The Big Short (9/10): Economics for Dummies

"Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of the world to come."

The Big Short is such a refreshing and surprising film because it manages to perfectly balance a difficult subject matter and make it entertaining. It is perhaps one of the most important films made this year reminding us of the worldwide economic breakdown that began in 2007 and left millions of people without their life savings. Many of us don't understand much about economics or how it works, and that is why we have been so eager to forget what happened and continue moving on as if nothing ever happened. This film refreshes our memory and reminds us of what a terrible crime was committed during the housing bubble collapse. The film centers on the few men who recognized the problem early on and took advantage of the situation. The Big Short is a dramatic movie, there is no doubt about it, but it also manages to include some comedic moments by breaking the fourth wall and including pop culture figures to explain some of the more complicated financial terms. It does it in a brilliant way and it's been a while since I've seen a film break the fourth wall as well as this one did. I've seen many documentaries on this subject, but this film manages to explain things better and open our eyes to the dangers we might face again in the future because we've ignored the real problem and seem to be repeating the same mistakes once again. Mckay manages to infuriate and open our eyes while entertaining us at the same time with an engaging film thanks to a witty adapted script which he helped co-write with Charles Randolph.

It's not the first time that a film based on a Micheal Lewis novel manages to draw in an audience that doesn't necessarily need to comprehend the subject matter. You could be clueless about baseball, but in Moneyball the story still managed to engage a worldwide audience. The same can be said about this film because the economic terms are explained in a simple way. That is why I believe this is one of the most important films of the year because it allows even those that never seemed interested in economics to understand how it still affects them. It is an eye opening film for those that felt uninterested in trying to understand what happened in 2007. If there is one film that audiences should see this year then this might just be the one (not for its technical or artistic value, but for the importance of its subject matter). 

The Big Short is Adam McKay's dramatic directorial debut and his background in comedy is what probably helped this film become more accesible. The man who brought us Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys, now brings us a thought provoking film. He's received two Oscar nominations (directing and writing) for his work here and what an impressive film he has crafted. The film is heavy on dialogue, but the script is so perfectly written that each character in this film becomes memorable. The performances are outstanding which simply proves what a key element writing is for an actor. It was refreshing to see Ryan Gosling back again after his retirement from the big screen for two years. He plays the charismatic character he could easily play in his sleep, but he is still a delight to watch. He delivers a solid role, but out of the four big names it was Steve Carell who stood out. He gets the best dramatic moments and lights up each scene he enters in. Brad Pitt has a smaller role but he makes perfect use of his screen time with an understated performance. Christian Bale is the only actor who received a nomination for his performance in this film and it is well deserved. He plays a socially awkward character and totally sells it. There are films where there are so many big names that no one really gets to shine, but this film manages to make every character memorable thanks to the wonderful script. 

Lost River (5/10): Gosling's ambitious directorial debut doesn't reach the high standards he was setting for the film.

“The wolves... if they're not already at your door... they're gonna be there very efin soon.”

