In honor of the January 31st release of Drive on Blu-ray^TM and DVD, here are seven of the best examples of this storied subgenre.

Check out all the Sony “Action Unleashed” DVDs!

The Asphalt Jungle

Sterling Hayden plays Dix in this, the original heist movie. All he wants is to escape his horrible crime-ridden city to a farm on the country, with horses and stuff. But, as is usually the case, in order to do this he has to participate in One More Job. It should go off without a hitch, but you can guess that it doesn’t. Spoiler alert: He actually ends up making it to the farm, but it’s anybody’s guess how long he’ll be alive to enjoy it.

The Wild Bunch

Sometimes you don’t just want to get out of your outside-the-law lifestyle because you feel like it – sometimes that’s just the way the world around you is going. That’s the case in The Wild Bunch, in which a bunch of western cowboy outlaws (headed up by a never-grizzlier William Holden) seek to make one last big score before hanging up their hats and riding off into the sunset. They end up going on a bloody odyssey to hell, but that’s the risk, right?

“Quentin Tarantino’s official Top 11 of 2011

1. Midnight In Paris
2. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
3. Moneyball
4. The Skin I Live In
5. X-Men: First Class
6. Young Adult
7. Attack The Block
8. Red State
9. Warrior
10. The Artist / Our Idiot Brother (tie)
11. The Three Musketeers

Others considered in no particular order

50/50
Beginners
Hugo
The Iron Lady
Carnage
Green Hornet
Green Lantern
Captain America
The Descendants
My Week With Marilyn
Fast Five
The Tree Of Life
The Hangover Part II
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
The Beaver
Contagion
The Sitter
War Horse

Nice Try Award

Drive
Hanna
Drive Angry
Real Steel

Best Director

Pedro Almodovar
Bennett Miller
Woody Allen
Jason Reitman
Michel Hazanavicius

Best Original Screenplay

Midnight In Paris
Young Adult
Red State
Attack The Block
Our Idiot Brother
Beginners

Best Adapted Screenplay

Moneyball
The Skin I live In
Carnage
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
Hugo
X-Men: First Class

Worst Films

Sucker Punch
Potiche (Trophy Wife)
Miral
Insidious
Rampart
Straw Dogs
Paranormal Activity 3
Meek’s Cutoff”

Wait, The Three Musketeers!? Does this mean I actually have to go watch that movie now?? Cool that he repped for Green Lantern, since I thought that movie was better than most people said it was. Anyway, I’m sure most writers will just say Tarantino was jealous of Drive or something like that, and why go against the tide? Quentin Tarantino was jealous of Drive. Or something like that. (The Playlist)

In light of recent cuckoo lawsuits filed against Drive and The Hangover Part II, here are seven of Hollywood‘s most frivolous lawsuits.

Crazy Lady vs. Drive

A Michigan woman filed a class action lawsuit against the distributor of Drive because the film failed to feature her preferred amount of driving. She also accused the film of antisemitism. But mostly it was the driving thing that bugged her. I’d be interested to see her reaction to the blatantly-racist yet high-octane Transformers films.

Aspiring Writer vs. The Hangover Part II

Aspiring writer Michael Alan Rubin has filed suit against the makers of The Hangover Part II, claiming the film stole his life story. Rubin claims that the plot of the film was stolen from a treatment he wrote based off his own exploits in Thailand. “The plot and theme of ‘Hangover 2‘ is copied from the treatment ‘Mickey and Kirin’ and also from the private real life incident of the plaintiff, because the protagonist in Hangover 2 travels from the United States to an Asian country to marry his Asian girlfriend,” says the lawsuit. Rubin also didn’t cotton to the notion that his character would do drugs or accidentally propose to a tranny. Because he soooo didn’t do that, in case that’s what you heard.

With racing on our minds after this tragic development, we thought we’d take inventory of our favorite racers and drivers in movies. So let’s buckle up, hit the gas, and “add additional racing cliché here”!

7. Maggie Peyton

The name probably doesn’t ring a bell, but the actress playing her in Herbie: Fully Loaded might. Lindsay Lohan really captured the essence of the racer’s spirit in this charming romp about a sleazy-hot girl that races an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle. She also was somehow able to beat fictional NASCAR champ Trip Murphy (played by Matt Dillon) in a race, which is hard to believe, because Lohan has a track record of piss-poor driving, but it’s still exhilarating to watch, nonetheless.

She would have placed higher on this list, but her character falls in love with Justin Long, which is ridiculous and improbable.

Seriously. He’s the worst.

6. Stuntman Mike

Death Proof has its share of detractors, but it’s hard not to like the sleazy, for-some-reason-evil baddie Stuntman Mike. He rocks a satin jacket, which is VERY important for reasons I will get into in the next entry. He’s got a car that’s death-proof, which is a pretty badass concept. He kills innocent women, which I’m not totally in favor of, but I’m willing to look past that to his bitchin’ jacket and suave way with the ladies.

If you haven’t seen Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, check it out immediately, but don’t get too attached to Stuntman Mike.

Something needs to be done here and I feel like it should fall on the shoulders of Drive star Ryan Gosling. He needs to address his crazed fans and let them know that hot dog tossing will not abide. There are rules in society and when those rules are not followed, it all falls down. Seriously. Somebody could end up with mustard on their shirt. (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Sarah Deming has filed a lawsuit against FilmDistrict claiming that the distributors, “promoted the film Drive as very similar to the Fast and Furious, or similar, series of movies.”

