Category: Drama

Bill I’s Review – 4.25 out of 5

Matthew McConaughey shows once again what a tremendous actor he is, and with his role as HIV afflicted Texan good ole boy, Ron Woodroof, he deploys an unbelievable physical presence to great effect. His character is gaunt in the extreme, even before he’s diagnosed, and almost unrecognizable, certainly the polar opposite from his Magic Mike character. Based on a true story, set starting in 1985, he’s shocked by the diagnosis, in denial, because in his mind it’s a disease limited to c**suckers like Rock Hudson. He’s not an admirable person, and given 30 days to live, he’s desperate for any cure. AZT is just starting clinical trials and while he loves gambling on cards he doesn’t like the odds of getting the real drug vs a placebo in the double blind trial so he goes off on his own to get experimental, unapproved drugs from around the world. The film is a great character study as Ron starts to find some good as well as profit in helping others find a cure, and it’s almost documentary like in showing the medical establishment struggling to find a cure while hordes are dying. It is also shocking to see, and to be reminded of, the reaction of most people when confronted with friends and co-workers who have the HIV death sentence proclaimed. I flashbacked to Magic Johnson and his earth shaking press conference announcing his diagnosis, then to the reaction of some of his NBA colleagues (Karl Malone, for one) when Magic decides to try a comeback, while they fear bumping into him, getting blood, sweat or other bodily fluids onto their masculinity. With Jennifer Gardner playing a thankless role as doctor, the real second star is his hospital roommate, Rayon, a cross dressing, drug using, HIV infected presence, played by Jared Leto (I had no idea until checking the credits just now). Leto also molded his body into his character so that you are not watching a movie with a script but genuine people who are living, and dying, their real lives. It’s not a fun movie to watch, but never lost my attention or bogged down, humorous at times, carried by the wonderful McConaughey and Leto. Definite Oscar nominees, both.

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

I need to start reviewing movies before Bill as he leaves me nothing to say.

This is another movie that shows how quickly the world has changed, from the effectiveness of treating this disease to the way gay people were treated in this country.  The film hilights the transformation of Woodruff from a self-centered, gay-hating person to a crusader fighting for those who had no hope.

The physical transformations and performances by both McConaughey and Leto are amazing. It’s also amazing to think of how McConaughey’s career has evolved from his early days to his recent choices of interesting movies/performances, including Tropic Thunder, Bernie, Killer Joe, and Mud. Jared Leto was a revelation in this role. It will be interesting to see how he splits his time between acting, which he has dabbled in, and as lead singer of Thirty Seconds to Mars.

While Dallas Buyers Club is tough to watch, it is definitely worth seeing.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

Bill I’s Review – 4.5 out of 5

It’s a rare film that is so powerful and moving that I know I will remember not only the plot but how I felt after watching it: The Killing Fields, The Deer Hunter, Schindler’s List, The Excorcist (OK, not all of them are about killing), and now 12 Years a Slave. I said after I saw Django Unchained that while it had some typical Tarantino stylistic exaggerations, graphic violence and revenge fantasy, it served as a necessary reminder of how terrifyingly brutal slavery was in reality. 12 Years a Slave takes this to another level, where you see the human evil, of one man owning others, treating them much worse than he treated his animals, rapes at the drop of a hat, whips to near death at a whim, separates families without a second thought, and preaches the gospel without even considering that what he’s doing every day is a worse sin than anything mentioned in the ten commandments. What elevates this film above documentaries and other films of this subject is the magic of the director, cinematographer and the actors. Ever see a lynching on film? Not like here, you didn’t, where Solomon (the main character played by a soon to be Oscar winner Chiwetel Ejiofor) is strung up just high enough so his toes can support him on the ground, and they let him hang in the midday sun, gasping for breath, under the watch of the overseer and the occasional glance of the master’s wife while his fellow slaves continue their daily business, and some of their kids play in the field. No dialogue is necessary as the only sound is Solomon’s desperate breathing, a scene that seemed to last hours but is probably 4-5 minutes of just in your face reality you can’t avoid. Made me think am I really of the same species as these people? Was it only 160 years ago that this happened in our country? My grandfather’s parents (maybe) and grandparents (definitely) were living during this time, so it’s really not that long ago. Now flash back to the present time, where apparently 60,000 people are modern day versions of slaves right here in the US (read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/opinion/slavery-isnt-a-thing-of-the-past.html)

I won’t get into the plot, which is a perfect vehicle to tell this story, and it’s based on a real person and his real hellish experience. You can read about that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Northup

What a film!

