The Armstrong Lie (2013)

We should all consider ourselves lucky, with the exception of  Lance Armstrong. We as an audience are fortunate that Academy Award winning documentarian, Alex Gibney (Enron: The  Smartest Guys in the Room and Catching Hell) was amidst a superfluous fluff doc about the infamous and storied cyclist’s 2009 return when it all hit the fan.  What was set out to be one story had to be twisted into another and while Lance is a  liar and a cheat, the man has big ball (maybe cheap, but not a typo) and allowed the director one last interview so that the film might be salvaged. (more…)

Blue Is The Warmest Color (La Vie d’Adéle) (2013)

Imagine an ungodly long movie about an American who falls in love with Japanese culture, wonders around Japan, just taking in the scenery, only to  occasionally stop off for lengthy sushi meals which are eaten in multiple parts of the restaurant and in various positions. That’s what Blue is the Warmest Color  was like.

An in-depth character study that is really more of a gratuitous romp into realms of exploitation cinema that are rarely seen today. (more…)

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Ridiculous. Matthew McConaughey was so good in this it was ridiculous. Nobody can do his performance justice with descriptive words on a page. You must see his spindly determination for yourself. After seeing it you’re likely to agree that he is one of the truly great actors working today.

If a gripe were to be had with Dallas Buyers Club, it would be with the story itself. The script was based on a 1992 article in The Dallas Morning News about Ron Woodroof, a homophobic, drug addicted cowboy living with aids in the 80s when it was still thought of as a “gay disease”. The true-life story centers around Ron’s battle with the hospital, it’s doctors, the drug companies they represent and ultimately the FDA. With any story there are always three sides which are yours, theirs and the truth. Had a hard time seeing the truth with this one as the writers and or director had an apparent axe to grind and most of the major players were illustrated in a fairly black and white manner. (more…)

About Time (2013)

The tagline of Richard Curtis’ third film is: “A new funny film about love. With a bit of time travel.” It’s a rare tagline that is this devoid of puns, wordplay and cleverness,  but it does sum it all up with incredible accuracy and insight. The guy that wrote and directed one of, if not the finest romantic comedy we’ve ever seen (Love Actually) has a new romantic comedy or funny film about love that relies on the gimmick of time travel to get his point across. With the unmitigated disaster (maybe harsh) that was Pirate Radio or The Boat That Rocked depending on where you live, (his last film was released in two separate versions for two separate continents with two separate titles and run times) this one could have gone either way. (more…)