Lost River has the potential of becoming a cult film in a few years because it is very artistic and far from being a mainstream movie due to its lack of a cohesive narrative structure and its nightmarish atmospheric approach. Ryan Gosling, who is one of my favorite actors, is the writer and director of Lost River, and for a first feature film I must say that he aimed extremely high. He borrows heavily from directors he’s worked with in the past or that he’s admired, so you can see some heavy influences from Refn, Noe, Cronenberg, and perhaps even more from David Lynch. These aren’t directors that are easy to imitate and therefor Gosling struggles to find his own voice although the result is rather unique. Being an actor that many people like the easiest thing for Gosling would’ve been to direct a mainstream film, but I give him credit for trying to make an artistic film that will be appreciated by a select group of people. I didn’t have any funny watching Lost River, but I did find some of the nightmarish scenes quite disturbing so it isn’t one of those movies you easily forget about. I’m not a fan of surrealism so I’m not the greatest judge for a film like this, but I think that it will find its audience with fans of movies like Enter the Void, Under the Skin or any of Lynch’s films. What Rosling is trying to get at under all the heavy imagery he uses is the desolation that the American Dream has on some people when its not achieved.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to do in a review for a film like this is write a plot summary because it would be easy to confuse the reader and make them believe there is some sort of narrative structure to the movie when in reality it’s more about setting a dreamy atmosphere. The story takes place in a fictional town named Lost River where most of the people have abandoned the place after a nearby flood destroyed the city. It is actually filmed in an abandoned town in Detroit and Gosling experiments by having some residents interact with the actors in a couple of scenes. A young teen named Bones (Iain De Caestecker) dreams of leaving the city knowing there is no future there, but his single mother, Billy (Christina Hendricks), refuses to leave the place where she grew up in. Billy is behind on the payments of her home however, and she is forced by a banker named Dave (Ben Mendelsohn) to accept a job at this sort of dark underground freak show that he owns. Bones’ neighbor, Rat (Saoirse Ronan), who lives with her mute widowed grandmother, tells him that the flood has left a spell on the town and that is why everyone behaves so strange in this city. The streets are owned by a violent man known as Bully (Matt Smith) who Bones gets into trouble with. Meanwhile Billy is introduced to the dark underworld where she works where audiences seem to have a fascination for gore. There she meets one of the performers, Cat (Eva Mendes) who shows her how the place works. The film basically follows these characters and introduces us to the nightmarish town accompanied with a vibrant electric score and neon lights. 

The performances in Lost River are solid with Ben Mendelsohn standing out as you can tell he’s having a lot of fun with his character. The film might be all over the place at times, but the talented cast delivers. Iain de Caestecker is the lead actor and his scenes were probably my favorite when it focused on his relationship with Rat and the tension between his character and Bully. Matt Smith is also having a lot of fun with his character and despite not being as menacing a villain his wacky and violent behavior is always hard to predict. As much as I enjoyed Christina Hendricks in the female lead role, the scenes of the dark underworld took me completely out of the movie. It was a freak show that I didn’t care for very much. Reda Kateb has some interesting scenes playing the nice cab driver. There is one scene where he talks to Billy about the American dream which is sort of the underlying message of the film. Overall I felt the movie didn’t balance the two main stories very well and there were scenes that felt disconnected with the rest of the film. Lost River isn’t an easy watch but I still admire Gosling’s effort.

My Review: Blue Valentine (8/10)

"Girls spend their whole life looking for Prince Charming and then marry the guy who's got a good job and is gunna stick around."

Blue Valentine might not be an easy movie to sit through or an uplifting one for that matter, but it is a great story that presents an interesting study about love and marriage. I wonder how many girls were disappointed after thinking this was going to be another chick flick. This isn't a movie you should go see with your date because it may leave you a little depressed. This isn't your typical anti-romantic film either because it doesn't only study the disintegration of love; it also pays a lot of attention on how the relationship and love was built in the first place. It is a very emotional film with some great performances from the two lead roles. The chemistry between Gosling and Williams is just incredible. It is also very well directed by Derek Cianfrance who went through a great deal of preparation and planning before making this film. He also wrote the script and allowed for the actors to improvise giving the film a very authentic and realistic vibe. Blue Valentine depicts relationships in such a way that it reminds the audience that films aren't made only for voyeuristic and entertaining purposes; they can sometimes be a mirror of the way we interact and relate with one another. Blue Valentine is such a film and I'm sure it will leave some people uncomfortable, but I'm still recommending this because it is one of the best films dealing with falling in and out of love. 

The film introduces us to a present day working class couple, Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), who have a small daughter named Frankie (Faith Wladyka). Dean is very youthful and playful while Cindy seems a little frustrated with him at the time being. She's a nurse who once dreamed of becoming a doctor, while he works as a painter and has no other ambition in life than to spend time with his family. They are a very young couple and marriage seems to have taken a toll on them. Dean is beginning to lose some hair and he has lost some of his youthful charm, while Cindy is really displeased with the way things are going. The film isn't told in linear form as we see flashbacks of how Dean and Cindy met and eventually fell in love. So we have these two contrasting scenes overlapping each other during the entire movie, one showing how the marriage begins to slowly dissolve while the other focuses on courtship and how the two fell in love with each other. By doing so, Cianfrance slowly draws the viewer in by involving them in the story and also gives us important background information about each character.

