Alright you comic book and
superhero nerds out there, I’m back! This time with a review of the most hyped
DC film that didn’t go over well with the critics, since the last ten DC films
that didn’t go over well with critics. That’s right, I’m talking about “Batman
& Robin.” Just kidding, this time, it’s “Suicide Squad!” It’s my birthday
today and coincidentally it’s also opening day for the superhero-villain group
of self-harm. Now the critics have been really rough on DC this year, “Batman v
Superman” didn’t go over so well and neither has “Suicide Squad.” I’m on the
other side of the boat than most every critic out there. I thought BvS was
alright, and “Suicide Squad” is a further step in the right direction, as DC has finally
started to build their expanded universe.
“Suicide Squad” occurs after the
events of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Government official Amanda
Walker (Viola Davis) assembles a team of the world’s most dangerous criminals
to undertake high-risk missions for the United States government. These
criminals are; the deranged girlfriend of The Joker (Jared Leto), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie),
an elite hitman and assassin that has never missed a shot, Deadshot (Will Smith),
an ex-gangster with pyrokinetic powers, El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), a crazed Australian
bank robber, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), a monstrous cannibal that has
the body of a crocodile, Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and a spec-op mercenary
Slipknot (Adam Beach). Under the command of Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman),
as well as his bodyguard Katana (Karen Fukuhara), the group must go into the
heart of Midway City and stop Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne). She is a former
recruit for the squad, who is possessed by an ancient witch called the
Enchantress, who is hell bent on destroying the world. This ‘Suicide Squad’ is
not keen on being used, or working together, but along the way realize that a
bigger evil than all of them combined is threatening the planet’s existence.
I've been keeping up with the overall
thoughts coming out from the world over the past couple of days leading to the
release of the film. I can honestly say that the most accurate thing I’ve
seen, from everyone, is that it feels like two different films patched
together. This also comes on the heels of reports that the films, was in fact,
reshot in a lot of places in the wake of BvS reviews and reception. This is a
film that has the flashes of the Marvel quips and humor, but the muddled
stories that DC have been putting out with their last couple of films. I liked
the humor and character writing, I thought it worked well in a lot of places.
Harley Quinn, The Joker (at times), Amanda Walker and even Deadshot have some
great humorous moments. All of the members have their moment to shine in the
film too, which is a welcome site that no one is left out. The problem comes
with the plot. The only reason the squad is even needed at all, is because the
squad was created in the first place. Not only that, the cliched “honor among
thieves” in done so often, it’s hard to get excited because we knew the bad guys
were going to be good guys and save the world. Let Harley Quinn escape near the
end and make Joker more central to the story. Those would be my two biggest
fixes, rather than paying Jared Leto lead money for a supporting role at best
and letting the predictable happen. Other than that my biggest complaints were
the length, it felt really draggy at times, the forgettable/underwhelming villain (Sorry, Cara) and the reshoots probably didn’t
help things either.
The acting was pretty damn good
too. Margot Robbie was a fantastic Harley Quinn, in both the current and
flashback scenes, and really captured the dark, quirky, evil humor that The
Joker made her brain into. Speaking of The Joker, Jared Leto was pretty good. I
don’t think there was enough of him overall to truly judge him, but if he’s in
the solo Batman film with Ben Affleck, oh man, that could be perfect. Will
Smith is another standout as Deadshot. I was a bit worried about how he would
do as Deadshot, but he was the charismatic lead they signed him for. The first
scene in midway where he went berserk and killed literally everything on the
frontlines by himself, was probably the most badass moment in the film. Finally,
Viola Davis as Amanda Walker, the government agent, with her take no prisoners
attitude and the means to control these criminals, provides the only reason the
plot ever moves. Not only that, she has moments of badassery that one ups
everyone. Everyone else is fine in their roles, especially Jay Hernandez as El
Diablo, who gets awesome in the final act alone, and it keeps the story that is
on life-support afloat. The action is fine throughout as well. There are a few
scenes with Batfleck kicking ass and the second half of the film has pretty
consistently good action until the credits roll. The music and score we’re
alright too. It felt like they were going for a “Guardians of the Galaxy”
vibe, but came off as cramming too much recognizable music, rather than a good
sensible mix.
