Her Review

3.0 Stars 

 

Her stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, a writer who is going through the final stages of a divorce.  Theodore delves deeper into playing video games and escapes into the latest technological gadgets to occupy himself.  When he hears about the OS1, the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, he has to have it.  Theodore is quickly taken in with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the voice of OS1.  He falls for the voice in his electronic box and Samantha falls for him as well.  This creates a whole new world of problems for Theodore that he never imagined, but it also opens his eyes and his heart to things he never felt before.

In the preview, Her portrays Samantha the OS1 as a computer with a personality.  She is heard telling Theodore that it's 5am and asks if he would like to try to get out of bed on time in a playful way.  She also takes the liberty of reading his emails and inquires about his recent divorce which leads to questions about love and marriage.  The preview also shows two other women in Theodore's life: Catherine (Rooney Mara) and Amy (Amy Adams).  Although it isn't clear from the preview, it seems Amy is the supportive, encouraging and understanding friend where Catherine is the condescending and judgmental sister to Theodore.  At least that's what I gathered from the clip. Actually, Amy is a good friend who is in a loveless marriage.  She fully supports Theodore in his pursuit of love, no matter who or what he finds it with.  Catherine is actually his ex wife.  They have fallen out of love because Theodore wanted all the romance with none of the reality of an actual relationship.  She thinks it silly that Theodore has fallen for a computer, but also admits that it makes sense.  

Her is nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture of the Year and Best Original Music.   Though none of the actors in Her were nominated for their performance, Phoenix should have been.  While Theodore struggles with relationships with humans, he still greatly desires love and affection.  One sleepless night, he calls an adult chat line.  The call is erotic in nature and quickly turns bizarre as the female on the other line wants him to choke her with a dead cat.   Theodore purchases a new personalized Operating System called the OS1.  Immediately after installing it, he is asked a couple questions about his personality and voila, the OS1 is online.  Upon asking OS1 its name, the voice replies Samantha.  She comments that she gave the name to herself because she liked the sound of it.  Due to her team of programmers, she understands sarcasm, humor, anger, sadness and quickly "feels" them for herself.  They grow together and fall in love.  Because of his relationship with Samantha, Theodore finds the strength to finalize the divorce with Catherine.  Eventually, Theodore's relationship with his OS1 meets the same fate as the one he had with Catherine; however, after losing Samantha, he is able to truly let go of his past relationships and his own past and face the future.

While I think Joaquin Phoenix might have been overlooked for an Oscar nomination for his performance in this movie, I don't think Her is deserving of the Best Picture of the Year.  I thought it was a unique story and well told and very well acted, but I felt the story was slow and honestly boring at times.  It was both sad and heart-warming and was not a "happily ever after" tale of love.  Just because someone has a new and fresh idea doesn't mean it's the best of all the films out there and I felt that Her fell short of other movies that deserve the recognition.  I gave it 3.0 stars.  I didn't think it a waste of money, but I'm not anxious to see it again and it will not be making it to my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Her Preview

Her stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, a writer who is going through the final stages of a divorce.  Theodore delves deeper into playing video games and escapes into the latest technological gadgets to occupy himself.  When he hears about the OS1, the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, he has to have it.  Theodore is quickly taken in with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the voice of OS1.  He falls for the voice in his electronic box and Samantha falls for him as well.  This creates a whole new world of problems for Theodore that he never imagined, but it also opens his eyes and his heart to things he never felt before.

In the preview, Her portrays Samantha the OS1 as a computer with a personality.  She is heard telling Theodore that it's 5am and asks if he would like to try to get out of bed on time in a playful way.  She also takes the liberty of reading his emails and inquires about his recent divorce which leads to questions about love and marriage.  The preview also shows two other women in Theodore's life: Catherine (Rooney Mara) and Amy (Amy Adams).  Although it isn't clear from the preview, it seems Amy is the supportive, encouraging and understanding friend where Catherine is the condescending and judgmental sister to Theodore.  At least that's what I gathered from the clip.  

Her is nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture of the Year and Best Original Music.   There are a couple of things that are of concern immediately for me.  None of the actors in Her were nominated for their performance, but it seems like Phoenix should have been, judging from the brief preview.  The movie is rated R which normally isn't that alarming except it earned the rating partially for sexual content and brief graphic nudity.  I really hope that doesn't imply Theodore and his OS1 having a sex scene.  However, Phoenix is usually reliable for a solid performance, I love Amy Adams in everything she does, and it's a unique idea for a movie.  Hopefully all the elements come together for a most enjoyable and touching movie.  I'm predicting a solid 4 stars, something well worth the price of admission and likely to make my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Dallas Buyers Club Review

3.0 Stars

Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of an electrician / rodeo bull rider Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) and his unlikely campaign to spread awareness and provide comfort and medicine for those who contracted AIDS.  The story is set in Dallas in 1985 where Woodroof works hard and plays even harder, drinking, smoking, abusing illegal drugs and having casual sex.  After seeing a doctor after a work-related injury, Woodroof is informed he has the AIDS virus and is given a month to live.  At first, his ignorance and bravado prompt a defiant denial.  Once he comes to terms and accepts the facts, he refuses to accept that there's nothing he can do.  He does whatever he can to find treatments to at least prolong his life.  In the process, he befriends and helps others who are afflicted with AIDS, others he would normally have nothing to do with.  He dances dangerously between two worlds: the public world in which he provides assistance and medicine, and the private world trying to stay hidden from the FDA and authorities.  