The reason why I decided to finally watch this film is because I recently saw The Place Beyond the Pines, Cianfrance's latest film, which I really loved. Blue Valentine may be a little too depressing, but it still managed to draw my attention and get me emotionally involved with the characters. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are great together and the chemistry was amazing. Those flashback scenes were so good that it hurt to see how the relationship had dissolved in the present day. Cianfrance created some relatable characters. Love shouldn't be this depressing and I know it isn't like this all the time, but couples nowadays fall in and out of love so easily that this is a film that rings true to life and in a way it is an interesting study as to why these relationships fail sometimes. There are some signs during the flashbacks that kind of serve as warnings as to why the relationship might fail, but love can be blind at times. This is one of those films that leave a lasting effect on the viewer and is open to many interpretations. It is not a film you go see and then easily can forget about and that is why I'm recommending Blue Valentine. It sticks with you. 

My Review: Only God Forgives (3/10)

"Time to meet the devil."

I've never gone from a love-hate relationship as fast as I have with Nicolas Winding Refn after watching Only God Forgives. His prior film, Drive, was my favorite movie of 2011 and now only two years later I was utterly disappointed with his follow up movie also staring Ryan Gosling. Everything that I loved about Drive, I hated about this film. It was an exercise in style, but it lacked substance. It's an existentialist surrealistic film that never managed to connect with me. I have to admit the style and the visuals were great, but the story was way too vague and the movie didn't say anything to me. I know that there are many film buffs that loved this film and have explained the meaning of the story, but despite understanding what they are saying it didn't really say anything to me. I respect their point of view, but I can't justify a film that narratively didn't draw me in or had no meaning to me personally. I wouldn't want to waste another 89 minutes of my life re watching it and trying to find a deep new meaning just because I didn't see it the first time around. Only God Forgives is a very divisive film and in a way that proves Refn's success here. He did manage to reach to a specific audience just like a specific art piece speaks to one person but to another it is just a paper drawing. Despite how much respect I have for Refn I have to say this was simply an empty exercise in style that we've seen in much better films in the past.

Julian (Ryan Gosling) manages a Thai boxing club in Bangkok, but it is only a cover up for his underground drug operation which is the real reason as to where the money comes from. His partner and brother, Billy (Tom Burke) rapes and kills a 16 year old girl and all hell breaks lose. A former police officer, Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), allows the victim's father to kill Billy in order to restore order and balance, but when Billy and Julian's mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), arrives in town to reclaim her son's dead body she asks Julian to kill those people responsible for killing his brother.

The plot may seem pretty straightforward like any other revenge movie, but this is far from it. It is a slow paced film with long shots of colorful wallpapered hallways full of silent moments, it is stylish and has little characterizations, the narrative is surreal and dreamy, it sometimes can seem pretentious and extremely showy which may leave the audience feeling tedious, and it is brutal and sadistic in its portrayal of violence. There are extreme close ups on Ryan Gosling whose character shows no emotion at all. I felt like he was just in a photo shoot at times simply modeling for the camera. He only has 22 lines in the entire movie. He was completely empty, but it was exactly the character he was asked to play. Kristin Scott Thomas is supposed to play this menacing character, but she reminded me of Lady Gaga in her weird days. I didn't enjoy her performance at all. Everyone was detached or at least that is how I felt towards the movie. Pansringarm also played a very silent character with some sort of supernatural ability or quality. He was sort of the God figure who was sent to restore order and justice. There is a lot of style in this film and several stunning camera shots but the movie is extremely dull and hollow.

My Review: The Place Beyond the Pines (9/10)

