Godzilla - Movie Review

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elisabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Straithairn, Richard T. Jones and Victor Rasuk.
Directed by Gareth Edwards.

★★½

Tone is an important element in a movie that introduces fantastical elements. This film wisely eschews the campy dumb fun the 1998 movie tried to have and plays it straight and serious. I liked that, and if anything it would have helped this movie to have a moment or two of levity.

Normally I wouldn't mind that it takes a while for Godzilla to show up. It gives us a chance to get to know the human characters and raise the stakes when people start dying and cities start getting destroyed. Unfortunately I didn't care about most of the characters.

The marketing campaign makes it look like Bryan Cranston is going to be one of the central characters, so I don't think I'm giving away too much by saying the movies should have focussed more on him and less on his soldier son played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Anna Karenina, Kick-Ass).  Johnson's a blank slate, and it just felt like another big-budget action movie putting Generic Young Guy as the hero. Was Taylor Kitsch too busy?

I know. You don't go to a Godzilla movie for good acting. But you do hope it'll be there.

You also go to a Godzilla movie for thrilling visuals, and on that front, the movie delivers. I felt that little-kid surge of excitement when halfway through the movie, we see that first sign of a giant monster on the loose. ("Mayhem's about to start!")  Godzilla isn't in the movie as much as you'd think, but I liked his design, I liked the effects, I just liked the character. If a sequel is greenlit, I'll be excited for him to return, even if (or especially if) a whole different cast is assembled to watch stuff get smashed.

Don't get me wrong. All of these actors have been excellent in something else, but Watanabe spends the whole movie slack-jawed, Straithairn carries the air of authority while the script makes him a woefully inept leader, and Olsen is there to be the wife that Taylor-Johnson calls from time to time.

It's much better than the 1998 film. The ride of the second half is quite fun.

SAG Award Nominees 2013

FILM
Ensemble Cast
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
The Butler

Lead Actor
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Lead Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

TV
Ensemble – Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Ensemble – Comedy
30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep

Actor – Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newswroom
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Actress – Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Kerry Washington, Scandal

Actor – Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Actress – Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Actor — TV Movie or Miniseries
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Jeremy Irons, The Hollow Crown
Rob Lowe, Killing Kennedy
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Actress – TV movie or Miniseries
Angela Bassett, Betty & Coretta
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Holly Hunter, Top of the Lake
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

STUNTS
Television Stunt Ensemble:
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
The Walking Dead
Homeland

Film Stunt Ensemble:
All Is Lost
Fast and Furious 6
Lone Survivor
Rush
The Wolverine

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Rita Moreno

Breaking Bad - "Ozymandias" - TV Review

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.' 

- Percy Shelley

This may be the most devastating episode yet in an already brilliant series.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

There are only two episodes to go after this, and while we've always known there won't be a happy ending, this episode played on audience expectations and side-stepped them and had scene after scene of high-tension moments.

When we ended last episode, it looked like Hank and Gomez were goners, outnumbered in a shootout with the Aryan family. But this episode started at the beginning, showing a scene that would've taken place around the pilot, with Walt and Jesse happily cooking meth in the desert. Such warm and fuzzy memories.

Fast-forward to present (which isn't really present since we know Walt grows his hair out and fetches some ricin, but I'm getting ahead of myself) where Hank is injured and Gomez is dead. They didn't hit any of the Aryans, and Hank's time has come. A handcuffed Walt pleads for Hank's life. All he's done, he keeps telling himself, he did for his family, and now his brother-in-law is about to die.  Walt gives away his $80 million to try to save Hank but to no avail. Great acting job by the trio of Walt, Hank, and gun-holding Jack.

Hank takes a bullet to the head, and Jack and family take $70 of the $80 million. They let Walt keep $10 million to show there are "no hard feelings."  But there's one last item of business. The whole reason Walt had called the Aryans was to kill Jesse Pinkman, and Walt sees Jesse hiding under the car.  Walt gives Jesse a stare harder than Michael gave Fredo in Godfather II. Right before Jesse gets killed, Todd suggests they question him first to see how much he told Hank.  And right before Walt lets Jesse be dragged away for torture and execution, he lets Jesse know that he watched Jane die. Jesse is devastated in every way possible, and Walt's transformation to pure evil is complete.

And yet, one of the great things about BB is how Walt keeps telling himself that he's doing it for the right reasons (his family) and that basically he's still a good person (he knows he's not but it's all for his family!)  Walt is ready to take his $10 million, grab Skyler, Walt Jr., and Holly, and disappear.

