Drive and some thoughts.....

Drive:

I've been waiting some time for this one. I've got a man crush on Ryan Gosling. I think his style of acting is spot on for James Dean and I feel his smooth tones and graces are a polite nod to the Rat Pack crooners of the late 50's. Now, that aside, the film Drive has been hailed by critics and bashed by viewers and I totally can see why. Drive is NOT the American action movie. There is very little CGI, no huge explosions, no wild nude scenes, and the plot makes sense all the way through. The beginning is slow, the dialogue exceptional, and the car chases are truly a masterful work of art. Not since Ronin, with Robert De Niro, have American audiences been introduced to such well choreographed scenes and such masterful shots that there is no need for CGI or Fast and Furiousness (not that I'm hating on that franchise, I'm just saying).

The film centers around the nameless Driver who is a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a criminal. The Driver lives a meek lifestyle and is captured in solitude until he runs into a single mom struggling with her little boy while her husband is in prison. The two connect and when the husband gets out the Driver steps up John Wayne style and tries to help this family out, only to fall in the heart of a set up that threatens them all.

There are not enough words in the English vocabulary to explain how well this film is made. The violence is literally in your face and no holds bars but still manages to have a level of style and class that brings the entire move into a higher plain of enjoyment. Don't bother renting this one folks, it's a gem in any collection, so just go and buy it.

And thoughts

So the Spring and summer line ups are gearing up for a superhero/redo/conclusion/reinvention season. If you don't understand what I just said, then surely you have not been checking out some of the trailers seen on IMDB.

What's the word for this summer? SUPERHERO. The Avengers is kicking off followed by the end of the Dark Knight trilogy of films and that is over shadowed by the Amazing Spiderman. These high dollar films are taking the superhero franchise where Xmen never could and just as your whistle is wet for these high impact films, you find yourself praying that they do not follow in the steps of the Transformers and franchise suicide. Billions, yes literally billions, of bucks have been wagered on these films and it's make or break time if they do not deliver as promised. Failure is already being projected for Dark Knight as it is clear that past success can not be duplicated due to the untimely passing of acting god Heath Ledger. Producers have tried to make up for the Joker's absence by sending a one two punch with Bane and Catwoman, but already Catwoman is seemingly lacking with her costume and her teaser surprises in recent trailers. Die hard fans will surely not want to accept anything but utter victory, but serious movie goers have to be biting their fingernails in worry. Can director Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale pull out a third and final honor to the caped crusader, or will this film suddenly remind fans of a time when the bat suit had nipples?

Another possibly tanked franchise will be the remake of Spiderman. It's barely been ten years since Toby Maguire and Sam Rami managed to tank an entire franchise with the tragedy that was Spiderman 3 (seriously it was that bad) and now Fox has green lit an entirely new vision of Spiderman, a completely new story, and a new Spiderman for that matter. In stunned amazement fans are constantly bickering back and forth about if the movie will be good or not and the debate will more than likely reach epic proportions as most of the world will just say, "Too soon."

Now fill the gaps with films like Prometheus, which I am very much looking forward too, and hard hitting dramas like Safe House, Act of Valor, and The Vow. Also, there is the line of sequels that shouldn't have happened like Men In Black III, Wrath of the Titans and Ghost Rider II, there will also be those movies that are going to be a huge gamble like John Carter, the Hunger Games, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Keep in mind that there will be the movies that should have never happened like Battleship and Scary Movie 6000, but there will always be those diamonds in the rough or those independent films that you will never see in theaters but love when then come out on DVD. Some future hits you should really look into are Take Shelter, Albert Nobs, and The Artist. As for me, look for a Thing Review tomorrow and very soon In Time and other hits as the money rolls in.

Until then, go rent something and enjoy it.

J.