“Suicide Squad” is DC’s better film
of the year. But, not by as much as people would lead you to think. If you
never saw “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” the extended cut it’s worth your
time, it’s marginally better than the theatrical cut. On the other hand, “Suicide
Squad” is working DC’s way towards the Marvel recipe of action and humor. If DC
wants to take a page from Marvel, then they need to build off of this, then they could make comparable films. The humor is there, the action is alright, the
casting is great as well. They just need the coherent stories and they can keep it rolling. I liked “Suicide Squad”, the problem is the bad and meh are
REALLY bad and meh. This all being said, “Suicide Squad” is worth a watch, and
DC is marginally improving.
Rather than just list off the parts of the show show that were in varying degrees of awful, good, bad and okay. I think I'll just list of why I actually did like the show this year. Sure we can harp on Ellen being pretty unfunny the whole show, but she had her moments. That selfie she took with all those actors has already surpassed any Tweet as most Retweeted of all time and has gone viral. Funny or not, that's a cool feat. The music was fun as well. Were they the best performances of all time? Of course not, but everyone sounded fine and did a good job with the time they were given. Except U2, that song blows and Bono is a douche. Finally, the Awards went to the right people. Sure "12 Years a Slave" is a safe and predictable win, but it could've gone to something bland (until the climax) like "Captain Phillips" or (solid, but WAY overrated) "American Hustle." Everything else was pretty good as well. Highlights being Matthew McConaughey's speech after he won Best Actor. Also Luptia Nyong'O's speech after she won for Best Supporting Actress. Jared Leto winning for Best Supporting Actor, "Frozen" winning Best Animated Feature Film and Spike Jonze winning Best Original Screenplay are also great highlights. I really wanted them to win in their respective categories. Watching the stuff you like/love do well (movies, sports, family, friends, etc) is a great feeling. You gotta wade through a lot of boring though this year. I'm writing this while waiting for Jimmy Kimmel's after The Oscars show to start, cause he always brings it pretty well. Overall if you haven't seen this and want to go back and watch it, find highlights rather than just watching it all from start to finish. There's a ton of good moments, a few great moments and the awards went to the right people. Everything could've gone much much worse tonight. #BringBackGervais
Tonight's Winners
Best Picture
12 Years a Slave
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Best Animated Feature
Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
Best Cinematography
Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Best Costume Design
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
Best Directing
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Best Documentary Feature
20 Feet from Stardom
Best Documentary Short
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (Malcolm Clarke, Nicholas Reed)
Best Film Editing
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)
Best Foreign Language Film
The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)
Best Original Score
Gravity (Steven Price)
Best Original Song
"Let It Go" - Frozen
Best Production Design
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn)
Best Animated Short Film
Mr. Hublot (Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares)
Best Live Action Short Film
Helium (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson)
Best Sound Editing
Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)
Best Sound Mixing
Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)
Best Visual Effects
Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)
Ahhh it's this time of year again, it's time for The Oscars, or if you like to be more formal, The 86th Annual Academy Awards! The biggest night of the year for film, whether you think every award given out is rigged or not. Like last year, I've compiled a list of some of the categories and given a little bit of thought into each category, as well as a few predictions for each one as well. You can also comb through my blog and read reviews of all the Best Picture Nominees, if you so choose. Sorry "Philomena," I really did like you but didn't have time to get a review up. Anyway, without further adieu, here's my thoughts and predictions for this year's show. If you wanna follow along with my live thoughts, once the show starts, check out @FatJesusReviews! Thank you kindly in advance for reading!
Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Thoughts
2014, at least these Best Picture nominees, are good, but not as good and people would make some of them out to be. There's a ton of good in here, but there's also a ton of over hype. "American Hustle", "Captain Phillips", "Gravity" and "Philomena" are all good movies, but are they the best of the year? Not to me. Then we get to the middle ground of these nominees, "12 Years a Slave" and "The Wolf of Wall Street." While both are great movies, I loved them both, they're ones that will catch the eyes of everyone and win awards I think should go to others. Finally, we get to a my favorite three of the bunch, and the ones I really hope to win in "Dallas Buyers Club", "Her" and "Nebraska." "Dallas Buyers Club" has the best acting duo of the year in Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. "Her" is probably the best written and all around move of the year. While "Nebraska" is a movie you go into expecting a solid film, that you're totally blown away by. Overall this is a class, so to speak, I really enjoyed, but if something like "American Hustle" won, that'd be pretty lame.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Actor (Leading)
Christian Bale, "American Hustle"
Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"
Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Thoughts
You know you've got a good group when Christian Bale is the weakest of the bunch. "American Hustle" is the hot hand heading in, despite not being the best film at The Oscars. David O. Russel knows how to put together as cast, his movies are only okay, but everyone buys into them being Godly. I feel bad for people like Bruce Dern, who was otherworldly in "Nebraska" or Matthew McConaughey having a resurgence in "Dallas Buyers Club." Then you have Leonardo DiCaprio who was great in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Chiwetel Ejiofor for "12 Years a Slave", who will most certainly be in the running to win as well. This is a stacked category, and my only real complaints are that Joaquin Phoenix ("Her") and Michael B. Jordan ("Fruitvale Station") were left out. This is one of those categories I can see anyone winning in, but damn do I want McConaughey to take it.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Actress (Leading)
Amy Adams, "American Hustle"
Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
Judi Dench, "Philomena"
Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"
Thoughts
To contrast the stacked Best Actor category, the Best Actress category leaves a ton to be desired. I would assume most people are thinking Cate Blanchett will win for her role in "Blue Jasmine." Though it's a movie I didn't get the appeal of, Blanchett played her role well. Then you have the older actress', the ones who've mastered their craft in Judi Dench and Meryl Streep. Dench was surprisingly good in "Philomena", while Streep was the lone bright spot in "August: Osage County." A movie that shouldn't even have any nominations towards it. Despite the big name appeal of Amy Adams and Sandra Bullock, I don't think either would win for their roles. I felt both Adams and Lawrence were both supporting roles in "American Hustle" and neither stood out to me all that much. While Bullock, carried "Gravity" pretty well, she's going up against Streep, Blanchett and "American Hustle."
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Actor (Supporting)
Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"
Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle'
Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"
Jonah Hill, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Thoughts
There's a lot of good and a lot of okay in this category of the awards. Bradley Cooper was fine, but because he's apart of "American Hustle" you have to consider him the top favorite. Barkhad Abdi and Michael Fassbender for each of their respective movies ("Captain Phillips" and "12 Years a Slave") were shining spots as well. But, not quite good enough to win. Then we have the final two, who are my two personal favorites of the year. Jonah Hill is one of those actors that's emerging as someone who can play the comedic relief wrapped in a serious role. While I don't think he'll win, his role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" was really good. Finally we're at Jared Leto, whose role in "Dallas Buyers Club" was superb. He's the one guy of the nominees to really embrace the part and become the character beautifully. I loved Leto's role and it'd be a shame if he lost, especially if it were to Bradley Cooper.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Actress (Supporting)
Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"
Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave"
Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"
June Squibb, "Nebraska"
Thoughts