¨If you ride like lightning, you´re going to crash like thunder.¨

The Place Beyond the Pines is director Derek Cianfrance´s follow up to his critically acclaimed drama Blue Valentine which also happened to star Ryan Gosling. I personally never have seen Blue Valentine, so this was the first time I ever watched one of Cianfrance´s films and I have to admit that I was blown away by this epic drama. It may have its flaws, but the film is tremendously powerful and sticks with you long after the credits role. This isn’t an easy watch either as it is a 140 minute movie with a lot of character development, but it has some very entertaining and thrilling moments that make the film go by rather quickly. I never found a dull moment in this film and although it shifts gears several times each part of the film hooked me and left me wanting more. Cianfrance delivers one of the year´s best films thanks to some great performances from Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and newcomer Emory Cohen. Ryan Gosling give a similar performance to the one he gave in Drive, where his character doesn’t say much but acts really tough and cool. This time around he is an experienced motorcycle driver. This epic film can be divided in three parts, and in my opinion the first 40 minutes might be the best part of the film where Gosling absolutely shines and the film works more like a suspenseful thriller. In the second segment, the film focuses on Bradley Cooper and we get to see him play his useful charismatic self. This was probably the weakest part of the film for me, but it ends with a bang in the third segment where we are introduced to the main character´s sons 15 years later and we get to see how their family´s legacy influences their lives and decisions. Both Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan give some strong performances here. This last part might feel a bit rushed and I could have used some 20 more minutes of their story, but it was great nonetheless. I was really hooked with this movie and look forward to seeing some of Cianfrance´s previous work.

The story takes place in Schenectady, New York where Luke (Ryan Gosling) is just passing by along with the carnival as he works as one of the motorcycle drivers in the globe of death. He happens to share a connection with the small town as his former lover, Romina (Eva Mendes), lives there. They exchange a short dialogue after his act and he offers to take her home. He discovers that she has had his kid but is now living with another man. Growing up without a father has affected Luke´s life so he decides he wants to be around for his kid despite Romina not wanting him around. Luke quits the carnival and decides to stay in town working for a mechanic named Robin (Ben Mendelsohn). He wants to provide for his son, but the money isn’t enough so Luke is easily convinced by Robin to begin robbing banks. The two form a duo that involves Luke robbing the bank and driving off as fast as he can in his motorcycle while Robin waits for him in a truck where they can easily hideout and escape. They begin to have success, but Robin isn’t sure they should continue to do heists as often as they do. Luke decides to continue on his own and that is where his path is connected to Officer Avery´s (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious police officer who works in a department full of corrupt cops. And yes Ray Liotta plays yet another corrupt detective once again. The film shifts its focus in this second part on Avery and his relation with the police department and his family, specifically with his wife, Jennifer (Rose Byrne) and his supportive father Al (Harris Yulin). The final segment takes place 15 years later and it involves the relationship that Luke and Avery´s sons have with each other.

The film is ambitious but I think it manages to capture several issues in a very powerful away. Some of the things that the director is dealing with here seem to be the importance of a father figure (or lack thereof) in your life, and how the mistakes of our past continue to catch up with us in our generations to come. It is not an easy thing to tackle these issues in such a short time, but the film really felt like a novel and many of the images were left unsaid for the viewer to interpret on their own. The film has a very strong screenplay, some very powerful performances, and several dark dramatic turns. It is also very beautiful to look at despite the film noir look. I really found this to be a wonderful film and one I had to pay close attention to as the events unraveled before the screen. I especially liked the first 40 minutes of the film and the final 20, but I think it worked really well as a cohesive and connected story.

 

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My Review: Gangster Squad (6/10)

¨I always knew I’d die in Burbank¨

Gangster Squad walks a really thin line between being a terrible film and an entertaining one. First of all it has a really great and talented cast; it also has a good production design and is very stylized reminding us of some epic gangster films. On the other hand the film only looks gangster-like on the surface; it is not really a serious neo-noir gangster film but more of a light comedic gangster movie. This is director Ruben Fleisher’s follow up to his hit comedy Zombieland, and in a way it does feel like a satire of sorts of gangster films, but in some strange way it fails to find its own personality. You never know if you’re supposed to take the movie seriously or not because something is missing in the mix between drama and comedy. One critic defined the film better than I could by claiming it is ¨LA Confidential without the script.¨ It has the look and the tone of a serious gangster film, but the script which was loosely adapted by Will Beall from Paul Lieberman’s book just fails and the dialogues seem cartoonish at times. The violence is pretty heavy as there are plenty of glamorized gunfight scenes and a large body count. Sean Penn plays the villain a little over the top, but it works if you view the film as this sort of spoof of the gangster genre. And really in my opinion this approach is what works best because it is entertaining if taken lightly as a spoof. I feel sorry for those who went into this film with high expectations because they will mostly be disappointed, unless they can live with a mindless popcorn action flick with some good performances.