Ah, but Hank had called Marie, and Marie confronts Skyler that Hank has arrested Walt.  She makes Skyler tell Walt Jr. now.  Watching Walt Jr.'s world crumble is one of the saddest events yet on this show.  Walt Jr.'s been the innocent here, and now he knows the truth and he goes through the five stages of grief in heartbreaking ways.

Ah, but when they get back to the house, they see Walt. And if Walt is there, that means Hank is dead. Then in one of the tensest moments in TV history, we get a couple glimpses of the knife rack by the phone.  Knives. Phone.  Knives. Phone. Skyler makes her choice. She grabs a knife and tells Walt to go away.  When they scuffle, the audience knows Walt won't die but it doesn't mean he won't accidentally kill Skyler, and then when Walt Jr. intervenes, there's that horrible moment of "please don't accidentally kill Walt Jr.!" Ultimately Walt Jr. protects his mom and calls the cops on his dad. Walt was already betrayed to the cops by his surrogate son Jesse; now his real son has done the same thing.

Walt grabs Holly when he leaves, another horrific moment with Skyler chasing her baby (Emmys for everyone, and this has been Anna Gunn's best season yet!). Walt's call to Skyler to help absolve her (of course he knew the cops were listening) was his last noble gesture, and it ends him riding off into the sunset with Saul's anonymous friend.

One more tidbit though: Jesse is still alive, and Todd (who's the scariest kind of psycho, calm and polite) takes him down to a meth lab, keeping him on a chain but needing him to cook.

Two episodes to go.  Are the Aryans out of it?  Will Lydia's Czech clients come to the US to get some answers?  Are Skyler, the kids, and Marie still in great danger? Who is Walt's intended target with that Ricin?

My guess is Lydia is the ricin's intended victim.  If Walt was going after Jack or Todd, he'd want a quicker method of death.  I don't see how Jesse stays alive to the series finale, but I can almost see Walt rescuing Jesse and letting him go or killing him himself.

What do you think will happen?

2013 Emmy Nominations

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Connie Britton, Nashville
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damien Lewis, Homeland
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Morena Baccarin, Homeland
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire
Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Margo Martindale, The Americans
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Linda Cardellini, Mad Men
Jane Fonda, The Newsroom
Joan Cusack, Shameless

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Nathan Lane, The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Rupert Friend, Homeland
Robert Morse, Mad Men
Harry Hamlin, Mad Men
Dan Bucatinsky, Scandal

OUTSTANDING COMEDY
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Girls
Louie
Modern Family
Veep

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Laura Dern, Enlightened
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Louis CK, Louie
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Jane Lynch, Glee
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Anna Chlumsky, Veep

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Adam Driver, Girls
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
Tony Hale, Veep

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Molly Shannon, Enlightened
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Melissa Leo, Louie
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
Nathan Lane, Modern Family
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie
Louis CK, Saturday Night Live
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
Will Forte, 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Anthony Bourdain, The Taste

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
American Horror Story: Asylum
Behind the Candelabra
The Bible
Phil Spector
Political Animals
Top of the Lake

LEAD ACTRESS IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Laura Linney, The Big C: hereafter
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

LEAD ACTOR IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Toby Jones, The Girl
Benedict Cumberbatch, Parade’s End
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Asylum
Imelda Staunton, The Girl
Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals
Charlotte Rampling, Restless
Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
James Cromwell, American Horror Story: Asylum
Zachary Quinto, American Horror Story: Asylum
Scott Bakula, Behind The Candelabra
John Benjamin Hickey, The Big C: hereafter
Peter Mullan, Top of the Lake

Most notable omissions:
BEST DRAMA - The Good Wife, The Walking Dead, Justified
BEST ACTRESS DRAMA - Julianne Margulies (The Good Wife), Keri Russell (The Americans)
BEST ACTOR DRAMA - Timothy Olyphant (Justified), Matthew Rhys (The Americans)
BEST SUPP. ACTRESS DRAMA - Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones)
BEST SUPP. ACTOR DRAMA - Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), Walton Goggins (Justified), Nick Searcy (Justified), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Corey Stoll (House of Cards)
BEST COMEDY - all other comedies over Girls
BEST ACTRESS COMEDY - Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), Patricia Heaton (The Middle)
BEST ACTOR COMEDY - Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory)
BEST SUPP. ACTRESS COMEDY - Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Recreation), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community)
BEST SUPP. ACTOR COMEDY - Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), Ed Helms (The Office)

Emmy people!  Two of the coolest TV characters of all time have yet to be nominated.  I mean, deep down I understand why Norman Reedus hasn't been nominated for The Walking Dead as Daryl Dixon, but how can you not nominate Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson? We're talking about Ron f'n Swanson!

