Look beyond the residents of “Hotel Transylvania” and the monsters in “Resident Evil Part 18” and you’ll notice fascinating, character-driven films playing at a theater near you.  And no, not all of them fit nto the artsy-fartsy, “for-film-snobs-only” genre.

Nope, the most surprising winner so far this season is “Looper,” a sci-fi thriller with more than a few scenes of a gun-toting Bruce Willis laying waste to nameless bad guys.

Willis has a small but integral part to play in a twisty and pleasantly time-travel adventure from “Brick” director Rian Johnson.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, a hitman living in 2042 who kills people sent via illegal time travel from 30 years in the future (it’s the snazzy way of ditching bodies AND all the evidence). (more…)