Drive
Year: 2011
Genre:Crime/Drama/Thriller
Runtime:100mins
Rating:R
IMDB Score:
8.0/10 (124,000+ Votes)
Director(s):Nicolas Winding Refn
Writer(s):Hossein Amini (screenplay) and James Sallis (book)
Plot/Synopsis:
A mysterious Hollywood stuntman, mechanic and getaway driver lands himself in trouble when he helps out his neighbor.
Forethought(s):
Honestly when I saw the trailer I said “Eh” but so many people are saying how good it is I feel the need to watch it.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
The director of the flick has failed his driving test 8 times and still does not have a license.
The Breakdown:
The stars:
Ryan Gosling as Driver. He’s the strong silent type.
Carey Mulligan as Irene. The wife with a husband is jail.
Bryan Cranston as Shannon. An unlucky soul.
Albert Brooks as Bernie. A mob man.
Ron Perlman as Nino. Another mob man.
Christina Hendricks as Blanche. A big breasted red head…my favorite! Ok fine she plays a theift.
If anyone wants to get me a jacket like this I will hug you.
With a title like Drive one would expect there to be some high octane action that involves fast cars and faster women but that’s not the case with this movie. Normally that would bug the hell out of me but this movie was good without those items. Could it have used some more car chases? Yes. Could it have used some loose ladies? Yes. Did it have more gore than some horror movies I’ve watched recently? Oddly enough yes.
What’s really weird about this movie is that every 30 minutes of so it feel like it’s a different type of movie. The first 30,after the first few minutes of the opening feel like an off beat romance movie, the next 30 feel like heist movie while the last 30 feel like a revenge movie. It just works out.
So here are the 30 minute blocks:
Block #1: The block starts off after the opening scene which last for about 3 or 4 minutes and is a chase scene. Boy meets girl, girl has husband in jail, boy and girl have a thing without it being a thing.
Block #2: Girls’ husband comes home from jail and is soon meets a beating he can’t walk away from. Boy finds out that the husband owes many thousands of dollars to some bad people,so,boy helps out husband to get the money. They hold up a pawn shop,someone get’s kill and a car chase ensues. Brains get blown out and we actually see brain matter fly across the screen. That alone is more gore than some horror flicks I’ve seen lately. There more than that in the film.
Block #3: Boy finds out who’s behind the car chasing them and sets to make things right. Things get pretty violent during this block.
Awww, they look cute together.
A lot of people are talking about how great the acting was in the movie and truthfully,I,found it to be normal and after seeing Ryan Gosling in Crazy,Stupid,Love I was a bit disappointed in him in this film. I do think,however, that has to do with the role itself and not him as an actor. I did really like Ron Perlman in this flick. He plays a tough guy and he always does those roles well.
The Verdict:
If you’re looking for something that is a little bit off the beaten path then I say give this one a shot. It’s not full of action but has some along with a good mix of romance and drama.
I give this movie 3 hot wheels out of 5.
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Batman: Year One
Year: 2011
Genre: Animation/Action
Runtime: 64mins
Rating: PG-13
IMDB Score: 7.3/10
Director(s): Sam Liu & Lauren Montgomery
Writer(s): Bob Kane (creator of Batman), Frank Miller (original story) and Tab Murphy (screenplay)
Plot/Synopsis:
A wealthy playboy and a Chicago cop both return to Gotham City where their lives will intersect in unexpected ways.
Forethought(s):
Great,just want we need yet another telling of Batman and his first year. Still, I want to see it because I’m a comic geek.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
If Darren Aronofsky made Batman Begins this is pretty much what we would have gotten because he was planing on doing a year one story but WB picked Nolan instead. Even Nolan picked out elements from the Year One story.
The Breakdown:
Wow, freaking wow,this is the best DC original animated flick I’ve seen to date. The art style reminds me of late ’80s-early/mid ’90s Manga home video movies. Things like: Street Fighter 2 the animated movie, Ninja Scroll, and Wicked City to name just a few. The animation was very smooth and enjoyable to watch, no stammering at all during the action sequences.
