Moneyball

   I am writing this on June 27th, 2012 after I went back to my list of blog posts and realized that I never finished this one.  Moneyball was fun for me for a lot of reasons, primarily because it gave me a reason to talk baseball with people who don't usually have an interest in it.  Brad Pitt can do that to even the most "boring" of sports.  Naturally, I read Michael Lewis' book of the same name and enjoyed it very much.  I later read Jonah Keri's book The Extra 2% (about how the Tampa Bay Rays can survive in a division with powerhouse teams such as the Yankees and the Red Sox) and enjoyed that more than Moneyball.  

Drive

It has been a while since I have watched a truly unique movie - probably since Inglorious Basterds.  This new piece of work from Ryan Gosling, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, is almost unbelievably entertaining.  Drive plays like a western in that it is very quiet at times - Gosling doesn't talk all that much, and when he does, people tend to listen.  He plays a nameless character who is a Hollywood stunt driver by day and a getaway car driver by night.  Instead of a horse, he has his car.  This movie is surprisingly violent and intensely gory.  And the score in this movie is fantastic.  Carey Mulligan continues her streak of pitch-perfect sweetness on screen.  This is truly more than just another action movie.  It will be at or near the top of my list for best of the 2011.

The Interrupters

This movie will win the Oscar for Best Documentary.  The Interrupters is a gripping movie about an organization of former gang members who scour the streets of Chicago pleading for current gang members to stop killing each other.  It is shocking, sad, profane, dark, violent and, at times, even funny.  If this film is still playing near you, which is unlikely, go see it immediately.  If not, then wait impatiently for it to come out on DVD.  You will be hearing about The Interrupters again, I guarantee it. 

(since I am back to work and busy as hell, I will be keeping my posts short and sweet)