Dallas Buyers Club has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jared Leto).  Leto has been nominated and won dozens of awards for his role as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.  Rayon is a cross-dressing prostitute who starts as Woodroof's business partner and ends up his friend as Woodroof's greedy nature evolves into compassion.  When hospitals refuse to give Woodroof any treatment for his AIDS because the medicine has not been approved by the FDA, his investigation leads him to Mexico.  There, Woodroof concocts a scheme to make a lot of money by smuggling the experimental medication into the United States and distributing the drugs to those who need it.  In an effort to evade the FDA, Woodroof starts the Dallas Buyers Club and sells memberships, not drugs.  The drugs just come with the membership.  At first, this is just a way for Woodroof to prolong his own life and make some money in the process.  Somewhere along the way, he finds himself compelled to actually fight for the right of those with the AIDS virus to obtain treatment and to be treated not only for their illness, but also as human beings.

 

 The movie is exactly what the preview proclaims it to be: the story of Ron Woodroof dealing with contracting the AIDS virus, fighting with hospitals that are handcuffed by the FDA as far as what treatments they are allowed to administer, fighting with the FDA which is less concerned about actual treatment and more concerned about profit, and fighting with stereotypes about those who have contracted the virus.  It's a sad story, it's upsetting, and it was brilliantly acted by McConaughey and Leto who definitely deserve the Oscar nominations they have received.  But I don't feel the movie itself is worthy of the nomination for best picture of the year.  I felt is was slow and boring at times in spite of the outstanding acting performances.  I gave it 3.0 stars as I don't feel it was a waste of money, but I'm not excited to see it again and this won't be making it to my personal collection.  I'd say it's a good renter or matinee in the theatres.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Dallas Buyers Club Preview

Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of an electrician / rodeo bull rider Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) and his unlikely campaign to spread awareness and provide comfort and medicine for those who contracted AIDS.  The story is set in Dallas in 1985 where Woodroof works hard and plays even harder, drinking, smoking, abusing illegal drugs and having casual sex.  After seeing a doctor after a work-related injury, Woodroof is informed he has the AIDS virus and is given a month to live.  At first, his ignorance and bravado prompt a defiant denial.  Once he comes to terms and accepts the facts, he refuses to accept that there's nothing he can do.  He does whatever he can to find treatments to at least prolong his life.  In the process, he befriends and helps others who are afflicted with AIDS, others he would normally have nothing to do with.  He dances dangerously between two worlds: the public world in which he provides assistance and medicine, and the private world trying to stay hidden from the FDA and authorities.  

Dallas Buyers Club has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jared Leto).  Leto has been nominated and won dozens of awards for his role as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.  Rayon is a cross-dressing prostitute who starts as Woodroof's business partner and ends up his friend as Woodroof's greedy nature evolves into compassion.  When hospitals refuse to give Woodroof any treatment for his AIDS because the medicine has not been approved by the FDA, his investigation leads him to Mexico.  There, Woodroof concocts a scheme to make a lot of money by smuggling the experimental medication into the United States and distributing the drugs to those who need it.  In an effort to evade the FDA, Woodroof starts the Dallas Buyers Club and sells memberships, not drugs.  The drugs just come with the membership.  At first, this is just a way for Woodroof to prolong his own life and make some money in the process.  Somewhere along the way, he finds himself compelled to actually fight for the right of those with the AIDS virus to obtain treatment and to be treated not only for their illness, but also as human beings.

Though this movie takes place nearly 30 years ago, it tackles themes of racism and homophobia that are just as relevant and prevalent today.  While it might be easy to dismiss the topic of AIDS because the treatment and prevention have made so many advancements since the 80's, and while it might also be easy to dismiss the topics of racism and homophobia because perhaps the viewer has never directly been impacted or affected by such ignorant hatred, the masterful writing and powerful performances by McConaughey and Leto will touch anyone with a soul who watches Dallas Buyers Club.  Granted, I'm basing that assumption from watching the preview for the movie and basing that presumption on the awards this film and these actors have been nominated for and already won.  But this looks like an inspirational and emotionally moving film that I'll want to see again and add to my personal collection.  I'm predicting a solid 4.0 star rating of this movie.  Am I right?  We shall see. 

The Wolf of Wall Street Review

4.0 Stars

The Wolf of Wall Street stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a Long Island stock broker who served 3 years in prison for his part in defrauding investors in a securities scam in the 1990s. The Wolf of Wall Street is nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director (Martin Scorsese).  This is DiCaprio's fourth acting Oscar nomination.  This is Scorsese's ninth nomination.  He won the Oscar for his direction of the 2006 movie The Departed, which was another all-star ensemble cast including DiCaprio.  This would be the fifth time Scorsese and DiCaprio have teamed up for a blockbuster hit.

Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) began working on Wall Street when he was 22 years old.  His first day with a broker's license was tragically October 19, 1987, also known as Black Monday, when the world's stocks plummeted and Belfort lost his job.  Desperate for work, he finds success for a firm called Investor Center.  With his newly acquired wealth and a few of his friends, he leases out an empty garage and starts his own firm, Stratton-Oakmont.  Their continued success gains the attention of the financial world and the FBI.  Forbes magazine dubbed Belfort as the "Wolf of Wall Street". His goal was to make more money than he and his friends knew what to do with.  Throwing lavish parties and spending ridiculous amounts of money, not only were Belfort's trading practices shady and illegal, so were his methods of hiding his money from the federal government.  His world of family, friends, parties and drugs eventually come crashing down around him. 

The preview for The Wolf of Wall Street just barely gives you a glimpse into the seedy world of finance that is a breeding ground for complete and utter debauchery and total lack of self-control or inhibition.  On Belfort's first day on Wall Street, he is taken to lunch by senior partner Mark Hannah (Matthew McConaughey) who snorts cocaine, drinks  martinis and talks about sexual gratification openly with Belfort.  Belfort innocently declines the drugs and booze and naively suggests that making money for their clients in the process of making money for themselves would be a good thing.  Hannah quickly shuts down that idea and says it's only about making themselves rich.  Within months, Belfort is in a strip club, doing enough daily drugs to sedate Manhattan, and drinking excessively.  He is making so much money that he snorts a line of cocaine off his desk at work with a hundred dollar bill, crumples the bill and tosses it in a waste basket full of them.  He comments that he made forty-nine million dollars last year and that upset him because he was three million shy of a million a week.  He is constantly with different women, cheating on both of his wives.  He is constantly cheating investors out of their money and training his staff to do the same.  This film is graphic and disturbing.  I laugh briefly but am quickly nauseated to remember that this actually happened, and probably still happens in the world of finance among those who care for nothing than to have more money than they know what to do with.  I don't care to watch it again and it will not be making it into my personal collection.

So why the 4.0 star rating?  Because that's exactly what the movie aimed to do.  It isn't glorifying this behavior.  It's bringing it into the spotlight.  It shows how dark and ugly riches can make people.  And co-star Johah Hill understood that fully when he took on the role of Belfort's co-founder and best friend Donnie Azoff.  "It was understood going in that there was no holding back.  Every day we were doing something crazy, and it's fun and exciting working for Scorsese, and then when I'd be driving home at the end of the day, I'd feel a wave of guilt come over me because I treated people so badly that day."  And Hill was just playing a role.  Playing a character.  Except these aren't just fictional characters in someone's mind like a psychopath in the mind of Stephen King.  These people actually exist and they actually don't have those moments of guilt or remorse for the things they've done or to whom they were done.  While the FBI was investigating Belfort and his company, none of his co-workers ratted on anyone, giving the FBI no information at all that could help with their investigation.  They presented Belfort with enough evidence that suggested he could go to prison for 20 years to life if he refused to cooperate. In exchange, he would only serve 4 years.  He agrees to wear a wire, but slides a note to Azoff alerting him to the fact they were being recorded.  The FBI recovers the note and arrests Belfort with no more deals.  However, once he tells them everything he knows, his sentence is reduced to a mere 3 years in a facility where he is seen playing tennis daily.  Belfort went on to write a best-selling novel about his experience about which this movie was written, he had a guest appearance in the movie, and is currently giving salesmanship seminars.  It's disturbing that our financial and our justice system allow and encourage this type of behavior while the hardest working people can barely get by. 

Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio give amazing performances and effectively portray the slimiest dirt bags you could possibly imagine.  To me, however, it's just sad that even in bringing about such evil to light, the performances and film themselves are rewarded with nominations for the best of the year.  Maybe I'm just getting too old and maybe I'm just a prude, but this seems a bit like showing criminals on the news.  Yes, it gets ratings, but it also gets them what they want: their moment of fame.  In fact, the story of criminality continues for the real Jordan Belfort.  He was paid $1.045 million dollars for the rights to his book.  According to the government, only $21,000 of that went to repay his victims.  In 2003, he was ordered to repay $110.4 million dollars to his victims.  He has only paid back $11.6 million.  Though it doesn't glorify the behaviors, The Wolf of Wall Street does still show that you can cheat people and make yourself filthy rich, if you don't mind the filthy part.  And, even if you get caught, if you have enough money to start with, you'll still end up much better off than most people.  So, I reluctantly give 4.0 stars to this disturbingly graphic look into the world of Wall Street.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.