I’ve never really put much thought behind Ryan Gosling, but Drive has changed that. He’s awesome. I think the only other movie I’ve seen him in is Lars and the Real Girl which he was also really good in, but gad zooks. Mr. Gosling plays the Driver, a mysterious and stoic man that evokes some classic Clint Eastwood vibes.

“Driver” as he’s labeled in the credits is a Hollywood stunt driver that moon lights as a getaway driver. He’s got very simple rules: I’m only the driver. I don’t have a weapon, you tell me where to be and where you want to go and I give you 5 minutes from when I show up to get your business done. A second passed that and I’m gone. You make it into the car I’m with you until our trip is done.

With that set in place he becomes involved in a job with the boyfriend of his neighbor. It turns out to be a trap and Driver has to fight his way out of a contract that’s been put on his head. Gosling is just so good in this movie he carries this crazy world on his shoulders. Driver is one of my favorite characters in years. He’s really quite, he doesn’t look like much, but the confidence this guy has is just unnerving. He lives his life on a very narrow, but clear line. Anything that happens on that line is handled with zero hesitation. Very Dirty Harry, but without the gun.

Film nuts have to see this movie, it’s so well made it’s like a lesson in mise en scene. Insane care and thought was put into every frame that you see. Director Nicolas Winding Refn is one of my favorites after discovering his first movie, Pusher, about 5 years ago. He’s got the cinematic eye that crops up every couple of years. I really think he’s on the path to becoming a name like Tarantino, Scorsese and Kubrik. It’s shot in a very slow and methodical way, the composition and lighting carefully considered in every scene. The soundtrack is of Tarnatino quality, it all fits together perfectly. The ads make the movie look like an action flick, but it’s more of a drama. There’s a handful of action scenes and they’re pretty quick, but everyone of them is striking. The movie opens with Driver doing his night job and there is almost no dialog. You don’t know any of the characters or what they’re stealing, just that this driver is going to get them all out of hot water. The images are so clear and concise (major props to the editing as well) that just watching it all unfold in front of you is more story than dialog could convey in the scene. Sitting there I felt the tension of sneaking around the cops, avoiding both cars and helicopter pursuit. You never leave the car with Driver and his passengers, careful actions cut together with the responses of the passengers expressions work so well together it really made a mark on me. So much and yet so little of Driver is conveyed after this opening that it made my head spin.

The movie plays out like a roller coaster where you cruise through the valleys leading to long scenes that ratchet up the plot and tension. That leaves the apex of the scene to erupt in a torrent of violence that sends you rocketing down the other side. The violence is really intense, but it’s not gory for the sake of being shocking. It’s the punctuation of a scene that is so packed that it has to pop to move the plot forward. Drive takes place in a harsh world with people who don’t take no for an answer; it’s survival. The pacing is what makes this film not for everyone. The slower parts can feel like a drag, but there is so much to take in visually that I was totally engrossed through all of it. Driver’s awesome shiny jacket with the gold scorpion on the back is destined to be a icon. One of my favorite movies in quite some time.

It happened again, I’ve watched a bunch of stuff without writing about it so now it’s time to clear the cache with a Review Rampage.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy is easily the best documentary on the Elm Street series. It’s 4 hours long and covers every movie to Freddy vs Jason and the short lived TV series. There are some comments about the 2010 remake on the bonus disc, but it’s pretty much ignored since a completely seperate team made that movie. As a fan this is a much watch, there’s some great behind the scenes info, inteviews from almost the entire cast of the films and it’s very honest. Has re-inspired me to write a new Nightmare movie.

Rango is such a odd movie. It’s beautiful and ugly at the same time. Animation and world design are fantastic but some of the characters are just straight up ugly animals. It’s a heartfelt movie though that slips into some really trippy and surreal scenes. Johnny Depp has such a great voice and delivery, Rango fits him perfectly. You hear Depp in every syllable but you forget it’s him through the animation of his character. I don’t think I’d recommend it for kids though, it gets pretty intense.

