The opening, a long tracking shot that follows motor stuntman “Handsome” Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), as he makes his way through the carnival, lighting cigarettes, pushing through the crowd, enterting the appointed tent, fastening his helmet, and buzzing in the cage with two others, is one of the best — and will likely remain among the best of the year. It’s an inspired choice that testifies to director Derek Cianfrance’s deliberation.

Luke is one of the major characters in this play, a distinction that he’ll share with Avery (Bradley Cooper), the lawyer-turned cop and Jason (Dane DeHaan), Luke’s son. Each of them will have their own act, with the scenes intertwining as the drama unfolds throughout 15 years. Luke will quit his job to stay with his son. He will meet a local mechanic (Ben Mendelsohn) who will teach him to rob banks.

He will be pursued by Avery. Avery will rat out some crooked cops and eventually run for office. Luke’s son will befriend Avery’s without realizing their connection. And the results of that friendship and discovery of that connection will begin the cycle anew.

Cianfrance’s previous film Blue Valentine, also with Gosling, carried a similarly morose tone and followed another meticulously logical line of unfortunate events. For all the spontaneity of many scenes — the robberies and chases especially — and improvisational (sounding, at least) dialogue, he shows an immense amount of discipline. He knows the story he wishes to tell and does in a straight-forward and hard way.

Even though it’s the holidays, some things end up getting released anyway. Often, those things are trailers, which is the case in this, ah, case.

In this upcoming thriller, A Place Beyond the Pines, Ryan Gosling plays a pro motorcycle rider-turned-bankrobber and Bradley Cooper plays the cop who’s determined to catch him. Want to know more?

Good, because we’ve got that trailer we mentioned. The film is directed by Derek Cianfrance who co-wrote with Ben Coccio and Darius Marder. It also stars some hot babes in the persona of Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne. It’s set to open March 29.

Check out the trailer after the break.

The true meaning of that quote is fully realized in this haunting anti-love story. Blue Valentine is a stark, quiet film that packs an emotional punch you won’t soon forget. Featuring terrific performances by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling, the film examines the demise of a once promising relationship.

As the movie starts out, it is obvious that Cindy (Williams) and Dean (Gosling) have seen happier days.  Cindy seems to be quietly simmering with hatred when she interacts with Dean.  She’s utterly defeated, and when Dean tries to use his boyish charm to engage her, she won’t succumb.

Cindy mentally checked out of the marriage long, long ago. By the time Dean actually realizes that, we see him make some feeble attempts to salvage what they once had.

There has been plenty of heat on the MPAA as of late. Cult horror director Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen) recently had trouble with the organization giving his sequel to Hatchet an NC-17 rating, which is the financial kiss of death at the box office. They did the same with an upcoming Weinstein film starring Ryan Gosling titled Blue Valentine.

Upon receiving the NC-17 rating, The Weinstein Company filed litigation against the organization for an appeal to get their film down to an R-rating. This was a classic tale of Davey (a small studio) going up against the MPAA’s Goliath. The good news? They won.

News has just been released that TWC has won the appeal against the MPAA and the rating of Blue Valentine will get modified back down to a standard R. This is pretty historic for the industry, considering that nobody ever goes up against the MPAA and lives to tell the tale. It looks like the brothers Weinstein are now the exception to that rule.

This could very well change the face of how MPAA does things, as indie directors like Adam Green now have a case against the way the organization runs things. Consider this an official turning of the tide.

Check out the details in the full press release after the jump. Blue Valentine is expected to hit limited theaters on December 31st.