High on visuals and mood, the would be noirish film DRIVE is interesting to watch and modestly successful as a piece of Hollywood entertainment. There are, however, a few bumps along the way, with mostly some illogical plot devices causing the viewer to think "REALLY?" and a few scenes caused audience members to laugh out loud, at the film, not with it. Ryan Gosling is pleasant to watch, if somewhat of an enigma as a Hollywood stunt driver in the movies....he also works as a mechanic in a garage....and still finds time to hire himself out as an extremely good getaway driver for criminals who preform robberies while he sits with the engine running, watching his watch that he has strapped onto the steering wheel. (?!?) Yes, he's a busy man, but he is lonely, and lusting after his single with child neighbor. After several dates he finds out that her husband is getting out of jail soon (!?!---no kidding---wouldn't the fact she's still married be something she could have told him on or before the first date?????!!!!) Things really kick into action when he tries to help (!?!) her husband rob a pawn shop (?!?) and things not only go bad, as is usually the case in such films, but a major can of worms puts his life in serious danger. Carey Mulligan (THE EDUCATION) is the girl, Bryan Cranston is his "unlucky" mechanic boss, and Albert Brooks and Ron Pearlman play the really bad baddies--telegraphed from the early scenes. GRADE---------------------B
A slick film that shows that young people in Iran know how to party, sex, drink, drug and mess it all up just like American kids, CIRCUMSTANCE is distinguished by the novelty of taking place in repressive Tehran, and it also adds tension showing the start of a forbidden romance between two young Iranian women. It is a solid film, and in spite of some familiar youthful themes, there are some scenes, especially the family betrayals, that really stick with you. GRADE----------B
I never saw the original Sam Peckinpah version of STRAW DOGS released in 1971, but from reports, I've heard this is a pretty faithful remake, with some minor changes (set in Mississippi instead of England, and the husband's profession is now screenplay writer instead of Dustin Hoffman's mathematician). I didn't enjoy watching this film--the deck, or rather decks, are so stacked that it felt like dramatic reenactments of the Jerry Springer show. James Marsden and Kate Bosworth play a Hollywood couple who relocate to her old hometown and become terrorized by some local rednecks and become involved in a local conflict involving what seems like a mentally unstable young man. It is obvious from the opening scenes as they drive through this poor, small southern town in their Jaguar (!) that Kate has had a very wild reputation with some members of the old high school foot ball team--yet she still acts like a tease to them (knowingly undressing in an open window, and jogging through the woods in a skimpy pair of short shorts and a shear braless top--wet look indeed-- and barefoot, of all things....). She can't seem to stop looking longingly at her old beau, yet has the audacity to complain to her new husband that the local boys are "licking her body with their eyes" and when he suggests, patiently, that it might help if she wore a bra while jogging, she explodes in infantile anger that he is not on her side. The film is inflammatory and rather unlikely, especially in the extremely violent confrontational sequence that ends the movie. It is technically effective, but to build such a story on such intense cliches---all the women seem to be provocative sluts, and all the men are drunken redneck losers--that the climax seems more a relief than give much dramatic satisfaction. Discussions I heard about the early version praised the themes of aggression vs patience, intellect vs fear, and justice vs hatred---all themes missing here. GRADE---------C-
DVD selections--------------------------
One of my favorite musicals is LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986) with Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin, Vincent Gardenia and the fearless Bill Murray. Every cast member is well cast and the Supreme-like singing group adds to the wacky and campy fun. Nerdy Seymour finds love and success when he discovers Audrey II--a man-eating plant from outer-space, but finding the food supply to keep this plant alive--human blood--becomes very difficult. The film is flooded with stylish, 1950's fashion and set design, the songs are doo-whop delightful, but it is the performances that really impress me every time I see it. Moranis as the nerd, Greene as his would-be (if she wasn't "dating a semi-sadist")girlfriend, and especially Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist and Bill Murray as a masochistic patient keep me laughing every time. It is a delightful, funny, campy treat. GRADE-------------A-
The first Blu Ray DVD I purchased to play on my new Blu Ray machine was PRIDE & PREJUDICE (1995) with Colin Firth and Jennifer Elhe, which I never saw when it appeared first on A&E over 15 years ago. I had just seen (and been impressed by)Elhe in CONTAGION a few nights before, and had been wondering what had become of her. An IMDb check reveals that she must just disappear into her roles, as I've missed her this past year in such high profile movies as THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU and THE KING'S SPEECH. Of course, I've loved and watched Firth for many years, and this version of P&P is a wonderful showcase for these two fine actors. It also looked FABULOUS on Blu-ray--the colors popped, the details were clear and crisp, and the story--all 5 1/5 hours of it kept me transfixed. The recent Hollywood version (2005)with Keira Knightly was quite good, too, as is the 1940 version with Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier, but this one had the time and patience to really fill in all the details. GRADE------------B+
When I first saw it in 1973 as the second feature to something unmemorable, I thought that THE LAST OF SHEILA was one of the most clever, witty, bitchy, entertaining murder mysteries I'd ever seen. Over 35 years later, it still is. The excellent cast includes James Coburn as the millionaire who invites 6 close friends on board his yacht for a week, for some mysterious parlour games, Richard Benjamin as a struggling script writer, James Mason as a down on his luck director, Dyan Cannon as a thinly disguised Hollywood agent based on Sue Mengers, a sympathetic Joan Hackett as Benjamin's alcholic wife, Raquel Welch as a starlet and Ian McShane as her publicist husband. This time the butler did NOT do it, but you'll have a hard time figuring out just who did it and why and how. GRADE--------B+
Last but certainly not least this week is the recent Michael Caine film HARRY BROWN (2009) which handles revenge in a much more intelligent manner than STRAW DOGS above. He is a retired military pensioner who is fed up with the drug dealing and harassing that normal folks must put up with in the English projects in which he lives. He gets drawn into some violent situations, and it is very interesting how he gets out of them. Realistic and compelling. GRADE--------B
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