Time has ticked by for almost a year since reports of script problems on a movie adaptation of the popular ‘real-time’ drama 24 hit a snag.

But now it seems the clock has finally reset, with a feature length version of the Imagine Entertainment/Fox television series back in development.

The exciting new project brings back Kiefer Sutherland’s tireless CTU agent Jack Bauer to the big screen.

Mark Bomback – a favourite writer at 20th Century Fox, who penned The Wolverine – is expected to turn around a new draft of Billy Ray’s script, hopefully in the time of the New Year.

The movie is believed to see Jack Bauer making his ends justify his means in Europe, and Deadline report that Fox has a shortlist of five directors. Sadly, the once-rumoured Tony Scott is definitely not among them.

Brian Grazer is producing but 24 needs to be fast track to get shooting in April, in order to match Sutherland’s availability.

Based on the novel by James Sallis and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive is about a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night.

When I first heard about Drive, I thought it would be a film adaption based on the popular video game Driver made by Reflections. The settings are very similar. You are a handy wheelman and can outrun the police after several bank jobs.

Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as an ultra-efficient, no-questions-asked getaway driver, overseen in both cases by his friend and mentor Shannon (played by Breaking Bad’s star Bryan Cranston).

Though he normally keeps himself to himself, the driver’s solitary existence is ruffled when he forms an attachment with his beautiful neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son (Kaden Leos) after they move into his building.

When Irene’s ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison, the driver agrees to help him with the debt he owes a local gangster by agreeing to drive during a heist. However, when the heist goes wrong, the driver finds his life threatened by gang boss Nino (Ron Perlman) and crooked businessman Bernie (Albert Brooks), both of whom have history with Shannon.

Even with minimal dialogue and almost no facial expression except the occasional smile, Gosling delivers a super cool performance. It helps that his white satin, gold scorpion-emblazoned jacket he wears throughout the film made him look cool and hip.

There’s also strong support from Isaac, Perlman (who gets the best lines) and Cranston, not forgetting the eye-catching turn from Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks as gangster’s moll Blanche.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s impeccably stylish direction in Drive won him the Best Director in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. With long, fluid takes accompanied by a great soundtrack and some impressive production design work. Refn’s also directs some exciting action sequences, including that thrilling car chase, as well as heart-pounding scenes punctuated by explosions of strong violence.

I was highly impressed by Drive. The story and characters made it fascinating to watch and I was quite captivated by the action thanks to a strong script and a great lead performance from Ryan Gosling. Well recommended for quite possibly the coolest film this year.

Based on the 1974 novel by John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a gripping espionage thriller set at the height of Cold War paranoid.

Directed by Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson with screenplay from the late Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, the film adaption takes a different approach to the classic BBC television series starring Sir Alec Guinness.

When an agent (Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux) is shot while on a mission in Budapest, Control (led by the superb John Hurt) realises that there must be a Russian mole in the British Secret Intelligence Services and asks his former officer George Smiley (the impressive Gary Oldman) to come out of retirement to investigate.

Aided by Peter Guillam (played by the talented theatre actor Benedict Cumberbatch) and retired researcher Connie Sachs (the scene-stealing Kathy Burke), Smiley uncovers the identity of the Russian mole, which seems to involve rogue agent Ricky Tarr (the excellent Tom Hardy), who fell in love with a Russian woman (Svetlana Khabenskiy) while undercover behind the Iron Curtain.

As they unravel Control’s chain of suspicions, Smiley and Guillan begin to narrow down four possible colleagues featuring the codename “Tinker” (Toby Esterhase played by David Dencik), “Tailor” (Bill Haydon, performed by the BAFTA-winning actor Colin Firth), “Soldier” (Roy Bland, featuring the superb Irish talent of Ciarán Hinds) and “Poorman” (Percy Alleline played by Toby Jones).

I enjoyed every moment in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The cinematography is a work of art thanks to Hoyte Van Hoytema, who also shot Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In.

The soundtrack is great too, in the way it builds up a sense of drama and tension during key scenes in the film. As for the performances by the talented cast, it’s difficult to fault anyone in this gorgeous 1970s period of paranoid and suspicion but obviously it is Gary Oldman who is the main highlight in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His utterly compelling performance as Smiley is fantastic and it is not a surprise to hear Oldman as a likely candidate to win next year’s Oscar for best actor.

Alfredson’s direction is assured throughout the film, allowing the pieces of information to fit together slowly like an exceedingly complex jigsaw puzzle where you don’t see the whole picture until the final piece is played out. The director also orchestrates some terrific sequences, such as Guillam attempting to steal some important files from under the noses of his colleagues followed by a heart-stopping scene that hinges on the inspired use of George Formby’s Mr. Wu’s a Window Cleaner Now.

Impressively directed and beautifully shot, this is a gripping spy story with a satisfyingly intelligent script, with some superb production design work and terrific performances from a wonderful British cast. Highly recommended.