Dallas Buyers Club

Based on a true story, Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) leads a fast and rough life.  He’s an electrician working in dangerous areas, a swindling gambler at the local rodeo, drinks heavily, snorts coke and has plenty of loose women.  When we first meet him, there is no denying his physical condition is atrocious.  He is sickly skinny with sunken eyes and blacks out the moment he gets home to his trailer.  After an accident at work, he wakes up in a hospital to the news that he is HIV positive and only has thirty days to live.

At the time, 1985, HIV and AIDS were stigmatized as a homosexual disease, so the news is a lot for a rough neck cowboy to take in.  After some initial denial and tension with his homophobic friends, Ron takes action.  He does some research and tries to get AZT, but the drug is only in clinical trials.  His searching for it leads him to Mexico, where a doctor is doing his own research on AIDS.  After nursing Ron back to a more manageable health, the doctor gives Ron a mixture of drugs and vitamins to smuggle into the United States to sell to others who are HIV positive or fighting AIDS.  With the help of a transvestite he met at the hospital, Rayon (Jared Leto), Ron takes to the streets of Dallas trying to give the HIV and AIDS community a better chance at life.  But the FDA, muddled in red tape, money and pushes out useless drugs, tries to shut Ron down.

Alright, alright, alright, let’s talk about Mathew McConaughey.  Between Dallas Buyers Club and his unforgettable cameo on The Wolf of Wall Street, this seems to be his best year yet.  He seems to have finally broken out of the pretty-boy rom-com roles and into more serious acting.  Best of all, his characters lately always come across as a bad-ass, always in control even when things are not going his way.  And his physical transformation to portray Ron is astounding and no doubt took some real commitment.  I just hope it was safe, we want him around for a long time.

And then there’s Jared Leto. He portrays Rayon, a HIV positive transvestite with a heart of gold that Ron meets in the hospital.  Right away, we see that he is genuinely kind, even when Ron is clearly uncomfortable with a homosexual in makeup befriending him.  What makes this such a great role is Rayon’s problems with drug abuse and his uneasy relationship with his father.  The hype has been with Leto long before his nomination, I’m curious to see how the Academy will vote.

Dallas Buyers Club is nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, film editing, original screenplay.  McConaughey has earned nomination for lead actor and Leto for supporting actor, a first Oscar nomination for either of them.  The film is also nominated for makeup and hair styling, and between Leto’s makeup and whatever they did to McConaughey to make him look so sickly at times, I believe this film has secured the award.

Honestly, I feel a bit indifferent about this film as a whole.  I agree that this is a good movie, it is an important story that deserves to be told and the acting all around is great, but I just did not find myself connecting with it.  Maybe it was the way Ron seems kind of like a Texan Robin Hood, smuggling good drugs in and the FDA comes across like a money fueled Prince John scrambling to shut Ron down.  However, I would not discourage others from seeing it.

“What?  Hook me up to the morphine drip, let me fade on out?  Nah.  Sorry, lady, but I prefer to die with my boots on.”

Captain Phillips

I put off seeing Captain Phillips for a long time.  From the previews and commercials, I joked that Tom Hanks was just fishing for a new Oscar.  Even when the Oscar nominations came out, I was surprised and guessed the film depicting a recent big new story propelled it into best picture status.  When I finally watched it, I was pleasantly surprised.  The film became a fast paced, realistic thriller with a heart racing amount of tension.

The film is based on the true story of a 2009 hijacking of an American cargo ship by Somali pirates.  Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is captain of the unarmed MV Maersk Alabama and runs a tight ship.  Knowing the warnings for pirates in the area, he keeps his crew on their toes, running drills to make sure they are prepared.  In the middle of a drill, two boats are spotted pursuing the ship and actions are taken to slow them down.  It buys Phillips and his crew some time, but Muse (Barkhad Abdi) is a threatening adversary, and his crew are persistent.  In a heart pounding scene with Phillips’ crew doing all they can, Muse and his armed men storm the ship.

Immediately, tensions tighten, Phillips has to think fast to help his crew and prevent any violence.  A great amount of suspense is created as Phillips leads Muse and his men around the ship, trying to keep his crew informed without Muse knowing.  When Muse has had enough, he and his men take Phillips hostage into a lifeboat, where they plan to take him back to Somalia.  As Phillips tries to survive the cramped quarters with his captives, the Navy is on their way to save the captured captain.

