Not for everybody but I LOVED this movie

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2012)

I am a movie geek and I have been my whole life. This movie represents what I love in movies. Well crafted story, great writing and great direction. I rented this movie yesterday at Redbox and found it to be so well crafted that I watched it again (I don't usually do that.
I grew up in Los Angeles and when I loved about this movie is that it gives you a real sense of the city and it's dirty underbelly that is usually missed in more common films.
Ryan Gosling is so good in this movie because he isn't the prototypical bad ass that you usually would see in a movie like this and that is what I loved about it. Here is a character who is equally quiet but nice guy who obviously has a lot of history but nothing is mentioned or anything acknowledged up front.
The tone is fantastic and I love that the director avoided the classic clichés that are so rampant in movies like this by giving us what is essentially a "B" movie and fills it with great actors and allows them to do what they do best. WOW!
Albert Brooks is the Oscar snub of the year by far and I don't know how. Here is a guy who is always good at what he does and is a brilliant comedian but here he is a former small time movie producer who has deep roots in the criminal underworld and is so convincing that you have a hard time believing that this is the same guy from Lost in America or Nemo's dad. Nuance is the best tool in the performance and I can tell you that this is an understated performance that is so layered you just can't help but feel for the guy even though he is a brutal killer. He wants to be a nice guy but his actions and his business don't allow him to be.
No movie was as cool and more riveting from start to finish than this one. It is my favorite movie of 2011, case closed.