The story takes place in 1949 Los Angeles where Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), a mob king from Chicago, has taken over the city and is planning on controlling all criminal activities there with the help of corrupt officers and judges. He will eliminate whoever stands in his path. Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) on the other hand is a WWII veteran who is determined to do what he can to clean up the city. When Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) hears about O’Mara’s heroics he decides to assign him with a special underground task: to form an elite squad of police officers that will take down the mob King. Thus O’Mara begins his quest to find the right officers for his special team with the help of his wife Connie (Mireille Enos) who is worried about his wellbeing and wants him to be protected as best as possible. O’Mara chooses Officer Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), Max Kennard (Robert Patrick) and his partner Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) who’s the brains in the operation, and finally Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) who decides to accept O’Mara’s proposal after a member of the mob kills a kid he knew from the streets. Together these officers begin to try to intercept and disrupt Cohen’s operations working as an underground hit squad. Wooters also happens to be having an affair with Cohen’s love interest, Grace (Emma Stone), which could or could not be a good thing. And so the action begins as the squad tries to disrupt Cohen’s reign and clean up the city.

As I mentioned before this is an entertaining film which sometimes borderlines on the bad side considering it does have some pretty bad writing and underdeveloped characters. But it did work for me as a sort of spoof and light hearted film with a very stylized look to it. It has some fun action sequences with some strong performances, especially from the always reliable Ryan Gosling who continues to reinvent himself in every movie. I absolutely loved him here once again. Josh Brolin gives a pretty solid performance when he is not asked to do the voice over bit (it was a bit annoying at the beginning giving it a sort of fake Sin City vibe to it). The rest of the cast is pretty good although not getting enough screen time or storylines to develop their characters. Sean Penn plays the stereotypical bad guy a little over the top, but I enjoyed his performance as well (it wouldn’t have worked if you were expecting a serious gangster drama film). In the end Gangster Squad did work for me and I was entertained with this shoot-em up gangster film, but I know it isn’t for everyone.

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My Review: The Ides of March (9/10)

¨There is only one thing I value in this world and that`s loyalty; without it you`re nothing! ¨

This is the third 2011 film starring Ryan Gosling and I must say he does a great job at choosing his roles because all his movies this year were really great. He also has done very diverse roles, and this time he plays an idealistic media consultant for a presidential candidate who he admires (played by George Clooney). This is a political film that teaches us how the campaign trail works, but it also has very intense and surprising moments. I`m not a fan of political movies, but the actors and the story make Ides of March a really interesting and entertaining film. It does get the message across of how dirty politics can sometime corrupt even the most idealistic and well intentioned people. Ides of March does this very well, and it couldn`t be any other way considering George Clooney directed this piece and also contributed with the adaptation of the screenplay. The last time Clooney worked on a screenplay was in 2005 when he directed the six time Oscar nominated film Good Night and Good Luck. He did a terrific job once again with the script although he had some help from Beau Willimon who actually wrote the play in which this film is loosely based, ¨Farragut Night.¨ The performances in this film are also great. You can`t go wrong when you have the talents of George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei. This is an all star cast and the movie would be worth watching for the performances alone, but the script is also pretty strong so this is one of the films you won`t want to miss this year.

Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is working in the democratic nomination campaign for presidential candidate Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) as his media consultant. Stephen is young, but very experienced and is the best at his position. Stephen`s boss is Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who also is his personal mentor and the campaign manager. They are currently in the Ohio primaries where the race is tight between Morris and his other democratic rival, Senator Pullman (Michael Mantell). Pullman also has a very smart campaign manager who is doing his best to keep him in the fight: Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). Duffy doesn`t always fight clean, he is experienced and knows how dirty politics works. Paul Zara believes the key to winning resides in the endorsement from Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright), but Pullman`s people have made him a very tempting offer which Governor Mike Morris is not willing to counter offer. Morris is idealistic and doesn`t want to buy his way into the Presidential office by making offers to senators with whom he doesn`t agree. This is one of the things that Meyers admires about Morris: his honesty and integrity. During the campaign trail Meyers has a relationship with an intern, Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), and soon realizes that not everything is what it seems. There is a twist that I don`t want to give away here, but the movie then takes an unexpected turn. This is where the emotion begins and the movie picks up from here.

