sandwichjohnfilms

Yesterday I delivered RAMA's Top movies of the year and today Heat Vision released their top 10 movies of 2011. Time and repeat viewings often change perceptions. But as of now, this sunny week in December, these are the movies I will take from this year. 1. Drive : By far the coolest movie of the year. The look, the mood, the mere 26 (or so) lines spoken by Ryan Gosling’s Hollywood stunt driver by day, getaway driver by night, add up to an electrifying film by Nicolas Winding Refn. You come away with the same kind of feeling you had after watching Reservoir Dogs for the first time. 2. 50/50 : The cancer comedy the world didn’t know it needed. Will Reiser’s script based on his own experiences of living through cancer while in his mid-20s could have gone north of maudlin and south of funny, but in the hands of director Jonathan Levine it balances the right tone at all the right moments. It helps to have Reiser’s alter ego played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of the best act...

With a mighty roar, Disney’s 17-year old The Lion King claimed the weekend box office crown, easily conquering three new wide releases in the process. Freshly updated to a new 3D version, the classic animated movie took in an estimated $29.3 million in North America, an astounding number. 'Drive' Movie Review Of the new arrivals, FilmDistrict’s Drive , the neo-noir thriller starring Ryan Gosling showed the most gas, taking in $11 million, although it still checked in the third position, unable to pass Steven Soderbergh’s medical thriller Contagion , which, in its second weekend, took the second spot with $14.5 million. Sony/Scream Gem’s remake Straw Dogs , directed by Rod Lurie, settled for a fifth place showing with a $5 million opening, while the Weinstein Co.’s femme-centric comedy I Don’t Know How She Does It , with Sarah Jessica Parker, was sixth with $4.5 million. 'Contagion' Movie Review As the weekend began, Disney had modest expectations for King....

Logan’s Run is back in the race. After losing helmer Carl Rinsch in the fall due to scheduling conflicts, Warner Bros. and producers Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman are lining up Nicolas Winding Refn to sit in the director’s chair for the sci-fi project, which is now being developed as a vehicle for Ryan Gosling , who just closed a deal to star. Danish Refn made some noise with his gritty prison drama Bronson , which starred Tom Hardy , and is making his Hollywood debut with this year’s action thriller Drive , which stars Gosling. Run would be a step-up to the tentpole leagues for Refn, while also acting as the same for Gosling, who has been very picky with his studio entries. Alex Garland has written the script, which is said to hew closer to the 1967 novel by William F. Nolan than the 1976 feature starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, and Farrah Fawcett. The hook is a future society where people are executed upon reaching a certain age and those that seek to avoid their fat...