The film reminded me of Greengrass’ previous Oscar nominated film, United 93.  Both illustrated a hostage situation, didn’t shy away from the villains, utilized a realistic, almost documentary style of filming with hand-held cameras and the majority of the films take place in a cramped space.  While I remember being very moved and terrified through United 93, I felt more curiously anxious during Captain Phillips.  Though I know both films are based on true events, Captain Phillips felt more like a typical narrative with a main character I could find myself rooting and worrying for.

One aspect I was very impressed with was the photography within such a small space.  The last half of the film takes place mostly within a small lifeboat, about the size of a large SUV.  Inside are Phillips and the three Somali pirates.  Though the air is obviously stifling for them, we do not feel so cramped.  Somehow the filming here finds the right angles that we understand the space is small which makes the situation more tense, yet a sense of claustrophobia is avoided.

Captain Phillips is nominated for six Academy Awards.  Among them are best film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, adapted screenplay and best picture.  And in a wonderful surprise, rookie actor Barkhad Abdi has been nominated for best supporting actor.  Somehow with the thick field, Tom Hanks was denied the Oscar nomination this film seemed destined to bring him.

All in all, Captain Phillips is a good film, especially for those who enjoy realistic, tense situations.  It feels like it could have easily turned into a typical action movie, and I am very thankful it did not.  Phillips’ story got the movie it deserved, one that the average audience can enjoy as well.

“You said you were a business man!  Is this how you do business?”

The Wolf of Wall Street

Scorsese’s latest film, The Wolf of Wall Street is a three hour, fast paced wild ride through a lifestyle filled with gratuitous amounts of sex, drugs, and of course, money.  How lucky we are to be along for the ride!  It’s fun, hilarious and mixes well between all the very dark moments throughout the film.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort, a real life Wall Street broker turned tycoon.  His beginnings are humble enough, especially after a set back early in his career, but it actually turns into a silver lining where he learns to sell “pink sheet” penny stocks to suckers and make a killing on the commission.  He assembles a team of brokers, who are basically ambitiously greedy men who can sell anybody anything, and starts a company.  It grows from working in an old auto body shop to a big time office building quickly.

The business is mainly a background to all the debauchery and fast living Jordan and his gang get into.  With all their money they seem invincible.  They are able to get and take a copious amount of drugs and drink the finest booze at the nicest beach houses or biggest yachts.  And everywhere these guys go, office, home, parties, you name it, they have women ready and waiting.  There are crazy scenes that make the office look more like a drunken bacchanal than a place of work.  And it’s all laid out with dialogue that would make a sailor cover his ears (through no N-word, though it is referred to as the N-word, it is not said).

So just a small word of caution to those who are a little squeamish about too much sex, drugs or profanity in movies, you might want to sit this one out.  It’s a lot of everything, and tops the charts for the most uses of the F-word.  Some things were edited out to bring the film down from NC-17 to a hard R rating.  It took some slick editing just to make a quick trailer fit for television.

But oh my God, it’s so f–king great!  DiCaprio leads the gang with gusto, lets us into Jordan’s crazy lifestyle and all the ups and downs wonderfully.  I especially love the way he breaks the fourth wall throughout the film.  The style reminds me a bit of Goodfellas.  He gives Jordan so much charisma, despite all his devastating flaws.

Steering the film with DiCaprio is Jonah Hill, as Jordan’s second in command, Donnie Azoff.  Between the look of his character (chubby with dorky glasses and goofy teeth), his body language and everything he says, he is a perfect riot.  He steals so many scenes in the most outrageous ways and always has some witty line to deliver perfectly.  I walked out of the theater convinced that Hill would get an Oscar nomination, and I was right.

The Wolf of Wall Street earned a total of five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and best adapted screenplay.  Martin Scorsese earned his eighth nomination for best director.  Along with Hill’s nomination for best supporting actor, Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for lead actor.

One unforgettable scene is when Jordan and Donnie take an old drug, called lemons.  Since they’re pretty old, they take more than they should, attempting to reach a new high.  Once they kick in, it’s an awful, terrible riot.  No, I don’t find drug abuse funny, but the way DiCaprio and Hill portray such an intense hit is hard not to laugh at, even when Donnie nearly chokes on lunch meat.  And now I can never look at Popeye the same way again

“The year I turned 26 is the head of my own brokerage firm I made 49 million dollars, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week.  No, no, no.  My Ferrari was white like Don Johnson’s in Miami Vice, not red.”