Ides of March may start off slow, but it`s just a delight to see these actors work together with a decent story. I wasn`t disappointed one bit, and even though I am not into politics I found myself drawn by the story. I couldn`t predict what was going to happen either since the movie takes some interesting turns involving deceptions and dirty politics. Even the most idealistic people can be corrupted by the political game and the movie makes its point. Ides of March is really worth seeing, even if you`re not into politics, because the story is engaging, the performances are great, and George Clooney never disappoints as a director. Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are always at their best, and these kinds of roles are where they excel. Ryan Gosling has had one of the best years of his life career wise: Crazy, Stupid Love, Drive, and now Ides of March; they`re all great films and Gosling gives strong performances in each. My favorite film this year so far is Drive, and his performance is just captivating in that movie. Ides of March is a movie you have to see, you won`t regret it.

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My Review: Drive (10/10)

¨If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window, anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down; I don't carry a gun... I drive. ¨

Drive is probably my favorite film of the year so far. I hadn’t even watched the trailers for this movie so I had no idea what it was about, but what a special surprise I was in for. The movie hooked me from the very opening action scene up to the very end. Yes, the film is slow at times, but it`s also intense and original. This arthouse action movie works in great part thanks to a terrific performance from Ryan Gosling. He keeps on surprising me; he is a hugely talented actor and can excel in any role. This time he proved himself in this action film as the lead man. The reason the movie is so slow at times is because it is character driven, and Gosling`s character is so quiet and laid back; he hardly speaks and the dialogues he has feel real and authentic. The dialogue in this film was brilliant, everything about it made it perfect. I would absolutely watch this movie over and over again because it is just that good. I couldn’t believe the direction the movie was taking. It is one of those action movies that is hard to predict and I loved not anticipating what was going to happen next. Gosling is a star, he is great in this movie and the feel that the movie has is just so amazing. It`s hard to get this overwhelmed by an action film these days because we`ve seemed to have seen it all, but Drive feels fresh and original. It doesn’t focus so much on the action and the heists as much as it does on the characters. Gosling`s character grows increasingly dark over the course of the movie, and so does the violence in this movie. It really has a Tarantino/Cronenberg feel to it (A History of Violence, Pulp Fiction). Drive was amazing, but many people may be put off by all the violence.

The movie focuses on a driver (Ryan Gosling) who`s name is never said in the film; he has a part time job as a Hollywood stunt man specializing in crash scenes, but spends most of the time at a mechanic shop working for Shannon (Bryan Cranston) on some classic cars. Shannon knows that this guy is extremely talented and wants him to become a NASCAR driver, but in order to do so he needs to buy a car first. Shannon decides to make a deal with an old mobster friend named Bernie (Albert Brooks) who gives him the money to buy the car. Bernie also has an associate, Nino (Ron Perlman), a New York Jewish mobster who broke Shannon`s pelvis in the past for trying to overcharge him for a job he had done. Differences settled however they all decide to put their money on the driver, who is a quiet fellow who spends some nights as a wheelman on heist jobs. He is very professional about it. He soon begins a friendship with a neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos) and the relationship seems to slowly develop into a romantic one until Irene`s husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac) returns home from prison. Standard promises to leave his past life behind him, but he owes a lot of money to some people back in prison who offered their protection in exchange. Now Standard is forced to accept a heist or else his family will be in great danger. The driver finds out about the threat and decides to help Standard, but something goes wrong in the heist and the movie develops violently from that point forward. 

