I saw "Drive" today at Cinemark. I thought there would be more, well, driving. There was a terrific scene at the beginning of the movie where Ryan Gosling, as a getaway car driver, delivers the goods with the cops actively seeking his vehicle. But we had only three scenes or so, where his driving skills were needed. It's obvious they wanted some differentiation from the "Transporter" series.

This movie was actually quite a surprise. Let's hope Gosling and Carey Mulligan were not paid by the word, because the dialogue here was sparse, at best. Especially the scenes where both were involved. Bryan Cranston took time off from "Breaking Bad" and is good as Gosling's daytime and nighttime boss. The two heavies are partners Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks. Brooks gets the juiciest of those two roles, as he gets to do some interesting killing.

And that's where the movie takes a turn, so to say. You think Gosling is just a quiet guy going about his business. But oh, he's got a mean streak and can kill with the best of him. And the violence is almost over-the-top, but somehow fits the crimes.

I liked this one a lot. A throwback-80's style soundtrack, a non-glitzy LA, minimal dialogue, all make for something different at the cinema. And for all the driving and violence here, it was one of the quietest movies I've seen. If you were chomping on popcorn during this one, it would have sounded as if you were at the feeding trough.

Really good stuff, one of the best I've seen this year.

Meal of Links

The Marble Rye Lady died. Much scarier in her David Lynch appearances.

Johnny Depp is shown in "Dark Shadows". Oh, I dunno about this one. But I saw a trailer for "Rum Diary", where he plays Hunter S. Thompson again. That looked good.

The Republican strategy to beat President Obama? Electoral college shenanigans.

Exercise Yard

The Indians minor-league team that probably gets the least amount of publicity locally is the Kinston Indians. Well, they are moving. To Zebulon, NC. For some reason, I have never forgotten that Zebulon is the hometown of comedian Lonnie Schorr.

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