JustMyOpinion (JMO)

“I give you a five minute window, anything happens in that five minutes and I’m yours no matter what. Outside of that, you’re on your own. I don’t sit in while you’re running it down, I don’t carry a gun. I drive.”

Cannes Film Festival in France this year was captivated by this beautiful and violent tale of Driver (yes, that is his name) who is a stunts driver and also a driver-for-hire. He does just what his moniker suggests and boy does he do it well.

Whether you are into cars or not, you can’t help but be amazed by the opening scene which exists solely to prove that he is amazing and knows exactly how to avoid the police when escaping the scene of a robbery. The director is not merely wasting time or attempting to get commissioned for the next Fast and Furious.

Nicolas Winding Refn (“Valhalla Rising”), handpicked by Ryan Gosling, won Best Director at this year’s Cannes and you can understand why.

The camera shots are not only artistic in value but force you to get really invested in a scene with its extended silences and lingering camera shots that almost imply someone forgot to turn the camera off.

Every shot, glance and look is enhanced and makes you really connect with the characters. Refn however is not one to shy from violence and one memorable scene that combines love and violence in the equal measure is one that will linger in your mind for a long time. It’s the elevator shot you see in the trailer. Driver goes from one intense moment of love and lust to, in the very next moment, beating a man so violently he crushes his skull with the bottom of his shoe.

Drive is definitely not one for the faint-hearted, the moments of violence are never gratuitious and overdone, they occur rarely in the film but with such intensity that it takes your breath away and in my case causes you to look away once or twice.

The cinematography is amazing and complements the camera shots, like the right glass of wine with a meal. The soundtrack is like the dessert (if we’re to continue with the metaphor) and definitely one of the coolest soundtracks this year.

Ryan Gosling (“Crazy Stupid Love”, “Blue Valentine”) seems to be on a winning streak with his movies lately, well picked and each bringing out a different part of his ever expanding repertoire as an actor. His performance in this is inspired. Who knew that Gosling could be so bad-ass whilst refusing to carry a gun, with long brooding stares and speaking only when spoken to? There’s enough in the little that he says and does to keep us hooked, however. We know that this taciturn, mild-mannered individual is capable of more long he does anything.

We never really get to understand the depths of his character but we see glimpses of his soul, through his interactions with Shannon (Bryan Cranston, “Malcolm in the Middle”,“Breaking Bad”) and Irene (Carey Mulligan, “Never Let Me Go”, “An Education”) and her adorable son Benicio (Kaden Leos, in his first movie).

Unfortunately, as Irene brings a new meaning to defining a friendship, Driver begins to fall for her only to discover she is married to ex-conman Standard Gabriel (Oscar Isaac, “Sucker Punch”, “Robin Hood”) who is due out of prison any day. After the initial “sniffing of each other’s butts” meeting, a partnership is formed as Driver agrees to help Standard complete one final job to pay off his criminal debts.

The premise of the story explores the vast sleazy underbelly of the LA crime scene with its gangsters, played to perfection by Ron Perlman and his more suave counterpart Albert Brooks, as they find themselves in trouble after the heist in question goes horribly wrong. Driver now finds himself with a contract out on him from other gangsters baying for blood, and leads to one of the first and most gruesome deaths in the film courtesy of his accomplice Blanche (Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”).

At the time when the cinema is being bombarded with the usual post-summer broad appeal flicks, Drive is something refreshingly unique but at the same time almost retro in feel and definitely one film you won’t forget in a hurry. It has a fantastic soundtrack, breath-taking camera shots and cinematography, as it tells you the story of one stunt driver moonlighting as a driver-for-hire who falls for the wrong woman and attempts to ingratiate himself into her good graces by doing a favour for the husband that has dire consequences.

It is a rare film that can come along and combine Hollywood with the distinct air of an art house flick, while uniquely re-telling a story we have all heard in some format or another through various films over the decades.

I heartily recommend this film, for those who can stomach the violence that is.

So life has unfortunately been a bit hectic and crisis filled but things are looking up and my love of movies will result in a LOT of movie reviews as I play catch up! Despite the crazy, I still watched movies!

I figured there was no better time to start than with a private screening of Drive with Ryan Gosling starring as a driver-for-hire and stuntsman who discovers a contract has been put out on him after a heist goes wrong.