Megamind rules. Such a great idea. I’m a fan of Will Ferrel so that helps my enjoyment a lot, he’s so damn funny. Taking the super villains’ perspective is really refreshing and it’s handled really well. He turns a good guy bad (great work by Jonah Hill too), he gets into and out of trouble in creative ways and the movie is basically gorgeous. The final confrontation has one of the greatest character entrances ever, it’s some impressive stuff. One of Dreamworks best animated movies, they’ve really been stepping it up in the past 3 years or so.

Tangled is a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale by Disney. One of the best animated movies they’re done in some time, this one is great for all ages. Touching, some fun songs and it looks pretty amazing. Quality Disney stuff.

I Am Number Four is the story of an alien who is hiding out on Earth from not so nice aliens. Moving around the globe with his guardian (played by Tim Olyphant who I’m a fan of), John Smith is discovered after 3 of his kinship have been hunted down and killed. He’s next on the list and he has to do whatever he can to survive. It’s a fun movie, but the first half could have used some trimming. It takes a while for the movie to really find it’s grove and most of the action (which is really good) is packed into the last act. Solid film making, I’d be interested in seeing a sequel.

Green Hornetis an average movie. I think that’s my problem with it. It’s not bad but it’s not that good either. I think the problem I had was that Seth Rogan’s character Britt Reid is really just too much of a douchebag for most of the movie that it’s hard to root for him. Some cool visuals and action scenes make it tolerable though.

127 Hoursrides on James Franco’s shoulders and he’s more than up to the task. An amazing tale of the human condition and spirit, Franco continues to star in great and unique movies that push his versatility while director Danny Boyle continues to cement his spot as one of the best filmmakers working today.

Skylineis a demo reel for an FX company. That’s all it is. Some impressive special effects work that were said to be done for really cheap that surrounds a terrible script. It’s alien invasion with characters you could not care less about. When things get dicey and intense there is just no emotional attachment. The finale tries to build up some intense moments between the main characters that might have worked if everything preceding it had any soul.

13 Assassins is a great flick in the spirit of the legendary Akira Kurosawa film, Seven Samurai. When a brutal lord is seen quickly ascending the political latter, his goals and methods are deemed to be too evil to be left to grow any longer. A group of 13 samurai band together t to assassinate him. Directed by Takashi Miike, who is best known for his ultra violent and graphic movies, pulls his reins back to take us through this Samurai tale. While this movie is violent, it’s nothing like Miike’s previous gore fests. We don’t see many movies like this and 13 Assassins hits all the right notes in this genre. Check it out.

Hobo With A Shotgunis grindhouse done today. It’s an over the top vigilante picture that’s really well made. The team making it really know the roots of this genre and it shows. It looks like a ’70s exploitation romp but with some modern film making techniques. It’s vulgar and extremely gory and violent so it’s not for everyone. If you are familiar and down with this genre, take it for a ride.

Marvel Studios keep opening the doors on their catalog every summer and Captain America is the latest to enter the spotlight. The movie matched the superhero himself: average at best.

Not to sound like a hater, but the draw of Cap himself isn’t really that strong. He’s really a B level guy in the superhero world as far as I can tell. Average man Steve Rogers tries to join the army during World War II and is turned away multiple times for his physical inadequacies. A chance meeting with Dr. Abraham Erskine gets Rogers into the Super Solider program where all of those nagging little physical inadequacies are erased. Enter Captain America to fight for the side of good.

The movie is really well made. It looks fantastic, the backdrop of the US circa 194x is well established and very believable. Great use of color, it’s well shot and staged and the FX are all done very well. The cast is great to, I think this is Chris Evan’s best work. He makes Steve Rogers a very likeable and loveable guy and he makes great moves in the action scenes (Caps’ fighting style is pretty unique, probably the best part of him). Everyone surrounding him is very good too, he has very good chemistry with Haley Atwell who plays Peggy Carter. They get most of the laughs together and Howard Stark (Iron Man’s father) role was much bigger (and better) than I thought it would be. Hugo Weaving as the villainous Red Skull (who is so hardcore he doesn’t think much of Hitler’s efforts) is great too, the effects for creating him are a particular stand out.

