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/

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)

2/5

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an inappropriately-titled movie. The kid (Gordon) is not wimpy; he's just a superficial, image-obsessed boy who thinks he's cooler than he is and will do anything to make the "Class Favorites" section of the yearbook, even betray his best friend (Capron). Quite frankly, it's difficult to sympathize with his plight, and to even cheer him on at the end once he learns the error of his ways. I don't know if I would want my kids to watch this, because I'm not convinced that the protagonist's heart is in the right place. I don't want my kids to have the same motivations he has. And the movie is clearly directed towards kids, with nothing for adults to enjoy as one would find in a Pixar film. Even so, it contains the occasional scene where I smiled or laughed. My favorite character was actually the best friend, who should have been the model of the movie. He is big, childish, and out of place, but he believes in himself and puts himself out there for his friend. And the movie shows that he is rewarded for it. He was the heart and soul of the movie; the wimpy kid was just a jerk. Not my first choice for a kids movie, but not my last either. Watch at your own discretion.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196141/

Rescue Dawn (2006)

3/5

Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn is a fictionalized account of the true story of an American pilot shot down over Laos, taken to a POW camp, and eventually rescued during the Vietnam conflict. It's a premise we've all seen before many times over, and unfortunately it brings nothing new to the table. It's not a bad movie, but it's not a good one either. I hate movies like this, because you can't praise it or make fun of it. It just sits there. Everything technical is mundane and mediocre. Nothing stands out whatsoever. I can't recommend it, but if it's your cup of tea, it's your cup of tea.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0462504/