Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1761)

Content

JT (287 KP) rated Risky Business (1983) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

That shot of Tom Cruise sliding across the hall in his trademark shades, pink shirt and the tightest pair of white briefs is synonymous with the spring board that launched his career.

A film that may have proved the inspiration for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of Cruise’s most famous roles, and it has all the hall marks of a classic 80s comedy with an influx of drama that proved the catalyst for a great film.

Joel Goodsen (Cruise) is just your average American teen, when his parents go out of town for a few days he and fellow buddies look to have a little fun, in part by turning the homestead into a working brothel.

Of course there is a method behind the madness with Cruise hooking up with call girl Lana (De Mornay), they both have their problems and agree on a mutual business deal which also involves engaging in sex every now and again.

If you ever wonder what to do on the subway one night Cruise and De Mornay lead the lesson. That scene in itself is draped in 80s clichés, soft rock music and a strobe lighting effect from the train, it delivers on the steam factor.

The subject matter throughout is strong and covered across all angles. A highly sexed teenage boy, drug use, what not to do to your father’s Porche and being hunted down by a killer pimp, its all in there.

Cruise’s acting display is not the best, but he has the early raw talent to get him through, and of course as we know, the rest is history. What is always similar about teenage kids of this era getting into trouble is that they always seem to get away with it in the end, Ferris Bueller a prime example.

To think that anyone in this day and age would be as lucky is highly unlikely, and that goes for sliding around in tight white under garments.

Kudos

JT (287 KP) rated Dallas Buyers Club (2013) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

All the hype surrounding Dallas Buyers Club has been focused on the individual performances of it’s leading cast, but director Jean-Marc Vallée deserves considerable recognition for so skillfully crafting this tale of exceptional warmth, humour and eternal hope.

Ron Woodroof is a hustling, homophobic, bull-riding, womanising, sometimes-electrician, whose life revolves around excess drugs, alcohol and female copulation. But after a freak accident leads to doctors discovering he’s HIV positive, Ron is forced to re-examine his priorities.

With his hillbilly friends shunning him and the back-alley supply of the drug that could prolong his life cut off, Woodroof heads across the border to Mexico in search of alternative treatments. When he realises that the medication he’s given isn’t available in the US, he seizes the opportunity to make a quick buck.

Along the way he encounters fellow AIDS sufferer and cross-dresser Rayon (Leto) with whom he strikes an unlikely partnership in forming the Dallas Buyers Club, as well as Dr. Eve Saks (Garner) who becomes increasingly sympathetic to his plight.

McConaughey’s extreme physical transformation for the lead role is in itself worthy of great praise and his Oscar-winning turn is one of outstanding range and capability, portraying all the raw emotions Woodroof is forced to conflict as the character himself is changed irrevocably throughout the film’s two hour duration.

The scenes shared by Rayon – another remarkable performance from Leto – and Woodruff are triumphant and their relationship continually brings light relief to a backdrop of struggle as The Dallas Buyers Club fights what always seems like a losing battle with the FDA.

Much like Philadelphia, this film highlights the many struggles and injustices faced by early AIDS sufferers, not just in getting the medication they needed to survive, but also the prejudices they were forced to endure. It’s an exceptional piece of cinema that everyone should take the time to see.