[heaven85]

No problem Bianca. No new ones to share? I'm so shocked.

Once again I'm not sure if its already posted but I like this review :

Half Nelson offers an opportunity to marvel, once again, at the dazzling talent of Ryan Gosling for playing young men as believable as they are psychologically trip-wired. In a performance spectacular and ''invisible'' at the same time, the Canadian-born former child actor, who blew the roof off five years ago as a neo-Nazi in The Believer (and then went on to make The Notebook halfway palatable), stars as Dan Dunne, a charismatic, dedicated inner-city Brooklyn junior high school teacher by day. By night, though, he's something else — just another white, middle-class crackhead. Dan, in other words, is a disaster waiting to happen, and a heartbreaker, too: He cares about his kids (most of them African-American) with the fervor of a valiant inner-city educator — but with none of the cliché heroics we've seen throughout Stand and Deliver history. Instead, when he wastes himself at night, he's a wreck the next day, too (both in the classroom and in the gym where he coaches basketball). And that vulnerability doesn't go unnoticed by Drey (newcomer Shareeka Epps, a poised, powerful match for Gosling's intensity), a prematurely wise 13-year-old who has seen drug dealing up close in her own family. There's no easy way out of Dan's self-imposed headlock of self-destruction and disillusionment. Half Nelson conspicuously offers no tidy resolution or concluding uplift, which only makes the movie that much more trustworthy, and the unflashy, documentary-style filmmaking more artful. Working from a script he co-wrote with Anna Boden (shot three years ago as a short called Gowanus, Brooklyn), first-time feature director Ryan Fleck keeps the story low to the ground, organic, honest. In response, every choice the star makes is fresh, from the way his Dan rubs his bloodshot eyes to how he attempts to straighten up his crummy apartment. Without ever appearing to act, Gosling is the most exciting actor of his generation.

EW

By Arthur Salm ARTS WRITER September 7, 2006 Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is the history teacher you always wanted in middle school: funny, intense, committed, not only willing but also downright eager to spin lessons off into long, involved, fascinating but ultimately related tangents. Advertisement That's not how we first see him, however, in Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's moving, jangly film “Half Nelson.” He's in his underwear and in a daze, sitting on the floor of his semi-crummy apartment, bathed in the soft light of either dusk or dawn. An alarm clock goes off: dawn. Dan's had a hard night, but then, most of them are. He's a druggie, although not a particularly discriminating one; cocaine, alcohol, even crack will do. It's crack, as it turns out, that gets him small-time busted – by Drey (Shareeka Epps), his most promising student, who catches him with pipe in hand. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOVIE REVIEW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Half Nelson” Rated R; Opens tomorrow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But “Half Nelson” is too smart a film to plod along the rutted trail of the standard drug flick. Dan, of course, claims to have his problem under control, and the truth is, he almost does; somehow he manages to get to class every day and summon enough verve to do his job and do it well. (“The kids keep me focused,” he explains.) Fellow teacher and occasional girlfriend Isabel (Monique Gabriela Curnen) tolerates Dan's mercurial attentions, but only up to a certain point, after which it's so long, pal. The dealer Frank (Anthony Mackie), friend to Drey's family, isn't a heavy but a lighthearted, basically centered fellow pursuing his version of an inner-city capitalist dream. An idealist to his shaky core, Dan is consumed with the notion of dialectic – the struggle between and ultimate reconciliation of opposites, or, at least, opposing forces. It is the touchstone of the history lessons he imparts to his (at least partially understanding) students, and of his life as well. A committed if mostly bystanding leftie, he perceives himself as ineffectual and not especially worthy of happiness; hence the broken love affairs, the solitary existence ... the drugs. It's to the filmmakers' credit that none of this – not even the students' brief oral reports on significant contemporary events on the world stage, from the CIA-engineered assassination of Salvador Allende to the Twinkie-engineered assassination of Harvey Milk – comes across as either overly strident or lazily half-baked. If sometimes it doesn't quite gel, it doesn't have to: Everything within the movie turns on the budding friendship of the slowly sinking Dan and the remarkable Drey, coolly appraising onrushing adulthood and, from the look of her, ready for it. Their scenes together have a soft electric hum; nothing sexual, to be sure, yet at the same time something deep and telling and true. In his car together – he gives her a lot of lifts home after basketball practice – they settle into their seats and seem almost to exhale in unison. It's nothing a whole lot more complicated than that they feel comfortable in each others' presence. They're friends at a time when each of them needs one. Not that the film makes this out to be a universal panacea, or even the answer to anyone's overarching problems. But it's student and teacher, adult and child, man and very young woman coming together in a touching reconciliation that would do any dialectician proud.

San Diego Union-Tribune

[-Bianca-]

I just didn't feel like looking.

Thanks for sharing those. If they've been posted before, eh. Re-reading Ryan praise is a good thing. [/Martha Stewart]

Here's a few more:

Performances by Ryan Gosling as a talented teacher who leads a troubled life beyond the classroom and Shareeka Epps as a student at a crossroads help the film achieve the promise in its gritty script. [...] Gosling’s turn as the floundering teacher has dimension, too. There’s a long history of actors making the most out of substance-abusing characters and Gosling, going for Danny’s highs and deep lows, makes the most out of his golden opportunity. 2theadvocate.com | Movie Reviews | Half Nelson

...Sundance audiences who were rightly impressed with the performance of the Canadian actor Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne. [...] Mr. Gosling and Ms. Epps are so good in their roles that they can carry the movie, but ultimately Dunne’s problem crowds out our concern for the young people he wants to help. Movies: Unfulfilled potential

Magnificently understated acting by Ryan Gosling, as a junior high schoolteacher who smokes crack, and Shareeka Epps as a kid in his class. One of the best films about the student/teacher relationship. Aspen Times News for Aspen Colorado - Arts and Entertainment

Up-and-comer Ryan Gosling and first-time feature director Ryan Fleck combine to make a terrific indie movie, with the kind of grit and unrelenting realism that can be painful to watch. [...] Gosling's performance is worthy of an Oscar nod. DenverPost.com - Past movie reviews, 10/13

Ryan Gosling's acting is outstanding News Sun :: Entertainment :: Movies on the Web

"Half Nelson" is a terrific showcase for actor Ryan Gosling, who has turned unforgettable performances as a Jewish neo-Nazi ("The Believer") and a privileged thrill killer ("Murder by Numbers"). Entertainment - StatesmanJournal.com

[heaven85]

Oh well then. hmph.... Yep Ryan praise is always great to read.

Thanks for those Bianca.

I will leave the reviews back to you again.

[-Bianca-]

I don't have anything today.

This marks the second time, that I'm around on FF, of this nature I think.

Edit: I have stuff today though.

But the two principal actors convey an enormous depth. We may not get much in the way of story, but Gosling and Epps make us see vividly what the consequences of their lives have been. Aspen Times News for Aspen Colorado - Arts and Entertainment

Big!stills:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/044e8f4a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/41abd994.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/b3a47b31.jpg

[heaven85]

Wow Bianca. I am so shocked.

But I do love the large stills. Thanks.

[-Bianca-]

Ryan Gosling's acting is outstanding as he plays a history teacher with a passion for teaching kids about how to change the world, a bond with a troubled 14-year-old black girl in his class (Shareeka Epps) -- and a secret, steadily worsening addiction to cocaine. Beacon News :: Entertainment :: NowShowing A guide to films showing on area screens beginning Friday.

The stunning Ryan Gosling plays Daniel Dunne, a basketball and history coach in an inner city school. IR // News // Review: Half Nelson

[heaven85]

Great prasies. it.

[-Bianca-]

The film is a low-key surprise that is gritty, darkly funny and sometimes tragic. It speaks with a street-wise truth that is riveting and with performances that are subtle and tremendously moving. Wichita Eagle | 10/20/2006 | 'Half Nelson' tragic but hopeful look at making a difference

A very strong, yet consistently overlooked young actor, Gosling carefully creates Dan Dunne, studying him, becoming him, to the point where any line between the dueling pretenses of actor and character seems completely obliterated. Every movement is precise yet smooth, exact yet spontaneous, always feeling as natural as possible. He captures something truly human in his performance and is careful never to sink to levels of caricature. Perhaps even more importantly, Gosling knows not to upstage the supporting cast but rather to complement them. Shareeka Epps, a talented newcomer who plays Drey, a student in Dunne's class who acts as the film's catalyst, also gives a stunning performance and should not go unnoticed in Gosling's shadow. 'Half Nelson' captivates with overwhelming precision - Arts

[heaven85]

Aww lovely reviews. Thanks so much for posting Bianca.

[-Bianca-]

Ryan and HN are up for a couple Gotham awards.

[heaven85]

That's great news.

[-Bianca-]

Everything that makes this movie so terrific is right there in that scene, in the interplay between these two characters – and these two actors. “Ryan Gosling” may sound like the name of a teen heartthrob, but this performance, coming after “The Believer,” proves he’s one of the finest actors working in contemporary movies. And he’s only 25 years old. Epps (no relation to Omar) is his perfect foil, as the kid for whom Dan cares the most. She doesn’t say much, but she doesn’t have to. Drey’s got Dan’s number, and may be the only person on Earth who comes close to understanding who he is. Journal Gazette | 10/27/2006 | ‘Nelson’ presents touching portraits At the movies

Ryan Gosling's acting is outstanding... Beacon News :: Entertainment :: NowShowing A guide to films showing on area screens beginning Friday.

I'm not familiar with Ryan Gosling, the actor who plays the teacher in this movie. Apparently he was in some “Goosebumps” episodes and some chick-flick cry-fest called “The Notebook” but man, he sure nailed this role. The whole movie was more like a documentary, seemingly done with a hand held camera and honest dialogue. The class he taught felt like they were a real class and not a bunch of child actors. Times-Standard Online - Fat Guys raise the flag

[heaven85]

Great reviews!!!! I loved the last one. I'm totally adoring all the Ryan praise.

[-Bianca-]

Definitely great to see.

A Good Year, The Good Shepherd, The Good German: Hollywood's usual lack of originality? And where's the new talent? Well, after her Best Actress nomination for 2003's Whale Rider, Kiwi Keisha Castle-Hughes is worth tracking for her performance as Mary in Jesus prequel The Nativity Story. The Notebook's Ryan Gosling is an outside Best Actor bet for his turn as a drug-addled teacher in Half Nelson. Scotsman.com Living - Film - Burning questions

I can't remember if this one has been posted... if not, it's a good one.

[heaven85]

Thanks Bianca.

Love that article and I don't think it was posted yet.