Ides of March is not very good.

Renee and I were particularly underwhelmed.  Like a lot of films it gets off to a very strong start but loses focus right after Ryan Gosling and Evan Rachel Wood consummate their affair.  More on this later.

You are not sure what Clooney and Heslov's point is.  That politics is dirty and underhanded? That politicians will always let you down? The mercenary nature of politics? That politicians can not help but sleep with young, hot interns? Did we not know all this, already?

And what a waste of talent, my goodness! Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Gosling, Wood, Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Heslov, etc, ...

Once again, like Crazy Stupid Love, the best scene in the picture is a romantic seduction scene between Gosling and Wood.  It takes place at a Ohio campaign HQ in Gosling's office and it is extremely sexy, with Ms Wood getting all the really good lines.

"Are you a Bearcat?"

(And Ms Wood is really starting to make an impression with me, personally.  I tried True Blood and can not get in to it, but she was astounding in Todd Haynes' HBO Mildred Pierce and she is delicious in Ides.  Plus, she can sing and dance, i.e. Across the Universe.)

Renee then made an excellent point.  Take a look at Gosling's CV.  It is atrocious.  Time and time again Renee and I have watched a Gosling picture and it has been awful.

Here it is (from imdb):


Lawless (pre-production)

2012 Only God Forgives (filming)

2012 The Gangster Squad (post-production)
Sgt. Jerry Wooters

2012 The Place Beyond the Pines (post-production)
Luke

2011 Drunk History Christmas (short)
Pa

2011 The Ides of March
Stephen Meyers

2011 Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Jacob Palmer

2011 Drive
Driver

2010 All Good Things
David Marks

2010 Blue Valentine
Dean

2007 Lars and the Real Girl
Lars Lindstrom

2007/ Fracture
Willy Beachum

2006 Half Nelson
Dan Dunne

2005/ Stay
Henry Letham

2005 I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust (TV documentary)
Ilya Gerber (voice)

2004 The Notebook
Noah

2003 The United States of Leland
Leland P. Fitzgerald

2002 Murder by Numbers
Richard Haywood

2002 The Slaughter Rule
Roy Chutney

2001 The Believer
Danny Balint

2000 Remember the Titans
Alan Bosley

1998-1999 Young Hercules (TV series)
Hercules
– Life for a Life (1999) … Hercules
– Valley of the Shadow (1999) … Hercules
– Ill Wind (1999) … Hercules
– Apollo (1999) … Hercules
– Mila (1999) … Hercules
See all 49 episodes »

1999 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (TV series)
Zylus
– The Academy (1999) … Zylus

1999 The Unbelievables (TV movie)
Josh

1997-1998 Breaker High (TV series)
Sean Hanlon
– To Kill a MockingNerd (1998) … Sean Hanlon
– Heartbreaker High (1998) … Sean Hanlon
– Chile Dog (1998) … Sean Hanlon
– Lord of the Butterflies (1998) … Sean Hanlon
– Kiss of the Shy-Er Woman (1998) … Sean Hanlon
See all 44 episodes »

1998 Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (TV movie)
Tommy

1997 Frankenstein and Me
Kenny

1996 PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (TV series)
Adam
– Dream House/UFO Encounter (1996) … Adam

1996 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (TV series)
Kevin
– Dragon's Lair (1996) … Kevin

1996 Avonlea (TV series)
Bret McNulty
– From Away (1996) … Bret McNulty

1996 Goosebumps (TV series)
Greg Banks
– Say Cheese and Die (1996) … Greg Banks

1996 Flash Forward (TV series)
Scott Stuckey
– Double Bill (1996) … Scott Stuckey
– Skate Bait (1996) … Scott Stuckey

1996 Ready or Not (TV series)
Matt Kalinsky
– I Do, I Don't (1996) … Matt Kalinsky

1996 The Adventures of Shirley Holmes (TV series)
Sean
– The Case of the Burning Building (1996) … Sean

1995 Are You Afraid of the Dark? (TV series)
Jamie Leary
– The Tale of Station 109.1 (1995) … Jamie Leary





Okay:  Drive, Half-Nelson, and Blue Valentine are all good.  I will give you those.  And I guess I can give you Remember the Titans, too.   But I will not allow Lars or The Notebook to be considered good films.  And Fracture is certainly one of the worst films of the last decade.

Meanwhile, check out Michael Fassbender's CV (he is three years older than Gosling):


Twelve Years a Slave (pre-production)

2012 Prometheus (post-production)
David

2011 Haywire
Paul

2011 Shame
Brandon Sullivan

2011 A Dangerous Method
Carl Jung

2011 X-Men: First Class
Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto

2011 Jane Eyre
Rochester

2011 Pitch Black Heist (short)
Michael

2010 Fable III (Video Game)
Logan (voice)

2010 Jonah Hex
Burke

2010 Centurion
Centurion Quintus Dias

2009 Inglourious Basterds
Lt. Archie Hicox

2009 Fish Tank
Connor

2009 Blood Creek
Richard Wirth

2009 Man on a Motorcycle (short)

2008 The Devil's Whore (TV mini-series)
Thomas Rainsborough
– Episode #1.4 (2008) … Thomas Rainsborough
– Episode #1.3 (2008) … Thomas Rainsborough
– Episode #1.2 (2008) … Thomas Rainsborough
– Episode #1.1 (2008) … Thomas Rainsborough

2008 Eden Lake
Steve

2008 Hunger
Bobby Sands

2007 Wedding Belles (TV movie)
Barney

2007/ Angel
Esmé

2006 300
Stelios

2006 Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV series)
George Abernethie
– After the Funeral (2006) … George Abernethie

