Hey, you want a toothpick?

It's been a tough go for the Los Angeles Clippers lately. Owner Steve Ballmer and members of his front office staff got intobigtrouble for cheating.I, for one, am shocked that a billionaire would do something so blatantly stupid and against the rules to try and get ahead. I thought they got so obscenely rich because of how smart they are and how hard they worked.Then to go on TV and lie to all of us, it's unthinkable! Subscribe now Well, if you are nostalgic for a (rare) nice moment in Clippers history, for some reason, watch the filmDrive. You can find some reprieve as you listen to legendary Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler play a pivotal role in the opening scene. His calling of the game works at a countdown clock of sorts forRyan Goslingand you can hear the joy in his voice as the Clippers pull off the win with a big defensive stand. It didn't go so great for Arizona Wildcats legendJerryd Baylessbut that's neither here nor there because the first 10 minutes of this film are absolutely electric. One more thing about Lawler. Despite not giving a toss about the Clippers in any way, ever, he is an important figure in my family.It appears that they stopped updating the site, but he coined the phrase 'First to 100 Wins' for NBA games. My wife and I say, 'first to 100' to each other whenever we watch a basketball game together. Every time. Additionally, my parents and I text it to each other during Celtics games. Thank you, Ralph. I fired up theDrive4K for the first time and it was my first rewatch in quite awhile. The romance and prevalence of the love story was not something that I remembered.Carey Mulliganis wonderful as Gosling's love interest. Gosling plays his character way, way differently thanJimmy Caandoes inThief,obviously,but their whole relationship made me think of this fantastic scene where he says, 'let's get on with this big romance!'What's more romantic than kissing the woman you love and then kicking a guy's brains in two seconds later?I'm only partially joking. It is actually a touching scene, to me, at least. The action sequences are amazing and aged very well. This is a great Los Angeles movie. The lights of the city, the vistas, it's beautiful. I remembered those moments. I didn't remember a lot of the moments in between and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Gosling doesn't say much but he communicates nonverbally frequently and effectively. Albert Brookscrushed it as the villain. A nasty, mean son of a gun. That was awesome and really against type from my experiences with him. The soundtrack, the sound in general, actually, is fantastic. The cinematography is beautiful. It's a great film. Weirdest Similarity -Blue Valentine(2010) -3.5* The only two people I have ever seen have a cigarette pack rolled into their sleeves, in real life or otherwise, are Gosling's character inBlue Valentine(pictured above) andMatthew McConaughey's inDazed and Confused(pictured below). I'm not saying they are the only ones ever, just the only that I have seen and I found it quite amusing. That is where the similarities between the two films, or the two characters for that matter, start and stop.Blue Valentineis a story about two people, Gosling and five-time Academy Award nomineeMichelle Williams, falling in and out of love. They are fantastic actors and it's beautifully shot. The story is told on two separate tracks. The beginning of the relationship is shot on 16mm film and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The characters look younger and it's a fun time. The ending of the relationship is shot differently, Gosling's character has lost some of his hair and looks sloppy. Williams' character, notably, looks about the same. I just enjoyed the way writer-directorDerek Cianfrancechose to delineate the two. Good movie that I will probably never watch again. Lastly, I'm sad the Gosling we saw in these two films and of this era seems to be gone. He will likely get an Oscar nomination for his work inProject Hail Mary.He was great and that was a legit movie star part. But, with his forthcomingStar Wars,Ghost RiderandFlintstones rebootprojects, we're going down a path I'm not super pumped about for somebody as talented as he is. Hopefully, he circles back around in a few years. Favorite Newcomer -It Ends(2025) -3* Alexander Ullom, the writer, director and editor of this film, is another young filmmaker doing great work right now.Curry Barker(Obsession) andKane Parsons(Backrooms) are the hotter names at the moment but Ullom certainly deserves the same level of praise, to me. 