I'm super busy today and have lots of thoughts about Looper, which I love, but let me just say what I remember most when coming out of the theater having seen the movie was how satisfying it was on two levels: Emotional and Intellectual. With science fiction, you often get one or the other. This story worked on ALL levels. Excellent character work. Deft story structure. Great surprises. As writer-director Rian Johnson demonstrated with his wonderful debut feature Brick, he is a terrifically talented storyteller, and Looper is a great example of that. What did you think of Looper? Read the script. It's great!

I've got a few minutes and in reflecting about Looper, it seems to me at its core it pits against each other two theological themes: Predestination and Free Will. There is the natural order of things which Old Joe desperately wants to change, an expression of his free will in the face of destiny. Which is one reason - among many - why the ending is so awesome: Young Joe, who has been swimming upstream against the flow of fate, makes a fateful act of free will... killing himself. Underlying all of this is the universal reality for every single human being: Regret over the wrong choices we've made. What if we could change them? Looper takes on that idea in an enthralling and entertaining way.

Very interesting thoughts, Scott. Thanks for all the details in your break down, Michael. I'll try to finish reading the script this week and jump into the conversation.