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

I don’t have much to add to Bill’s excellent review. The movie shows the brutality of slavery, how some people coped and others didn’t, and how it never occurred to many slave-owners that they were doing anything wrong. The movie is well-written, beautifully directed, and has an excellent cast. In addition to the great performance by Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender as a religious but cruel slave-owner, and Lupita Nyong as a slave in one of her first roles were standouts.

As Bill says, this is one of those movies that will definitely stick with you long after you’ve seen it.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

 

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

Inside Llewyn Davis is the new Coen Brothers movie about a folk singer struggling for success in a one week period in 1961.  I liked this a lot but I do not think it quite makes the top echelon of Coen Brothers many diverse films.

This is a really good, sad character study as success eludes Davis on both a personal and professional basis often times due to self inflicted actions.  Oscar Isaac stars as Davis.  I had never even heard of him before and he totally dominates the movie.  I think he was probably in every scene and he did a great job performing the  music as well as acting.

The music definitely evoked the music of the era and much of the music was played in it’s entirety which was a pleasant surprise.  T-Bone Burnett, who wrote the music for Crazy Heart and many Coen Brothers movies wrote the music with Isaac.

While overall this is a sad movie the Coen’s do inject a fair amount of humor including a great song about JFK  and the space program sung by Isaac, Justin Timberlake (showing he could have been a successful folk singer) and Adam Driver (from Girls).

Definitely check this one out.

Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5

The main character, Llewyn Davis, is based on Dave Van Ronk, a genuine folk singer that I have never listened to. I thought his singing (Oscar Davis in a tremendous performance) in this film is excellent, and was shocked when he gets told at one desperate point that it’s not a money making sound, but it must be true because Van Ronk was never a big seller as far as I know. There’s a cool scene towards the end where you see Bob Dylan (an actor playing him of course) on stage with his unique voice at the Gaslight club, who proved there’s money and fame to be made if you were good, and unique, enough. Or maybe a big dose of luck and timing. To base a movie on such a sad character who is also fairly despicable at times and still make it compelling is an amazing feat. But it’s a great character, who is multi-dimensional, with the overriding theme of the life of an artist. An artist who is so focused, and self-centered, on his craft that it blinds him to what he needs to do to be successful. The life of a self-destructive artist. The visuals are great as usual in a Coen brothers film, although nothing that brings us out of reality. Throughout it’s an understated film, with some unexpected funny/shocking scenes, and not much that is predictable.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

Yes, there’s ostensibly a concussion early on to the main character, Abby (wonderfully portrayed by Robin Weigert, who was Calamity Jane in Deadwood), or what actually seems to be just a cut on her head (I never heard the diagnosis), and then she starts doing something new – high end escorting, just for women. She’s a lesbian, and has fairly stringent screening criteria, which her joans (female equivalent of johns?) must pass including the tea test (meet for a cup of tea). Oh, and she wants to work only on Wednesday mornings, when she can plausibly leave her picturesque suburb (Montclair, in fact an area within 3 miles of the theatre I viewed it at) and hang out in the loft she’s rehabbing in Manhattan. Initial very awkward encounters lead to a more profesional approach, and eventually she’s working every day of the week and getting “A” ratings. Her high end lawyer wife (remember, she’s a lesbian) notices nothing since Abby never fails to pick up her kids from school. Well, (spoiler alert), she does forget once and then her wife gets suspicious. But there’s no sex life at home, so Abby gets her rocks off with the paying clients, even becoming sort of friends to some her own age and mentor to a younger one. The story plays out slowly, and somewhat repetitively, and the sex is barely soft-core, but it held my interest. I was wondering how it would end: will she write a book and appear on Oprah and The View? Will her wife show up as a surprise client? Will she get turned off women and find a “cure” for lesbianism? Well, the actual ending is none of those and somewhat anti-climactic (final spoiler alert) – they decide to build a wrap-around porch, not shocking in Montclair which is filled with them. The so-typical surburan housewife life of spin classes, truckiing kids around, homework, boring chats in coffee shops, leads me to think how many women I know are hooking in their spare time? Hmmm, I’ll ask around.

Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

It’s a civil rights history lesson through the eyes of Cecil (excellent Forest Whitaker) from seeing his family brutalized in the cotton plantation in 1926, through his tutorship in how to be the perfect house negro and ultimately butler for four presidents. The story is fictional but inspired by a real person. Cecil displays his two faces (one toward the white folks) while witnessing the Selma riots, freedom riders, Martin Luther King, rise of the Black Panthers to the present day election of Barack Obama. Much of the drama is based on his relationship with his (along with his wife – a believable Oprah) oldest son, Louis, who is embarassed by his father’s servile ways.