A month ago before I had seen "12 Years a Slave" and "Nebraska," I was really wondering why the supporting actress nominees were really weak. Sally Hawkins was fine in "Blue Jasmine," I actually liked her role more than Blanchett's, it wasn't an Oscar-worthy performance. Neither was Julia Robert's performance in "August: Osage County." It was fine, but it baffles me that "August: Osage County" can get two nominations when something like "Fruitvale Station" or "Rush" gets none. Everyone for the past year or so has been all over Jennifer Lawrence, and while I do like her, and she does have a bright career ahead, I still think her role in "American Hustle" is wholly generic. She's still a top favorite despite what I think. It seems like I'm hating on "American Hustle" and David O. Russel. I'm really not trying to, but to me it's so average and over hyped it hurts. Lupita Nyong'o gives a powerful performance in "12 Years a Slave," but I feel like she was a very small part that needed more time on-screen. June Squibb on the other hand was superb in "Nebraska", bringing out both humor and emotion. She was easily my favorite role out of all of these. I think it's gonna be Lawrence again, even though there were two better performances in this category.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Animated Film (Feature)
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
Thoughts
It's really unfortunate I live where I live, and won't have an opportunity to see "The Wind Rises" before the Oscars this Sunday. Being a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki, as most people who are who've seen a Studio Ghibli film, this looks to be a great send off for him as a director. This would be an awesome win, no doubt, but it's going against a movie that's been going bananas, both critically and at the box office, for almost five months straight now. "Frozen" has taken the world by storm. Not only is it a pretty great movie overall, combining great animation with a decent story and great songs, it's also smashing box office records left and right. It's been in the box office top ten since being released in November and is nearing one billion dollars grossed worldwide. This is the biggest animated film since "Toy Story 3" and I'd be shocked if any of these other films can beat it.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Director
David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Alfonso Cuarion, "Gravity"
Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"
Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"
Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
It takes hundreds of people to make a movie, but the person that bridges the gap from script to screen is the almighty director. This is a good group and the name that stands out most to me is David O. Russell. Everyone is on the Russell train since 2012's "Silver Linings Playbook." While Russell is a good writer, better than most, his direction leaves a lot to be desired. Martin Scorsese will always be a mainstay if he directs a great film like "The Wolf of Wall Street." Alfonso Cuaron could be a sneaky dark horse as he really did make good out of a movie ("Gravity") about floating around in our atmosphere. Steve McQueen is another one that really did well with his nominated film "12 Years a Slave." An emotionally powerful film like his will always be strong contender to win. But, my personal favorite is Alexander Payne and the beautiful "Nebraska." The all around look and feel of "Nebraska" is absolutely fantastic. I can really see anyone winning in this category.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, "Before Midnight"
Billy Ray, "Captain Phillips"
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, "Philomena"
John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave"
Terence Winter, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
I was hesitant to watch "Before Midnight" just because I've never seen the other two movies apart of that great multi-decade trilogy, so I can't say much about that. But, adapted screen play-wise, the other four movies are really good. "Captain Phillips" is good enough, then it really picks up in the seconds half. While "Philomena" is a great little heartfelt film, but won't have enough, I don't think to win. Then we come to the two I think'll win. "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a fantastic adaption that delivers on all levels and gives the viewers a fun watch. On the flip side, "12 Years a Slave" is a emotionally powerful film that was done well and is one that will stick with you and even make you think a little. Look for "12 Years a Slave" or "The Wolf of Wall Street" to win here.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Woody Allen, "Blue Jasmine"
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Spike Jonze, "Her"
Bob Nelson, "Nebraska"
The biggest thing that standout when you look at the nominees for best original screen play is David O. Russell for "American Hustle." It's heavily favored to win big this year, as I've stated many times already. But I really do think it's outclassed by everything else in the category. "Blue Jasmine" is well written despite me not liking it, sorry Woody. Then we have "Dallas Buyers Club." This movie is so well done in the character department and the story is good all around as well. "Nebraska" is the same way as this is a move where the story is driven by the characters, no pun intended, which was a pleasure to watch. Finally, we have my favorite of the bunch in "Her." It wasn't nominated for a lot of awards, which really bummed me out. So I really hope it does win here it was nodded. Spike Jonze wrote a helluva film.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Music (Original Score)
