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We're pleased to bring you another special episode, which we have devoted entirely to the films of Nicolas Winding Refn.  This Danish-born auteur has made his films primarily in English and won international acclaim for "Drive" in 2011.  Refn's new film is currently being raked across the coals by critics and audiences alike.  We believe in Refn's talents enough to include him in our series on notable filmmakers.  The films we watched are:"Only God Forgives" (2013) Refn's latest film stars Ryan Gosling and takes place in an incredibly violent part of Bangkok.  A disturbing but fascinating vision, and one that has been universally savaged by nearly all critics, everywhere.You decide - does the wallpaper emote more than Gosling in this film?"Drive" (2011) won Refn the Best Director prize at Cannes and made him a hot property.  This film also drew a lot of accolades for Albert Brooks' performance against type as a vicious gangster.  Here we see the beginning of Refn's collaboration with Gosling.  The Gos personality is portrayed as the strong, silent type.A moment of calm just before the storm."Valhalla Rising" (2009) is a brutal epic about ancient warriors on a voyage to the Holy Land.  It features a notable scene where the main character uses his thumbnail to slice a man's stomach open and then pulls his guts out and dumps them on the ground.  Charming.The strong, silent type."Bronson" (2008) stars the formidable Tom Hardy as the real-life criminal extraordinaire, Charlie Bronson: Britain's most violent prisoner.  This violent (duh) but very stylized film owes a lot to Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" but also displays a forceful and original talent in Mr. Refn.  Hardy portrays the lost man who lived in solitary confinement for 30 years with aplomb.Tom Hardy puts on quite the show for us in this film.You can download the podcast here by right-clicking on that link and choosing "save as", or you can use the convenient player located below:We came to the conclusion that all of Refn's movies feature a violent, anti-social male character who cannot function in society.  Romantic comedy, it ain't.  But Nicolas Winding Refn is a master stylist who deserves his own episode.