Artist of the Month #1

After blowing my mind in Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey presents himself again, this time as Rust Cohle in the TV series True Detective, which, by the way, is putting together all the ingredients to achieve greatness.

Seriously, who would have said Matthew had all this potential within him? I was never a fan of him, but then again, how could I be!? He always seemed comfortable in those romance-comedy roles co-starring Kate Hudson or Sarah Jessica Parker - “How to lose a guy in 10 days”, “Failure to launch”, “Ghosts of girlfriends pasts”, “Fool’s gold” – and I never thought he could be anything more than that.

I was wrong. Sir Matthew McConaughey, welcome to greatness.

Lord Arthur Saville's Crime – Oscar Wilde (1891)

“Lord Arthur Saville's Crime” tells us the story of a man who has the palm of his hands read by chiromantist at a party, and after being told that eventually he will murder a distant relative, he pursues the deed in a hurry, as for him it is the only thing he must do before marrying his beloved future wife.
The story is incredibly funny, taking us through the failed attempts of Saville’s to commit a murder and his strong belief in the prediction made by the chiromantist and its inevitability. The writing is so rich and the main character is so well developed that you will come to the end of the book without even noticing. By the way, I won’t spoil the end of the book, but I would say it is perfect the way it is – unexpected, intelligent and humorous.

This was my first Oscar Wilde reading, and for sure it won’t be the last. “Lord Arthur Saville's Crime” is perfect for a relaxing afternoon, or as I preferred, for a 2/3 hours flight. It will keep you laughing and wondering at all time, and in the end you won’t come up disappointed.

Dallas Buyers Club

The movie is set in Texas during the mid-eighties, and brings us the moving story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), an old-fashioned homophobic rodeo cowboy, whose life is full of drugs, booze and (unprotected) sex. As expected, Woodroof’s lifestyle comes at a cost – HIV infection and a misinformed 80’s diagnosis of 30 days to live. Not conformed to his low chances to the early and dangerous medication available, the main character embarks on a journey to better understand the virus and discover alternative medication abroad (not always through legal channels) not yet approved by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) at the time. Along the way, Ron meets a his transsexual business partner, played by Jared Leto, also infected with the virus, and with him, not only he learns to accept and respect the gay community, but he also finds a huge business opportunity therefore founding a Club where alternative treatment and medication is made available for buyers (most of them gay) according to a subscription monetary fee.

As a whole, the movie is beautifully directed. Woodroof’s struggle to survive, the way he proves the medical and pharmaceutical community wrong, and how he develops a compassionate and touching friendship with a once hated gay character are portrayed brilliantly. But even though the movie is truly well directed it wouldn’t achieve its greatness if it wasn’t for Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto’s performances. Both characterizations are brave! McConaughey went through fearless weight-loss and Leto’s is almost unrecognizable. Their acting is flawless being the most exciting and compelling ones I’ve seen from those nominated to the Oscars. For me, they are the two most serious contenders, with two performances for the ages.

While I was writing this review I was trying to decide whether this was the best AIDS-related movie I’ve seen so far, but it became a tough decision to make. I tried to compare it with Philadelphia, but it’s a daring thing to do. The feeling you get from both movies is the total opposite, one is truly dramatic and the other is full oh hope, so it isn’t a fair comparison to make. Still, if I had to pick the one I liked better, I would probably go with Philadelphia.

All in all, Dallas Buyers Club is certainly one of the most beautiful movies of the year, and as far as the Oscars go, I’d say it will take home both the best male performances (main and supporting role).

Gravity

I may have committed the biggest mistake ever regarding my usual annual routine of watching the nominated movies for the Oscars. Two weeks ago I was coming back from Manaus to São Paulo, and the flight offered me a wide range of movie choices to watch on those screens that are embedded in the seat in front of you.  Which movie did I pick? You guessed it right, Gravity. And why was it the biggest mistake ever? Because you take away the IMAX 3D on a big screen from Gravity and you take away the special sound effects that a theater offers, and this movie turns into a completely banal piece.

Actually, the movies starts off well with 30 minutes that really promise a lot - an amazing and long opening shot and a promising survival mission in space. But no, it doesn’t deliver what it promises. The plot is predictable, but worse than that, it is as corny as it gets. Nothing against Clooney or Bullock, but the dialogues they were given in this movie were truly poor and basically there is no character development throughout the movie. After 60 minutes I was bored to death.

One thing I liked about the movie was the notion of gravity, which is absent during the entire 90 minutes. Acting under that premise is quite a challenge and for that Sandra Bullock (more than Clooney) earns a point. Also, Gravity really is cinematic. The way space is portrayed with magnificent shots and imposing silence is simply amazing, but as I said, not when you’re watching the movie outside of a theater.

So sorry, but this time I have to disagree with the critics. I really don’t understand all the noise around this movie. Unless I buy one of those fancy home theaters, I probably won’t watch it again.

“Without Feathers” by Woody Allen (1975)

“Without Feathers” gathers eighteen small humorous pieces (one-act plays, small essays, short stories and diary considerations), some of them previously published by The New Yorker, written by vintage Woody Allen.

