“If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window; anything happens in that five minutes and I’m yours, no matter what. One minute in either direction, and you’re on your own. I don’t sit in while you’re running it down; I don’t carry a gun… I drive.” A stunt driver for Hollywood action films and a mechanic, known only as The Driver, and played by Ryan Gosling moonlights as a getaway driver who gets in way over his head, has grown to be one of my favorite films. Dark, moodly, and stylistic, it is not at all what you’d expect it to be from an action movie, and it was once said that this movie is ‘too cool for it’s own good’. Maybe so; although like I mentioned before, it seems like an action flick at first glance but even after the first scene, it’s apperance gives away to its true nature; an artistic, slow cooking, introspective, and an unexpectedly brutal at times character study. Those expecting a film filed with constant explosions, screaming, and quick camera pans are going to be disappointed. Those open to a film where the adrenaline rushes are equally dispensed from the plot, events, AND the characters however, are in for a treat. Like I mentioned before; the main character (who remains unnamed) does stunts for popular action movies, but by night, he and his mechanic agent/boss take jobs for all kinds of shady figures up to but not included to, robberies, hiests, break ins, and the like. The Driver, a silent, almost vacant looking character, opens up to no one with one exception; his new neighbor, a kind if not weary woman Irene (Carey Mulligan) with her young son but an incarcerated husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac). Things go well, although slow, but get a little tense when her husband finally comes home from jail. Then when Standard gets into trouble with his old jail ‘buddies’ and The Driver offers to help…then shit gets crazy. Real crazy. Gosling plays his part real well, negating any ‘pretty boy’ notions you might be getting from his character in more or less the first few scenes with him. His quietness borders on the creepy, giving the impression to the viewer that he’s holding back unbridled rage constantly, barely containing it in every conversation he has, except for Irene. Speaking of which, Carey Mulligan does a great job playing the humble ‘always waiting’ wife/girlfriend figure, stuck between her devotion as a wife to her felon husband, and the deeply buried sweetness of the Driver. I would be lying pretty badly if I said this film doesn’t have any action or even violence in it. In fact, I’d be an awful awful liar. This movie can get BRUTAL. Some of the violence scenes are so over the top (especially one scene, and you’ll know it when you see it) they definitively get the movie going because you never expect them, and they leave just as fast as they arrive. Inversely, the dialogue commands attention as well, every conversation revealing an integral fragment of the plot, either obviously or a subtle nuance. I could talk about this movie for a while. It has an amazing amount of depth for an unexpected ‘genre’ such as this, if I had to give it one, it would be a ‘neo noir’ flick. The casting is admirable (I DO think Christina Hendricks was tragically underused), the directing is stellar, and the writing is pretty awesome! If you have about two hours and a quiet night, I really suggest you pop this in and give this a watch. If you’re open minded, you won’t be disappointed.
What are you thankful for?
Power Dumb. I think the thing I hate most about incompetent leadership is being unable to intervene on the behalf of sanity to stop it. This isn’t a gripe about work or anything (although it certainly can apply if you ask me on a bad day), it’s just an observation about the establishment of hierarchy and human nature in general. It’s definitely something that comes to mind when I read the paper every day and see failings in leadership everywhere from sports (I’m looking at you, Joe Paterno), to dummies in government and the corporate structure, and all the way to empathizing with everyday people who try to eke out a living working under incompetent, petulant bosses. I FEELS YOU BRO.

Power Dumb.

I think the thing I hate most about incompetent leadership is being unable to intervene on the behalf of sanity to stop it. This isn’t a gripe about work or anything (although it certainly can apply if you ask me on a bad day), it’s just an observation about the establishment of hierarchy and human nature in general.

It’s definitely something that comes to mind when I read the paper every day and see failings in leadership everywhere from sports (I’m looking at you, Joe Paterno), to dummies in government and the corporate structure, and all the way to empathizing with everyday people who try to eke out a living working under incompetent, petulant bosses.

I FEELS YOU BRO.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
You are literally missing a part of your soul until you visit this city.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
Ah, Lunar. I actually wanted to wait for a little while before blogging about another game, but I saw someone mention Lunar while browsing the web and I had to say something. Basically in a nutshell, the Lunar series were originally RPGs developed for the Sega CD/Sega Saturn by Game Arts around 1995ish? They enjoyed modest success there but honestly about 8 people total owned the Sega CD/Saturn, and they really started to shine when they were remade and repolished by Working Designs and released on the original Playstation (which is considered the ‘true’ version of the games). Not a lot of people have really heard of the Lunar series, even RPG fans. I’ve had, played, and beaten (and still have Lunar 2) both games, and yeah I’m a pretty big nerd I guess. I don’t give a shit I’ll still punch you in the face. Anyway, yeah, not a lot of people heard about this series which is a real shame, because the Lunar series, especially, if not because of Working Designs revamping it, has the distinction of being the most complete RPGs I’ve ever played. Note I didn’t say perfect; both games have their flaws; the combat is relatively dated, the pacing of both the plot and the gameplay can be weird, and it can be flat out unforgiving at times. But the perfection lies in the package; these games have a near flawless production value. Everything they set out to do, it does it pretty perfectly, shiny glass and all. Cliche sounding plot about a young boy who meets a mysterious girl and fights a wizard? The sharpest rendition of it ever (also it has a lot of surprises, both games do). Old school sprites and visual flair that screams mid nineties fantasy? Crispy as hell, every single location and scene made with painstaking detail and love. Lighthearted party members, goofy NPCs, and humorous dialogue? Honestly out of all the RPGs I’ve ever played, the Lunar series has some of the most spot on localization and attention to detail in its writing I’ve seen. The music is also extremely well fitting and well composed, being the stitching that sews the above factors together.  The best to put it, is that in an era where a product hat makes money reigns king, and quality is determined by how many units something will sell, the Lunar series gets props for being an honest work. These games were made with so much love and attention to detail it’s amazing. It takes all of the old school tropes and conventions about RPGs back in the day and sharpens them to a tee, making them still enjoyable even compared to games today. Unfortunately, Game Arts doesn’t really make too many games anymore, and while Working Designs came back as Gaijinworks after they went belly up, Lunar and the other games they localized (that we in NA would otherwise never get to see, ever) sort of floated away. What’s the last Grandia you’ve played? Have you ever even heard of Growlanser? As a consequence of the that turn of events, and the fact that Lunar was released in limited numbers (partly because the the games came in a big ass pimpin box with a whole bunch of cool stuff with it), and a lot of people will never play it. I think that’s a definite shame. If you see this game for cheap somewhere, grab it.  Also on a final note, the setting is pretty badass too. Why are the games called Lunar? Because both games take place on a moon, a lush world filled with life, people and society, but still a moon, orbiting a dead planet, instead of the other way around. How many games have you played with that setup?
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