Film Review: BLUE VALENTINE (2010)

Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writers: Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis, Cami Delavigne
Running time: 112 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 14^th January 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 13^th January 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember this film came out to a lot of critical acclaim, not least for the performances of the two leads. In fact, the lead actress, Michelle Williams, picked up an Oscar nomination for her performance. I must say the acclaim and the accolades are well deserved; the film either lives or dies on these two performances and they are both delivered with great skill. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

A couple, Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) and their daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka), have lost their dog. The gate was left open and the dog got out; this leads to a train of events that will eventually lead to the break-up of Dean and Cindy. But before we get there we are told the story of how they got together in the first place and learn an awful lot about these two quite different characters. I guess that’s all I want to say here; that, in a nutshell, is what the film is about.

The two central performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are truly excellent. They take the audience through a whole range of emotions and back again! The film is shot using quite a lot of hand-held camera; but not too shaky; which makes for a realistic feel to the drama. To me it seemed a little odd to show just the beginning and the end of the relationship; maybe I missed something, but I wanted to know what happened in the middle. Could be it was doomed from the start. I enjoyed this one and would watch it again (making sure I was in the mood first); definitely worthy of my recommendation.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.4/10.

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 72,300 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1120985/

MetaScore: 81/100: (Based on 42 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 88/100 (based on 185 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 75/100 (based on 50,895 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blue_valentine/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Dean: I feel like men are more romantic than women. When we get married we marry, like, one girl, 'cause we're resistant the whole way until we meet one girl and we think I'd be an idiot if I didn't marry this girl she's so great. But it seems like girls get to a place where they just kinda pick the best option... 'Oh he's got a good job.' I mean they spend their whole life looking for Prince Charming and then they marry the guy who's got a good job and is gonna stick around.

Dean: In my experience, the prettier a girl is, the more nuts she is, which makes you insane.
Cindy: I like how you can compliment and insult somebody at the same time, in equal measure.

Dean: I can't really sing. I have to sing goofy, in order to sing. I have to sing stupid.

Cindy: I thought the whole point of coming here was to have a night without kids.

LINKS:
(NOTE: All links were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.bluevalentinemovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE (2011)

Directors: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Writer: Dan Fogelman
Running time: 110 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 23^rd September 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 11^th November 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Every now and then you have to let a little romance into your life; I know this can be hard for some, but believe me, it’s really worth getting in touch with your mushy side every now and then. As a bit of an old romantic at heart I have no problem with the occasional rom-com; so long as it’s a good one (not overly schmaltzy, that kind of thing). Having heard some good reports on this one I decided to give it a look when it came up in the TV listings recently… Here are my thoughts.

I actually found it quite engaging eventually; it was a little hard to get into at first but when the narrative began to settle down I could see a structure there that had potential. Brief summary: When Emily Weaver (Julianne Moore) announces to her husband Cal (Steve Carell) that she wants a divorce, his world collapses around him. She had slept with another man, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) and Cal finds that hard to take since they had been together since high school. He takes to going to bars to drown his sorrows and is taken under the wing of Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) who shows him how to dress, behave and (most importantly) how to pick up women. At this he is quite successful (eventually) but he feels there is still something missing. Meanwhile there are a couple of other sub-plots going on. One involves Cal’s son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), who has become infatuated with his babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton). She, meanwhile is holding a torch for Cal… With me so far?... Also, there is law student, Hannah (Emma Stone) who Jacob had been unsuccessful in picking up when we first meet him (I can’t really say any more about her without giving too much away, so here I’ll stop). All these threads eventually tie together in what (at times) appears like a French farce, but which does ultimately have a very valid point.

All the performances were very good with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Julianne Moore taking centre stage. I thought Kevin Bacon was slightly underused, and more could have been made of Emma Stone’s character. Over all, it’s pretty well made but the narrative does tend to wander in places. An endearing film that does have quite a strong message about love and about soul mates. I freely admit this old romantic found it quite relatable.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.5/10

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 158,600 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1570728/

MetaScore: 68/100: (Based on 40 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 78/100 (based on 199 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 80/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 76,762 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/771203531/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Jacob: I'm going to help you rediscover your manhood. Do you have any idea where you could have lost it?

Jacob: The skin under your eyes is starting to look like Hugh Hefner's ball sack.
Cal: [Carefully looks at himself on mirror and sighs... ] Yes, it is.

Jacob: I'm wildly unhappy, and I'm trying to buy it, and it's not working.

