Drive *****

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Year: 2011

Book by: James Sallis

Adapted by: Hossein Amini

Cinematographer: Newton Thomas Sigel

First off, let me say... this film 100% earned the Cannes Best Director prize.

If I could interview Refn, my first question would be, in the t-bone scene by the cliff, why does driver's car not suffer a scratch? Its headlights are clearly in perfect shape?

I ask the question not to nitpick, but rather because I really believe Refn may have a reason.

I loved this movie sooo much. It's L.A., it's crime, it's noir with neon, crystal-clear photography, its Tarantino, Jodorowsky, and 80's b-movie... its "european" as one character comments about his car chase films of the 80's.

When the credits ran, the guy in front of my jumped up and said with a sigh of frustration, "well that was slow..."

No. It was tight film-making. Less dialogue, more action. Actors here are left to emote with their faces and bodies, and characters are developed by the actions they perform, rather than words explaining how they feel. Refn shows rather than tells.

He sets up the driver's badass skills in the opening scene and then builds relationships, with sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, although everyone stays fully clothed and there is only one kiss in the entire movie. THATS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! Gosling and Mulligan simmer with just smiles, and its sexier than anything I've seen on film in a long time.

It's quiet, it breathes, and the sound design is as precisely expressive as the photography. Then all of a sudden, it explodes with a gun shot, initiating a third act full of shocking violence that impacts the audience as much as the characters. Violence here actually matters. Yes its gory, but not without consequence or weight. We feel, as Driver and Irene feel, the loss and the shock of death...

I absolutely loved this film, I would be surprised if I see any other film this year that I'll like more, yes, even Tree of Life... which I can't wait to see, but I'm thinking Drive will go down as THE FILM of 2011.

Somewhere ****

Writer/Director: Sofia Coppola

Year: 2010

Cinematographer: Harris Savides

A personal, minimalist, poetic film. Not as good as Lost in Translation, but still pretty good.

Senna ****

Director: Asif Kapadia

Year: 2010

Writer: Manish Pandey

Incredible real-life drama. Director makes the correct choice to tell the dramatic narrative here, rather than show us all the incredible racing. I hope the DVD comes with the full length original broadcasts of some of these races that are briefly summarized.

The Five Obstructions ****

Directors: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier

Year: 2003

Lars von Trier invites his hero film maker, Jørgen Leth to remake his short film "The Perfect Human" five times, but with obstructions dictated by von Trier. Part deconstruction of cinema, part challenge for Leth, part von Trier wrapping his head around the idea that Leth is not "the perfect film maker", rather, just a normal human filmmaker. On the whole, the exercise is an echo of Leth's original short film. It's very interesting to watch, and each remake that Leth is forced to make adds new depth and context to his original idea, and then von Trier's obstruction at the end is his own self-indulgent and purposeful banalizing of Leth's original idea.

The Perfect Human ****

Original Title: Det perfekte menneske
Director: Jørgen Leth

Year: 1967

Writers: Jørgen Leth, Ole John

Cinematographer: Henning Camre, Ole John

A short film featuring a dehumanizing voice over, from the perspective of a total alien or robot, describing and pondering "the perfect human" as the human acts in a repetitive or dehumanizing manner, as if to demonstrate that even a dehumanized human is still human?

Is it meant to debunk the idea of "perfect human" as an oxymoron? To be human is to not be perfect, so the perfect human would be an imperfect human... I think this is what Leth was thinking about when he made the film.

Countdown to Zero ***

Director: Lucy Walker

Year: 2010

For such an intriguing subject, Walker manages to take her time, but its not edited down very well and seems kind of scatter brained. Its not a bad movie, just an inefficient documentary. Good for a television, but not a good film. I was disappointed because I'm so captivated by nuclear history, and I felt I didn't learn much. I don't care for man-on-the-street interviews. Their opinions are not informed necessarily and are therefore empty. I know because I do MOS interviews on a daily basis in the news industry. They are meant to capture public mood, but I personally don't think public mood matters. I would rather see an impassioned case be made by a professional, someone who knows a great deal about the current nuclear situation... from Oppenheimer, from Tony Blair, from Jimmy Carter, good grief, she had Pervez Musharraf, Robert McNamara and Mikhail Gorbachev! She should have used these people more!

But she had so many little interviews, she had to spray in one sound-bite for everyone rather than one coherent argument from a handful, or even just one of them would have rung louder.

It also stopped short of saying, "this is what you can do to make a difference..." instead just suggested... public opinion is important. deedly doo...

Weak sauce. This film fell way short of its potential given the subject matter.