Drive

....drove me batty.

Drive, the movie, that is.

The commercial on tv makes it look more interesting than it is - at least to me.  Denton liked it a lot more than I did.

Since the ads started running like only three days ago, I assumed it was weeks before it would hit the cinema.  Nope.  It's out.   We saw it.

Clever trailer editing can make any movie look better than it is.

As Denton said afterwards, it could have been a Drexel (art house) movie if it were European.  Yes, it had a film noir quality about it, but I'm not sure it was quite there.

There is a definite economy of words, which is not always a bad thing.  A chick from Mad Men is in the movie for all of four minutes, has less than four lines and still gets fourth billing.  What's up with that?

Ron Perlman, man that guy is one ugly motherfucker.   Beauty & the Beast, indeed.

Ryan Gosling is the star and he's fine.  Possibly has about 10 more lines than Holly Hunter did in the Piano, and yeah, his toothpick should have had second billing.  Carey Mulligan was fine, but she comes across that the poor man's Michelle Williams.

Only Albert Brooks (yes!  Albert Brooks!!!!) is somewhat impressive in his role.  Maybe because I'm used to seeing him in more comedic parts that he himself writes and directs (save Broadcast News). Seeing his name at the beginning gave me pause, but he did a fine job.

The story, while eventually getting somewhere, goes nowhere fast.  Oh, the irony.  ...and it's a little fragmented.   And ugh, when there is violence, it is way too gratuitous and disgusting for me. I had to turn away from the screen several times.

Oddly,  there is not nearly as much 'driving' as the name or trailer would lead you to believe. Maybe it is a 'drive' of a different kind and I'm just too dense to see it.  Probably something too esoteric for a moron like me.

I did like the soundtrack.  It was a cross between 2011 and 1985 and it totally worked.  Not enough to turn the movie around for me, but it was a good take-away.

For those keeping track, this makes movie #8 out of 12.  We are a little behind, but I think we can make it up.  To be fair, I told Denton he owed me for seeing this movie - which should count for five.  Maybe Drive isn't that bad, but I'd rank it at the bottom of the list we have seen this year.

At least if I was going to see Ryan Gosling in something, I'd want it to be where he looks more like this:

Song by:  the Cars