Robbie: You wanna talk about The Scarlet Letter, Ms. Tafferty? All right. Well, the A they're both wearing - I think it stands for "asshole." Wanna know why? Because they fell in love and love is for stupid assholes. And this book is just about a bunch of assholes who fell in love, like assholes, then had to die, like assholes. I'm sorry about all the "assholes."

Liz: Your life is so PG-13.

Hannah: Will you take off your shirt... fuck! Seriously? It's like you're Photoshopped!

Cal: Are you pointing at me?
Robbie: You're pointing at him?
Emily: She's pointing at him? OH!

Cal: I have loved her even when I hated her... only married couples'll understand that one...

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://crazystupidlove.warnerbros.com/dvd/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crazystupidlove
Trailer:

Film Review: DRIVE (2011)

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writers: Hossein Amini (screenplay), James Sallis (novel)
Running time: 97 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
UK Release date: 23^rd September 2011

Watched on DVD Tuesday 5^th June 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Having recently tracked down the DVD at a bit of a bargain price I decided to give this critically acclaimed piece the once over. I must say it wasn’t quite what I was expecting… It was so much better! Films like this are few and far between and this one will certainly be getting a prime spot in my collection. More of the praise later… here’s a brief summary.

We never know his name, so we shall call him Driver. He works as a stunt driver for the movies during the day and at night he is available for hire as a getaway driver. If you hire him though, he has certain rules (See ‘Favourite Quotes’ section below). He keeps himself to himself and doesn’t say much. He works at a garage owned by his friend Shannon one day a week. Shannon has plans to start a racing team with Driver as his star, he just needs some backing. Enter Bernie Rose and his business partner Nino a shady pair of characters to say the least. Driver is befriended by a neighbour, Irene, and her young son, Benicio, and he helps them out when he can. When her husband, Standard, comes out of jail he is determined to go straight, but he owes some people a lot of money. Driver agrees to help him pull off a job they have planned for him and this is where I will leave it… the Spoiler Police will have me in a speed-trap with helicopter support (again) if I’m not careful.

An interesting mix of tunes and the back streets of LA form a rather interesting backdrop to this tale. Nicely made with a few nice stunts thrown in for good measure (well there had to be really, didn’t there). On the performance side, well (for me), Ryan Gosling stole the show with his understated performance as the Driver he always had you guessing. Carey Mulligan did a decent job as Irene, although I couldn’t decide whether she was woefully underused, or totally mis-cast. Others worthy of note were; Bryan Cranston as Shannon, Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose, Oscar Isaac as Standard, Christina Hendricks as Blanche and Ron Perlman as Nino.

A very slow paced film, almost noir in the look and feel to it, the tension slowly builds. There are, at times, some scenes of extreme violence that are by no means out of place here. One scene in an elevator (if you’ve seen it, you’ll know which one I mean) is an almost perfect moment of cinema. No dialogue, just a perfect scene (IMO). I did have just one gripe though, and that was the casting of Carey Mulligan; I couldn’t get my head around how someone like her could end up with the guy she was with. Or maybe I’m just reading it wrong, I don’t know. But other than that it’s quite an eye-opening film and one I have no problem in deeming… HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My score: 9.1/10

IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (based on 185,406 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

MetaScore: 79/100: (Based on 40 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 92/100 (based on 225 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 78/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 72,813 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drive_2011/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

[first lines]
Driver: [on phone] There's a hundred-thousand streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. 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. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?
[pause]
Driver: Good. And you won't be able to reach me on this phone again.

Shannon: Kid, I want you to meet Mr. Bernie Rose!
Bernie Rose: Nice to meet you.
[Bernie sticks out his hand to shake; Driver does not take it]
Driver: My hands are a little dirty.
Bernie Rose: So are mine.

Irene: What do you do?
Driver: I drive.
Irene: Like a limo driver?
Driver: No, like, for movies.
Irene: Oh. You mean all the car chases and stuff?
Driver: Yeah.
Irene: Isn't that dangerous?
Driver: It's only part-time. Mostly I work at a garage.

Bearded Redneck: You're Shannon's buddy right? We met last year. You drove me and my brother back from Palm Springs. We hired another wheelman. I spent six months in jail. My brother, he got himself killed. I got this sweet job coming up.
Driver: How 'bout this. You shut your mouth. Or I'll kick your teeth down your throat and I'll shut it for you.
Bearded Redneck: Nice seein' you again.

[last lines]
Bernie Rose: Where's the money now?
Driver: It's in the car.
Bernie Rose: Come on.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.drive-movie.com/
Trailer: