First Man

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  Damien Chazelle
Screenplay:  Josh Singer, based on the book First Man:  The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen
Starring:  Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas,
Running Time:  138 minutes
Genre: Drama, historical, biography,

This film tells the story of Neil Armstrong (Gosling) and the first manned mission to the Moon.  It opens in 1961 where Armstrong is a test pilot and culminates with the historical mission in July 1969.  Along the way it deals with Armstrong's relationship with his wife, Janet (Foy), and the personal and professional sacrifices and trials that were made on the way to the Moon.

Everyone is familiar with the Apollo Moon landing in 1969, the first step on the Moon is one of the most iconic images of all time, and the line "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," is one of the best known quotes in the world.  This film shows just how risky and dangerous it was.  Basically the astronauts were sitting in a tiny tin can on top of a missile, all of which was pretty much handmade at the time.  The film opens with Armstrong in the middle of a test flight, bouncing off the edge of the atmosphere, shot in fast, almost impressionistic images, from Armstrong's point of view wit constant rattling and roaring.  It's in the aerial and spaceflight sequences where the film soars (no pun intended), exciting, visceral with a genuine sense of wonder.  It captures the excitement of spaceflight and exploration, a time which is pretty much gone now, and it's probably as close as you will ever get to being in a space capsule.  The film depicts the training, and the sometimes fatal missteps along the way to the mission.   It also explores Armstrong's personal life.  Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong as a taciturn, emotionally distant man, it's hinted that he is deeply depressed following the death of his daughter.  As Janet Armstrong, Claire Foy carries the emotional heft of the film.  Having already buried a daughter, and seeing many of her friends and neighbours lose their husbands to the space program, she is very well aware of the risks involved and frustrated that Neil is so casual about it.  In one scene, she forces him to sit down and tell his kids that he may not come back, which he does as if he is at a board meeting.
This is a great film, and needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) in First Man 

Blade Runner 2049

Year of Release:  2017
Director:  Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay:  Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, from a story by Hampton Fancher, based on characters from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Starring:  Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto
Running Time:  163 minutes
Genre:  Science-fiction

This is the long-awaited sequel to Blade Runner (1982), one of the most influential science-fiction movies of all time.  The film is set in 2049, where a series of environmental disasters have made the use of biologically engineered artificial humans known as "replicants" a necessity for humanity's survival.  However some of the older model replicants have not integrated and they are hunted down and executed (or "retired") by police "Blade Runner" units.  The film focuses on K. (Gosling), a Blade Runner, and I won't say anything else because it would be something of a spoiler.

This is possibly one of the most visually stunning films that I have ever seen.  It is absolutely beautiful, moving from neon-drenched cityscapes to desolate, grey wasteland, to burnished orange deserts, all swathed in mist, dust, rain and snow.  However, as with the original film, this is a demanding watch, because it is very slow, and long.  It moves at it's own rhythm, and if you can go along with that and surrender yourself to it's spell then it really works.  As with the original the characters tend to get washed out in the visuals.  Ryan Gosling plays his lead role in a similar manner to his role in Drive (2011), Ana de Armas gives the film some much needed heart as Gosling's hologram girlfriend, and it is worth pointing out that, while Harrison Ford does reprise his role from the first film, he does not appear until very late in this film and has little more than an extended cameo.  In fact, Harrison Ford's appearance is something of a spoiler, but he is featured very heavily on the poster and all the publicity for the film.
In many ways, I prefer this to the original, the storyline is intriguing, with an interesting central mystery, and it still tackles the Big Issues about the nature of humanity.  While the length and pace might put off some viewers, I think that this film will find it's audience sooner or later, and there are images and scenes that I think will become iconic in the future.   
See this film, and see it on the biggest screen possible. This is dark, beautiful and intelligent science-fiction.

Ana de Armas and Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049       

Drive

Year of Release:  2011
Director:  Nicolas Winding Refn
Screenplay:  Hossein Amini, based on the novel Drive by James Sallis
Starring:  Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks
Running Time:  100 minutes
Genre:  crime, thriller

Ryan Gosling stars as the unnamed Driver, a mechanic and part-time movie stunt driver who occasionally moonlights as a getaway driver.  Living a quiet, solitary existence, his only friend is his employer / manager Shannon (Cranston).  However, the Driver soon finds himself drawn to his neighbor Irene (Mulligan) who lives alone with her son, Benicio (Kaden Leos), her husband, Standard (Isaac), is in jail.  However when Standard is released and forced into taking part in a robbery, the Driver has to take extreme measures to protect Irene and Benicio.

Nicolas Winding Refn is a fantastic visual stylist, and here he turns Los Angeles into a seductive, neon-drenched netherworld.  Despite being set in the present day, the film has a kind of retro, 1980s feel about it, accentuated by Cliff Matinez's pulsating synth score, but the Driver himself could almost be a Western hero, the Clint Eastwood-style Man With No Name.  Certainly, with his silk jacket emblazoned with a scorpion logo on the back, the blank-faced Gosling turns in an iconic performance with very little dialogue, communicating a lot with just a quick look and the twitch of his mouth.

Mostly, this is a slow-moving film, but it is punctuated with sudden bursts of graphic violence (warning:  the violence is pretty shocking, especially as it often erupts so suddenly).  The storyline is fairly predictable, although this isn't really a plot driven film, it's a mood piece.  Also Carey Mulligan really isn't given much to do at all, and the other principal female character, Christina Hendricks' Blanche, has barely any screen-time at all.  However, Bryan Cranston is striking as the always unlucky Shannon.

It may be too slow and too brutal for some, but it is a ride worth taking.

Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling in Drive