Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

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Dallas Buyers Club is a film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée about a Texan electrician & rodeo cowboy whose world is turned on its head after being diagnosed with HIV. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, and Jennifer Garner. It had an impressive award season run, even clinching two of the most prominent awards at The Academy Awards: McConaughey won Best Actor in a Lead Role and Leto won Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Their 3rd Oscar was for Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling.

The story is a biographical one, depicting the life of Buyer Club runner Ron Woodroof. It is perhaps as successful as it is due to the subject of the film covering a recently taboo topic, HIV and AIDs. HIV and AIDs are often glossed over due to misunderstanding of the disease and discrimination on those who have been diagnosed. In recent years, however, HIV and AIDs have begun being discussed, a subject that is not only talked about, but is being encouraged to be talked about. Another film that was released recently on the subject is the documentary How to Survive a Plague (2012), about the early years of the AIDs epidemic and the efforts made by volunteer groups to bring awareness to the population and representatives, as well as to legalize medication otherwise not authorized by the FDA during the time of the crisis. How to Survive a Plague was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2012 Academy Awards.

Dallas Buyers Club is an extremely poignant story of a heterosexual male diagnosed with HIV, which eventually progresses into AIDS, and his struggle with being heterosexual while a majority of those diagnosed with AIDS have had homosexual interactions. Being diagnosed not only staggers Woodroof, but isolated him from the masculine rodeo community he at one time thrived in. Woodroof goes through a serious transformation through the span of the story, beginning as a very aggressive homophobe, and then, through dealing with his new disease, progresses into an accepting and caring man for people of all different types.

Woodroof, not being able to comprehend why medication proved to help the AIDs virus is being restricted by the FDA, starts what is historically known as a Buyers Club, in which Woodroof offers a membership to the club for a small fee, which includes free medication for all members, the medication being that what is not approved by the FDA. In order to keep up his stock, Woodrood travels across the world, making contacts with doctors who desire to help AIDs patients who have no access to these medications. Without giving away too many spoilers, Woodroof runs into many obstacles, mainly legal ones, concerning his distribution of non approved medication.

The performances in the film are one of the things that makes the movie as enjoyable as it is. Jared Leto in particular, who plays a transgendered man, succeeds in stealing the show, even with the small amount of screen time given to him. If I hadn't known going into the viewing that Leto played the transgendered character, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was him. That was how convincing his performance was. As such, he won an Academy Award for his effort.

I suggest this film, as well as How to Survive a Plague, to any and all. A.

The Hunt (2012)

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The Hunt is a film directed by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, starring Mads Mikklesen. This is Vinterberg's most recognized film, as it was nominated for the 2014 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Mads Mikklesen is a more prominent name in film, especially with his recent stint as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in NBC's Hannibal. Without spoiling the ending, the film is about a nursery school teacher, Lucas (played by Mikklesen), attempting to win custody of his son after a bad divorce. This dream is shattered when he is wrongfully accused of sexually assaulting a little girl. 

I personally have a difficult watching films with sensitive topics, such as this. It isn't just that I feel uncomfortable watching such subjects, but that the film literally makes my skin crawl while watching. Topics such as the holocaust also cause a similar reaction. As such, I tend to avoid films like this entirely. Somehow I was pulled into watching The Hunt. At the close of the film, I was glad I had made it through, and even suggest this movie to viewers in the future. At the start of the film, however, I almost found myself walking away. My anxiety became so great that I, and I sorrowfully admit this, looked up the summary so that I could know the ending before I continued watching. I'm not sure what drove me to do this, but what I read helped me stay in my seat, and even though I spoiled myself, I find that the experience of watching the movie became better for me. 

Mikklesen's performance was incredibly believable and transcended expectation. Thomas Bo Larson, who played Theo, Lucas' best friend, was also outstanding. His performance put his name on the map for me, and I hope to see his future work. These great and established actors aside, I believe the entire show was stolen by Annikka Wedderkopp, who played kindergardener Klara. Not much can be found about Wedderkopp on the internet, although from the film it can be gathered that she is very young indeed. Her youthfulness does not at all hinder the immense performance she gave. As a passionate filmmaker myself, I would love to talk to director Vinterberg to see just how he got such a performance. It is always astounding when child actors walk before a camera and give an explosive performance. Although it can never truly be determined if a child will last long in the industry, I certainly hope to see Wedderkopp resurface.

For me, The Hunt was a film more about character building than about anything else. The semi-soul crushing plot aided the characters changes throughout, and even brought characteristics to light that had otherwise been ignored and laying dormant. I suggest this film to anyone who wants to see incredible acting at the forefront of a movie. B. 

