I think the distinction I'd make is that it is a cheerfully tough-minded comedy rather than a cheerfully cynical one. I'm not 100% sure how to define the difference, let alone defend my position, but that is my impression.
Gavin, ask yourself this question. What are you more afraid of, a giant murderous demon or me?
Lilah ,'Destiny'
Buffista Movies 7: Brides for 7 Samurai
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Typo Boy - Sep 24, 2011 9:02:05 pm PDT #16237 of 30000
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Strega - Sep 24, 2011 10:47:37 pm PDT #16238 of 30000
dammit. I thought it was coming out in October.
It keeps getting pushed back, which is frustrating. I think maybe originally thought nobody would care and now they're angling for awards buzz.
And I saw Drive on Saturday and loved it. Be aware that it's not a thriller/action movie like the trailer suggests. It's LA noir, it's slow and stylized, it's got some brutal scenes, and the protagonist is basically a Vachss character. It probably helps to like crime fiction because a lot of my friends hated it -- and I get why, honestly. It just worked for me.
Jesse - Sep 25, 2011 3:03:40 am PDT #16239 of 30000
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
The more I hear about Drive, the less I want to see it. I heard it compared to The American recently, and ugh, that movie. And Vachss is Just Too Much for me! I dunno, I'll probably still see it.
Strega - Sep 25, 2011 4:29:55 am PDT #16240 of 30000
Well, the plot is not as inherently disturbing as Vachss stories are. But Gosling's character reminded me a lot of his. The comparisons I've seen to Eastwood in the Leone movies are about right, too. This isn't a guy you're meant to relate to.
le nubian - Sep 25, 2011 5:14:32 am PDT #16241 of 30000
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
So Beau and I saw "Drive" last night and I liked it more than he did. He really didn't like the film at all, I'm kind of meh. The best part of the movie (it seems to me) is the first 10-15 minutes. After that, I feel like the movie got caught up in its own pretentions.
It is a violent film and I think at one point I actually said "ick" out loud in the theater.
The movie reminds me of a Michael Mann film from the 1980s. It is minimalist in some ways (until you get to the gore!) and I don't think Beau likes that style of acting. He felt that Ryan Reynolds could not act (which is not a true statement of course), but I don't think he liked his direction. Beau much preferred Albert Brooks' acting.
I agree with Strega that it probably helps to like crime fiction (which is what I read and watch 80% of the time), but still, I would have preferred more information about Reynolds' character's motivation. He seemed cunning on the one hand, but on the other hand, he displayed great naïvete and/or arrogance and for the life of me I couldn't understand why. Some light spoilers:
it is possible that I have watched too many heist movies, but I was kind of shocked at the extent to which he hadn't seemed to think that other people's planning was sufficient for the job. When he did his own, he was on point, but relying on other people like that without checking things out is a problem.
DavidS - Sep 25, 2011 5:26:38 am PDT #16242 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
The movie reminds me of a Michael Mann film from the 1980s.
Like, Thief?
megan walker - Sep 25, 2011 2:20:47 pm PDT #16243 of 30000
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
Just saw "A Pain in the Ass" on on-demand. Hilarious film (French with subtitles - I don't speak French and I still wonder why someone translated "Mierde, Mierde, Mierde" as "Damn, Damn, Damn". )
It should be. It's by the same guy who did La Cage aux folles, Le Dîner de cons (The Dinner Game), and Le Placard (The Closet), among others. You can always tell a Veber film because the loser lead is usually named François Pignon. Note: A Pain in the Ass is actually Veber remaking his own work. (Attention Hec!) The original L'emmerdeur starred Jacques Brel as Pignon.
BTW, merde is best translated as damn. It's a mild swear word; hence its acceptable use for "good luck" or "break a leg" in the theater.
Strega - Sep 25, 2011 3:10:10 pm PDT #16244 of 30000
I would have preferred more information about Reynolds' character's motivation.
For something in particular? I don't think he particularly wants anything for much of the movie.
re the whitefont: Well, for the second job, they certainly weren't going to tell him anything, much less care if he approved. But I would imagine he's always like that, because he doesn't want to be involved. He's just an independent contractor.
§ ita § - Sep 25, 2011 3:18:30 pm PDT #16245 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Reynolds or Gosling? Am confuse.
Strega - Sep 26, 2011 6:55:42 am PDT #16246 of 30000
Ha, I didn't even register that. Gosling.
That reminds me of the Videogum fake interview with Gosling.
VG: It’s just really cool that Ryan Reynolds thinks I’m cool.
RG: Did you just call me Ryan Reynolds?
VG: Absolutely not. I would never do that.
RG: I think you did.
VG: If I called you Ryan Reynolds I would kill myself.
RG: That seems like a bit much.