2012 Screen Actors Guild Award Winners

Movies
BEST CAST - Argo (Affleck, Cranston, Goodman, Arkin, etc.)
BEST ACTOR - Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
BEST ACTRESS - Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Television
BEST CAST COMEDY - Modern Family (O'Neill, Bowen, Stonestreet, etc.)
BEST CAST DRAMA - Downton Abbey
BEST ACTOR COMEDY - Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
BEST ACTRESS COMEDY - Tina Fey, 30 Rock
BEST ACTOR DRAMA - Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
BEST ACTRESS DRAMA - Claire Danes, Homeland
BEST ACTOR MOVIE/MINISERIES - Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys
BEST ACTRESS MOVIE/MINISERIES - Julianne Moore, Game Change

Total Recall - DVD Review

Starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy, Bokeem Woodbine, John Cho and Will Yun Lee. 
Directed by Len Wiseman. 

★½

There were two good things about this movie.  First, the special effects are great. Good job by the tech team, and I imagine it looked good in 3D on the big screen.  Second, there's a scene where Quaid (Farrell) is taking a break from all the chasing, and he rests against a piano, something he wishes he knew how to play. But then he discovers he can play it. It's a nice moment of discovery by Farrell, a good human pause to all the mindless action.

But the rest of it is high-speed junk.  There's turning off your brain, and then there's turning off the laws of physics.  There's a gunfight in zero-G that just took way too many liberties with logic. There's the plot twists you'd see coming a mile away even if you're not familiar with the original.  There's the fact that Jessica Biel's in it, and when's the last time her presence signified a good movie?  There's the deliberate borrowing of the art direction from Minority Report.

Stick to the Arnold version.

My Top Ten in TV 2012

Good stuff not in my top ten:

Kelsey Grammer on Boss (STARZ), the whole cast of Modern Family (ABC), the increased importance of the women of The Big Bang Theory (CBS), the guys of New Girl (FOX), the improved Boardwalk Empire (HBO), the funny melancholia of Louie (FX), the intense second season of Homeland (SHO), the costly season finale of Dexter (SHO), the dry satire Veep (HBO), the still-good-after-all-these-years Survivor (CBS), the still-occasionally funny The Office (NBC), Larry Hagman's comeback on Dallas (TNT), Christopher Heyerdahl's twin creeps on True Blood (HBO) and Hell on Wheels (AMC), Jay Pharaoh's Obama on Saturday Night Live (NBC), Jon Stewart's bad impressions on The Daily Show (COM), the psychotic mess known as American Horror Story: Asylum (FX), and the suspenseful, debatable actual Presidential Debates.

Best:

10. HATFIELDS & McCOYS (HIST) - Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton brought movie-star heft to this mini-series that documents the famous feud.  Enough crazy stuff happens, it could have been a regular series, if Costner wanted to settle on a project for that long.

9. EPISODES (SHO) - Matt LeBlanc has never been better than playing an exaggerated version of himself on this show-within-a-show.  That's right, folks. Matt LeBlanc.

8. JUSTIFIED (FX) - Timothy Olyphant's Raylen Givens is still the coolest marshal on TV. This third season saw the stakes raised when out-of-town mobster Neal McDonough moved in on Raylen's territory.

7. THE GOOD WIFE (CBS) - This show uses guest stars better than any other.  Everyone from the lawyers played by Michael J. Fox and Martha Plimpton and Brian Dennehy to the judges played by David Paymer and Denis O'Hare and Stephen Root gets moments to shine, and the regular cast gets to dig down with their own work. Only downside this season has been Kalinda's out-of-nowhere husband showing up.

6. MAD MEN (AMC) - As this show gets deeper into the 1960's, we see the culture clashes creeping into Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and we saw the tragic end to Pryce.  There's only two seasons to go, and I'd wager by the end, Don will get hired by Peggy.  Just watch.

5. THE WALKING DEAD (AMC) - This was a good show but not a great show until this year.  The writers have learned the lessons of the first two seasons, killing off the more annoying characters, adding some cool ones, ramping up the actions, and demonstrating how humans still make the best villains.

4. COMMUNITY/PARKS & RECREATION (NBC) - Amazing how far Must-See Thursday has fallen on NBC's schedule, not for lack of quality but certainly for lack of viewers.  Community continues to push boundaries on where a sitcom can go, producing instant classics like the video-game episode, the Glee-club as body snatchers, and the annual paintball war.  Parks & Rec meanwhile is doing the mockumentary format better than anything the Office has done since Steve Carell left.

3. DOWNTON ABBEY (PBS) - It started with the sinking of the Titanic. Season 2 took the Crawleys through World War I.  It's been the quintessential period British upstairs-downstairs melodrama, with a great cast down to the last maid.  Maggie Smith's a hoot as the Dowager Countess, but I'm also a big fan of Lord & Lady Crawley (Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern), the perfectionist Mr. Carson (Jim Carter), the troubled Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle)... eh, pretty much everyone.

