Tonight I saw Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain.
Cooper (McConaughey) is a mid-western widower and father of two who is stuck farming corn after earth becomes nearly inhabitable. In a former life he was an engineer and astronaut, and he's never gotten over the fact that the technology died out before mankind could be saved.
Murphy (Chastain) is Cooper's daughter who is convinced that a ghost in her room is trying to communicate with her. He's certain she doesn't have a ghost, but can find no scientific explanation for the weird occurrences.
The whole family (which also includes a son and a grandpa) is tested when Cooper discovers a way to possibly remedy the predicament humans have gotten themselves into. Of course, this means he has to travel through a 'wormhole' in space to explore other planets that may provide favorable living conditions, and take years off his life, but hey—he's up for the challenge.
He has a few comrades on his trip; Dr. Bryant (Anne Hathaway) the only female. When they set out on the trip, you wonder if they'll even come close to accomplishing their mission since their pleasantries are so icy, but of course they thaw out. How could they not? They have three hours to do so.
Therein lies the problem: a movie that's already been done—whether you call it Moon or Gravity or 2001: A Space Odyssey—is what you see, plus the family back home waiting for dad to come home, plus the folks at the command center, plus a few surprises in the next galaxy, plus a few cameos that you're sure were put there just because the actors wanted cameos. And a lot of spinning.
I've never been so alternately nauseous and exhausted.
Of course the acting is top notch, but with a script that struggles and sequences in space that carry on far too long, it almost feels as if you're hanging out atop a roller coaster right before it's about to go off the edge and then you drop and take that long way back to the top. Several times.
There were some jumpy moments, some tense-filled scenes, no doubt. But not enough when woven together to create a seamless film.
~~~
Showing posts with label Matthew McConaughey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew McConaughey. Show all posts
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Dallas Buyers Club
Tonight I saw Dallas Buyers Club, starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.
Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) was a cowboy in the 80s in denial about his HIV diagnosis. After doing independent research, and realizing straight men could indeed contract the virus through unprotected sex, he came to terms with his situation and decided to take action.
Since the experimental AZT treatments were causing more harm than cure in their first stages, Woodroof sought alternative solutions, traveling abroad to obtain drugs that hadn't yet been approved by the FDA in the U.S.
When he returns, drugs in hand, he starts a "buyers' club" and sells memberships to fellow HIV patients. With their membership, they get a supply of the drugs.
Soon the authorities are on his tail and his operation is in danger of folding.
A painfully thin McConaughey is the perfect fit for this role—he plays an asshole really well and nails the transformative nature of the character. Jennifer Garner is also strong as a doctor wrestling with the hospital treatments she's supposed to administer and the scientific evidence Woodroof provides that proves his club is helping people.
Jared Leto stands out, even above these two, for his turn as Rayon, a transgender woman who helps Woodroof manage the club.
Overall, the film was effective if not blatantly shaking its fist at bureaucracy and the evils that accompany it.
~~~
Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) was a cowboy in the 80s in denial about his HIV diagnosis. After doing independent research, and realizing straight men could indeed contract the virus through unprotected sex, he came to terms with his situation and decided to take action.
Since the experimental AZT treatments were causing more harm than cure in their first stages, Woodroof sought alternative solutions, traveling abroad to obtain drugs that hadn't yet been approved by the FDA in the U.S.
When he returns, drugs in hand, he starts a "buyers' club" and sells memberships to fellow HIV patients. With their membership, they get a supply of the drugs.
Soon the authorities are on his tail and his operation is in danger of folding.
A painfully thin McConaughey is the perfect fit for this role—he plays an asshole really well and nails the transformative nature of the character. Jennifer Garner is also strong as a doctor wrestling with the hospital treatments she's supposed to administer and the scientific evidence Woodroof provides that proves his club is helping people.
Jared Leto stands out, even above these two, for his turn as Rayon, a transgender woman who helps Woodroof manage the club.
Overall, the film was effective if not blatantly shaking its fist at bureaucracy and the evils that accompany it.
~~~
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Magic Mike
Tonight I saw Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum and Cody Horn.
Let's be real—none of us were going for the plot anyway.
Magic Mike is the stripper name of Mike (Tatum), who has a lot of 'career' irons in the fire. He's a construction worker, auto detailer and maker of high-concept furniture, but his bread and butter comes from stripping.
Adam (Alex Pettyfer) is a 19-year-old 'kid' who Mike meets on a construction job. Down on his luck, Adam needs work, so Mike recruits him to be a prop guy at the club...which soon leads to him also becoming a stripper. And a drug dealer. And a punk.
Amidst all the chaos is a budding romance between Mike and Adam's sister Brooke (Horn). Brooke is the physical opposite of all the ladies that frequent the club: low-maintenance, sans makeup, real breasts. He's immediately smitten, of course.
As Mike attempts (quite unsuccessfully) to keep Adam on the straight and narrow, Brooke acts as his judgmental conscience, all the while falling equally in love (or lust) with him.
If the characters weren't so devoid of intelligence, it would have borderline sweet.
But Mike thinks he can get an SBA loan with a stack of ones he collected from his underwear, and Adam thinks he can 'lose' a backpack full of ecstasy and not repay his debts to the drug lords.
Really?
Yeah, it's not so good.
But the werewolf from True Blood (Joe Manganiello) does do some dancing, and Channing is undeniably convincing as the 'lead' stripper, so there are moments of pleasure here and there (I was personally partial to the 'military' sequence).
And Matthew McConaughey? Well, he's almost too convincing as the slimy club owner.
All in all, for a stripper movie billed as the ingredients for a quintessential ladies' night, I could have done with much less talking and a lot more action.
~~~
Let's be real—none of us were going for the plot anyway.
Magic Mike is the stripper name of Mike (Tatum), who has a lot of 'career' irons in the fire. He's a construction worker, auto detailer and maker of high-concept furniture, but his bread and butter comes from stripping.
Adam (Alex Pettyfer) is a 19-year-old 'kid' who Mike meets on a construction job. Down on his luck, Adam needs work, so Mike recruits him to be a prop guy at the club...which soon leads to him also becoming a stripper. And a drug dealer. And a punk.
Amidst all the chaos is a budding romance between Mike and Adam's sister Brooke (Horn). Brooke is the physical opposite of all the ladies that frequent the club: low-maintenance, sans makeup, real breasts. He's immediately smitten, of course.
As Mike attempts (quite unsuccessfully) to keep Adam on the straight and narrow, Brooke acts as his judgmental conscience, all the while falling equally in love (or lust) with him.
If the characters weren't so devoid of intelligence, it would have borderline sweet.
But Mike thinks he can get an SBA loan with a stack of ones he collected from his underwear, and Adam thinks he can 'lose' a backpack full of ecstasy and not repay his debts to the drug lords.
Really?
Yeah, it's not so good.
But the werewolf from True Blood (Joe Manganiello) does do some dancing, and Channing is undeniably convincing as the 'lead' stripper, so there are moments of pleasure here and there (I was personally partial to the 'military' sequence).
And Matthew McConaughey? Well, he's almost too convincing as the slimy club owner.
All in all, for a stripper movie billed as the ingredients for a quintessential ladies' night, I could have done with much less talking and a lot more action.
~~~
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