8. Looper
In 2012, director Rian Johnson of Brick fame released his 3rd film, Looper. The Loopers, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Dano, are assassins for hire. Though this seems a common plot, the catch Johnson gives uses the element of time travel. Victims are sent to the past from the future, as it's easier to dispose of the evidence in that time period. But when the contract ends, you end up killing your own future self. When the older version of Joe escapes, a hunt for the elderly assassin ensues. Rather than focusing on the inconsequential subtleties of time travel, Johnson instead looks at existence and the way one's past can affect the future. If we know the way life may turn out, can we make any changes? Or are we doomed to repeat our mistakes, despite knowing the inevitable consequences? In Looper, Johnson aptly combines these philosophical elements with action, suspense and Piper Perabo.