Have you ever been forced to leave a job that you are really good at?  I am sure that we all have, but looking in the mirror, hindsight is always twenty/twenty and even if it was not our choice, it turns out better in the end.  But have you given up a career that you were exceptional at, out of love?  That could be the hardest thing to do, since you are giving up on the person you were to make the most important person in your life know how much you care for them.  

Peter Roberts is a man that has left his past life in the rear view mirror.  Being a successful race car driving in his past life, he has given it all up to be around for his new family.  Marrying his wife Tessa, they couple has a daughter who was conceived when Peter was still on the circuit.  Being asked to give up his racing life has left him a shell of his former self and his relationships with both of his ladies is showing it.

Wanting to get back to what he does well, Peter has the idea of opening up a race car training school, as now he is just teaching people how to drive in Australia.  Although it is not his dream, it is helping to pay the bills, but once again, money is getting tight and he is going to have to find a way to tell his wife and daughter that the private school option is no longer on the table.  But on this day, Peter has a request for his services at the driving school, a Mr. Keller.  Getting into the car, Peter can tell that his new student knows how to drive just fine, and that he is an American.  But Simon Keller wants more from Peter, as he starts talking about the former race car driver's past and current predicament. 

Keller tries to bond with the Peter as the driving class continues but Peter is having none of it.  Asking to stop by a bank on the drive back to the school, Keller is granted his wish, but instead of making a deposit, he makes a withdrawal that will change the dynamic between the two forever.  Keller is a master thief and steals nine million dollars in Bearer Bonds from his old boss that had him incarcerated for several years.  Being taken hostage, Peter is willing to drive for all that he is worth with a gun pointed at his head, but once he is able to gain the upper hand, will he be able to leave his new friend to the cops and the mafia that are trying to stop them?

Drive Hard follows the story about Peter Roberts that has just been taken hostage by a man that is looking to get even with his former employer.  Although he is not looking for anything out of this, three million dollars is dangled in front of his face while trying to get away from those that would kill him.  With Simon Keller running the show, the master thief is trying to play upon Peter’s downfalls over the past couple of years, but as Peter shows, he knows how to drive and get away from anything that is put in his path.  As the two try to escape the police, along with the mafia that Keller just stole nine million dollars’ worth of Bearer Bonds from, they form a tentative partnership of a payoff what will change Peter’s life forever.  Seeing how hard Peter’s life has become, Keller plays on it as much as he can and is trying to get the retired race car driver to break out of his current shell, but Peter has to buy into this before fully trusting the master thief.  But will Peter be able to come to terms with what is happening before the cops catch up with them while on their way to freedom, or will he fall back into what he has become, a belittled house husband that no one in the house respects?

This is a fun ride to say the least, with Thomas Jane driving the story and John Cusack giving the directions.  Having little idea of where this story was taking me, I was impressed with the outcome.  Watching Peter Roberts come to terms with what his reality really was and Simon Keller just giving him the path, it was great seeing the characters grow on the screen.  With plenty of one liners that make you scoff, on a second watching, they make you laugh as that is one thing that the movie wanted you to do.  But the pairing of two of my favorite actors, doing what they do best, you are not left wondering what happened at the end, as they both have motives that are driving them for greatness.  Happy Viewing.

Sometimes when you get the chance to review a movie, you'd like nothing more than to sit down with the creative team and learn more about the behind the scenes process and more about the people who brought the motion picture to life. Often times that opportunity doesn't arrive since those folks are so busy. But thankfully for us, we had the opportunity to sit down with Director Jason Croot, who is the brains behind a film we recently reviewed, Le Fear II: Le Sequel, to learn more about this unique motion picture.

GOG: What got you into filmmaking? 
Jason Croot: I wanted a fresh challenge after acting for 9 years, I decided to try out filmmaking with Le Fear and enjoyed it so much so I made it my new focus.

GOG: What are some of your influences when it comes to writers/directors?
Jason Croot: I love improvisation, I find many scripted films too predicable, so I would have to say Curb Your Enthusiasm stands out for me, Larry Charles and Larry David rock. Other directors would be Jim Jarmusch and Woody Allen. Also, John Sullivan, a great British comedy sitcom writer created some wonderful shows Only Fools and Horses being his best.

GOG: Tell us a little more about the Le Fear franchise. 
Jason Croot: Le Fear 1 was a real whirlwind one month after the idea the feature film was in the bag, I wanted to make a sequel fortunately I had a good team behind me with Julian Lamoral-Roberts and Steve McAleavy. They both helped make Le Fear 2 happen in many ways, both are producers and Julian is a an actor (Dr. Strange in Le Fear 2) and Steve is more savvy and works on the camera side of things both guys want to keep pushing to make Le Fear 3 happen.

GOG: Where is the "Le Fear" series headed from here? 
Jason Croot: We have a few options including making Le Fear 3 in France but we have not locked down anything yet. We hope to make at least 3 more in the series, bringing in some actors from previous Le Fear's also bringing in fresh faces, Ideally we would like a few named actors to join us, we intend keeping them all Micro budget, simply because the challenge of creating Movies on a shoestring budgets is at the heart of the Le Fear series.

GOG: What has been your proudest moment in filmmaking to date? 
Jason Croot: I must say before our release of Le Fear 2: Le Sequel receiving so many outstanding reviews, by the way your review is up there with the best, I'm really proud on what we all achieved in creating the movie, in all I mean the cast who were outstanding, the crew who were troopers and the post production team.

GOG: Is there a particular story that you are dying to tell? 
Jason Croot: I have a few stories in mind and would like to make some of them into a movie, I have come up with an idea to make a comedy movie around these stories, sorry to be so vague, it is all at early stages of development.

GOG: Outside of Le Fear what else is next for Jason Croot? 
Jason Croot: I have taken some time away from acting for various reasons and hope to make a comeback at some stage, the beauty of acting and filmmaking is that you can continue doing both as long as the passion and drive is strong. Finally I would say if people out there who love comedy horror movies, film within a film movies and improvisation movies then be sure to join us on twitter and Facebook we will keep you all updated on all the Le Fear news, @lefear2lesequel.