I enjoyed the journey, which was neither overly dramatic nor too comedic. I didn’t learn much, except for the shock of seeing how blacks could be openly gunned down in 1926 south without fear of retribution. The most eloquent and insightful defense of the black service profession comes from Dr. King, in a couple of short sentences he directs toward Louis. The only false or contrived note is the juxtoposition of Cecil having short interactions with several presidents immediately followed by a change of heart and the president next seen pushing civil rights legislation. Ultimately it’s an inspiring film, and I recommend it.

Bill I’s Review – 3 out of 5

I am going against the grain here, where Rotten Tomatoes rated it an 87, I was underwhelmed and left wondering where all the laughs are. Ultimately I see this as another typical latter-stage Woody plot centered on infidelity among the upper class, in this case embodied by Alec Baldwin as a Madoff-like financial manipulator and Cate Blanchett as the ultimate society climbing wife. Actually, Alec has has his comeuppance by the first scene, so his story is told in flashbacks, while Cate has to move in with her blue collar sister (a very watchable Sally Hawkins), who tends to gravitate toward “loser” boyfriends, played very well by Andrew Dice Clay (first husband) and Bobby Carnavale (current lover). The most fascinating aspect of the film is Cate Blanchett’s tour de force of this unstable, narcissistic character. The plot is unsurprising, the characters are mostly cliches (oh wow, Dice Clay and Canavale talk this “dis” and like simple things like watching football on TV with their beer drinking buddies). And the ultimate second husband material Cate finds, played by Peter Sarsgaard, is too good to be true: a diplomat with political aspirations, he’s single, super rich and needs a wife to move to Vienna with him. The most subversive scene that p-d me off is when Cate finally figures out that Alex has been cheating on him (for years). Like Woody must have been confronted by Mia over his Soon-yi affair ( remember “the heart wants what the heart wants”), Alec is confronted by Cate. She’s a hysterical mess, screaming, mascara running, while he’s super cool, calm and civilized, asking to talk it over and figure out how to divorce so they can move on with their lives. Oh really, Woody, is that how it was? Yuck! Anyway, if you want to see Cate Blanchett do her thing, have fun. But there’s not that much that’s actually funny to see.

Bill C’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

While I agree with much of what Bill says I liked this movie more than Bill did.  Possibly I was helped by Bill’s review and was not expecting a comedy and view this more as a drama.

I thought both Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins were great.   Cate is able to show an amazing variety of emotions in a single scene.  I also like the performances of Canavale, Louis CK and Dice Clay.  Clay was sort of playing the stereotypical version of himself but he was good at it.  I agree with Bill on Peter Saarsgard – he was ok but the character was too good to be true and too convenient for the the story.

I liked the way the story wasn’t told in a straight linear fashion and for me there were enough surprises in the plot for me to find this interesting.  I liked this and recommend it although there’s a lot of other interesting movies worth seeing right now as well.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

I had no intention of seeing a film about the Israeli Arab conflict, focused on a terrorist attack. But I listened to one of Bill and Bill’s faithful readers (my mother!) and went to The Attack, and was very glad I did. It is centered on an Arabic surgeon (Amin) who’s living a fairly easy life in Tel Aviv, with a wife he loves (Siham) and the respect of his peers. In fact the film opens with Amin’s winning the local medical equivalent of an Academy Award, but pretty soon a suicide bomber blows up a restaurant and Amin’s in the OR pulling shrapnel out of the bodies of child victims. The gruesome scenes are held to a minimum, while the movie turns into a whodunit and why-done-it, with Amin at the center. We have his point of view as he navigates the multiple levels of secrecy and conspiracy in the various entities. The story walks successfully in a fine line, hearing perspectives from real people on each side of the conflict, and I never felt manipulated to one or the other side’s point of view. Amir’s journey is tortourous but necessary, and he angers both the Israeli’s and the Muslims equally. I don’t think this is a spoiler to tell you that ultimately Amir declines to help propogate the endless cycle of revenge-motivated violence. This is a terrific film, not a tear jerker at all, and I highly recommend it!

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

This is a really good movie on a couple of levels.

From a personal perspective, it’s the story of Amin whose seemingly perfect life – great career, great friends, loving wife –  is literally blown to bits when a terrorist commits a totally unfathomable act. He goes on a quest to Nablus and to understand how such a thing could happen and learns some truths about himself and what his life has in store for him.

This movie also does a really good job of showing both sides of the conflict and how a solution is nowhere in sight. You can see the total lack of trust and common ground.

This movie is definitely worth seeing.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes