Last Vegas:
Four childhood friends, now elderly men, go to Vegas for a bachelor party, which is their first time getting together in years. They end up having the time of their lives, and try to fix some unresolved issues. This movie was surprisingly entertaining and funny, and it has a star-studded cast, include acclaimed actors such as Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline. The rest of the cast is filled out with Mary Steenburgen (Back to the Future Part III, Elf, Step Brothers, Nixon, Melvin and Howard), Romany Malco, Jerry Ferrara (Entourage), Michael Ealy (Almost Human, Barbershop, Underworld Awakening, Seven Pounds, 2 Fast 2 Furious), and model Weronika Rosati. Redfoo (of LMFAO fame) and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson make funny cameos. The film is directed by Jon Turteltaub. Turteltaub's career has some highlights (While You Were Sleeping, National Treasure, Cool Runnings), but also has some more mediocre/disappointing efforts (National Treasure: Book of Secrets, 3 Ninjas, The Sorcerer's Apprentice). I was surprised that this one turned out so well, and it's definitely one of the better films he's directed. However, that may be the work of the writer: Dan Fogelman. Foeglman's work includes some bad work (Bolt, The Guilt Trip, Fred Claus), but also some exceptionally good stuff like Crazy Stupid Love, Tangled, and Cars, as well as writing and directing next year's film Imagine. Fogelman may have been a contributing factor as to why this film turned out better than some of Turteltaub's previous projects. But I guess that doesn't matter that much, overall, Last Vegas is a funny, charming, somewhat touching movie which will definitely entertain you. 3.5/5 stars.
Dallas Buyers Club:
In 1985 Dallas, Ron Woodruff, a locally infamous rodeo cowboy, is diagnosed with HIV, and given about a month to live. Woodruff is excommunicated by his group of equally bigoted and drug-addicted rodeo friends, and must go to a hospital fro help, there he becomes infatuated with a female doctor. He also begins taking the only FDA-approved AIDS medication: AZT, which causes his health to rapidly decrease. To keep on living, he uses and smuggles illegal medications into the US, and starts a "buyers club" (a club that requires a monthly membership payment) for fellow AIDS patients to get good medication for cheap, a business he starts with a cross-dressing drug-addict AIDS patient named Rayon, and a business which gets him into lots of trouble. Matthew McConaughey is at his best as the homophobic, alcoholic, diseased cowboy Woodruff, but, although just an asshole at first, he grows over the course of the movie, and you really root for him by the end. He is one of the best "underdog" movie characters in recent years. Jennifer Garner is at her best in years as Dr. Saks, Woodruff's doctor and love interest, who helps him work past his disease. Jared Leto is absolutely mesmerizing as Rayon, the sympathetic cross-dresser who Woodruff initially dislikes but later befriends. Both Leto and Woodruff made extremely horrifying physical transformations for their roles, becoming unhealthily thin. That's commitment to the craft. The supporting cast are fantastic, too. Steve Zahn, Dallas Roberts, Griffin Dunne, Michael O'Neill, Denis O'Hare, and Kevin Rankin (Breaking Bad, White House Down) all do great jobs even in the smallest of roles. The film is beautifully shot, even in the most gut-wrenching of scenes, and there's a sense of extreme realism in it's depiction of AIDS victims, probably because it's based on a true story. The true story aspect makes the film even more touching and tragic. Jean-Marc Vallee does a fantastic job directing the film, and this is definitely his best film. Dallas Buyers Club is one of the best films of the year, with an amazing cast, great writing, and astonishing cinematography, it is a must-see. 5/5 stars.
(Images: Wikipedia)
No comments:
Post a Comment