John Williams, "The Book Thief"
Steven Price, "Gravity"
William Butler and Owen Pallett, "Her"
Alexandre Desplat, "Philomena"
Thomas Newman, "Saving Mr. Banks"
I love music, and the music in a movie really can bring out the best in a scene, or even just make the movie that much better. I was temped to see "The Book Thief" when the nominations were announced, but just because it has a good score, doesn't mean I'm going to buy into the fact I need to watch it. Sorry, Academy Awards. The rest of these I have seen and I really do like the scores for them, well aside from "Philomena." I just didn't see what was so great about it. "Gravity" would be one of the big ones in the running to win I would think. The score by Price combined with those great visual effects was astounding to watch as the move progressed. I also really liked the songs littered throughout "Saving Mr. Banks," despite it being a movie that I didn't like very much at all. Again we have landed at "Her" because the music from this movie is fantastic. It invokes emotion and humor so well and I loved every minute of it. I really hope "Her" wins but "Saving Mr. Banks" may get the nod here.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Music (Original Song)
Pharrell- "Happy", Despicable Me 2
Idnia Menzel- "Let It Go", Frozen
Karen O- "The Moon Song", Her
U2- "Ordinary Love", Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Let It Go" is a power house of a song. "Happy" is a great, catchy and just plain fun song. "The Moon Song" is emotionally saturated and fantastic. Finally, I hate Bono. Go anyone but him. (I really do love "Let It Go" to win here though.)
Best Cinematography
Philippe Le Sound, "The Grandmaster"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Gravity"
Bruno Delbonnel, "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Phedon Papamichael, "Nebraska"
Roger A. Deakins, "Prisoners"
I love it when a movie looks good. Like with music, great cinematography can completely change the direction of a film and make it better (or worse). I could talk about the fantastic landscapes sprinkled all over "Nebraska." Or the great shots crammed into "Prisoners" and "Inside Llewyn Davis." But the is the category, when I'm pretty sure, that "Gravity" is going to take the cake, so to speak. The movie is set in out atmosphere and every shot of either earth, outer space itself, or both, are breathtaking. It's lacking overall, but "Gravity" got cinematography and visual effects right.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Costume Design
Michael Wilkinson, "American Hustle"
William Chang Suk Ping, "The Grandmaster"
Catherine Martin, "The Great Gatsby"
Michel O'Connor, "The Invisible Woman"
Patricia Norris, "12 Years a Slave"
Now this is one of those throwaway categories you could say. It's not going to generate a ton of buzz, and it's probably going to be lumped in with another category when the actual award is given out. But that doesn't mean I love the look and style of a move any less. This is the one area where I actually loved "American Hustle." The design was fantastic all around and they really did well. "12 Years a Slave" also did a great job of this as well, so don't be surprised if it wins. But, my personal favorite was the costume design in "The Great Gatsby." This film didn't do a lot right, but what it did do right was the look of the characters, and everything did look fantastic.
Who I Want To Win
Who Will Win
Best Visual Effects
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould, "Gravity"
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds, "The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug"
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick, "Iron Man 3"
Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier, "The Lone Ranger"
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton, "Star Trek: Into Darkness"
Popcorn flicks are awesome. I'm a huge fan of the MARVEL Cinematic Universe, even though I know they're not the greatest films. CGI reigns prevalent in them, so I'm getting more and more used to good CGI. Like the cinematography category, I could go over the great shots from "Iron Man 3" and "Star Trek: Into Darkness," but I'd be wasting your time. I think this is the other category where "Gravity" is sure to win. Like I said above the CGI, melded with the look (and even score) of this film makes it a great (looking and sounding) watch.
When I was watching the Golden Globes a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know much about "Dallas Buyers Club." As the night went on Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey won awards for best supporting actor and best lead actor. After the show, I did a little research into this film and then the next day I watched it. It caught me so off guard, mostly due to the fact I wasn't really expecting this to be as good as it turned out to be. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were apart of a movie that may be the biggest surprise of 2013.
