Ryan Gosling is quickly earning a reputation for playing characters with seemingly good hearts, but with deep flaws that prohibit his characters from achieving greatness. Whether it be his quick Ryan Gosling is quickly earning a reputation for playing characters with seemingly good hearts but with deep flaws that prohibit these characters from achieving greatness. Whether it be his quick temper, drinking, or lack of ambition in Blue Valentine, his unbelievably extreme case of social anxiety in Lars and the Real Girl, or his much too overly confident posture in Fracture, Gosling plays characters that you root for at one moment and sympathize with the next. At the same time, you are trying to figure out how he gets so entrenched in each of his roles. If you have not seen any of the movies mentioned above, do so. You’ll be in for a treat. If you want to see his best performance to date, check out Ryan Fleck’s (Sugar, It’s Kind of a Funny Story) highly under-appreciated Half Nelson. Now, I say highly under-appreciated loosely. Half Nelson has received a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes but only $2.6 million at the box office, a somewhat disappointing number.
Category Archives: Genre
Doomsday
Doomsday (2008) was Neil Marshall’s follow-up effort after the 2005 surprise summer hit, The Descent, which wowed critics and fans alike. This movie, however, lacked the creepiness and the character development of The Descent. It seemed like Doomsday aimed to be like 28 Days Later with the horsepower of an action movie. As a result, it tripped over its feet before getting out of the gate. This movie is set in 2035, some 25 years after a massive epidemic has wiped out 99% of Scotland. The UK had built a wall that has effectively quarantined the remaining 1%. However, when the infection has made its way back into London and, through satellite images, the government learns that there are, in fact, survivors still living within the walls. A one-eyed special team operative named Edin (Rhona Mitra – Shooter, The number 23) is sent behind the wall to find the cure that keeps all of these people alive.
Total Recall (1990)
Seeing this movie for the first time 20 years after its release and after hearing friend after friend say to me, “You still haven’t seen Total Recall? I can’t believe that. You’ve got to see it. It’s a classic”, I expected much, much more during my viewing. To think that Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released just a year later diminishes the value of Total Recall. Whether just or unjust, I couldn’t help but compare Total Recall to the theater experience of Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991. While Terminator 2 had cutting-edge special effects, edge-of-your-seat action, and decent acting, Total Recall felt cheesy, worn, and clumsy. Additionally, the acting was atrocious.
Eastern Promises (2007)
Eastern Promises was David Cronenberg’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed breakout directorial hit, 2005’s A History of Violence. A History of Violence was a bit overrated, and William Hurt receiving a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for his ten minutes of screen time was a bit of a joke. However, Viggo Mortenson was terrific in his role in that movie, and his work in Eastern Promises is stellar.
A Perfect Getaway (2009)
Before Timothy Olyphant (The Crazies, Dreamcatcher) was earning high praise for his role as US Marshall Raylan Givens in FX’s blockbuster television show Justified, he was making a name for himself in action/adventure movies, first in smaller character roles and then as a lead actor. Olyphant’s Givens on Justified is easily my favorite television character of the present time, distancing himself from Hugh Laurie’s Gregory House on House and Steve Carell’s Michal Scott on The Office.