 

I can`t help but repeating myself when I say this was a great film. Ryan Gosling really gives one of the year`s best performances and his character is really intriguing. Gosling is a smart actor, he knows what roles to accept and he makes the best of them. In Drive he was given a really great script that allowed him to show off his full potential. The character is so central to the film that Gosling basically carries the movie, although the supporting cast was also great. Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, and Albert Brooks were great in their roles, and Carey Mulligan also had great chemistry with Gosling. Their relationship felt very real and nothing felt forced. Drive isn’t your typical Hollywood action film, it`s more of an indie film, and a dark one. There is a lot of violence, some strong scenes, so it might not be for everyone. I really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the best arthouse action films I`ve seen in a long time. Last year I was blown away by Affleck`s action film, The Town, but this year Drive manages to surpass it. Gosling`s character reminded me a lot of De Niro en Taxi Driver; he is just that good. The action scenes were also very well choreographed and there were some great driving scenes, although the best thing about the movie was the character driven story. I also enjoyed the soundtrack of the film which felt retro. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (known for The Pusher trilogy) did a great job with this film, and Hossein Amini deserves a nomination for his screenplay adaptation of James Sallis`s book. Drive is one of the best films of the year. 

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My Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (9/10)

¨I`m so mad at you; I`m really mad at you for what you did, but I`m mad at myself too; because I should not have jumped out of that car; I should have fought for you, because you fight for your soul mates.¨

Once every year out of the dozens of formulaic romantic comedies that come our way, one or two manage to stand out above the rest. Crazy, Stupid, Love is one of those films that manages to remain fresh and original, and balance the comedy and romance well enough without relying on the usual rom-com formula. It is one of those films where the chemistry between the actors feels real, and love is actually depicted like it can be in real life. It is one of those movies that manages to surprise us by remaining fresh and never letting us know for sure what direction it is going to take on every turn. You can predict how most romcoms are going to end from the very opening sequence, and even if you might do the same in Crazy, Stupid, Love; you will definitely not expect some of the twists that come your way. It also has the perfect emotional balance that will bring you to tears at some points and laughter at others. The cast is absolutely amazing and everyone does a terrific job. This is Glenn Ficarra and John Requa`s second feature film after last year`s critical success with I Love You Phillip Morris. That film was very risky, and in a way so is Crazy, Stupid, Love because it doesn’t follow the basic formula that other romcoms do. There are several scenes that could have been a total disaster, but really worked because they served as transitions from comedy to romance to drama and so on. The script by Dan Fogelman (Cars, Bolt, and Tangled) is another highlight of the film because the dialogue in this movie was great. The actors were given great characters to work with so every piece seemed to fit in perfectly for this film.

Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) have been married for 25 years; they live with their two children: Robbie (Jonah Bobo) and Molly (Joey King) and they seem to be living the perfect life. That is until Emily asks Cal for a divorce because she seems to be going through a sort of mid life crisis. She tells Cal that she slept with another co-worker, David (Kevin Bacon), and that is more than enough to end the marriage. Cal moves out of the house and begins frequenting bars and moping about his miserable life. At the bar Cal meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a playboy who always gets the girl due to his charm. Jacob promises Cal that he will help him recover his manhood with a few lessons. The first thing they do is change Cal`s wardrobe, then he teaches him how to pick up girls in the bar, and pretty soon Cal becomes an expert on seducing women. Jacob meets Hannah (Emma Stone) one night in the bar and can`t seem to get his eyes off her. Hannah doesn’t fall for Jacob`s charisma at first, but Jacob will soon discover what being in love is really about. All the characters seem to intertwine with each other at one point or another making the movie all the more hilarious. For example we have Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), the 17 year old babysitter who has a crush on Cal, but at the same time Robbie, his 13 year old son, is in love with Jessica.

It`s these love triangles and confusions that actually prove that love can be crazy and stupid at times, but wonderful at others. There is a great amount of time dedicated to each character, and the focus isn`t solely on Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. There are several more relationships that the movie deals with, but it never loses the main thread. The film balances the romance with the comedy really well, making this a very emotional film. I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit. The entire cast was just brilliant. I loved the mope performance from Steve Carell, although we`ve seen it before in other films like Dan in Real Life. Julianne Moore is always a talented actress and she brings her game. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are very talented young actors and the chemistry between both of them was really believable. Gosling has to be one of Hollywood`s best modern young actors around. The actors who really surprised me however were the relatively unknown ones: Analeigh Tipton and Jonah Bobo; they share the funniest scenes in the film. Marisa Tomei also has some screen time, and she is great as always. Crazy, Stupid, Love is just a complete film that manages to deliver on all levels. It is my favorite romantic comedy of the year so far, and will probably be on my list of best films of the year. This is a movie you will want to go see.

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