Written by James M. Tate / 4/23/2013 / No comments / 2013 , action , bradley cooper , eva mendes , neo noir , ray liotta , ryan gosling
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
year: 2013 cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta, Eva Mendes rating: *** |
The first vignette has Luke discovering he has a baby with his ex, which gets to him deep down. And in the Film Noir fashion our flawed antihero goes straight into crime, robbing banks along with a grizzly getaway driver. The bank robbing scenes, followed by Luke zipping off on his motorbike, are quick and shaky but always involving. Gosling turns in a worthy old-school performance as a desperate tough cookie, blending slow burn venom with quiet pathos. But his story doesn’t last long…
After one robbery too many, Luke is chased into a suburban house and… let’s just say the story’s now handed off to Bradley Cooper who, as Avery, takes the second tier of a good cop in a sea of sharks. The versatile SILVER LININGS Oscar nominee does a pretty good job as a vulnerable pawn yet this story lacks the punch of the first one. The best scenes have Avery under the gun of his impending foes, but there’s not much payoff to the edgy buildup.
The third tale has been maligned by critics and audiences alike: Cutting 15 years later we follow the sons of both Luke and Avery. Luke’s kid is a shy brooding stoner while Avery’s, speaking like a hip-hop wannabe, pushes him into criminal activity: just to make a party better. Not a bad little ride here, but the troubled teens are paper-thin and it doesn’t seem a worthy crescendo for those initial characters that made these punk's existence, and the overall story, happen in the first place.
Judging as a whole, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES is a decent patchwork that, during the last fifteen minutes, pays homage to a bonafide classic MILLERS CROSSING as two important characters meet up at the rural location the film’s named after: a do or die moment resulting in a somewhat bland conclusion.
Labels:
2013,
action,
bradley cooper,
eva mendes,
neo noir,
ray liotta,
ryan gosling
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
All Time Popular
-
Robyn Hilton enters into an eclectic exploitation comedy career in Wonder Women circa 1973 As mentioned a few posts ago, ROBYN HILTON, b...
-
year: 1978 cast: Allen Garfield, Leif Garrett, Kathleen Lloyd, Tony Alva, Pam Kenneally rating: ***1/2 Although promoted as a Leif Garr...
-
Kari Michaelsen in Saturday the 14th year: 1982 In LOVE AT FIRST BITE, a popular comedy that took the vampire genre by satire, Richard ...
-
Cornelia Sharpe in BUSTING Year: 1974 Rating: **** Starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as determined vice cops BUSTING hookers, makin...
-
Mary-Louise Weller in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE ANIMAL HOUSE, directed by John Landis and produced by Ivan Reitman, stars John Be...
-
Kerri Green and John Candy in SUMMER RENTAL Year: 1985 John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller ...
-
Robyn Hilton on STARSKY AND HUTCH Model/Actress ROBYN HILTON played Mel Brook's secretary in BLAZING SADDLES and turns up in an epis...
-
Robyn Hilton in Video Vixens the same year as Blazing Saddles: 1974 The Anthology of Comedic Parodies, already done in several Woody All...
-
CADDDYSHACK is best known for the iconic leading actors: Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray, but originally the ...
-
Elizabeth James and Tom Laughlin on equal ground YEAR: 1967 THE BORN LOSERS wasn't supposed to happen but thank God it did since BIL...
Featured Post
DEFENDING THE BREEZY SEQUEL 'BREAKIN 2': ELECTRIC BOOGALOO'
Title: BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO Year: 1984 Rating: *** Cannon Films' BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO was rushed out the same...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.