# Movie Mini Reviews: Looper, Skyfall, Lincoln, Life of Pi By [Continuations](https://continuations.com) · 2012-11-30 movie review, skyfall, looper, lincoln, life of pi --- I have been too busy with [more important topics](http://continuations.com/post/36739793922/act-today-to-defend-the-internet-and-our-rights) to write movie reviews.  So here are a few mini reviews (reviewlets?) of movies I have seen recently.  I wanted to like both Looper and Skyfall but didn’t really.  Conversely, my expectations for Lincoln and Life of Pi were lower and I wound up enjoying both immensely.  Maybe there is a theory about the impact of expectations on actual enjoyment here (trying to remember if [Daniel Kahneman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kahneman) or [Dan Ariely](http://www.danariely.com/) have written about this). [Looper’s](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/) basic time travel meets organized crime meets karma setup is a great premise. I also enjoyed the gritty and dystopian world it painted.  And I have a soft spot for [Bruce Willis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000246/). But the relationship between the past and the future in Looper didn’t work for me at all. I won’t give away any details – I don’t have the time right now and I don’t want to provide any spoilers – but there were such gaping inconsistencies that I completely popped out of the suspension of disbelief. [Skyfall](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1074638/) has pretty much the same issue. I am a fan of [Daniel Craig](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/daniel_craig) as Bond and loved Casino Royale (if you like Craig, you should watch Layer Cake). I also really like [Javier Bardem](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/javier_bardem). And the idea of a story line around agent in the field versus computer hackers is of course timely. I can even get behind the “mother” theme in the relationship between agents and M (the ever good [Judi Dench](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001132/)). But Bardem’s character is so wildly overdrawn and overacted as to be unbearable (a [Sam Mendes](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005222/) specialty, I am afraid) even as an echo of campy [Bond villains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_villains) past. As in Looper though the most damning part were the huge logical inconsistencies even within the universe of the story and characters. [Lincoln](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/) was the complete opposite experience. It could have been a dry historical exercise with too much dialog that would feel like a long movie to sit through. Instead, the 2.5 hours went by quickly and at every point I felt fully engaged in the story unfolding.  [Daniel Day Lewis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Day-Lewis) is terrific as Lincoln who comes across as a quirky American original. The loneliness at the top for a leader seems palpable. And even the characters that provide some comic relief, such as [James Spader](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Spader)’s WN Bilbo are not overdone (except maybe for the scene with [Tommy Lee Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Lee_Jones) in Men in Black mode). We went to see Lincoln [with our kids](http://susandanziger.com/post/36588661237/playdatewithlincoln) and even they felt drawn in. Finally, [Life of Pi](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454876/) is excellent also. It is the kind of movie to experience on a large screen and with great sound. I took my mother along who at one moment actually yelled out in surprise (and she was not the only one in the theater). Despite a framing story with an interview of the adult Pi and many fantastical elements this movie has such coherent and powerful visual story telling that I stayed fully engaged for the entire time. This is maybe all the more surprising as one of the movie’s main characters is [a CGI tiger](http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/life-of-pi-tiger-cgi-or-real/) and I went in intent on actively looking for the CGI. There are so many movies out there that I would love to see, including [Anna Karenina](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1781769/) and [Argo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/).  And more coming out. Now based on these four mini reviews it would seem I have to figure out how to hold my expectations for [The Hobbit](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/) in check .. ![Enhanced by Zemanta](http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=71adbf0f-0582-4541-a870-bfe759de158c) --- *Originally published on [Continuations](https://continuations.com/movie-mini-reviews-looper,-skyfall,-lincoln,-life-of-pi)*