Last Movie You Saw

[J.D]

The Next Three Days (2010)- Watched this expecting a standard thriller but got a lot more out of it. Was slow to begin with but the last hour was sheer brilliance. Yeah it is a remake of a French film but as I have never seen that film the story gripped me but also the performances. Russell Crowe was on form handing in a terrific role (which can go up there with the likes of A Beautiful Mind, L.A. Confidential, Gladiator and American Gangster.)
I loved the soundtrack and I loved the ending.
9/10

[RyPrax]

He was the star power who carried 'Half Nelson' and 'Lars and the real girl' as well as being the male star power of 'The Notebook' and 'Blue Valentine'. This is just him being the star power of an action thriller.

Taxi Driver was De Niro's main breakthrough but Gosling has made it already. He got nominated for an Oscar for his starring role in Half Nelson. If you watch Half Nelson and Lars and the real girl you will realise he has been the main star power in a film before (and you should as they are both good films.)

So saying he has never proven he can be the starring power of a film is simply put wrong because he has proven it, more than once.

Again, you're entirely missing the point.

Half Nelson -- $2.7M total domestic gross, max theater count: 105
Lars and the Real Girl -- $6M domestic gross, max theater count: 321
Blue Valentine -- $9.7M gross, max theaters: 450

The Notebook obviously did great in theaters but he wasn't the driving force behind its success.

Drive has already surpassed most of his film's lifetime grosses, and its his first wide release to have him as that driving force behind a picture. Drive isn't the reason he's a terrific actor, but it might be the reason he'll get offered more roles in the future. Why is it, if he's such a major star, that he hasn't really been in any big-time pictures yet? His highest opening weekend was $13.5M nearly eight years ago, before Crazy Stupid Love which, again, he obviously wasn't the main attraction for.

How can you use movies that were really good or you liked and the fact that he's an academy award nominee to justify that Gosling is already a big star, but ignore the fact that De Niro was already an Oscar winner when he did Taxi Driver? The point isn't whether this makes him a good actor or not or people realize that he is, but to show people that he's capable of following in the footsteps of a Bob De Niro as both an incredible actor and a box office draw, and to say that he's proven both already is foolish, because he obviously hasn't.

Maybe he's too picky with his roles or prefers doing mostly arthouse movies, and Drive might fall into that category, but if he isn't being considered for main event roles he will be now.

Think of it this way. Leonardo DiCaprio has obviously always been a great actor, even before Titanic. But it wasn't until then that he proved that he can carry a blockbuster (frankly I'd go as far as to say he didn't truly prove himself until The Aviator but that's a discussion for another day). He was obviously a star leading up to those movies but he didn't become a main eventer of sorts until he had that driving vehicle where he was the main attraction of a big time high quality movie. I feel the same way about Gosling, no matter how good or acclaimed his previous movies may be.

[J.D]

Yeah I think you just chose the wrong choice of words, you confused me when you said 'launch his career' which generally would mean his acting career when what you meant is turning him into a huge Hollywood star. But it is a bit of a ridiculous thing to speculate on anyway because actors like Brad Pitt did a ton of blockbuster movies and then moved back onto art-house films (Tree of Life, Assassination of Jesse James.)

[RyPrax]

Yeah I think you just chose the wrong choice of words, you confused me when you said 'launch his career' which generally would mean his acting career when what you meant is turning him into a huge Hollywood star. But it is a bit of a ridiculous thing to speculate on anyway because actors like Brad Pitt did a ton of blockbuster movies and then moved back onto art-house films (Tree of Life, Assassination of Jesse James.)

How is it ridiculous? Your comparison makes no sense. Brad Pitt is 47, he's been established as a top Hollywood star for nearly 20 years and the two movies he mentioned he also produced (in other words at the level and point he's at he can pretty much do whatever the fuck he wants). If you want to compare the two situations then go back to when Pitt was like 30 and he was doing Seven/12 Monkeys. The best "launching point" for Pitt may have even been Fight Club to be honest.

The more I think about it, I don't even think there was a problem with how I worded it. Gosling's been recognizable for a while but he's hardly a star and not at all a proven box office draw. The point stands. Drive is a vehicle that could legitimize him as an A-lister, something he hadn't proven yet.

[Adampro123]

Yeah i don't think he's a big star either. i mean i know the name and actor but i doubt he's a household name yet. also i haven't heard a lot about Drive either so i doubt that's what is gonna make him that household name A-List star.

