Double Bill Mini Musings: Top Drawer, Bottom Drawer...

Looper:
What's it about?
Rian Johnson's time travel sci-fi thriller set in the near-future where time travel hasn't yet been invented, but in thirty years it will have been. After its invention it is immediately outlawed and becomes the preserve of the mob, who send people they want killed back-in-time for "Loopers" to kill. One day though, each Looper will have to "close their loop" and kill their own future self - however Joe's elder-self has other ideas.
Who would I recognise in it?
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano, Piper Perabo, and Garrett Dillahunt.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The best films, particularly genre films, always have a fantastic central idea to them. In the case of Looper it's the idea of your present self trying to kill your older self who just wants to survive to preserve their own future, and the schism that this presents. Packed full of ideas (an older incarnation of one character finds themselves literally falling apart, for example), Johnson's film is a spectacular mix of mind-bending sci-fi (set in a near-future world that is, for the most part, recognisable), retro chic ("Gat Men", for instance), thoughtful ideas, and blazing action. An instant classic of the genre. Great.

Click "READ MORE" below for "Contraband" starring Mark Wahlberg...
Contraband:
What's it about?
A ex-smuggler's brother-in-law royally screws the pooch when he fails to make a delivery for an unhinged drug dealer, so he must get back into the game once more to save his family.
Who would I recognise in it?
Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Caleb Landry Jones, Kate Beckinsale, Giovani Ribisi, Lukas Haas.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The opening half hour is deathly dull - intrigue or an efficient pace are of little concern with this plodding script - and the cobbled-together plan seems to fail constantly, resulting in numerous changes of tack that seem rushed and ill-considered. Beckinsale is given a largely thankless side-role where she does little more than get menaced and wait for Wahlberg to rescue her. There's a decent shoot-out mid-way through, but if you're looking for action, you're looking in the wrong place, and if you're looking for a satisfying dose of character drama, then you won't get that either. It all feels so generic and done-before with half-finished protagonists and a crippling lack of interest in moving any number of lacklustre scenes forward. Empty, pointless, dull, boring - all these words and more spring to mind when considering the forgettable Contraband. What's more the film ends on a rather bizarre note - "bad" criminals get their just desserts, while "good" criminals (including those whose foolish actions have led to nothing but misery for their loved ones) are handsomely rewarded and get away absolutely scot-free. Unsatisfying to say the least. Mostly shite, but with an alright shoot out at one point.