'I always wanted to pitch it as if Richard Linklater made a horror movie. It's a hangout movie. I don't even see it as a horror movie, really, if I'm being completely honest. It just has a really stressful thing that the characters have to go through, so it technically is called a horror film. I don't want people to be sitting down like, 'Here we go, ready for the next loud, then quiet, then loud sequence.' This really is like a coming-of-age hangout movie where ‌coming of age in the modern world is what it feels like.' -Ullom to Fanwire AnotherDazedsimilarity! Just a hangout movie. Young filmmakers aspiring to be likeRichard Linklateris very exciting to me. As I exited the cinema, I thought it was good and I enjoyed my time watching it. It's only grown on me as the days have passed. A hangout movie only works if the performances, by completely unknown actors in this case, are good enough to carry the movie. If it's an unconventional plot, we have to like spending time with these people and I certainly did. It just felt very natural and like friends were actually just spending time stuck in a car. The fact that this movie went to Letterboxd's video store first and is now in theatres nationwide is awesome. It's extremely rare for that to be the case but hopefully it helps. We have to give independent filmmakers a chance and this is another avenue to do so.Letterboxdis the best. Funniest -The Informant!(2009!) -4.5* I first watched this film with my mother and maybe my father shortly after it was released on DVD. Neither of them seem to remember it but I know I watched it at home with one or both of them. I didn't remember much other than it wasn't the typicalMatt Damonrole. After rewatching it, I see why I thought that but I wouldn't say he has a typical role. He certainly wasn't Jason Bourne, which is probably what high school me was referring to. Laughing aloud repeatedly was also not something I remember doing but definitely did this time. It's one of the funniest yet tragic movies I have seen in quite a while. A legitimate tragedy. And yet, even knowing that, it's still funny. Damon still draws out the laughter. His performance is phenomenal. What an accomplishment by him, writerScott Z. Burnsand the legendary director and cinematographerSteven Soderbergh. Academy Award winnerStephen Mirrionewas the editor on this film and to my surprise, a number of Soderbergh's other films.Traffic, the film he won the Oscar for, is one of those films as well as the entire Ocean's trilogy. Usually, Soderbergh edits the films himself as he goes because he is a genius. Good for Stephen. In the above clip, Damon raves about Soderbergh, understandably so. He also shares a note that Soderbergh gave him during the filming of a pivotal courtroom scene (link below, actually, you can watch the whole film on Youtube, oddly enough) and knowing that he said that while watching this time around was fascinating. And, of course, he was correct. It wouldn't have made sense if he was all emotional and remorseful. Favorite Location -Escape from Alcatraz(1979) -4.5* Escape From AlcatrazandThe Rockwere actually filmed on Alcatraz and both are remarkable. Despite being a horrible place, it's a beautiful location whether looking out from San Francisco or from the island towards San Francisco. The detail we are shown of the day-to-day prison life forClint Eastwoodand his fellow inmates is deeply intriguing. The way meticulous nature in which they executed their plan despite how evil the warden was. I was enthralled. The ending wasn't quite as exciting or fulfilling as the buildup was, sadly. It's still good, don't get me wrong. As the escape is happening, my heart rate was definitely elevated, especially as they kept cutting back toLarry Hankin's character. It just doesn't pay off like I had hoped. The ambiguous ending may have been a contributing factor to that. Either way, very good flick and the storytelling without having the characters use many words was brilliantly done. Eastwood especially is a great nonverbal communicator. Favorite Theatre Experience -Manhunter(1986) -5* ArguablyMichael Mann's best picture,Manhunter,finally got a 4K restoration and was shown at my local arthouse cinema, shoutout The Frida. On a Saturday afternoon, the cinema was damn near full. It was beautiful. I had seen it before but to see it restored, on the big screen and in a packed cinema was a real treat. All of Mann's work is beautiful, visually speaking. The lighting, the scenery, the angles, etc. He sure loves the ocean and having his characters stare out into the horizon. But this film is particularly artsy, for lack of a better word, and I love it. It's a lot of introspection, guys staring at screens or mirrors, talking to themselves and then he saves all the action for the very end. William Petersen's performance reminds me ofthis particular scene inWedding Crashers.Not that he's playing it similarly to Vince Vaughn, to be clear, just that he is acting out what Vaughn is saying. It'sespecially prevalent whenBrian Coxas Hannibal Lecter1tells him tosmell himself. Apologies for the Youtube video of somebody recording their laptop but it's all I could find. The way Mann shoots it in a way so that we don'treallyknow who is the prisoner is fantastic. Mirrors, man. Subscribe now Better than thanAnthony HopkinsinThe Silence of the Lambs