Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

4/5

Dallas Buyers Club is a truly phenomenal piece of filmmaking and a truly remarkable work of art. It sets its story in the early AIDS epidemic, when AIDS was stigmatized as a "gay disease" and effective therapy was just starting to hit clinical trials. Matthew McConaughey plays a young homophobic man whose life is turned upside down when he finds out he may die in a month from AIDS. Unable to take part in an AZT trial and concerned that the drug itself may make patients sicker, he goes on a quest to bring non-FDA-approved drugs across the border into the US to sell to people who have no other options. Surprisingly, the medicine feels accurate and true in a way most movies get wrong, from simple turns of phrase to minor background details. And although the specific details of the story are dated, the FDA approval process feels just as frustrating now as it must have been then.

The movie is filled with tour de force performances from McConaughey and Leto. They embody evocative and tender portraits of imperfect humans doing the best they can in an unfair world. It is heartbreaking watching their trials and tribulations, their successes and failures, their joys and their miseries. They give unforgettable (Oscar-winning) performances. The directing undeniably places artistic tendencies first, treating every shot and scene as creative canvases instead of necessary storytelling elements. It has the occasional misstep and hollow ring to it, even bordering on the melodramatic from time to time, but it's so good that it's easy to forget its imperfections. Dallas Buyers Club is a fantastic film

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790636/

The Proposal (2009)

4/5

The Proposal is a delightful romantic comedy that gives just the right amount of haha and aww that you'd expect from it and throws in a few additional surprises (especially for fans of The Office). The plot follows feared book editor Margaret something or other (Bullock)--in a role that seems conspicuously similar to Meryl's Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada--and her executive assistant Andrew something or other (Reynolds). She is at risk of deportation following a Visa fiasco and uses her position over Andrew to get him to agree to marry him so she can stay in the country. At first he refuses, then decides to take advantage of her situation and force her to promote him to editor after the marriage and divorce are all taken care of. Unfortunately, the FBI or whatever federal organization that gets involved in this sort of thing catches wind of their fraudulent endeavor, forcing them to take a trip back to Andrew's home in Alaska to prove that they are truly marrying each other out of love.

Yes, it is a ridiculously contrived scenario, but it works. It's thoroughly entertaining if you're willing to suspend your disbelief for a little bit. The acting was terrific. Sandra Bullock is as attractive as she was 15 years ago and Ryan Reynolds is as charming and charismatic as always. But what really made me love the movie was the acting by the side characters. Betty White (whom I knew from her role as Catherine Piper on Boston Legal) is absolutely exquisite. And Oscar Nuñez from The Office also has his fair share of laughs and surprises. The technical aspects of the movie are competent but unexceptional. The movie as a whole is extremely enjoyable and I actually would recommend you go out and see it if you like any of the actors involved.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041829/