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

The Social Network is about the birth of one of the most influential (and addictive) online social platforms, Facebook. It is loosely based on the book, The Accidental Billionaires written by Ben Mezrich. Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) is now a household name but back in 2003 he was just a student, like most of us, trying to navigate college in one piece. He wanted to do something significant - something that no one else had thought of.                                                                                       

The story begins with Erica Albright (Mara) breaking up with Zuckerberg. He then, in a slightly drunken state, rushes to his dorm room and alternates between blogging about his break up and eventually about the creation of Facemash.com. It receives so many hits that it crashes the Harvard network within 2 hours. This captures the attention of the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer) who pitch him an idea for The Harvard Connection (a dating site) that they want him to develop. A few months later, TheFacebook is launched and thus begins the legal battle between the twins and Zuckerberg as they believe he stole their idea. As TheFacebook becomes increasingly popular, it garners the attention of Sean Parker (Timberlake) who eventually gets involved and this leads to the alienation of Eduardo Saverin, one of the co-founders. So another legal battle commences.

David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin have created a fantastic movie that despite being about people sat in front of their computers, feels anything but sedentary. The dialogue is witty, sharp and fast and is not dumbed down which is great. They also somehow manage to keep you interested despite the amount of jargon thrown about. This film defies the usual “we have to like to the main character” field of thinking. Zuckerberg is the least likeable character in the movie and yet the movie seems fortified by his comments. You even feel sorry for him at times.

Fantastic acting all around. Eisenberg even looks like the real life Zuckerberg. Garfield really tapped into the role of the best friend who got left behind (he does remind me of Hayden Christensen especially in the way he talks sometimes). 

Despite some obvious goofs (check out IMDB), this film defines our generation quite well and explains how Zuckerberg is some sort of genius for tapping into what the world wanted and giving us Facebook. Great cinematography. Definitely worth watching as it gives an interesting insight into Zuckerberg’s mind and it also has a great soundtrack thanks to Nine Inch Nails’ front-man Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. One of the best dramas this year.

Facebook is now 500 million members strong, available in 27 countries and estimated to be worth £25 billion. Zuckerberg is the one of the world’s youngest billionaires but at a price.

David Twohy gave us Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick and in the summer of 09 returns to give the hair-raising A Perfect Getaway. Cliff (Zahn) and Cidney (Jovovich) Anderson decide to backpack through the beautiful Hawaii for their honeymoon. Upon gaining the permits they need for their journey, they rent a car and encounter a hitch-hiking couple. Kale (Hemsworth) and Cleo (Shelton) turn out to be a little hostile when the Andersons initially refuse to take them. They then cross paths with Nick (Olyphant) and Gina (Sanchez) who are more than a little odd, whilst on their 11-mile hiking trail. 

The paradise they were so looking forward to on their honeymoon soon becomes a boiling pot of paranoia and mistrust as all the couples hear about the murders that have taken place in Honolulu. The police don’t have much to go on except that the perpetrators are a man and a woman! And so begins Cliff and Cydney’s attempts at getting away from Nick and Gina without raising any alarms and hoping not to run into Kale and Cleo.

I have to say this movie was GREAT! The cinematography is just so breathtakingly beautiful as only Hawaii can be. Twohy succeeds in making the beautiful islands of Hawaii somewhat sinister, whilst not once using dark shadows for cheap thrills. All the craziness occurs in broad daylight - it’s a brave director that opts for a thriller by day. And what a thriller it is!

Olyphant steals the show as the retired war vet with a chilling smile. Steve Zahn comes into his own in this role - I have grown accustomed to seeing him as a supporting role in films such as Sahara. Milla and Kiele are very good in their roles, a lot better than I expected.

I did not see the plot twist coming at all, maybe because I was tired or simply because if you don’t pay attention in this movie you miss the subtleties dropped throughout. Like a a thief distracts a dog by throwing it some meat, Twohy definitely does that to us.

For once we get a film that does not automatically seek to scare us from the get-go, we have build up and character development for, what would seem to the short-attention span teenager, ages. This is not the best film of 2009 and nor is it particularly original but the beautiful scenery and fantastic acting from the 6 leads make this a thrill-inducing ride to the finish.