2006 Trial & Retribution (TV series)
Douglas Nesbitt
– Sins of the Father: Part 1 (2006) … Douglas Nesbitt

2004-2005 Hex (TV series)
Azazeal
– Where the Heart Is (2005) … Azazeal (credit only)
– Noir (2005) … Azazeal
– With a Little Help from My Friends: Part 2 (2005) … Azazeal
– With a Little Help from My Friends: Part 1 (2005) … Azazeal
– Ella Burns (2005) … Azazeal
See all 13 episodes »

2005 Our Hidden Lives (TV movie)
German POW

2005 Murphy's Law (TV series)
Caz Miller
– Boy's Night Out (2005) … Caz Miller
– Hard Boiled Eggs and Nuts (2005) … Caz Miller
– Strongbox (2005) … Caz Miller
– Disorganised Crime (2005) … Caz Miller
– The Goodbye Look (2005) … Caz Miller

2005 William and Mary (TV series)
Lukasz
– Episode #3.3 (2005) … Lukasz

2004 Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (TV movie)
Charles Allen

2004 A Bear Named Winnie (TV movie)
Lt. Harry Colebourn

2004 A Most Mysterious Murder: The Case of Charles Bravo (TV movie)
Charles Bravo

2004 Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (TV movie)
Guy Fawkes

2003 Carla (TV movie)
Rob

2002 Holby City (TV series)
Christian Connolly
– Ghosts (2002) … Christian Connolly

2002 NCS Manhunt (TV series)
Jack Silver

2001 Band of Brothers (TV mini-series)
Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
– Points (2001) … Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
– Why We Fight (2001) … Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
– The Last Patrol (2001) … Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
– The Breaking Point (2001) … Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
– Bastogne (2001) … Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
See all 7 episodes »

2001 Hearts and Bones (TV series)
Hermann
– Episode #2.6 (2001) … Hermann
– Episode #2.5 (2001) … Hermann
– Episode #2.2 (2001) … Hermann


Fassbender already has Hunger, Shame, Inglorious Basterds, A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Band of Brothers, Fish Tank, an X-men movie, 300, and is currently working on his third film with director, Steve McQueen.  Sure, Fassbender's been in some crap, too, but that is a v impressive CV with some trophies sprinkled in, as well.

I like Ryan Gosling a lot.  But he either needs a new agent or he needs to do like he did with the astonishing Drive and take the project on himself and hand-pick his director.


All my love,
Ardent

Scattershot film notes:

The Iron Lady, as discussed before, was not all that good.  Too much slow dancing, too much romance, not enough policy, or Question Time.

Ah, to be young & famous.

************

Also saw Crazy Stupid Love on the tube, and it was not very good, either.  Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling were the best thing it.  Their "sex scene" was the best part of the film.  (And when Mr Gosling took his shirt off, I swear Renee's jaw dropped.  I think she has a new movie star crush. That is fine w/ me, I love Ryan Gosling, too.)  The ending of Crazy Stupid Love was lame, as well. (The whole film is kind of an unfocussed mess.)  The ending was v derivative of Wes Anderson's work.  The Wife disagrees w/ me on the last point.

************

And speaking of Wes Anderson, we saw the trailer for his new film in between trailers for the upcoming Godfather one-night events (yawn, I will not be in queue for those films), and Titanic 3D (nope, ain't interested in that, either.)

The trailer was identifiable as a Wes Anderson flick mere seconds in to it.  And it looks like all his other films.  And I do not care.  I could really use a good dose of Wes right now.  I am extremely excited.

************

Watched Pauline à la Plage last night.  (I am sick.  It is just a cold.)  It was so wonderful.  I love Eric Rohmer so much, all his talky comedies about love, seduction, pursuit, philosophy, and the meaning of love.  His films are like beautiful little pill boxes or Russian nesting dolls, so charming and delightful.  I will watch more Rohmer when I get home tonight.  Sick, under covers, covered with cats, eating soup, and drinking clear hody.

xxxoooxxx,
Ardent

Went and saw Drive yesterday

With the Wife.  It is still playing in the City, at the last stop Art House Cinema, the Opera on Van Ness.

And it is going to take a few days for me to get my head wrapped around this thing.  And I am still ambivalent about the ending.

Do you think Marcus Mumford is jealous?

I had warned Renee that the film is extremely, gruesomely violent.  It is.  Renee did not like the violence, at all, and I blanched a fair bit, too.  Still, we talked about the film for a very long time after we saw it.  And Renee obviously liked the film, in spite of the blood, knives, and guns.  I liked it, too.  There are a lot of things to like:  The composed set-ups early in the film, many w/ no dialogue; the elliptical eschewing of period; the phenomenal 80s synth-band soundtrack; the apartment and apartment hallway sets; the opening get-away sequence; Ryan Gosling's silent noble samurai performance; Bryan Cranston; Carey Mulligan; the driving scenes, of course; the "picnic" scene; the whole picture dripping with style; the desperate nerve-wracking intensity, in which I was literally glued to my seat, not daring to move; the silk jacket; the use of slow motion, so often abused and mishandled in other films; Blanche; the lengthy kiss in the elevator; and I could still prob go on.

This film is so heavy on style, that I would not be surprised that if in a few years (or few months) the film looks completely weird and dated.  I could even see myself making a complete about face sometime in the future, hating this film.  It is up in the air, and I will be thinking about Drive a lot the next few days.

Kisses,
Ardent