Justin's Log

Source Code (2011) • Summit Entertainment Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a smart, razor-sharp sci-fi thriller that asks a gripping question: What would you do if you had only eight minutes to prevent a catastrophe? What would you do if you had only eight minutes to understand what was happening around you? That question is at the heart of Source Code (2011), a science-fiction thriller directed by Duncan Jones. The movie takes a familiar idea—being given another chance—and turns it into a tense mystery where every minute matters. Captain Colter Stevens, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, suddenly wakes up on a moving commuter train. A woman sitting across from him, Christina, seems to know him, but he has no idea who she is. The passenger...

Upgrade (2018) movie poster. Source: Universal Pictures. Used for review and commentary purposes. What if technology could make your body stronger and faster than ever before—but you were no longer completely sure who was in control? Leigh Whannell's Upgrade (2018) takes that idea and turns it into a fast, violent, and surprisingly thoughtful science-fiction action thriller. At first, the movie may look like a straightforward story about a man searching for answers after his life is suddenly destroyed. But underneath the fights and futuristic technology is a more interesting question about the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. Logan Marshall-Green plays Grey Trace, a man who is uncomfortable with a world becoming increasingly dependent on technol...

District 9 (2009) movie poster. Source: Sony Pictures Releasing. Used for review and commentary purposes. District 9 takes a familiar science-fiction idea—aliens arriving on Earth—and turns it into something much more uncomfortable, realistic, and surprisingly human. What happens when visitors from another world arrive on Earth, but instead of being welcomed or feared as conquerors, they become unwanted outsiders? Neill Blomkamp's District 9 (2009) begins with a huge alien spacecraft hanging silently above Johannesburg, South Africa. That image sounds like the beginning of a traditional alien invasion movie, but this film quickly goes in a very different direction. The aliens are not powerful ...

Looper (2012) — Movie Poster. Source: IMP Awards Time-travel movies often come with complicated rules, multiple timelines, and enough explanations to make your head hurt. Looper (2012), written and directed by Rian Johnson, certainly has a complex idea at its center, but what impressed me most was not the science behind time travel. It was the choices people have to make because of it. The story felt fresh and unpredictable, and several moments took the movie in directions I did not expect. But what stayed with me most was a simple question after the movie ended: If I were in Joe's position, what decision would I have made? That question is one of the main reasons Looper worked so well for me. This review is spoiler-light and avoids the movie's major later developments and ending. 1. A Clever Idea That Quickly Gets Your A...