suspense » gimme some film

{random film-ness} A Valentine’s Day Movie for Thrifty Contrarians

@2011 Film District

Maybe you’re a half of a content pair who believes love should be celebrated every day…without so much emphasis on buying stuff. Maybe you’re currently flying solo and loving your independence…and hating how Heart Day enthusiasts assume you’ll be watching Sleepless in Seattle and sobbing tonight. (I mean Sleepless is great; sobbing, not so much.) Maybe you’re a mysterious stranger with serious stunt driving skills who breaks out of a hermit-ish existence to help his beautiful neighbor…knowing there will be price to pay.

Yep, I’m suggesting you watch Drive today, in celebration of the international day of lovey-dovey-ness. Here’s why the 2011 Nicolas Winding Refn-directed, Gosling-starring wheeled thriller is a great Valentine’s Day choice.

{in my queue} Streaming Kathryn Bigelow

If Friday’s wide opening of Zero Dark Thirty (see my review here) has you craving more Bigelow ASAP, here’s what’s available on The Internets right now:

The Hurt Locker

The 2008 six-Oscar-winning film was Bigelow’s first outing with screenwriter Mark Boal. You could say the partnership was a success.

{filmmaker flashcard} Hitchcock

In honor of the new biopic Hitchcock, here’s a filmmaker flashcard to start your week. A prolific master of suspenseful storytelling, Hitchcock’s name has become synonymous with shivers, and rightly so. I have a lot of his early British works to catch up on, but have been a big fan of the later Hollywood films since high school. Rear Window (with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly), Vertigo (with Kim Novak and Jimmy again) and North by Northwest (with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint) are all on my drop-everything-if-this-is-on-and-watch list.