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

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Inside Llewyn Davis is the most recent release from the esteemed Coen brother team. Joel and Ethan Coen are known for their collaborations, quirky stories, and all star casts. Oscar Isaac, a relative new comer, stars as the title character, Llewyn Davis, a struggling folk musician in the times just preceding Bob Dylan. The film also stars the likes of Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, and John Goodman. Inside Llewyn Davis was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actor for Isaacs, and Best Writing for the Coens). Possibly it's most prestigious award was received at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, in which the Coen brothers took home the Grand Jury Prize, the second most distinguished award at the festival, under the Palme D'or. The film is about Llewyn Davis, a musician struggling to make it big.

One of the most important aspects of this film is it's soundtrack, as it is a movie about music. Below I have included my favorite song from the film:

The Auld Triangle, originally thought to be written by Dominic and Brendan Behan, is here performed by Chris Thile, Chris Eldridge, Marcus Mumford, and Justin Timberlake. This rendition of the song is in stark contrast to some of the more popular renditions, such as those performed by the Dropkick Murphys and the Dubliners, the former giving the song an angrier feel and the latter a more humorous sort of feel. Below I have included the Dubliners version of the song as a point of reference:

The film's soundtrack is certainly important to the flow of the film, as well as the story. Songs such as "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me," "Five Hundred Miles," and "Fare Thee Well" are all performed at crucial points within the story and act as explanations for the unspoken emotions that are being seen on screen and felt by the characters. "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" acts as foreshadowing to the title character, Llewyn, and "Fare The Well" is his final goodbye before the film closes. "Five Hundred Miles" explains the emptiness felt by various characters, mainly the lead, and his intimate relationship (or lack there of) with the cold Jean.

A point of interest is the possible snub the film and its creators received for this years Academy Awards. The original song "Please Mr. Kennedy" deserved a nomination in the Best Original Song category, but was instead surpassed by the likes of "Let it Go" from Frozen and "Happy" from Despicable Me 2. There were two other songs nominated, though I am unfamiliar with them or the films they come from. Nevertheless, "Please Mr. Kennedy" is such a novelty that I am entirely confident that it could have easily replaced either of the songs previously mentioned. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel that a film dedicated and reliant wholly on it's soundtrack, whether the songs were entirely original or covers, deserved some sort of recognition. I have included below the song "Please Mr. Kennedy" for my readers to listen to:

I highly suggest this movie on the basis that it is a good film, as well as for the purpose of enjoying a very good folk soundtrack. A+.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

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The Grand Budapest Hotel was directed by Wes Anderson, with a script inspired by the writing of the Austrian author Stefan Zweig. The film can be considered a comdey-drama, as most of Anderson's films are. Anderson is known for his very peculiar and quirky film-making style. Some of his most popular works include Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). The Grand Budapest Hotel has an extensive cast list, filled with some of the most prominent actors of the day, as well as some newcomers who showed exceeding potential. Some of the cast is as follows: Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave H., Saoirse Ronan as Agatha, William Dafoe as J.G. Jopling, and newcomer Tony Revolori as Young Zero Moustafa. All in all, I believe this film relies heavily on the strong presence of the encore cast.

If I were to use one word to describe Anderson's style it would be quirky. Every aspect of the film is heavily detailed and stylized, to the point where one might reach so far as to call it campy. Nevertheless, the quirky, overly stylized final product isn't so much kitsch as it is enjoyably nostalgic. What one experiences when watching an Anderson film is a sense of extreme excitement and fun, that the director must have felt when creating his work. I think achieving this sense of enjoyment is certainly a challenge for directors in this day and age, considering a lot of films that are being churned out seem like factory productions rather than works of art. A viewer might miss that excitable feeling of the director when watching a Transformer film, but not when watching The Grand Budapest Hotel. Anderson succeeds in germinating his works with his passion and creativity to the point where the audience can actually feel his excitement for filmmaking.

As an aspiring director/writer, I am enamored by Anderson's talent and passion. Whereas I find that I enjoy my personal work to be less stylized and bent towards realism, I hope that one day I can create films that showcase my love for the craft as much as Anderson's do.

This leads me to the amount of time and preparation that goes into a Wes Anderson production. I was amazed at the amount of people listed in the credits after The Grand Budapest Hotel came to a close, although it made me realize how many people are actually involved in the Anderson film practice. A full list of cast and crew can be found here. The credits of his films have some of the most interesting crew positions imaginable, and this all plays back to Anderson's uniquely distinct style. He was quoted in The New York Times as preferring the old way of making movies, as opposed to relying on CGI. This lends itself to the fact that Anderson has multiple credits for model makers, drapesmen, sculptors, milliners, tailor, fabric painters, and balloon operators. He even credits every member of the orchestra, as opposed to crediting the orchestra singularly. The uniqueness of the positions on the crew shows you just how interesting his style is and how much attention to detail goes into making his productions.

I am going to leave you with a trailer for the film, which should give you a taste of this unique style I seem to be ranting about. I give this film an "A" and suggest it to everyone who wants to what a very fun and creative work of art.