2. GAME OF THRONES (HBO) - Season 1 introduced the epic, and after killing off some of its main characters (shocking those who don't know the books), Season 2 has allowed the survivors new maneuvers and Plan B's.  Peter Dinklage is now in front of the action as the dwarf Tyrion, using his brain to stay ahead in a world where might makes right.

1. BREAKING BAD (AMC) - This show isn't for everyone, but those who've been on the journey know what I'm talking about.  It started with Bryan Cranston as frustrated chemistry Mr. Walter White, trying to make some extra money cooking meth to make sure his family's provided for once he dies from cancer.  But his cancer got better, and Walt's become addicted to his criminal persona Heisenberg.  Last season seemed impossible to top, with Walt ultimately triumphing over Big Bad Gustavo Fring, who has to be one of the best villains in TV history.  But now Walt himself is the Big Bad, and next year's series finale is sure to be devastating.  One thing I appreciate about this show. It does not glorify its violence.  Each act has repercussions for weeks and months, and no one would watch this show and think taking or cooking meth might be a good idea.

Argo - Movie Review

Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Chris Messina and Bob Gunton.
Directed by Ben Affleck.

★★★★

At this point, I'd have to say Ben Affleck is a must-see director.  The first three movies of his directing career - Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and now Argo - have all been fantastic.

This is the true story of the rescue of six Americans in 1979 from Iran.  When the US Embassy was overrun and all 50 Americans inside were taken hostage, six employees had escaped and hid in the home of the Canadian ambassador.

Affleck cast himself as Tony Mendez, the CIA operative charged with getting those six out.  He comes up with the idea of pretending he's a Hollywood producer doing a location scout, and pretending that the six are part of his film crew to get them out.

The Iranian parts are as suspenseful and tense as a prison-break movie, the Washington parts flow like a good West Wing episode, and the Hollywood parts are like any good satire.  And there's not one wasted moment.  It moves and crackles.

This movie seems a shoo-in for nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and a few others, and lest that makes the movie sound like stodgy homework, fear not.  It flies by.

Drive - DVD Review

Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman and Oscar Isaac.
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.

★★★½

There's something very Steve McQueen-cool about this deconstructed actioner.  Down to the synth-soundtrack, this reminds me of old-school flicks where it took time with pace.  This movie may seem leisurely with said pace, but it's tense throughout and builds nicely for the explosive third act.

Ryan Gosling plays Driver. I don't think anyone ever says his name.  He's a Hollywood stuntman by day and a getaway driver by night.  We don't really know what makes Driver tick, or what he'll do next, but Gosling draws us in with his resolute focus.  When Driver tightens the gloves on his hands, we know something's about to happen.

Gosling will eventually win an Oscar.  He was good enough to merit a nomination here (didn't get one), and Albert Brooks should have been nominated for Best Supporting.

Drive takes a well-worn genre and makes it seem fresh.  I would love it if Drive 2 happened.

AMC's Breaking Bad - 'Salud'

This season is really expanding the universe. We earlier got to see more of Gus's backstory, and now we see him, Mike and Jesse flying to Mexico to face the Cartel, the giant organization that Gus cannot defeat. Or can he? This episode was full of tension, and as much as I love Aaron Paul's work this year as Jesse, I'm falling in love with the calculating, menacing Gus as played by Giancarlo Esposito.

So Jesse flies down south to teach the Cartel how to cook the crystal blue. Jesse's been helping Walter long enough that he should know how to do it by himself. When the Cartel's cook find out he's not even a chemist, I like how Jesse shifted into cocky bad-guy mode, confidently staring the guy down and telling him how it's done. And the shot of Gus's ever-so-subtle proud smile was priceless.

Yes, but what about Walter? He's recovering from the beating he got from Jesse, and Walter Jr. shows up, worried. Here we see Walter break down and apologize for everything, even if the "everything" is his "gambling." But the next morning, Walter hardens up, puts on the Heisenberg mask, and relates to Junior how he does not want to be remembered as weak. Junior however points out that it had been the first time in a year he'd felt real.

Will Walter take the lesson? Even in the first season, if there's one thing Walter had, it was pride. He may have been a mild-mannered chemistry teacher, but he was offended at the thought of taking money from his rich friend to pay for his medical bills. He'd rather cook meth, make a ton of money, and provide that way. Now that Walter's cancer is in remission, does it slow him down? Will he realize his family is the most important thing to him, or will he realize his family is not the most important thing to him? He's resigned to staying separated from Skyler; his double-life is easier to live when she has no idea when he is or isn't home. But where is he on his kids?