Drive while Hunk

Okay to be honest I haven't watch TV or been online all summer so I didn't see any trailer for this movie. I actually saw something about it in a magazine. The write up gave a very enticing so I decided to see it. Didn't really know much about Ryan Gosling but his powerful work in Half Nelson and thought it was interesting a indie guy was in a action/car movie.

Well to say this is a different kind of car movie is an understatement. Actually Ryan Gosling performance in a exercise in understatement. His character barely speaks but when he does it important.The character is never named but we know he drive getaway cars at night and stunt cars by day and he's as cool as ice at all times. Oh and he wears a gold jacket with a embroiled scorpion on the back like a second skin, interesting chose to say the least.  He live a solitary life that is until he and his neighbor Irene played by Carey Muligan start something. Unfortunately before they get anywhere her ex con husband comes home. The bittersweet homecoming is just a prelude to whats to come. See hubby owe some guys some money and he has to do one last job blah blah blah. Driver is incline to help his would be loves husband, to stop anything from happening to her or her son whom he also has a soft spot for.

Of course things go horribly wrong on this "one last job"  as usual. Apparently Standard's "job" was a front for another "job" set up by a mobster associated with Driver's fast talking well meaning fuck up friend Shannon played effortlessly by Bryan Cranston. Left with a bag of money and a shit load of blood on his hands Driver tries to set thing straight but they only get worse. 

Without giving anything else away the film is a clear throw back to violent but character driven films of the 70's however the soundtrack is pure 80's pop which was kind of weird and refreshing at the same time. I can't wait for this to come out on DVD so I can really dig in to Gosling performance.

Black Swan, Straight Mind F#@k

Talk about killing a dream. I, like a lot of girly little girls dreamed of being a prima ballerina. Wearing all pink and the cute ballet slipper with ribbons tied around the ankles and my hair pulled up in a bun at the top of my head. But after see Black Swan Im kinda happy that my mom and dad wouldn't pay for the lessons. Clearly being a ballerina is not for the faint of heart, a lesson the Swan Queen ballerina learns the hard way.

The movie begins with Nina Sayers(Natilie Portman) having a dream of being the Swan Queen. Its a beautiful dream that makes her optimistic about her position at the New York City ballet.  Nina is a doll like young woman living with her mother played by Barbara Hershey. She and her mother a very close but theyre relationship borders on obsession with each other and Nina's career. And low and behold the company director Thomas Leroy ( Vincent Cassel) announces the they will be performing Swan Lake. Great, Nina would be a perfect Swan Queen. Crap, she's to goody goody for the evil twin, the Black Swan........or is she.

Nina has the skills and disipline to the play the swan Queen but  new dancer on the block Lily (Mila Kunis) has all the sexiness and rawness of the Black Swan. Lily is everything Nina is not, open and at easy. Thomas has no problem telling Nina exactly that and does every thing to mess with her mind even after giving her the part. Thomas claims to want to have not bowndery with Nina but that seems to be trick in his mind fucking kit. Lily is equally skilled at mindfucking , befriending Nina but setting her up to be late for practice...or was that just Nina mind fucking herself there.

While all this is going on,  her mother has her own mind fuck game going own at home. Moms want to know where Nina is, who shes talking to, and won't even let the girl get undress by herself. Seriously, Nina is due for a good rebellion but throw all her stuff animals will do until mommy trys to lock Nina in her bedroom keeping her from performing in the show and The Black Swan comes flying out to moms in her place once and for all.

Honestly this movie was way more artsy than I usually go for but I totally get it. Nina wanted to be the best but then she had to let that go to do what was needed to become the Black Swan. However, with losing herself to this part she loses her mind and then some but she did get what she wanted in the end, perfection.

Green Hornet Kicks Ass!

