Drive (2011)

Drive is the best movie of 2011. Hands down. This totally stylized and uber-violent film decides to use actions and emotions to lead the audience through the plot. A very gutsy move for a supposed action movie. It pays off.

The unnamed Driver (Ryan Gosling) is a stuntman by day and a rented getaway driver by night. He works his second job anonymously, never for the same client twice and allows them only five minutes of his time. One day, he meets his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan). They seem to hit it off, but Irene's husband, Standard, soon returns from prison and his past life quickly catches up with him. The Driver decides to help Standard pay off his debt by driving for him on a robbery. But the heist goes bad, and now the Driver must figure out who is trying to kill him. And for what. It all circles back to a Jewish mobster the Driver had met once at his garage. Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), while covering his tracks, is ultimately the one the Driver is avoiding. But it's not an easy task. The Driver must find out information about Rose, while also trying to avoid him at the same time. All of this while attempting to keep Irene and her son out of harms way. Good luck.

I was just in awe when I watched this movie. The trailer really doesn't do it justice. While there are some car chases in the film, there really is very little driving. The title has two meanings. Gosling was fantastic in a subtle, yet brooding way. But Albert Brooks kicked it up a notch and gave an outstanding performance. Who would have guessed he'd play the badass mobster while Ron Perlman, aka Hellboy, plays the stereotypical neurotic Jew character. Director Nicolas Winding Refn also does a terrific job of keeping your attention throughout. The directing style is very influenced by the likes of Tarantino and Kubrick, while also referencing Taxi Driver and Bullitt. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. But be warned, while there isn't a whole lot of violence, the violence it has is pretty gruesome. Grade: A+

The Descendants (2011)

Director Alexander Payne has always had a talent for combining comedy and drama in such films as Election, Sideways and About Schmidt. But Payne managed to outdo himself with The Descendants, which I consider to be his masterpiece.

Matt King (George Clooney) is a lawyer living in Honolulu with his family. He is also the sole person in charge of a family trust that controls thousands of acres of land on Kaua'i. Matt's always been a career man, putting his family on the backburner. His family moves to the forefront after Matt's wife is knocked into a coma following a boating accident. Now in charge of precocious 10-year-old Scottie and rebellious 17-year-old Alex (Shailene Woodley). Matt has never really connected with his daughters, but must force adult conversations onto Alex, who had a blowout with her mother shortly before being shipped to boarding school. Alex eventually tells Matt the reason for the fight was that her mother was having an affair. Already dealing with his wife's injuries, Matt must now face a question he may never get answered. On top of all that, the rest of Matt's extended family is trying to pull him in different directions on the land deal. There are decisions abound for a career decision-maker. Only now he doesn't know what to do.

George Clooney does a terrific job as a man torn between several possible outcomes. He excels in the scenes that need to delicately tiptoe between comedy and drama. Just as great was Shailene Woodley as the teenager thrust into the maternal role. Woodley deserves every accolade she gets for this movie because she managed to hold her own on-screen opposite Clooney. Every other actor added great performances that left me with the feeling that every single character had a reason to be there. I could just keep going about how great this movie was. From the way Alexander Payne keeps the story flowing at an enticing pace, to how the plot manages to balance several storylines without forgetting its core message. Watch this film because it may very well win Best Picture this year. Grade: A+

Black Swan (2010)

Hands down, the best movie of 2010. Darren Aronofsky has made another masterful movie and continues to just overwhelm the audience with his rich character development and outstanding storytelling.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a career ballerina at a nameless, yet famed ballet. She has been working very hard and a very long time, but has always been just a backup dancer. When the director announces that "Swan Lake" will be the next program, Nina wants that lead role. The director decides to go against tradition and make one dance play both the black and white swan. When Nina gets the lead, she starts obsessing about every little move she makes. It doesn't help that the company has just hired dancer named Lily (Mila Kunis), who looks a lot like Nina. It's driving her mad. The director is trying to get her open up and get looser in performance. Lily is also trying to get her to unwind a bit. Her mother switches between overbearing to nurturing to psycho very quickly and sporadically. With all that going on in her life, something has to give in Nina's world. Or, will it all go by the wayside and her life will turn into a disaster.

Just terrific. Natalie Portman will win the Oscar. If she doesn't, it's a crime. Her descent into madness and obsession is amazing. The audience has no idea what is going on in her head and neither does her character. Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey were also great in the movie and could have easily been thrown into the Oscar race. This was just my type of movie all-around. A bit of a thriller that messes with your mind. Awesome. Grade: A+

The Hurt Locker (2009)

This was one of the most intense, suspenseful, and realistic movies I have ever seen. Not to mention one of the best war movies I've ever seen. James Cameron is quoted as saying "This may be the Platoon of the Iraq War." He may be right.

Having just lost their battalion leader, Bravo Company brings in SSgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) to head up the bomb disposal unit. He is now in charge of a three man team, Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Eldridge (Brian Geragthy), that goes around the Iraqi war zone getting rid of explosives that are ready to go. The harrowing experience is made more agonizing by the fact that the team only has 38 more days until their tour of duty has ended. Until then, they must stare death in the face and be wary of anything that comes around the corner.

All three of the main characters were different types of soldiers. James is the wild, near-reckless bomb tech. Sanborn is the stubborn, straight-laced soldier. Eldridge is the young soldier who is too concerned with dying. Each played their role with perfection and helped move the film along at a great pace. I felt like I was there with them. I was waiting to see what would happen next and the movie kept me guessing the whole time. I highly recommend this to anyone, war movie fan or not.

The Wrestler (2008)

This is THE movie of 2008. Not only did it bring Mickey Rourke back into the mainstream, but it is an all-around terrific movie. It shows everything. It has emotion, it has heartbreak, it has triumphs and it has let-downs.

Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke) is a down and out wrestler who is constantly trying to relive his glory days from the 1980s. Think Hulk Hogan and Jake "the Snake" Roberts individual stories combined and you have Randy. Shot in a grainy, almost documentary style, the movie follows Randy as he lives his bare-bones lifestyle of working part time at a grocery store and wrestling on the weekends in half-filled YMCAs and high school gymnasiums. He is definitely passed his prime, but can't do anything else with his life. A great complement is Marisa Tomei playing Cassidy/Pam, the stripper who is also passed her prime. With his assumed relationship with Cassidy and his painfully broken one with his daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood, Randy has only one thing he knows he does right, and that is wrestling.

This movie also got pro wrestling just right and finally makes it appear legitimate in film. Between the painkillers, the steroids, but especially the backstage camaraderie. This movie should be the end all, be all of wrestling movies and deserves a spot as one of the greatest sports movies ever made.