Instant Reaction: Drive (2011)

Drive is one of those movies that is slow from start to finish, and it's proud of that stylistic choice. Despite its shallow, simple story about a stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver and falls in love with his oblivious neighbor, the film delivers some genuine emotion, thanks to the effectively quiet romance between co-stars Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan.

But it’s more than just the acting that hooked me. When contrasted with the slow pacing and the moody soundtrack, the moments of abrupt graphic violence are so shocking that they carve a spot for themselves in your memory with little effort, culminating in an effective work of visual poetry. This is a movie that's all style -- and that's a compliment, because it works. My brain has trouble reconciling how a film like Drive can be so methodical, yet hit home on a purely visceral level. I can’t get it out of my head.

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, and Bryan Cranston

Movie Review: The Lone Ranger (2013)

Director Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean breathed unexpected new life into swashbucklers with its modern action and compelling adventure narrative. With Lone Ranger, Verbinski tries to set a new standard for westerns in much the same way -- and if not for a weak script, he may have succeeded. 

To date, critics worldwide have panned The Lone Ranger for its generic plot and overdose of an unnecessarily wacky Tonto (Johnny Depp). I completely understand a lot of the criticism, yet I still find myself very attracted to the film all the same. In terms of photography, score, visual effects, and art direction, Lone Ranger is one of the best films of 2013. It invigorates the stale western genre by infusing modern style, all the while not sacrificing the props, costumes, and real set pieces that make the old westerns great.

Xbox 360 Review: Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW

Adventure Time is one of the most creative, ingenious, and completely awesome cartoons to ever grace television. Considering that, it may come as a shock to hear that this video game adaptation, Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW, is anything but. All of the charm and crazy, random humor from the cartoon is absent, and instead gamers are delivered a repetitive, boring dungeon crawler with so little charm that you wonder if the title was meant to be ironic. Why the hell does this game have me exploring dungeon after dungeon, completing inane quests and doing the same thing over and over again? Honestly, I don’t know.

Movie Review: Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Felonious Gru (Steve Carell) has given up on his career as a super villain, and now enjoys a quiet life as father who makes less-than-delicious fruit jellies in his basement.  But when a new bad guy threatens the world with a powerful mutagen, Gru joins the Anti-Villain League, lead by the all-too-British Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan), in hopes of thwarting any nefarious plans. And since he wasn’t so keen on living a life as a jam chef, a return to the crime business is exactly what Gru has been longing for – even if he’s now on the other side.

Despicable Me 2 isn’t as fresh and fun as the first, but it is a crowd-pleasing animated spectacle sure to make kids smile -- and maybe a few parents. The same wit and clever writing that made the first film stand out is still here, but it’s hampered now by an excess of minions. Lots of minions. Too many minions. The cute little guys overtake the film, forcing the smarter moments to sit in the backseat, which is a real shame. Because I’ve got to tell you, they’re kind of a one joke act — all they do is screw things up and hurt themselves over and over again.