Like everybody else I've been waiting for this Seth Rogen comic book adaption of The Green Hornet for two year.  Well actually every Seth Rogen fan has been waiting for this moive for two years. Fanboys weren't actually howding Hollywood for a big screen version of the 40's comic book/60's tv show. However when news broke that Rogen was to play the lead alot to people were skeptical, but interested. Rogen has made his name as the loveble slacker/baby daddy in Knocked Up and consitanty worked since exclusively in comedies and has lended his gruf  voice to animation features such as Kung Fu Panda.  So to be completely honest I was concerned that Rogen, a chubby comedian was set to play a action hero. Watching a fat guy run round is only funny for a while. So how did he solve this issue? He lost some  lbs and made the character......Seth Rogen....ish.

In the modern abaption Britt Reed/ The Green Hornet is a spoiled rich kid in his early 20's thats never work a day in his life and party 24/7 to the shagrin of his father, respectable newspaper owner James Ried, played by the always comanding Tim Wilkinson. When his father dies suddenly from a bee sting Brit inherts the newspaper and a menchanic/gormet coffee maker named Kato. Playing the character Bruce Lee  made famous or made him famous, is  Jay Chou. Kato is  a materal art expert/mechanic/gadgets inventor. On a night out vandalizing his dad statue, Brit and Kato get involved in a street fight with group of would be attackers. High on they’re victory Brit decided that they should continue beating up bad guys under the front of being bad guy and use his newspaper to up they’re profile . Cut to montage of Kato supping up The Black Beauty and making new devices. Then cut to Montague of The Green Hornet and Kato kicking ass and the crime boss Chudnofsky, Christopher Waltz, reacting to them messing up his business.

Rogen being the title character is in 95% of the scenes and of course uses his average joe comedic charm as his most lethal weapon even when hes in the middle of taking down a drug lab. Kato is also silent, and very soft spoken speaking with a sometime hard to understand Chinese accent. The bromance between Brit and Kato is centerpiece to the whole film. But unlike most action flim the hero and “side kick” actually fight about they're roles, escalating when Brit a ego manic to begin with, gets jealous of Kato relationship with his secretary, Lenore, played by Cameron Diaz, whom they both like. Making matter worse the media, including Brit’s own paper, and villains seem to think Kato is just the driver. The power struggle between the two reached a point of a fight reminiscent of Rogens fight with Danny Mcbride in Pineapple Express. Unfortunately, this fight we see coming a mile away, along with the out come.

 Despite the cartoonish 3^rd act and the truly unnecessary 3-D affect which was for the most part unnoticeable, this popcorn movie delivered laughs and a message of media responsibility to report the truth. Even thou Brit is hypocrite, using his paper to make The Green Hornet a bad ass. Plus, Kato slowmo vision was definitely cool, giving the matrix bullet time effect a little new spin. Moreover, Chou could have had more to do in general, but did make the most out of his screen time. But not withstanding Rogen dominating every scene  its clear Kato is the man and The Green Hornet is mascot of the duo.

A-Team- Amen!

I grew up in the 80's and all I really remember about the A-Team is the theme song and Mr. T.  I guess a big black dude with a mohawk just kinda stands out I guess. So when I heard on the movie being made about it I was all that concerned either way, but to be honest Im pretty indifferent to news of movies in the work, half the time they don't pan out. However this time it panned out.  I'm thinking the addition of  It man of the past year, Bradley Cooper sured plans up. And with this movie he went form comedy star to action star without even throwing a punch.

A-team cast is impressive with  stately Liam Nesson as Hannibal the leader of Iraq War veterans looking to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed. Rounding out the cast is Quentin 'Rampage' Jackson as B.A. Barcaus, and District 9's Sharlto Coopley as the looney but effective pilot Murdock. And Cooper is Face, the suave ladies man and Hannibals #2.

The film starts out fast and hard with the team meeting for the first time on the run from corrpurt police in Mexico. The action is pretty constant only slowin down long enough for Bradley Cooper to take off his shirt and to bait and tease Jessica Biel's Carrisa his love intertest who is  out to capture him and his team.

The movie villan, (Watchmen)