cole travels back to December 1996, just before the virus strikes. He and Dr. Railly make it to the airport and attempt to stop Dr. Goines’ assistant, who is actually the one responsible for purposely unleashing the virus. Cole attempts to kill him but is shot. His young self witnesses his own death and this scene goes on to replay in his dreams throughout his life.

12 Monkeys is a cerebral, haunting film. The time travel is used effectively to advance the story and it never becomes overly muddled. The film seems to say that the future is set in stone. Nothing that Cole does in the past changes anything. In fact, his actions seem fitted into the past before he even does them. The fact that Cole dreams of his death (having seen it as a boy) throughout his life is an example of this.

The Kid

The Kid follows a work-obsessed image consultant named Russ (Willis) who one day finds that his eight year old self from 1968 - known as Rusty (Spencer Breslin) - has somehow ended up in 2000, days before his 40th birthday. Russ decides that Rusty has been transported to the present so that he can help him.

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The 70 year old version of Russ (Old Russ) also time travels throughout this movie in a red plane/truck. In fact, Old Russ is responsible for all of the time travel shenanigans. I’ll be going through this movie’s time travel in the order it happens in the film, as opposed to the order it happens in Russ/Rusty’s life. I think?

1. Old Russ travels from 2030 to 1968

The Russ from 2030 - who has somehow either discovered or invented time travel - travels from 2030 to 1968 in order to retrieve his eight year old self.

2./3. Old Russ and Rusty Travel from 1968 to 2000

Old Russ takes Rusty to the year 2000 and leaves him at Russ’ house. Rusty’s trip marks the first time Russ/Rusty travels through time.

IMDb

4./5./6. Old Russ, Russ and Rusty Travel from 2000 to 1968

Old Russ transports Russ and Rusty from 2000 to the year 1968. Rusty stands up to some bullies but his mom - who we learn is dying of a terminal disease - has to pick him up from school because of the fight. Rusty/Russ’ father is furious at his son. He traumatizes him by telling him that his mother is dying and that he should grow up.

7. Old Russ Travels from 1968 to 2030

Meanwhile, Old Russ travels back to 2030 to gather his family.

8. Old Russ and Family Travel from 2030 to 1968

Old Russ and his family travel to 1968 to meet Russ and Rusty at a restaurant called the Skyway Diner.

9. Old Russ and Family Travel from 1968 to ?

Old Russ and his family travel to parts and times unknown after talking with his eight and 40 year old selves.

10. Russ Travels back to 2000

Old Russ transports Russ back to the year 2000, leaving Rusty in 1968 and both of them confident in their futures.

IMDb

The time travel in The Kid is kind of confusing. It’s not clear if Old Russ is changing the past or if his time traveling was always a part of history. Russ obviously doesn’t remember encountering his 40 year old self when he was eight but, then again, he seems to imply that his memory of the time is fuzzy. And Old Russ remembers seeing Rusty when he was 40 *eye starts to twitch from mental stress*

The Skyway Diner also seems to randomly travel through space and time throughout the film and I’m not even gonna get into that.

Looper

Looper revolves around Joe, a criminal in the year 2044 who assassinates targets sent back in time by the mob of 2074. Joe’s world is turned upside when his future self is sent back for termination.

Wikipedia

Although there is quite a bit of time travel in Looper, Bruce Willis only travels through time once.

1A. 2074 to 2044

Old Joe is sent back to 2044. Young Joe kills him.

1B. 2074 to 2044

Old Joe, after incapacitating/murdering his captors in 2074, travels back to 2044 to change his future. This is technically the same trip as 1A, it just happens differently. Therefore, Joe only travels through time once.

Looper’s time travel is the complete opposite to the kind found in 12 Monkeys. Whereas Cole couldn’t change the past, Old Joe’s trip has countless ramifications to history.

IMDb

It’s interesting comparing 12 Monkeys, The Kid, and Looper because the tone varies between the three. Whereas 12 Monkeys and Looper represent the dark side of time travel, The Kid portrays it as mostly carefree and fun. In fact, you could consider The Kid and Looper to be polar opposites of one another, with the former portraying Bruce’s character and his younger self as friends and the latter portraying the two versions of Bruce as enemies. There’s even scenes in both films where the two versions of the characters share a meal at a diner. Only one ends in violence, however.

All told, Bruce Willis travels through time about 17 times in his films - that we know of. I need to go lie down now.