Expect a review on Wednesday and I will sporadically update with past, present and future reviews!

 Thanks for understanding cool cyberspace folks!

A x

LIVE FEST, London’s biggest indoor festival, has today announced the full line up, with some huge acts set to take the O2 by storm on July 23^rd. Anaïs, an up-and-coming Yorkshire local star with guitarist Chris Daniel Hunt and drummer Dave McKeague that hail from Newcastle, will be joining the fantastic line – up.

With some of the hottest acts from the UK music scene performing, this is the festival for those who love great music but want to avoid the mud this summer!

Other acts on the star-packed bill performing and DJ-ing include mighty urban and hip-hop headliners N-DUBZ, R&B star TINCHY STRYDER, Urban Music Award-winning London based collective ROLL DEEP, grime sensation TEMPA T and  D’n’B massive DAN LE SAC Vs SCROOBIUS PIP. As well as from post hardcore rockers FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, alternative rock quintet KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES and indie rock act GUILLEMOTS.

More acts confirmed are PEGASUS BRIDGE, British indie five-piece MISSING ANDY, PARADISE POINT, SATURDAY NIGHT GYM CLUB and MY ELECTRIK.

Tickets for the event are priced at an early bird cost of just £25 and can be purchased directly from Anaïs via PayPal (www.bit.ly/LiveFest11). Want to check out some of Anaïs’ tracks? More original stuff will be uploaded soon. Simply visit www.facebook.com/melodiesbyanais.

Programming will be spread over five venues within the famous London O2, from the glamorous Proud2 to Union Square, Inc Club, IndigoO2 and ASBaG, Live Fest has a huge variety of music genres to suit any tastes - so whether you’re into urban beats or rock, pop and hardcore, this is the festival for you! With a range of stages and an out-of-this-world chill out space, festival goers can dance away into the early hours, or relax with a massage from the Famous Ibiza Angels whilst catching up on all the best acoustic sets – the possibilities at Live Fest are endless!

As if this wasn’t enough, the IndigO2 hosts the Grand National Finals of the Live and Unsigned competition as part of this massive indoor festival. All the best unsigned acts from across the UK will take to the stage in a bid to be crowned the best Live and Unsigned Act of 2011. To find out more about Live and Unsigned visit www.liveandunsigned.uk.com.

Live Fest’s Intergalactic Alien, Bob said: “This is going to a massive festival and a great day out. Headliners N-Dubz are sure set to blow the crowd away and alongside them we’ve got a great line up of top acts, we can’t wait to bring it on in July and rock the O2!”

The internet has been down lately and therefore my daily blog posts have been hampered! So tomorrow I will be playing catch up (as it’s quite late now)….great stuff, like the best and worst films of 2010 and a few I’ve seen in 2011 already - check back tomorrow :)

So much for my blog-a-day thing!

I unexpectedly found myself stranded in Glasgow City Centre today.I had planned quite meticulously to go into Glasgow for some souvenir shopping and just to enjoy the sights and avoid the VAT increase (which is on the 4th January).

• List of every possible route to Glasgow and back here to Lesmahagow - check
• List of all bus running times both normal and weekend times - check
• Checked to make sure it was right with 2 of my hosts -check
• Fully charged up phone as well as USB charger in bag - check
• Bus ticket price checked & money set aside for - check

So my journey to Glasgow began. The X74 Stagecoach bus is a direct link and has maximum of 3 stops and is only £7.20 return. So I hopped on the bus, nice and warm, arrived in Glasgow in record time - little did I know my return journey would not be nearly as easy. I met up with a great friend, it was fun to catch up. I then went souvenir shopping and upon reaching the counter tried to pay with my card to no avail. I then asked for the nearest RBS, only to discover upon my arrival that it was shut. I then returned back to the store and they advised it was a bank holiday which I didn’t know! I can only withdraw money in a branch! So that scuppered that. I went back to the station to confirm the next coach leaving was at 6pm (it was 3pm at this point) and one of the guys advised that the 6pm one was cancelled and they were running a Sunday service so only the 8.15pm one was running. I didn’t believe him, as that is not the timetable I had written down from the live journey planner on the Traveline Scotland website. So I went back into the queue and ended up with a different person, a lady and she said the same thing. There were only 3 people serving at the kiosk, 2 guys and one woman.

