Generally when a movie is jam packed with amazing actors, not stars, you don’t even need to know the plot. You just know it’s going to be good. I said amazing actors and not stars because the cast of this movie are amazing actors. Ashton Kutcher is a star; huge difference. I didn't need Rottentomatoes' 81%, but that's just the icing on the cake.
Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean's Elevan, Solaris, Ocean's Twelve, The Good German, Ocean's Thirteen, Che, The Informant! and Haywire) directs this action-thriller. "The movie follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart."
Unfortunately, this movie does seem to kill off Gwyneth Paltrow in the trailer. That's OK though. There still is a powerhouse of a cast to pick up the slack: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne and John Hawkes. Yea, I know. Pretty awesome.
With Soderbergh and his arsenal of a cast, it really is not that hard to see that this movie is going to be great. Did I mention that Cliff Martinez is doing the score?! He composed "Solaris" (Soderbergh). I LOVE that movie and I LOVE the score. It is a poster on my wall. Hands down one of my favorite movies and scores.
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For real, this is an amazing, amazing movie. Now I need to watch this again. Is this on bluray? (checks) Aww...it's not. Back to the point. This will be good. Solid director, cast, story, and plot. This is a legit scary story. This is something that could actually happen. EVERYONE is scared and creeped out by someone or something that can make you sick and die. Another huge realistic scary element is society falling apart. We've been in earthquakes, hurricanes and floods lately. People straight up flip the fuck out at the drop of a hat. Imagine if something really, really terrible happens. We are fucked, people. We are more likely to be killed by each other than the disaster that threw everything off track. |
Watching Contagion will strike a "little too close to home" feeling because this is not an unrealistic scenario. You will feel better watching it in theaters and know that it is just a movie. I'm going to see this on Friday. I recommend you do the same.
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| Only complaint so far: Why did they use the "Dirty Dancing" font? |
So when I say Ryan Gosling, all the girls AND guys scream that movie. I'm not even going to get into it or say it's name. Yes, it was an awesome movie. Let's be honest here though. He isn't that dreamy...OK who am I kidding? He's dreamy...and a pretty strong actor in my opinion. It must be clear though that that movie did not start his career.
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| I am not ashamed to admit that I own the movie. It deserves it's recognition. |
Did you know that he guest starred in "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" (1995) and "Goosebumps" (1996)?! I didn't either. Ryan Gosling's first real movie was "Remember the Titans." He didn't really begin to shine until a year later in "The Believer" (2001) where he plays a young Jewish man who develops intense anti-Semitic views (true story). He disappeared for several years and makes a decent comeback in 2010 with Blue Valentine, All Good Things, Crazy, Stupid, Love (I have yet to see this. I hear nothing but good things. I just haven't been in the right mindset recently to check out a genre like this. I'll get around to it though) and The Ides of March. Also with three more in the works.
Our boy R.G. looks like he'll be able to pull off the subtle badass role in "Drive." This is directed by not so known Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson and Valhalla Rising). He won "Best Director" at Cannes for this film. So let's see here, Ryan Gosling, a Cannes Award AND 94% on Rottentomatoes?! Jesus! Is it the 16th yet?!
"Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene, a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard. After a heist intended to pay off Standard's protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals. But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk-that they're coming straight for Irene and her son-Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense."
"Drive" stars a decent cast with Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman and
Christina Hendricks. I've always liked Carey Mulligan (The Greatest, Public Enemies, Brothers, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Never Let Me Go). While she's never really done anything that substantial for herself, she has always delivered a superb performance.
I am definitely curious on how Nicolas Winding Refn is doing to deliver this movie. His past movies, while good, are generally extremely violent, quite strange and artistic...haha if that makes sense.
MPAA tells me that it is rated R mainly because of "strong brutal bloody violence." I just don't see it.
Did I mention that Cliff Martinez is also doing this score too?! Our boy has been busy. I actually got the "Contagion" and "Drive" score while writing this just to get into the mood of the two movies. It's working I think and they aren't too bad!
"Drive" is totally going to deliver on so many levels. A love story, probably a decent amount of bad ass car chase scenes (it is called DRIVE after all), action-adventure, decent story and plot, guns and cars flipping. I can ramble all day about what I think. I'm pretty sure Ryan Gosling and 94% speak for itself.