"Dallas Buyers Club" follows the story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a man living in Dallas, Texas in 1985. He is an electrician and homophobic cowboy, who contracts HIV through unprotected relations and drug use. Ron is given 30 days to live by doctors, due to no real advances to treat HIV yet, but refuses to accept his fate. Once words gets out, he is alienated by his friends and family. Ron is treated by Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) who prescribes AZT, the only FDA approved HIV treatment. As it turns out the treatments aren't working. One day he meets Rayon (Jared Leto), a HIV positive transgender woman. As Ron gets worse, he travels to Mexico to meet with Dr. Vass (Griffin Dunne), who informs him that AZT is essentially poison to the body. Instead, he prescribes ddC and the protein peptide T, and within three months, Rons health has dramatically improved. Wanting to help all he can, he smuggles the natural drugs across the border. Ron enlists Rayon to help him with distribution of the good drugs, and even makes some cash whilst doing so. The Dallas Buyers Club, as it comes to be known, is hounded by the FDA, but this won't stop Ron from getting the word out on treatments that will actually help people.
All I can say is wow. Of course I'll say more, but this film was so good. The massive social commentary towards gay rights going on right now aside, this is a story of survival. It's a story of tolerance and acceptance. "Dallas Buyers Club" is a movie that follows the life of a man who is forever changed by by what he has gotten. Rough spots galore as Ron (played brilliantly by McConaughey) struggles with the fact he does have HIV. The anger that comes from what he's not used to, being alienated, his homophobia and the fact the FDA is pushing poison. The decision to fight, not only fight for himself, but risking his freedom to bring natural treatments to the forefront. Even if the FDA doesn't approve, or understand or wants to change. We've come a long way since the 80s, both medically and emotionally, and this a movie that shows this so well. The disgusted looks and actions of his friends, when they found out about the HIV. The way the people he worked treated him, along with completely hostile. Ron had to go through things no person, gay or straight, should have to endure. Sure it's hard at times when people don't understand what is going on, but the way Ron persevered onward, was simply played beautifully. Matthew McConaughey embodied the role of Ron so well. Then with the supporting cast of Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto, especially Leto, you have a crew that brought this wonderfully written movie to life.
Speaking of the writing, this is one of the better written movies of 2013. Everything feels real and organic almost. As if I'm watching home movies form someone's life. A lot of this has to do with the spectacular job the actors did in this, but usually everything starts with the writing. If you have a bad script, you can have the best cast ever and the movie will still turn out awful. That is not the case with this film. The situations, emotions, dialogue and concept are written so well. It's easy to get sucked into this story, and usually with a biopic, that's hard for me to do. This movie looks good too, it's not just a movie set in the 1980s, it's a movie that really did capture the essence of Dallas. Being a guy that grew up in DFW for 19 years, it was nice to see familiarity in the cinematography. Each scene looks great, and everything down to the costume and set design looks great. The amazing acting that Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey put forth is also what makes this movie so strong. I've never been a fan of McConaughey, but 2013 was been a year here he exploded as a great actor. The movies "Mud", "The Wolf of Wall Street" and this, were all good. Alongside the great role he's begun playing in HBO's "True Detective." This movie is McConaughey at his finest and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the future. His role as Ron may be the breakout role he's always been looking for. It was a joy to watch him in this. Jared Leto deserves a ton of praise as well as Rayon. It's a performance you can hear about all day, but not quite be ready for. The emotion he brings to a given scene is really what makes what he did so good. These two, combined with everything just seeming right, makes this movie simply beautiful.
"Dallas Buyers Club" is a powerful film about tolerance and the power of change. The story of Ron Woodroof is a vibrant one filled with rocky lows and great highs. Ron is played exceptionally by Matthew McConaughey and supported greatly by Jared Leto. This is a movie that will stick with you long after you're done watching. As I said before, this is one of the biggest surprises of 2013 for me, and it really does deserve all the praise it gets. "Dallas Buyers Club" is well worth anyone and everyone's time.