So I had to find some way to spend the next 5 hours or so. So I went back into town and I set aside money for another bus (just in case the 8.15pm didn’t turn up). So with the rest of the money, I found ridiculously cheap deals and major discounts as I was just wandering from shop to shop. With souvenir shopping done at 5.30pm, I went back to the bus station just to check there really wasn’t a 6pm bus. I asked at the counter again (got another guy this time) and he definitely confirmed that there was no 6pm bus coming and for my own peace of mind, I checked the departures board to see if it was on there and it wasn’t! So now, assured of no possible 6pm bus and instead leaving nearly 2hrs 30 minutes later, I went to Starbucks down the road. It turns out you can’t just sit in Starbucks so I bought a drink - attempted my card but it had been playing up all day! Card declined and with a hot chocolate already made (it wasn’t that busy) I had to pay by cash. I wasn’t worried though as I did have my return ticket for the x74 anyway.

Cutting a long story short, the bus didn’t turn up. I waited nearly 1 hour and still nothing. I went to the security guard office and they contacted Traveline who insisted that there was a 6pm one and NOT an 8.15pm one. To say I was fuming is an understatement. Here I was, stranded in a city I didn’t know with no one to call because as luck would have it my phone decided to die :’(. They allowed me to use their office line and I repeatedly called my friend who’s number I had memorised but unfortunately got no response. The security guard offered to Facebook one of the people I am staying with, and luckily I have friends who constantly check FB. I asked if the security guard who was helping me out had an HTC or Motorola charger but he didn’t, he did however radio around asking if anybody did. It turns somebody did. So with my phone charged up, I contacted my host family. They arranged to come pick me up from their nearest city (Hamilton) as there were no other buses to Lesmahagow at this point. The security guard who had lent me his charger paid for my bus fare too.

I think a complaint to Stagecoach is definitely in order or some kind of compensation as I have to go back into Glasgow again tomorrow to pick up all that shopping they put aside for me! (which apparently they don’t usually do) and to sort out where my coach back to Bradford is leaving from.

So that explains why I missed my daily blogging promise - I didn’t arrive back until after midnight.

Today started off great but then quickly deteriorated but one thing I have to say is I definitely have uncommon favour. It is what my name means after all. To be able to say I had all the security guards in Buchanan Bus Station trying to figure out how to get me back home is something that apparently doesn’t happen often, to have someone who just happens to have the same charger as me, to have shops be willing to put things aside for you in a sale and with no guarantee you’ll return (no deposit necessary), to have a bus driver pay for your bus fare and then have your host family be willing to come such a distance to get you! Well, thank you GOD is all I have to say!!

So I bid you goodnight world! Let’s hope my journey to Glasgow tomorrow (technically later today) is nowhere near as eventful, eh?

Well it’s that time of the year again! What is there to look forward to in 2011? Here is a list of movies that are a must-see and others that have piqued my interest. Some of the movies in my list have not released a trailer as of yet.

For those of you who are so inclined, simply click on the movie posters in question and it will directly link you to the trailer (fancy, eh?).

                                                                    Definite must-see 

The King’s Speech - 7 January 2011 

 

127 Hours - 7 January 2011

The Green Hornet - 14 January 2011

The Fighter - 4 February 2011

True Grit  - 11 February 2011

I Am Number Four - 18 February 2011

The Adjustment Bureau - 4 March 2011

Battle: Los Angeles - 11 March 2011

Sucker Punch - 1 April 2011

Source Code - 22 April 2011

Thor - 29 April 2011

Green Lantern - 17 June 2011

Captain America: The First Avenger - 29 July 2011

Cowboys & Aliens - 12 August 2011

Super 8 - 19 August 2011

 

                                                           

                                                                         Want to see

Conviction - 14 January 2011

Biutiful - 28 January 2011

How Do You Know - 28 January 2011

Paul - 18 February 2011

Unknown - 25 February 2011

Rango - 4 March 2011

The Lincoln Lawyer - 18 March 2011

The Eagle - 18 March 2011

Hop - 1 April 2011

Red Riding Hood - 15 April 2011 (seems to stick more to Brothers Grimm style - less Disney)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 18 May 2011

The Tree of Life - 27 May 2011

The Hangover Part II - 27 May 2011

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 1 July 2011

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - 26 October 2011

 

Enjoy and leave comments on what YOU are looking forward to in 2011!