cult film freak: ryan gosling

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Written by James M. Tate / 10/05/2017 / No comments / 2017 , harrison ford , ryan gosling , sequel

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF BLADE RUNNER 2049

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpIsYAwlsxYdgq5EsPTpzigdytwZa6HVipo2DEG8Ad0xDJfw2IlKK31I8X4VuIVUBx4gel7xN38Juv46h3F7ivF8CDoMS4537aegFK1xDMpKpEzFamz9rngeFKFRFFGcmqx5EStK8J7ER/s1600/tumblr_static_26osk19e9qck84sgcwogsw88w.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="995" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpIsYAwlsxYdgq5EsPTpzigdytwZa6HVipo2DEG8Ad0xDJfw2IlKK31I8X4VuIVUBx4gel7xN38Juv46h3F7ivF8CDoMS4537aegFK1xDMpKpEzFamz9rngeFKFRFFGcmqx5EStK8J7ER/s400/tumblr_static_26osk19e9qck84sgcwogsw88w.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2016</u></td></tr>
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There were actually defenders of INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL, saying the computerized monkeys and the nuked refrigerator (that just happened to land in the radiation safety zone) were par for the course... "After all, in the other movies he climbed under a truck and..." so on and so forth: But when something looks and feels legit, it's completely plausible for the viewer...<br>
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Like in the original BLADE RUNNER where an opiate haze shrouds a corporate, commercialized yet doomed, dystopian future where rain falls on flying-cars jetting through an eternal night sky of bleak neon, resembling Shanghai in an arcade purgatory: Yet all this visual glory served as a backdrop for the job of Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard, a Cop/Bounty Hunter Assassin aka "Blade Runner," whose assignment was to find and "retire" five Replicants (androids) that are "More Human Than Human." Most have already seen the classic 1982 science fiction Film Noir directed by Ridley Scott, and anyone defending this sequel will probably say, "Well the first one is long and slow too..."<br>

2017, harrison ford, ryan gosling, sequel

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF BLADE RUNNER 2049

Year: 2016 There were actually defenders of INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL, saying the computerized monkeys and the nuked refrigera...

RUSSELL CROWE & RYAN GOSLING IN 'THE NICE GUYS'

2016, action, buddy, crime, dark comedy, genre tarantino, gumshoe, neo noir, russell crowe, ryan gosling, shane black

RUSSELL CROWE & RYAN GOSLING IN 'THE NICE GUYS'

Nice 1970's Neon Font for Shane Black's NICE GUYS with Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling Year: 2016 It makes complete sense that ...

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta, Eva Mendes rating: ***</td></tr>
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A tale of three stories, all connected to a flawed but kindhearted stunt riding motorcycle guy. With tattoos covering most of his body and a Metallica T-shirt, the opening shot of Ryan Gosling’s Luke (a cross between Steve McQueen and Peter Stormare) strutting through a carnival crowd and stepping into a circular cage where motorcycles zip around like killer bees… promises a lot more than THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES offers, but that’s only if you’re expecting an action movie to begin with.<br />
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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…<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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 <i>do or die</i> moment resulting in a somewhat bland conclusion.

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: *** A tale of three stories, all connected to a flawed but...

Written by James M. Tate / 1/23/2013 / No comments / 2013 , action , gangster , josh brolin , nick nolte , robert patrick , ryan gosling , sean penn

