Dallas Buyers Club

Philadelphia Buyers Club proves big movies can be made on small budgets and tight schedules, by cutting big stars down to size.  The McConaughssaince grows as he shrinks to death alongside the equally emaciated return of ever-dead Leto.  Powerful true story, beautiful character arcs, and the ghost of Garner’s past. 

Stories We Tell

Just one story.  Maybe Sarah Polley’s mom  cheated.  Maybe Sarah's the result of the affair.  She is.  Her dad isn’t her real dad.  Really.  DNA test proves it.  Some people know.  Then more people know.  She makes a documentary.  Sneaky reenactments.  Not real.  Like her dad.  Spoiler: redundant and repetitive.

Pacific Rim

Hunnam’s weak performance pierces the armor of this VFX juggernaut allowing excessive cheesiness to seep in and saturate the coolness.  Honey I Built the Robot eliminates any scientific credibility.  Clones, pregnancy, barcode scanner… boom.  Easily the biggest crap creature ever to crawl from the oceanic butthole in Del Toro’s head. 

All is Lost

The Sting III casts away film tropes like dialogue and story arc.  The deep Red ford alternates between extreme ingenuity and lack of foresight, so the gravity of the situation only becomes apparent when no imaginary animals leap aboard to keep things interesting.  Meanwhile pirates distract Philips from noticing flares.

August: Osage County

A-list episode of family feud is another solid stage-to-screen adaptation, with obligatory exterior additions to make it a movie.  Struggles a bit with pacing and a clunky ending.  Mulroney plays the only flat note, while Cumberbatch and Nicholson’s amazing performances are overshadowed by strung out Streep and raging, running-things Roberts.

American Hustle

O’Hustle rallies Silver Fightings Castlist as a batch of unlikely and unlikeable grifters in the poorly-paced Decentfellas.  Impressive performances are weighed down by a structure more cumbersome than any pot-belly, voiceover worse than any comb-over, and an unsatisfying B-Sting climax.  Neither crime-caper clever nor comedy funny, but perhaps it’s con-artistic.