Ben Carson is an ex-cop, estranged from his family, who is hired to watch the dilapidated cavernous Mayflower Department Store, that was set ablaze several years previously. He is trying to turn his life around and is living with his younger sister Angela (Smart) whilst overcoming his alcoholism. On the first night he observes that the mirrors are unnaturally clean and is told that the previous night watchman had an obsession with cleaning the mirrors.

Director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes) uses the abandoned building’s shadows, dark corners, and creepy reflections to great effect. Add to that the typical scary music expected to set your heart beating that little bit faster and of course throw in some gore and you have the makings of a great horror film - right? Well…sort of. This is yet another Korean horror remake, this time of Kim Sung-Ho’s Into The Mirror (2003).

Despite effectively scaring you (or at least me!) and a great turn from Sutherland as the troubled Ben Carson, who begins to doubt his sanity, at nearly 2 hours it drags on. If it had been shorter and less down time, this probably would have been far more effective. There is a contrived plot involving nuns and at least 4 false endings which only makes it more tedious. All this, however, is in hindsight because as I was watching the movie I was scared stiff to the point where mirrors and all reflectives surfaces gave me the creeps for days.

It did however redeem itself with a fantastically unexpected ending (quite intelligent too!) which seemed at odds with its very slow build-up. Some great acting from the kids, particularly Cameron Boyce who can range from looking cute (Eagle Eye) to looking eerie. Amy Smart should be given an award for the most disturbing scene in a horror movie - I appreciated my jaw on a whole new level let’s put it that way.

With charred mannequins that can be confused for the human victims of the arson attack 5 years previously, disturbing hallucinations, reflections that move independently and a few heart-in-throat moments - Mirrors may not be the best horror film but it holds its own.

There’s something in the mirrors - are you brave enough to explore what with Ben Carson?

An old lady Mrs Ganush (Raver) needs an extension on her loan. Christine Brown (Lohman) wants the coveted Assistant Manager at her bank branch and is up against her more stern less experienced colleague Stu Rubin (Lee). Her boss Mr Jacks (Paymer) thinks she isn’t ruthless enough for her job and in a bid to prove him wrong she refuses Mrs Ganush’s loan request. Big Mistake!!

The rest of the movie consists of gross out moments involving the aforementioned Mrs Ganush who is a gypsy that seems to have hell’s powers at her disposal. If that is the case why does she need to beg Brown for a loan - why not just magic the much needed money into existence?. This is common throughout the film - loopholes I mean and can be frustrating because hardly anything is explained.

Christine thinks she’s fine when the old lady is dragged away by security but she is very wrong. Her understanding boyfriend Clay Dalton (very common movie name, namely in the horror genre) tries to help her whilst also being the voice of reason. He thinks she is losing it and after a disastrous meeting with the parents, he enlists the help of medium Rham Jas (Rao) who seems surprisingly knowledgeable about hell.

Raimi proceeds to scare you witless with floating handkerchiefs, sudden shocking moments, nasty staple guns and much much more. This is most definitely not for the sqeamish and if you aren’t squeamish I still recommend eating light before the movie. The amazing thing about this film is the ease with which you go from screaming to laughing suddenly.

Mrs Ganush is one the best horror villains to come out of the genre in a while. DMTH is however loaded with clichés and pays homage to Raimi’s previous Evil Dead trilogy. It is far from being the best horror of the year, mainly due to the basic script, ridiculous almost cartoonish moments (a talking goat??) and mediocre acting (Long seems awkward delivering his lines).

Raimi may produce more of this style, namely because SpiderMan 4 is no longer being made for release in 2011 after some script and time conflicting issues. Instead Sony plan on rebooting the whole franchise in 2012 with new cast and crew (really?? after only 8 years??!!!). So more B-movie horrors might be expected unless he goes another direction.

Is it stupid? Yeah. Does it have a thin clichéd plot? Totally. Is it an adrenaline rush inducing hilarious and fun ride? MOST DEFINITELY!

In all this exam furore, I will not be able to review or blog with the same consistency! I have queued up blogs to appear every 12 hours until my exams are over - upon which I shall review more regularly. So updates are automatic (love Tumblr). Enjoy, click ‘like’, follow me and tell all your friends!