The movie has a very long lead in, there’s a lot of character development and set up with most of the action in the last half hour of the movie. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it does make the pacing feel off. It’s a bit of a drag to be honest. After some time the first action scene comes and it’s pretty short, then a bit later there is a rescue scene and then when the good guys go on the offensive, we get a montage of Cap and some troops taking out some enemy bases. While what is shown is good, there’s really no reference to where they are or what they’re doing. Feels too broad, like it’s just a generalization. That decision didn’t sit well with me. While it’s a good movie, I don’t feel any need to see it again.

The end of an era. It sounds like a lot of pompous hot air, but it’s a true statement for millions of people around the world. 7 books written and 8 books made in 10 years, the Potter series has been a blitzkrieg of entertainment to say the least. Deathly Hallows part 2 is a fitting end to the series, we’ve been very lucky to get movie adaptations of this quality from start to finish.

Part 2 starts right where part 1 ends, Lord Voldermort has discovered where the Elder Wand is and has taken it by force, leaving Harry and his friends with the task of finding and destroying the remaining Horcrux’s which will make Voldermort mortal. Fail in this task and the results are catastrophic.

Thousands of words, miles of film and countless man hours led to this conclusion. Any new comer to the series can’t start with this film, there is no way they would understand what’s going on and why everything works the way it does. It’s actually a hard movie to write about because so much has led up to this. Let’s try to break this down to the essentials.

The whole series has been made with incredible care and detail. The entire cast is spot on and fantastic. Dan, Rupert and Emma have grown up on screen and completely embodied these main characters. I don’t think anyone can read the books and not see these three in their minds as they read. They’ve gotten better and better with every movie and it shows in the finale. They’ve worked with amazing actors (Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman) which helped them greatly. Matt Lewis as Neville Longbottom finally gets his time to shine. With such a fierce and large evil side on display, the brotherhood and love of the good side standing behind Harry is a sight to behold. Many major characters lose their life in the last book and that weight has made it onscreen large in part because of the actors.

There are some amazing special effects done here. The dragon sequence is particularly stunning and much of the final stand at Hogwarts is incredible too. A lot of background work was done so well in this movie, a lot of people won’t realize how much of the movie was actually digitally created. It feels like a real breathing world which is important for the characters to live in. While the time and extra money to convert the movie to 3D was made, it only worked well in a handful of scenes, hardly worth the extra cost to the viewer. It’s not very prevalent and it dims the brightness of the picture so I’d recommend sticking to 2d showings.

This movie is the shortest in the series thanks to careful pacing and editing. The movie hits the ground running from the start, but the finale doesn’t feel as rushed as the book did. There’s a lot of ground to cover in the movie, but everything is shot and cut to a fine point. The battles aren’t drawn out and desensitizing. While there is mass chaos on screen, it never feels disorienting. The quieter scenes aren’t marred to rush to the next set piece, but they don’t drag either. The characters are able to breath in each scene which kept me completely engaged. There’s a lot of big moments in the book and many of them were done perfectly. Harry’s Walk, The Kings Crossing and Epilogue sequences are all really great. In fact, I thought the Epilogue worked better here than in the book. While I don’t agree with all the changes and how some scenes were shot (Molly Weasley’s big line with Bellatrix) it seems kind of trite to complain about at this point. Most of the changes do work, just look at the last scene that Snape stars in, brilliantly done.

Part 2 works so well that it’s arguably the best in the series. The movies all work together as a whole and are faithful, if altered translations. If you want the complete story, the books are right there to read. At the credits I felt a pang of sadness. Even though the story finished with the last book 4 years ago, there is now no more Potter lore to look forward. It’s all done, finished, complete. It was a satisfying journey, one that may not be repeated for quite some time. I kept thinking about the movie days after I had watched it. A lasting impression, something only my favorite movie can give me. I guess the first step to avoid the withdrawal is to take out the books, something I realize I’m long over due in reading again.

Dark of the Moon lumbered into theatres recently and after being insulted by how bad Transformers 2 was, I was really wary of this one. I enjoy Michael Bay movies, I know what I’m in for when his summer blockbusters flash their stuff. Transformers 2 was a rushed trainwreck of a movie and I’m happy to see that Bay and his team pulled their shit together and made a fun movie to watch again.

