Last week, we examined “Non-Stop,” the high-flying Liam Neeson movie that opened No. 1 at the box office.
This week, a butt-kicking sequel opened at No. 1. That would be “300: Rise of an Empire.”
Oh, those violent Greeks.
Rather than fight the crowds to see that one, I chose to stay home and cozy up with some Oscar winners.
“Dallas Buyers Club,” a drama new to home video, was nominated for best picture at the 86th Academy Awards earlier this month. It didn’t win, losing to “12 Years a Slave.” However, “Dallas Buyers Club” took home three statuettes for best makeup and hairstyling, best actor and best supporting actor.
The last two wins made for two happy gents out of Matthew McConaughey, the best-actor winner, and Jared Leto, who was named best supporting actor. Both actors lost dangerous amounts of weight for their roles in this biopic, set in the 1980s.
Based upon actual events, “Dallas Buyers Club” tells the remarkable story of Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), a reckless, hard-living electrician and cowboy whose surprise diagnosis as HIV positive is the wake-up call of a lifetime.
Imagine being sick and learning that the only drug available to treat your condition is in the trial phase and almost impossible to get, even by illegal methods. Oh, by the way, if you do get your hands on it, it may kill you.
This realization turns Woodroof into an unlikely hero as he stops at nothing to make readily available a course of treatment for AIDS sufferers in Dallas — for a price.
This, too, leads to his unlikely business partnership with a transgendered woman, Rayon (Leto).
This film is rated R, and for good reason, but it’s a riveting yarn. For its superb acting … I’m a fan!