Dallas Buyers Club

9/10 - Such a great film with the performance of a lifetime from Matthew McConaughey. I have been very impressed lately with Matthew's roles as i feel he has taken on some films that have brought out the real actor in him. The film stars Matthew, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner as pawns in a new Aids world. McConaughey is a live fast rodeo bull rider who hits a speed bump when he finds out that he has aids. The transformation that he takes is what really makes the movie. McConaughey's Ron Woodruff is a rugged homophobic jerk who doesn't care what he does and who he offends as long as he isn't interpreted as gay. It is in that role that Woodruff becomes a pioneer for these people who are affected by Aids, but have to wait until the right medicine is passed by the FDA in America. Ron travels all over the world to get his clients the drugs that they need to fight the unpredictable disease. He gets closer to Rayon (Leto) as he finds out that there is more that meets the transexual eye. I love Leto in this performance, but i don't feel it is Oscar worthy like everyone says. Leto isn't given enough screen time to even make a claim at a Best Supporting Actor nomination. The only real problem i had with the film is that there are times when it drags. The film is nearly 2 hours, but isn't filled with enough drama to keep you from wondering when the film will end. Even that is a little nitpick, as the film is one of my top ten for 2013. The film kind of surprised me with how funny it was in parts. The dialogue is very entertaining for asshole characters you wouldn't normally give the time of day too. Dallas Buyers Club isn't playing in many theaters, but i definitely recommend you give it a chance and see it for yourself. You will understand how the FDA in the country is nowhere near the point we need it to be to give our suffering the treatment that they need

21 and Over

6/10 - The biggest problem with this movie is it's unoriginality. It's a movie that tries to take parts from The Hangover, Sex Drive and Eurotrip, but never quite succeeds at it. There were a couple of good laughs in the film and the dialogue definitely sets a precedent for the future of profane comedy, but overall it is just too inconsistent to carry the comedy torch with the movies it tries to take from. The two main characters aren't even original. One is a mixture of Vince Vaughn, Shia Lebouf and Stiffler from American Pie. The other one has to be Justin Long's brother because he mocks him to a tee. If you do see this movie, one part in particular made me cross my legs in pain. The main guy gets a teddy bear........well you know what? Figure it out for yourself.

2 Guns

6.5/10 - Honestly, i was a little disappointed in this film. It's good, but it doesn't have a lot of substance. The trailer pretty much tells you everything about the film, and you can tell the direction it is heading with all of the predictions in the first 15 minutes of it. I really enjoyed the team of Mark Wahlberg (stole the movie) and Denzel Washington, and you can tell they had a lot of fun shooting this film. The action is pretty good, the storyline reminds me of 1996's Bulletproof, and they even manage to throw some great comedic humor into it. I guess i was disappointed because nothing out of the ordinary happened. Like i said, if you have seen the trailer then you have already seen 90% of this film. Bill Paxton is great as the bad guy. He is typically someone i am not a fan of, but he certainly fit well as a C.I.A agent searching for his 43 million dollars. I would only recommend this film at the dollar theater or to wait till DVD. It's not something that would require you to put ahead of other (better) films that are currently playing.

12 Years a Slave

10/10 - There are very few words that i can say to express how amazing and disturbing this film was. Steve Mcqueen is back with another masterpiece which is his best work to date. He has an amazing way of shooting the expressions in an actor's face and it's those reactions that really bring out the story of Solomon Northup, a New York businessman who is captured and tortured as a a slave in Georgia for 12 years. Many films and series have done this premise and the story on racial inequality before, but none better than this film. There were times when i had to look away because the scenes were done so tragically. When a movie can reach through the screen and grab at my heart strings, that is when it will more than likely receive a ten from me. People always ask me why i don't give them out often and it's because it will mean more when one finally does come out of my mouth. If Chiwetel Ejiofor doesn't win an Oscar for his work in this film, the academy are a bunch of morons, plain and simple. I feel like Mcqueen is one of those directors who can push each actor to the peak of their performance, and that is evidenced in this film. Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson and the amazing Michael Fassbender give the best performances of their lives. I was even impressed with Paul Dano as i do not usually enjoy his work. 12 Years a Slave is one of those films that show us that our pasts should never be forgotten. Racial equality has come a long way in this world, but it also took a long time to get here. I don't feel incorrect at all in saying that this film doesn't have one thing wrong with it. It is the best film i have seen in a long time. I don't want to give too much away because the images are something that has to be seen to be believed. All i will say is that i totally recommend this film to everyone. If you have to pay 1,8,10 or 12 dollars to see this film, hand it over without questions. There are still a lot of Oscar contender movies to come out over the next few months and i cannot wait to see them. It just sucks for those films that 12 Years a Slave came out the exact same year.

12 Rounds 2 : Reloaded

6.5/10 - I really enjoyed this film from the underwhelming WWE Studios. This is a sequel from the 2008 film starring John Cena. This film stars Randy Orton and doesn't include any characters or storylines from the previous film. First off, Orton is great for this role. He is a MUCH better actor than Cena, and can bring out the best of dramatic emotions when he needs to. I also enjoyed the vilain in this film. With the exception of one twist towards the end that makes no sense, i felt like we could relate to him a lot for the reasons he is doing the things he is doing. The film almost feels like an early Die Hard movie with the scavenger hunt that Orton has to go on to save his girlfriend. The only critques i have for this film are the normal for WWE Studios. Some of the camera angles they use are terrible and not the best shots for capturing the action sequences. They also don't always write the best of backstories for their characters. Orton's character in particular suffers from lack of a past. We don't really find out anything about his character, and i think that would add to the good storytelling. Overall, 12 Rounds 2 is a good film, and among the top 5 for WWE films. It's definitely worth a one dollar Redbox rental, so give it a shot