The Best Man Holiday

My View:  The Best Man Holiday (2013)  R When old college friends get together for the Christmas holidays, they find out just how easy it is to pick right back up where they left off, which is good in the romance department but not so much when dealing with a rival.  I thoroughly enjoyed the first film in the series, The Best Man, and while this film isn’t as good as the first one, it’s still a fun movie with a great message about love and family.  It’s fun to watch a film where it's evident the cast really enjoys working together.  Taye Diggs and Regina Hall stand out in this ensemble piece that is both funny and touching.    My Rating:  Bargain Matinee  The Best Man Holiday Website

Indiefest:  Dallas Buyers Club (2013)  R  A Texas electrician / part-time cowboy named, Ron (Matthew McConaughey), is diagnosed in 1986 as HIV-positive.  When told he has only 30 days to live, he researches and discovers that there are experimental drugs in Mexico and overseas for treating AIDS, but these drugs are not allowed in this country.  Ron figures out a way to get the drugs and help other HIV-Positive patients live longer.  McConaughey is amazing in this film and brings a multi-layered performance to the screen that only he can.  Jared Leto is also outstanding as a transvestite who is, at first, Ron’s contact to the gay lifestyle, but later becomes one of his best friends.  This is a moving and powerful film about overcoming obstacles and working against odds to triumph in life as a better person.   My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again  Dallas Buyers Club Website 

Forgotten Film:  Dark Star  (1974)  This John Carpenter directed black comedy was a student film at one time that became a feature film.  It’s the story of a group of astronauts who are in charge of blowing up unstable planets so that their star systems can be colonized.  The mission starts to go wrong, and just about everything that can happen badly, does, including a “smart bomb” that goes rogue and thinks that it’s God.  This is a crazy, strange film that shows even though you may have a small budget, you can still make well done, interesting movie.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee  Dark Star Info

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  Endless Love (2014) Remake of the 1981 stinker of the same name that starred Brooke Shields.  The 1981 film made my “Bottom 50 Bad Films of All-time” list, so I guess I should hold a spot for this one.  Endless Love Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD/Blu-ray):  Man of Steel (2013)  PG-13  I thought this retelling of the Superman story was overly long with a closing fight scene that destroys New York and goes on forever.  It’s not a bad movie but not a really good one either.  My Rating:  Bargain Matinee  Man of Steel Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Best Man Holiday:  Buffalo stunt

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Delivery Man (2013)  Ken Scott co-wrote and directed the French-Canadian film Starbuck (2011), which I really enjoyed.  He is now bringing the same film to American audiences with Vince Vaughn starring as the underachiever who finds out that through a mistake at a sperm bank, he has fathered over 500 kids.   Delivery Man Info

Until Next Time!