“Drive bore very little similarity to a chase, or race action film… having very little driving in the motion picture,” the suit continues. “Drive was a motion picture that substantially contained extreme gratuitous defamatory dehumanizing racism directed against members of the Jewish faith, and thereby promoted criminal violence against members of the Jewish faith.

I love that the Antisemitism (which isn’t really in the movie) was an afterthought. The cars not going VROOM loud enough or driving on top of trains was what really ticked her off. God help me, if she wins this lawsuit, I’m suing every movie for not being enough like The Fast and the Furious. Films exempt from my litigious wrath include The Fast and the Furious and its sequels, as well as Torque. (Click on Detroit)

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

Synopsis: A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

Release Date: September 16, 2011

Here’s a rundown of some of Hollywood’s smoothest escapes.

The Italian Job

Anyone can just hop in a Mustang and speed over a rising drawbridge to make their escape. But if you want to get away with style, you need a fleet of stupid looking Mini Coopers, the ability to control traffic lights, and exploding streets. Playing chicken with a helicopter adds style points as well.

Quick Change

Now this is a cool plan. Bill Murray dresses up like a clown. Robs a bank and takes hostages. Then he alludes police by simply removing his clown makeup. And despite a lot of setbacks, it works, too. It’s brilliant.

Inside Man

This one lacks the coolness factor of dressing up like a clown, but does have a smooth getaway along the same lines with the disguised bank robbers blending in with the hostages. However, one man builds a little apartment and walls himself in with the loot before casually walking out during business hours a few days later.

“I’ve always wanted to make a movie with lots of sex,” says Refn of the project. “So I wrote this story called, I Walk With the Dead and it takes place in Miami and it’s just going to have a lot of sex in it. I have two films that are getting made with French investors and one is Only God Forgives and one is I Walk With the Dead.”

Of course, this is just one of many projects on his plate and no timeline has been provided yet. With Drive earning awesome reviews, Refn’s career is thriving which I’m sure is a relief. Considering his ambition was to “make a movie with lots of sex,” things really could have gone differently for him. (The Playlist)

See A Romantic New Clip From 'Drive'

This trailer, fortunately, has done nothing to make my level of anticipation decrease. There are some cool automotive stunts, and glimpses at the aforementioned stars, along with Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston, and Ron Perlman. I can’t wait to drive (my Segway) to my local theater to watch Drive!

Ryan Gosling and director Nicolas Winding Refn have worked together on this fall’s Drive, and it was such a good experience that they never, ever want to work apart again.

Or so it would seem.

After Drive, it had been announced that Refn was moving on to Only God Forgives, but today they spilled that they are planning on teaming up yet another time for a romantic comedy (that they’re trying to talk Drive co-star Albert Brooks in to writing). This is in addition to their collaboration on Logan’s Run.

‘Crazy Stupid Love’ Looks Neither Crazy Nor Stupid

Refn said that the newest project will be “a romantic comedy set in New York, which seems like a great place to start.” It sure does. They have lots of buildings there. Before we get too far down the path of Ryan Gosling: Rom-Com Star, let’s hold out for Gosling’s turn in the summer’s eagerly anticipated comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. Between Crazy, Drive, The Gangster Squad, Logan’s Run, and the two aforementioned projects, Gosling should have his work schedule for the next few years all set. Must be nice.

You also get to see Bryan Cranston in action as Gosling’s mechanic boss (note: don’t get excited, that doesn’t say “mechanical boss”), which is nice, especially if you’re a fan of”Breaking Bad.” Not much badassery in this clip, but I still have hope for the overall badassity of the movie as a whole. (Vulture)

Now, for all of you not driving, you’ll notice that these photos have our first look at Albert Brooks, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, and Bryan Cranston in the movie, in addition to star Ryan Gosling. So if you previously were unaware of what they looked like, you’re welcome. (The Playlist)

Well, judging from this clip from Driven, which you can watch here, Nicolas Winding Refn is doing his part to bring back the cool car chase movie. And it has reasons to get excited in front of the camera, too: Drive stars Ryan Gosling, along with Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman. So, even if this clip was terrible, I’d still be there. It isn’t terrible though.

Good news for people who like giant bouncing boobs! Christina Hendricks‘ wonderful breasts are joining the cast of Drive. The addition of Hendricks’ chest rounds out an all-cast including Ryan Gosling, Chesty Laroo, Bryan Cranston, Tits McGee and Albert Brooks.

The film follows the exploits of a stunt driver who breasts as a getaway driver that boobs mammaries. The film is expected to hit theaters tits bazongas. Boobs. (Collider)

Behold, Albert Brooks 2.0. Now the famed comedian is 90% more menacing thanks to his upcoming role in Drive, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. In the film, Brooks will play a New York mobster named Bernie Rose who moves to L.A. to kick ass and take names. The film also stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston, who has turned into a bit of a bad-ass himself thanks to "Breaking Bad."

Now that Brooks has gone tough guy, can fellow comedian and neurotic Jew Richard Lewis be far behind? Only time will tell. (Deadline)