This is a year one story but it’s not so much about Batman as it is about Gordon. Sure, Bats is in it but not as much as you would expect and when he is it’s 50/50 of him being himself and Bruce. This is a story about Gordon moving to Gotham and dealing with all the scum the city has to offer including the force that he works for. If you weren’t a Gordon fan before this you will be after.
The voice work is almost perfect. The dude who they got to voice Bruce/Bats (someone I do not know[Ben McKenzie]) is almost as bad (yes bad as in not good) as Bale as Bats. Eliza Dusku was not the right choice for this Catwoman but I have no doubt that should would do a great Amanda Waller. She wasn’t bad, just not what you would think of you see this Catwoman. Finally, the person who plays Alfred (who has an IMDB page that reads like a phone book) plays him just a bit to uptight and it doesn’t work. The rest of the voices were really damn good. Bryan Cranston plays Gordon and now I don’t want anyone else voicing that character.
This is the most mature DC animated flick I’ve seen and I’m not sure a lot of you would want to let kids under 13 watch it,not for the stuff they show like blood, sexual material (no nudes running around) like prostitutes and the violence but for the questions I’m sure they would want to ask you. If you’re going to let say a 10 year old watch it make sure you watch it with them so you can explain some of the more adult themes at work.
Bouns Fun Fact(s):There is a chase scene in the movie where the chase goes by a store called VHS and Beta Max Rentals. You will definitely see things from Batman Begins in this movie because Nolan pull elements from the graphic novel that this movie is an translation of.
The Verdict:
Great animation,great voice work, engrossing story. If you want a good mature Batman film that you can let your kids watch then this is the one for you.
I give this movie 5 batarangs out of 5.
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The Lincoln Lawyer
Year: 2011
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Runtime: 118mins
Rating: R
IMDB Score: 7.4/10 (17,800+ Votes)
Director(s): Brad Furman
Writer(s): John Romano (screenplay) & Michael Connelly (novel)
Plot/Synopsis:
A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing a high-profile client in Beverly Hills
Forethought(s):
The plot sounds interesting and it has a bunch of good actors in it. I’m looking forward to watching this. I just hope it doesn’t drag like a lot of these types of movies do.
Fun Fact/Trivia:
This lives in the same universe as Blood Work.
The Breakdown:
This movie has a hell of a cast, shame that most of them are underused. It has Matthew McConaughy, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy as the stars and then it has John Leguizamo,Michael Pena, Michala Conlin and Bryan Cranston as the secondaries. And unless their last name was McConaughy or Phillippe they weren’t on screen for more than say five minutes. But it’s still cool just to see this line up in a movie. I think it goes without saying that there was no bad acting what-so-ever in this movie. The worse acting in the flick is still decent. 
My main fear of this movie was that it was going to drag like a lot of dramas of this nature tend to do but I’m glad to report that it doesn’t. It’s a two hour movie that will fly by as long as you’re into this type of movie. It’s filled with a ton of dialogue and at points very fast speaking to give it a sense of urgency. My other fear was that there was going to be a lot of lawyer speak and I was not going to understand the movie, well, other than the basic stuff that is in every courtroom drama there is no large understandable phrases or laws being spouted like crazy. But you will still need to watch this movie more than once to get everything that is going on just because of all the stuff that is going on. Also there are some plot holes in the movie that just make you question what is happening or why something did not happen that should. They’re not huge so don’t linger on them like I tend to do. All in all it is a really well written movie. If you’re not watching it because you’re afraid that you won’t get what’s going on to the point that you don’t understand anything for get that and watch it. It’s really not as bad as I make it out to sound.
Something that was surprised by was the soundtrack. The music was not what you would expect from a movie like this but it works and it sound great. There’s a lot of Soul and R&B going on in this flick and that is very refreshing from all the metal and pop crap we get in movie today. I won’t like I only recognize one performer off the soundtrack and that is Marvin Gaye. Some of the others on the soundtrack are Colin Smith, Danny Chaimson, Ari Hest and a fair amount of others.
The Verdict:
The movie has great actors, a well written script that is pack with dialogue. You’re most likely going to want to watch this movie more than once to get everything out of it.
I give this movie 4 case closes out of 5.
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