Drive

Firstly I would like to thank Amazon for sending me my pre ordered copy of Drive two days before its official release date - not the first time they have done this.

Drive is my film of 2011 and quite possibly the coolest film I have ever seen. Its between this and Pulp Fiction for me in the cool stakes.

You know a film is going to be cool when the main character barely says a word and is nameless. Just think back to Clint Eastwood's turn as the unnamed cowboy in A Fistful of Dollars, For a few Dollars More and The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Drive is the story of Ryan Gosling's character who is simply referred to as 'Driver' in the end credits. By day he is a mechanic and a stunt driver for Hollywood. By night he is a getaway driver for LA's criminal underworld. 

Drive opens with Gosling explaining the rules - 


"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. I don't sit in while you're running it down; I don't carry a gun . . . I drive."

The next ten minutes are some of the most edge-of-your-seat, heart pounding moments that have ever been committed to film as Gosling out manoeuvres and out wits the LAPD.

Then the 80's electro style soundtrack kicks in alongside the electric pink titles. This doesn't sound particularly cool but trust me, it is.

The film then follows the story of Gosling's relationship with his neighbour (Carrie Mulligan) and her young son and Drivers' attempts to help her ex convict husband with a job that goes horribly wrong. 

When I first saw the film I was wondering why it had been rated an 18 certificate. However when Driver is double crossed and has to fight to save himself and Mulligan it soon became apparent. The short bursts of violence from Driver make the combined efforts of all the Saw films looks childish in comparison. 

Driver is a fantastic film. It is uber cool, uber violent and Gosling is brilliant in the lead. 

10/10


Check out the trailer here . . .

Benefits Cap

Yesterday the proposed £26,000 cap on benefits was rejected. 

This, one of the first policies the coalition has suggested that I can actually understand and get behind. I honestly believe the individuals that voted against the policy aren't even aware of the state of some parts of the U.K. Do they not realise that people on benefits can earn more than a newly qualified nurse? How has this become a reality?


Do they think these people are stupid? They know exactly what they are doing and how to do it. 


Frankly there are some parts of society now that will never work and why should they when the government is happy to house them, pay their living costs and then treat them for free in ill health when they haven't paid a penny into the tax system. And do these politicians think its going to end there? Of course not. They are going to raise their kids to do exactly the same and then their grand kids and so on.


In times of austerity why are we still funding the dregs of society? I watch the brilliantly depressing Channel 4 documentary 'Coppers' (Mondays, 9pm). In last nights episode following 'bobbies on the beat' they explained that the majority of their time was spent dealing with the same petty criminals which the police all knew by name. One such person was a 21 year old girl who was an alcoholic, regular cannabis and heroin user. She isn't in work obviously and is on benefits however she has a house that she doesn't pay for or take care of, it was vile. A drug den. 


I am now 22 and have always had a job from the age of 13 when I got my first paper round. Do I have a house? No. Do I pay tax? Yes. Why am I not rewarded yet she is for being a drain on society? The difference is I don't think the state owes me anything, she does. 


One police officer mentioned that when he was a child if you saw a person who was unemployed they were looked down upon. Now, when an employed person walks past the unemployed the employed person is considered a 'mug' by the unemployed.


The police in the programme know they are fighting a loosing battle and are begging for politicians to give them the okay for tougher policing to deal with this issue that is only going to get worse in the future.


I will graduate in May and I am currently looking for a grad job. They are few and far between at this time. I have only applied for three grad schemes so far and been rejected by all three with the usual "your not suitable at this time for this position. I'm sure you appreciate we are very busy at this time and cannot provide feedback" - cheers very much!


Am I a mug for wanting to get a good job and have to save tens of thousands of pounds before I'll have a sufficient deposit on a house that I'll then have to pay the remained of over the next 25 years? Maybe. Maybe I'll just develop a drinking habit and have it all paid for me.


I realise I am very privileged to have had the upbringing I've had, something many of these people weren't so lucky to get. But throwing money at them so they can survive is clearly not the answer and it clearly isn't working.

Final Thoughts

For a working person to take home £26,000.00 it would mean them having to earn £35,000.00 before taxation. 


The average wage in the U.K at this time is £24,000.00.

What I'm Watching

Homeland

I am a huge fan of HBO and American television series in general. My favourite show of all time is The Wire closely followed by 24. 

I hadn't even heard of Homeland until I saw the winners and losers from last Mondays Golden Globes. Homeland picked up Best Series and Claire Danes picked up the Best Actress award for a TV series. So I thought it would be worth a watch and it certainly didn't disappoint. 

I do enjoy it when British actors and actresses go over to Hollywood and steal every scene they're in and it takes an internet search to work out if they're actually British because their accent is so convincing. Such as Idris Elba as Russell 'Stringer' Bell and Dominic West as 'Jimmy' McNulty in the Wire, Hugh Laurie as House and so on. So when I took to Wikipedia to look up Homeland I was delighted to see one of our own was the star of the show - Damien Lewis. Lewis starred as Major Richard 'Dick' Winters in Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed mini series Band of Brothers. Frankly from this point on I was sold, I loved Band of Brothers (I have yet to meet anyone else who didn't) and I thought Lewis was fantastic as Winters.

The series also stars Danes as a CIA officer who suspects Brody after receiving intelligence from one of her Iraqi sources.

Two episodes in and I'm hooked. Is Brody who he says he is or is Mathison right to suspect him? As the audience you are constantly questioning who to believe. You want Brody to be the hero everyone says he is but his actions are very suspect to say the least. Is Mathison just paranoid? She does have a mood disorder that calls her judgement into question.

Its production values are similar to that of a summer blockbuster as is its budget I imagine. The amount of money TV executives must throw at a single episode must be greater than what us Brits spend on an entire series.

Now The Wire, 24 and Bored to Death have all come to an end it seems Homeland will become my next obsession alongside the brilliant Walking Dead (which is on one of those stupid mid season breaks). 

I urge anyone and everyone to tune in.

This is TV at its best.

Homeland is coming to Channel 4 sometime this year. Series two has already been commissioned. 

Britton's Britain - Post One

So, my first post on my brand new shiny blog - Britton's Britain. 

Britton's Britain sounds a bit like an on line meeting place for EDL members, I hasten to add its not. 

I was struggling to think of a name for my blog that included my name in some way. 'Play it again, Sam' was one suggestion from a friend that I liked. I went with Britton's Britain though as I can be quite opinionated and I have heard myself utter the phrase 'well in Britton's Britain that wouldn't be allowed' and so on from time to time. 

I thought this would be apt as I will be blogging about my thoughts on certain subjects and reviewing things that I watch/listen.


I also think that if I ever were to become a politician my surname would be an unmissable opportunity for a campaign slogan.

Vote for Britton's Britain! 

Alas, I could never be an MP because I would tell it as it is and would find it hard to 'tow the line' so I don't think I would get very far before a Malcolm Tucker-like figure would be drafting my resignation for me.