The short stories are alright, exception made for one or two that are hilarious, such as “The Whore of Mensa” – the story of a man that gets involved with “intellectual prostitutes”, that rather than having physical intercourse, they satisfy their customers by having deep literary and intellectual discussions – or “If the Impressionists Had Been Dentists” – which basically present us to some letters that Vincent Van Gogh would have written if he had been a dentist (rolled on the floor laughing with this one). Other than these two short pieces and maybe another one or two, the remaining are just ok. Expect tons of non-sense and absurd plot/action twists, Woody style.
What really makes the book worth it, are the two one-act plays. Seriously, I laughed non-stop in “Death”, a play in which Woody Allen brilliantly explores the old myth of Death and how she comes to the world to take you with her. The other play, “God”, gives you the chance to meet a bunch of characters, with no connection with each other whatsoever, that know that they are nothing but creations of Woody Allen on stage, and that are capable of getting in touch with him by phone. The play explores some deep issues as the existence of God or what is real in life, but all that in wit and intelligent fashion.

Make no mistake, it is Woody all over, and so, if you’re not into his humor you will probably dislike this book. If you like Woody Allen’s movies, I truly recommend you this reading.

A Invasão (1998)

I remember growing up in 90’s and how I fell in love with Graffiti. I can remember the exact walls and pieces in Almada that made me turn my head and look through the window every time I was passing by in the back sit of my parents’ car. The graffiti history of my city is beautiful and I’m glad I grew up looking at walls from ISER, KANO, DARKO, TAPE, RYE, CRIME, TROL, or TIME, just to name a few. So, in 1999/2000, by the time I started going out with my boys and watch them do their own sketches on the wall, I knew the history of my city and I had learnt to love it.

When I moved to São Paulo I was presented to what you call “Pixação”, which is part of the Brazilian graffiti culture and is something quite unique in the world. I like the idea and the whole concept behind it, but that truly isn’t the graffiti I love. Since I came here, I’ve always wanted to know a bit more of the history of the other part of the Brazilian graffiti culture – trains bombing (which you don’t see that much around) and most of all, street bombing. So, last month, it was with great pleasure that I saw the digital magazine Estoro presenting one of the first and most classic graffiti movies in the Brazilian scene released in 1998 – A Invasão. More than the pieces that it shows, which really have the old school feeling and show you how much graffiti evolved in Brazil, I loved the fact that it also showed other elements of the Brazilian hip hop culture.

If you think that OsGemeos were always the fine artists that are invited to paint at Tate Modern Museum and have exhibitions all around the world, you got to take a look at this movie. Hidden faces and fat big silvers all over the street, love it! Great piece of Brazilian graffiti history.

Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/82521105
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gJ-eK_LGKI

The Wolf of Wall Street

I’ve always liked the self-made man idea, and having the chance of knowing the story of someone of the corporate and business world, who I never heard about before, by the hand of Scorsese and DiCaprio, was more than enough for me to go to the movies with my girlfriend. The movie is based on the life of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who started from nothing and worked his way up to success on Wall Street. Along with all the success comes the abuse of every type of drugs you can think of, debauchery, lies, bribes, corruption, and the subsequent downfall of the “Wolf”.

It’s a Scorsese movie alright. Remember how Ray Liotta used to narrate you the story on Goodfellas? Here we have DiCaprio addressing you directly on the screen in the good old-fashioned way that Scorsese had already presented to us. Not as brilliant, but still good. Scorsese went wild, oh yes he did. The way he pushes the limits on this movie is a bit over the top, I would say. I mean, you find yourself laughing at a dwarf tossing contest, or at having a “fuck-free zone” at the lunch hours in the office (can you imagine?), but sometimes, well sometimes it is just too much. For moments it is just like Scorsese is trying to glorify sex and drugs within the corporate world (and yes I do live in the corporate world), but then again, maybe that was one of the points in the movie. Maybe if some of those exaggerated moments had been skipped, the movie didn’t have to be almost 3-hours long.

For me DiCaprio doesn’t have much more to prove as one of the best actors of his generation, and as far as this movie is concerned, he does it all. Does he have better performances in other movies? Yes, maybe he does (The Aviator?), but making Belfort a likeable character (I rooted for him during the entire movie, even though he is depicted as the biggest scoundrel ever) was a hell of a job. Surprising, at least for me, was the big performance of Jonah Hill. I can’t help it, I will always think of him as that nerdy fat guy from Superbad. Still, he brings such soul to his character and he is so funny during the entire movie, that I have no problem in considering him a serious contender for the “actor in supporting role” Oscar.

It is the second movie nominated for best motion picture that I watch, and it is the second movie that I don’t feel like saying “It deserves to win”. It’s Scorsese, and it is really good, but it is far from his best.

American Hustle

American Hustle is all about the American dream, but in a devious way. The movie tells us the story of a couple that reinvent themselves in order to succeed in a world of crime and corruption. Everything seems to be running smoothly for Irving and Sydney, but when they less expect the FBI catches them in the game they thought they were unbeatable. From then on, they are forced to participate with the FBI in an operation that targets white collar crime.

The movie is as slick as it gets. Insanely smart and clever, American Hustle does a great job at mixing drama and comedy, and the way I see it, all that is due to the terrific performances of the cast. All characters in the movie have their appeal and charisma, and all performances are nothing shorter than great. Adding to the great performances, the characterization, clothing and styling are amazing, giving you a nice taste of the seventies. Oh, and talking about the seventies, let us not forget the soundtrack! Great stuff!

Now, I’m in no position to talk about the Oscars as I only watched two of the nominated movies, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’d say that the Oscars for supporting roles (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence) and even the one for best performance by an actress in a leading role (Amy Adams) could very well be awarded to this cast. As for the Director, even though David O. Russel did a great job with this movie, I can’t help thinking - What if Scorsese had the chance to direct this one? It has all the ingredients for him.

It certainly is worth watching in the big screen.