GANGSTER SQUAD

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013 <b>cast:</b> Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick<b> rating:</b> ***1/2</td></tr>
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Testosterone-fueled and bloody basic, GANGSTER SQUAD holds few punches. Centering on Josh Brolin’s square-jawed/hard nosed Sgt. John O’Hara in post-war Los Angeles, this is a mindlessly involving romp that borrows more from Westerns than old school crime flicks. <br />
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O’Hara’s band of rouge lawman wind up screwing with Mickey Cohen’s seedy rule of L.A. by attacking his casinos, not busting them; burning the cash instead of taking it home. The best scenes have the Squad in action, vandalizing Cohen’s operation like a gang of schoolyard punks given permission to wreak havoc, without limits.     <br />
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Sean Penn does an okay job as the cutthroat crime boss Mickey Cohen, although his reactionary scenes mostly consist of vein-popping tantrums, seeming more like someone’s grumpy father than an infamous kingpin. Any capable actor could have pulled off the part, but Penn – perhaps channeling pal Robert De Niro’s Capone from THE UNTOUCHABLES – has a good time no matter.  <br />
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It’s really Brolin’s ride but he’s not alone. Ryan Gosling’s Jerry Wooters is a mellow lady’s man who falls for Cohen’s moll played by Emma Stone. Their love scenes and dialog together mean nothing – in fact when the bullets aren’t flying, any of the character development… including O'Hara and his worried pregnant wife… is paper thin and ultimately pointless: Which would be a hindrance in a movie that doesn’t celebrate non-stop action with such addictive gusto. <br />
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With Robert Patrick on board as a gritty dead eye veteran partnered up with Michael Pena’s semi comic relief – and others including Giovanni Ribisi as a family man/technical guru, this is a roller coaster ride where the good guys play bad and have a literal blast doing it. <br />
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Just don’t expect anything but fluff – fueled by Tommy Guns and perpetual explosions – and you’ll do all right.

2013, action, gangster, josh brolin, nick nolte, robert patrick, ryan gosling, sean penn

GANGSTER SQUAD

year: 2013 cast: Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick rating: ***1/2 Testosterone-fueled and bloody basic, GANGSTER ...

Written by James M. Tate / 9/17/2011 / No comments / action , albert brooks , ryan gosling , suspense , tens

DRIVE

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY5kAXZsiE6yG79D3kpjm7rFWNbOeHZhNGRClYBc0gvTEnTWPiz0mFNdvotBKanNkocX5zBxJMLZ_gRmo0Ww8FqHTKrHi88fihA7s32DFpPDKkkQInROqg2eDxu47bhcKKp1jI6tSTTgu/s1600/drive-2011-movie.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653539081899024514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY5kAXZsiE6yG79D3kpjm7rFWNbOeHZhNGRClYBc0gvTEnTWPiz0mFNdvotBKanNkocX5zBxJMLZ_gRmo0Ww8FqHTKrHi88fihA7s32DFpPDKkkQInROqg2eDxu47bhcKKp1jI6tSTTgu/s200/drive-2011-movie.jpg" style="float: right; height: 230px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 163px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> DRIVE<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 2011<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Ryan Gosling, Albert Brooks<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **1/2<br />
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If M. Night Shyamalan directed Walter Hill’s THE DRIVER, it might have turned out something like DRIVE, a metronomic, Noirish thriller with a little action on the side.<br />
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Story involves a brooding, nameless Hollywood stuntman who doubles as a getaway driver, and winds up falling for the girl next door (the next apartment over). She has a son and a boyfriend in jail, who, once he gets out, owes money to some bad dudes who wind up endangering the family. So the driver, played by Ryan Gosling with a serious scowl and very few words, gets involved…. And winds up in <span style="font-style: italic;">deeper</span> than expected. Meanwhile, his unlucky mechanic/manager partners up with shady mob-connected partners Ron Perlman and get this, Albert Brooks: playing a sadistic killer and doing a passable job.<br />
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The purposefully monotonous synthesizer music is reminiscent of 1980’s soundtracks like RISKY BUSINESS, and it provides an omnipresent vibe of suspense, the scant storyline doesn’t always back it up. And while there are a few good action scenes, there’s not enough danger for our protagonist to equal the suspenseful tone concocted through the score: which gives a constant impression anything can happen next. Or perhaps Gosling plays it a bit too cool to have to worry about anything, or for us to worry about him.<br />
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The film itself looks slick and neat but seems a bit too artistic for its own good. And while THE DRIVER had Bruce Dern as a pesky cop on Ryan O’Neal’s tail, this needed that one character to keep the protagonist, and the audience, more alert throughout. But there are some decent payoffs, and a lot of blood and guts.

action, albert brooks, ryan gosling, suspense, tens