12 Years a Slave

The twelve years Solomon Northrup spent in slavery are depicted as years of pain, torment and constant uncertainty as to whether he will live to see the next day, let alone freedom again.  The weight and realism of this subject, based on Northrup’s autobiography, can make the film difficult to watch at times, but also makes it that much more powerful.

Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays Northrup, a free black man from New York.  He has a wife, two children and makes a living as a musician.  His life seems ideal.  While his family is out of town, he accepts an odd job to play in Washington D.C. and ends up being kidnapped.  He wakes up in chains, in a small, dark, stone cell and immediately whipped for protesting that he should not be there.  He is sold into slavery, along with other free blacks.

After beating a white overseer (Paul Dano), Northrup is sold to a new owner, Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).  Epps is especially cruel and his antics are often fueled by alcohol.  He invites the slaves into his house to dance for him and his wife’s amusement, with Northrup playing in the band.  Epps repeatedly rapes one young woman, Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o), until she begs Northrup to mercifully kill her.  The tension brewing between Northrup, Epps, his wife and Patsey leads up to one of the most awful moments in the film.

The torments and hardships he and the other slaves endure are heart wrenching and brutal.  A mother is separated from her child, a heart break she cannot overcome.  Northrup and others are repeatedly beaten, sometimes to death.  Others are raped.  In one unimaginable scene, Northrup is nearly hung.  He is left alone with a noose around his neck, the rope tightened over a tree limb, but with one life saving inch before it chokes him.  He has to keep on his toes, in the mud for an excruciatingly long time.  If he slips, he will most certainly die.  The other slaves pass by, not daring to suffer certain punishment from helping him.

The film is nominated for nine total Academy Awards.  Among them are Best Picture, costume design, production design, film editing and adapted screenplay.  Steve McQueen is up for best director.  Among the acting nominations are Chiwetel Ejiofor for lead actor, Lupita Nyong’o for supporting actress and Michael Fassbender for supporting actor.  I doubt 12 Years a Slave will leave the award ceremony empty handed.

12 Years a Slave is one of those rare films where everything comes together perfectly under Steve McQueen’s direction.  The sets, costumes and cinematography hearken back to antebellum south.  The story feels very honest and faithful to a dark past, and yet fresh in this modern age.  Best of all, the acting is exquisite all around.  Ejiofor lets us perfectly understand Northrup, his fears, frustrations and helplessness, and leads us through this story with grace.  Nyong’o brings heartbreaking despair to such a sympathetic character.  And Fassbender portrays a frightening, powerful force that feels striking and more real than we would ever want it to be.

“In his own time, the Good Lord will manage them all.  The curse of the pharaohs was a poor example of what waits for the plantation class.”

Birdman of Alcatraz

The word Alcatraz evokes images of prison bars, riots and some of the most notorious criminals of the twentieth century.  Among those imprisoned there were Al Capone and Baby Face Nelson, but in 1962 no one was more infamous than Robert Stroud, The Birdman of Alcatraz.

Robert Stroud was first sent to prison in 1909 for manslaughter.  Sources say he knocked a man unconscious then shot him at point-blank range for not paying a lady for certain services Stroud was managing.  John Frankenheimer’s film glosses this over, sending us straight into his prison days in his first home behind bars, McNeil Island.  Stroud (Burt Lancaster) doesn’t bend to authority easily, bringing him time in the hole with no light and no communication.  When a minor slip up is about to cost him a visit with his mother (Thelma Ritter), Stroud confronts the guard and ends up killing him.  This second murder on his record nearly sends him to the gallows, his mother pulling strings and saving his neck.  Instead, Stroud is put in solitary confinement, where it seems that he will just waste away in with no purpose in his life.

One day in the exercise yard, a storm brings a tree branch down, complete with a helpless baby bird in a nest.  Stroud brings the bird into his cell, painstakingly nurses it and even teaches it to fly.  The images of him mushing up bits of his food in his tin cup and gently feeding the bird are beautifully uncommon for a murderer.  With Stroud’s bird chirping, the other prisoners want birds too.  Soon the whole solitary block is chirping with pet canaries.  As birds get sick, or their owners lose interest, they give them to Stroud.  Before you know it, baby birds are hatching and Stroud’s tiny cell is full of bird cages.  When disease strikes the birds, stroud begins experimenting with medicines and studying the birds more closely.  Over the years, he makes discoveries that help bird farmers and eventually writes an extensive book about his findings.

