A few more Ryan Gosling Movies

I watch a lot of movies because this or that actor is in it. Of course, I have my favorites (criteria for a favorite has to do with my belief that this actor is a very talented and he or she has some quality, some je ne sais quoi quality that makes him so captivating on screen – this list does not include my favorite comedians btw) Here are some of my favorite dramatic actors, in no particular order:

Carey Mulligan: a new favorite, great in An Education
Claire Danes: I’ve always loved her starting with My So Called Life
Colin Firth: the best Darcy ever! Need I say more
James Franco: my love for him is waning, but 127 Hours, great – I even saw him in Howl
Keira Knightly: thought she was great in Atonement
Clive Owen: he made apocalyptic cinema great in Children of Men
Mark Ruffalo: ever since You Can Count on Me, I’ve been smitten
Viggo Mortenson: kinda scary sometimes, I even suffered through A History of Violence to see him
Laura Linney: so great in so many things, but first loved her in You Can Count on Me
James McAvoy: Last King of Scotland, adorable and a great actor

However, the actor whose films I rarely miss would have to be Ryan Gosling. I haven’t seen all of his films and even I won’t go to ones that are supposed to be terrible, but I've seen most (see Ryan Gosling movies listed on the side). With that in mind I have see two of his movies recently. Both not great, but worth a look if you are a fan like me:

All Good Things All Good Things: All Good Things tells about the fascinating real life story of a wealthy New York family and a creepy murder. It is based on a real story of Robert Durst. Ryan Gosling plays the put upon son and Kristen Dunst his hapless wife. Here's a fascinating link to a New York Times article about the real-life murders.


Crazy Stupid Love – This ensemble romantic comedy was, as my friend said when we came out of the theater, pretty stupid. But I got a lot of laughs out of Ryan Goslings’ gigolo character and guess what, the actor who can do it all can also be really funny. Emma Stone I thought was pretty good in it too.

Cairo Time and Howl

Cairo Time
A story about a woman (Patricia Clarkson) who travels to Cairo to visit her husband who works for the UN. When she gets there, he is in the Gaza Strip, so she tries to visit this ancient city on her own and then with the help of her husband's friend (Alexander Siddig) an Egyptian. I liked visiting the city by watching this movie, and I liked the portrayal of the woman alone in a foreign, challenging, city. But the movie moved so slowly that it took some effort to pay attention to.

Howl
James Franco is so interesting to watch that he makes this documentary-like film watchable. And this topic is interesting: the case against Lawrence Ferlinghetti's publishing of Allen Ginsberg's controversial poem "Howl". All of the dialogue, trial transcripts, letters, etc. from the film come from real life. In addition, the whole of "Howl" is read throughout the film. So if you want a literary dip into history, you might enjoy Howl.