By Dave Montalbano
AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com
Where Crabby Jacks [recently burned down in a fire] was located, the marquee for the only Drive-In movie theatre in Deerfield Beach once stood.
Spawning from there, 36 years ago, traffic jams were caused on Federal Highway, thanks to the release of the film Jaws.
During rush-hour traffic last Friday morning, commuters on I-95 may have witnessed the return of Jaws, a Megalodon, a giant shark thought to be extinct from South Florida waters for thousands of years, riding on the back of a truck headed to its new home at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science. It will be part of the Prehistoric Florida exhibit in the new EcoDiscovery Center, slated to open on Veterans Day, 2011.
Veteran’s Day will also mark the last day of the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Beyond screening foreign and homegrown motion pictures, FLIFF has invited some well-known celebrities.
Best known for her work in Carlito’s Way and Kindergarten Cop, Penelope Ann Miller will attend Gala Night with screening of The Artist, an award-winning movie on the European circuit this summer.
On Nov. 8, Piper Laurie will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in dramatic classics like The Hustler and horror classics like Carrie.
To find out more about this year’s festivities and surprise guests keep checking www.fliff.com.
Also Drive opens this weekend. Ryan Gosling portrays a stuntman who moonlights as a get-away-car driver. For years, his character has worked in partnership with Shannon (Bryan Cranston), who has ties with organized crime figures portrayed by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman. When one caper goes astray, Gosling becomes the surrogate husband to Irene (Carey Mulligan).
While Drive contains some great stunts and action scenes, this flick is more like a Film Noir drama. Gosling gives a deadpan performance similar to what Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum and Steve McQueen would have provided in their day. The best, most surprising performance comes from Brooks; the goofy comedian sinks his teeth into a monstrous role of a capo de capo. Drive is off-road fun as a Saturday matinee.