The Decepticons are up to no good again, setting a trap for the Autobots to bring their home planet, Cybertron, back from the ashes. The human race isn’t going to come out on top if the Decepticon’s plan comes to fruition. Shia LeBeouf and most of the previous cast are back to run around the Autobots feet while all hell breaks lose. Hey, some humans need to help out the giant robots save the planet. Of course the movie has it’s fair share of problems, long run time that could have been pulled in here and there, forced humor, really awkward moments (the talk in the RV with Sam and his parents comes to mind first), but the movie makes sense and is often a lot of fun to watch. There are some really great action scenes and the mindblowing special effects (really some of the best CG ever put on screen, there’s many parts where it looks like there are real giant robots being filmed. Amazing composite work between CG and live action). It’s still cool just to see Optimus Prime and company transform! The addition of filming in 3D was done with a lot of care and it shows. Bay took all the right advise and kept just about all of it to adding depth to the scenes instead of that terrible “pop out at you” stuff. The technology forced him to shoot in wider and longer takes and that just helped every action scene pop and be memorable. The action scene on the highway was thrilling and the squirrel suit jump team sequence was some fantastic filmmaking. Carnage never looked or sounded so good.

Transformers 3 is a Michael Bay movie that works well. Knowing that, you’ll know what to expect so you can set your expectations accordingly. But lets be honest here, Transformers was a terrible cartoon to begin with. We ain’t talking about sterling source material to begin with. It won’t win over any of the hardcore haters, but you can’t please everyone all the time.

Last years Oscar contender, True Grit continues to prove that the Cohen Brothers are easily one of the best film makers working today. A remake of the book of the same name (and movie from 1969), it’s such a treat to watch a bad ass Western these days. A classic tale of revenge, young Mattie Ross hires a Marshall, Rooster Cogburn to find her fathers killer, Tom Chaney. She’s a tough girl who won’t take no for an answer, hell bent on seeing Chaney be punished for his senseless crime.

True Grit is awesome from top to bottom. A great script that is surprisingly funny is brought to life by a fantastic cast. Jeff Bridges (who has been on a roll these past few years), Josh Brolin (him too, thanks to the Cohens as well) and a surprise casting choice with Matt Damon as LeBeouf fill out the main cast. But the real star here is Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie and she’s amazing. The entire movie rides on her shoulders and she kills it in every scene. She’s relatively new to the business and at 15 years old her performance was that much more impressive.

Watch it!

Some recent stuff I’ve watched that can be summed up in 5 sentences or less.

Hereafter– Follow how 3 different people from 3 different walks of life deal with death. Clint Eastwood directs one of the most boring movies I’ve seen in quite some time. Matt Damon lends his star power to this snooze fest.

Twelve– A young drug dealer who really doesn’t dig life gets his world flipped over when his cousin is killed. Everything he calls on as a constant in his life ceases to. I usually dig these types of movies, but this one didn’t work for me and I’m not really sure why. The cast was decent but I think the journey wasn’t terribly interesting. Watch the amazing movie Pusher instead.

A.I. Artificial IntelligenceThis was the last movie Stanley Kubrick worked on, which Stephen Speilberg picked up to see it to completion. Wild sci-fi movie that I’ve been meaning to watch since it came out in 2001. Haley Joel Osment was The-Kid-Actor of Hollywood at this point and he did a remarkable job as David, a robot boy adopted to a family when their own sun is cryo-genically frozen until a cure for him is found. When the son comes back, David is cast out on his own to his bewilderment. He sets out on a journey to become a real boy so his family will take him back and love him. It’s a spin on the Pinocchio tale set in the future that really makes you think about what being human really means. Some crazy animatronic work by the late Stan Winston is in full effect in this often very visually striking film. I didn’t like the end though, it took a really weird turn there.

The Mechanic-Jason Statham laces up is action shoes again for this one. Arthur is a Mechanic (see: hitman) who is very good at his job. After he’s forced to take down a friend, he ends up taking his friends son as an apprentice, to teach him to channel his anger into this new, specialized line of work. The Mechanic is a solid action movie. Statham does his usual quality work here, the direction is good, the action is fun and often inventive and there are enough twists that keep things interesting (even if they are predictable).