Regular readers know that I am a big fan of Burt Lancaster and his performance as Robert Stroud did not disappoint.  Accept for the fact that his hair was thinned as Stroud grew older, but that’s just me.  We understand Stroud to be quiet, brooding and calculating.  Early in the film, we see him kill a guard, but it comes about as part wanting to see his mother and self defense.  For a full grown man in prison, we get the feeling that he’s a mama’s boy; for awhile she’s the only one who visits him.  His redeeming qualities grow as he works with the birds, we suddenly see him as gentle and caring.  However, the reality of Stroud’s character has been described more as demented and cruel, along with scientifically brilliant.

While “Birdman of Alcatraz” has a great ring to it, it isn’t exactly true.  You see, Stroud only worked with birds in Leavenworth prison.  He was transported to Alcatraz in 1942 and they did not permit any pets there.  However, his reputation followed him, even through the riot of 1946, where the film portrays Stroud as a peaceful hero.

Birdman of Alcatraz found itself nominated for four Oscars, three of them acting awards.  Burt Lancaster was up for lead actor, Telly Savalas for supporting actor and Thelma Ritter for supporting actress.  The film’s other nomination was for black and white cinematography, very worthy considering all they did with so many cramped shots in a jail cell full of bird cages.

I think Birdman of Alcatraz is a fascinating and great film, but I can understand some finding a bit meandering.  The film’s focus becomes a balancing act between Stroud as a character, the less than perfect prison system and Stroud’s work with birds; some may want more focus on one thing or less on another.  However, anyone interested in a Robert Stroud, his work or Alcatraz should definitely check this out.  And of course, this is a must see for Lancaster or Frankenheimer fans.

“Fly my avian friends, I give you the illusion of freedom.”

Yankee Doodle Dandy

This is a film about the life of real life Broadway actor, singer, dancer, composer and playwright George M. Cohan.  The film starts with Cohan as an older man, playing the President in his newest play, “I’d Rather Be Right.”  Just after his performance, Cohan is asked to visit the President; what an honor!  During his visit, Cohan proceeds to tell the story of his life, and the film follows into flashback until we’re back at the present.

George M. Cohan was born on the fourth of July, extremely fitting for his later patriotic works.  He was born into a family of stage performers, who quickly get their two children, George and his sister into the act.  As George grows to a young teen, he starts to get cocky, forgetting where his character ends and George begins.  With the line, “I can still lick any kid in town,” the kids of that town take it as a challenge and beat up young George, teaching him quite a lesson.  As a young man, he becomes reckless and feels like he owns the theater.  He sends his girlfriend, Mary (Joan Leslie), out to perform a number he’s written without any permission from the theater owners.  Consequently, he and his family are fired and stumble on hard times because of George’s stubbornness.  Realizing he’s holding his family back, George takes off so they can have better luck and tries to get his own work produced.  Once his “Yankee Doodle Dandy” becomes a hit, he’s got Broadway at his fingertips and brings the family together again.  Then it’s a great ride through George’s career on Broadway.

James Cagney plays an astounding George M. Cohan.  His song and dance numbers are filled with so much energy you feel like part of a live audience rather than a bum on your couch.  In fact, while filming a dance number Cagney broke a rib, but continued without aid until filming was over.  He keeps the heart of George flowing in every scene and even improvises a little tap dance down a flight of stairs.  It’s not just the singing and dancing where Cagney shines.  Offstage, where we see the life of George he’s got even more heart than on the stage and his every movement reminds us what a great man he was.  Thus, Cagney easily takes Best Actor.

I’ve said before how these sort of musicals from the 30’s and 40’s bore me, but Yankee Doodle Dandy is a step higher than the rest.  I found the musical numbers truly enjoyable, and there’s no way to make a film about George M. Cohan without including some of his best work.  Besides, James Cagney is wonderful to watch and never lets the songs get stale.

Yankee Doodle Dandy is recommended for patriotic people who love musicals.  Maybe if you just really love musicals or really into patriotism this would work as well.  I realize there a lot of people who wouldn’t care for this today.  Complaints to expect: “too much singing and dancing” “i don’t like black and white” “not enough action.”  Well fine, be sticks in the mud.  This may not be it, but I know there’s a movie for you in 1942.

“”For some reason they teamed me with a donkey, I was a good democrat even then.”

The Elephant Man

In the seedy carnival of London, a horrible and fascinating creature is discovered.  The story goes that his mother was trampled by wild elephants while pregnant with him.  Most don’t care about the story; they just want the curtain to lift so they can gawk at The Elephant Man.

Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) stumbles upon the carnival one day, and becomes curious about The Elephant Man (John Hurt), whose booth has just been shut down.  He combs the alleys looking for him and meets Bytes, the man who seems to own the creature.  Bytes allows Treves to study The Elephant Man (after paying to see him).  At first, Treves sees The Elephant Man as just a specimen and exhibits him to his fellow doctors, as a rare find and educational tool.  When Treves learns how harshly Bytes treats the man, Treves arranges for the man to stay at the hospital.  What follows is a fascinating journey where Treves helps the man discover his humanity and dignity.  But there’s always the barrier that makes him no more than a sideshow to gawk at.

This film can be considered a biography.  Yes, John Merrick (aka The Elephant Man) was a real man, who had a rare condition to make him look this way.  A good portion of the story is based off of Dr. Treves’ notes, which is also where the name John came from.  Merrick’s real name was Joseph, but enough fun fact history, this is a film!

And what a film indeed.  I’ll admit, there is a lot of allure here because the viewer simply wants to see The Elephant Man.  How horrible is he?  Is it true he’s got feet like an elephant?  For the first half hour of the film, we only get shadowy glimpses and silhouettes of him, making that first clear look even more worth it.  It’s only after we get over the initial shock that we can see John for more than a freak.

Once Dr. Treves tries to see John as more than a new chapter in a textbook, he’s able to break through barriers and find a real person under all that…elephantness.  John is surprisingly smart, polite and always very gracious.  He’s sweet and very soft spoken so we instantly love him and want him to have a wonderful life overcoming the obstacles and abandoning his sideshow life.  When the seedy bastards from the dark alleys come to gawk and make him a spectacle for their amusement again, we’re heartbroken and horrified.  I’ll admit, I was nearly in tears during his worst moment with a mob.

That is what makes this film so amazing.  Not the daring black and white or the amazing makeup, but the amount of heart and sympathy it can pull from you.  For anyone who was ever mocked as a child or felt like a deformed outcast, this film shows the most extreme case ever known.  Some may identify, but none can ever imagine the hardships John faced.  It’s hard to imagine such a sensitive human soul residing in such a terrifying body.

I want to recommend this film to everyone, but I know that’s not quite right.  Not everyone can stand to see someone that deformed.  It will disturb your kids.  And the brutality John is treated with isn’t for the faint of heart.  But it’s just an amazing film, daring, beautiful and heartfelt no matter how ugly.

“People are frightened by what they don’t understand.”

***Yes, this is my pick for 1980.  It has just as much emotional weight, but it’s more amazing than Ordinary People, sorry Academy.  Also, the achievement in makeup (one that has yet to be matched) was enough to create the award for best makeup.  It is available on hulu.com right now…the whole film…for free…seriously, you’ve obviously got internet, why aren’t you watching it yet?!***

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Unfortunately, there are probably too many young people out there who don’t know who Loretta Lynn is.  Not many people listen to classic country music today when there’s Lady Gaga, T-Pain and YouTube.  But my mom’s side is from Kentucky, I grew up with radios tuned to country and I have some fond memories of watching The Grand Ole Opry with my grandma.  So maybe I’m just one of the few in my generation that could really appreciate Coal Miner’s Daughter.

It’s the story of country singer Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) as she rises from her humble beginning in Appalachia Kentucky.  Her daddy slaves away in the coal mine and her mama takes care of eight kids.  Loretta gets married at thirteen and starts having babies at fourteen.  In no time, she’s got a whole slew of kids to take care of.  Her husband notices Loretta’s natural talented voice and gets her a guitar for an anniversary gift.  She takes to the guitar like a duck to water, singing to her kids.  Though Loretta’s reluctant and shy at first, her husband pushes her to make a record and then to drive across Kentucky and Tennessee promoting it at every radio station they find.  Before she even knows it, Loretta’s a star on the charts.

Sissy Spacek gives the performance of a lifetime and wins the Oscar for her role as Loretta.  She’s able to raise Loretta up from a naive, innocent girl, to a shy woman peddling her records all the way to a glitzy star on the big stage while always keeping her strictly Loretta.  Mastering that distinct hillbilly drawl seems challenging enough, but Sissy also sang all the songs in the film.

Just as they have always been, Lynn’s songs are wonderful.  They’re the only suitable soundtrack and bring out the true heart of Lynn’s story.  If you enjoy country music at all, that’s enough to put Coal Miner’s Daughter on a must watch list.

“I done wrote me a song Betty Sue. Your mama dadgome songwriter now.”