[J.D]

Ryan Gosling is huge and he has something that most A list stars don't- he is a good actor. He has gained a huge fanbase and large following from his films- every single female from the age of 16-35 knows who he is (girls are constantly telling me how how hot he is.)
I never hear people shut up about Half Nelson on imdb, even in conversations about completely different films.
He is dating Eva Mendes.

So what he has done some action film with a big budget? And the only reason he will probably appear in more films like that is because he is expanding his career not because of his work on Drive. He probably wants to go into different genres.

It stems down to whether you think casting agents will say "Let's get Ryan Gosling" or "Let's get that guy in Drive" considering I hadn't even heard of Drive and have been hearing about Gosling from women and critics non stop I'd go with Gosling.

[RyPrax]

Ryan Gosling is huge and he has something that most A list stars don't- he is a good actor. He has gained a huge fanbase and large following from his films- every single female from the age of 16-35 knows who he is (girls are constantly telling me how how hot he is.)
I never hear people shut up about Half Nelson on imdb, even in conversations about completely different films.
He is dating Eva Mendes.

So what he has done some action film with a big budget? And the only reason he will probably appear in more films like that is because he is expanding his career not because of his work on Drive. He probably wants to go into different genres.

It stems down to whether you think casting agents will say "Let's get Ryan Gosling" or "Let's get that guy in Drive" considering I hadn't even heard of Drive and have been hearing about Gosling from women and critics non stop I'd go with Gosling.

If he's so huge, then where are the box office results? It's one thing to have critical acclaim, it's another to be a big draw. That's what separates good actors from A-listers. Maybe it's his own fault for being picky with his roles, I don't know, but he hasn't shown he can be at that top 10-20 actor level, regardless of how good he is or how much the people on IMDB or the girls you know love him. Usually that isn't the best indication of how Hollywood works.

[RyPrax]

Moneyball -- 9 out of 10

"Moneyball" Review: Not Your Typical Baseball Film | Better With Popcorn

Awesome movie, one of the best of the year. Pitt is fantastic, Hill is great, and not your typical baseball movie. Loved it.

[J.D]

After Hours- When it comes to Scorsese I have seen all the famous ones (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Casino, The Departed, Mean Streets, The Aviator, Gangs of New York and Shutter Island.)
So I thought I'd give After Hours a try, it is very different to anything he has ever done. In fact it feels closer to a David Lynch film. It is a good film though, not as good as any of the above films listed but good nonetheless.
7/10

[Fluttershy]

What's Your Number
the only reason I wanted to go and see this was because of Anna Faris.

I was left disappointed by this film, there were a few laughs every now and again but their really should have been more. Obviously the story was going to be predictable but it could have tried to offer something that was new and original.

Anna Faris is good in it as she always brings her A game but the script let her down 

5/10

[RyPrax]

50/50 - 8 out of 10
50/50 Review: Laughing With Cancer | Better With Popcorn

Great comedy, heartwarming and tasteful. Great performances from Seth Rogen and especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

[Fluttershy]

Paranormal Activity 3
Just got back from seeing this. It was brilliant However there were loads that was cut from the film that was in the trailer. Not sure what to make of the ending 
8/10

[Awesome]

Contagion (2011)
In a word: meh. I think I can see what they were trying to achieve, but for me it just seemed anticlimactic and failed to pull me in.
3/10

[RyPrax]

Contagion (2011)
In a word: meh. I think I can see what they were trying to achieve, but for me it just seemed anticlimactic and failed to pull me in.
3/10

WHAT? I thought it was one of the best movies of the year. Gave it a 9 out of and frankly I think it has a chance a few oscar nominations. Brilliant film, wonderfully crafted especially from technical points of view, but also in terms of subject matter. Easily in my top 5 this year.

[Awesome]

WHAT? I thought it was one of the best movies of the year. Gave it a 9 out of and frankly I think it has a chance a few oscar nominations. Brilliant film, wonderfully crafted especially from technical points of view, but also in terms of subject matter. Easily in my top 5 this year.

It's not the type of movie I'd usually choose to watch (most of the time, I prefer something more action-orientated), so that probably contributed to my low opinion of it.

Spoiler:

Likely influenced by my preference for action, it probably also didn't help that I was expecting there to be someone behind the whole thing, and when the end came as it did, it just felt like a letdown.