This was really great. It's very well-made and moving without being manipulative. Matthew McConaughey and especially Jared Leto give amazing tour-de-force performances and both deserve Oscar nods - they're equal parts funny and heartbreaking. Jared Leto's last few scenes are devastating. I also know she isn't getting as much praise as those two but I thought Jennifer Garner was fantastic as well - she just has the least showiest role of the three. A-

A terrific examination of the mid 80s AIDS years, Dallas Buyers Club mixes wry humor with the affecting personal story of Ron Woodroof. With every new performance over the last few years, Matthew McConaughey has been reinventing himself. With a Christian Bale-esque physical transformation from his usual bronzed Adonis appearance to a gaunt reserve of nothing, McConaughey is simply incredible in the part. I can't remember the last time an actor so many people had written off really decided to show everyone what he was made of time and time again. This could very well be an Oscar winning performance, and it would be deserved. The most intriguing part of the film is the odd couple business pairing between Ron and Jared Leto's Rayon, as we see Ron grow from disgusted homophobe to compassionate activist. There's a lot of humor mined here despite all the sadness constantly lurking. Leto's performance is heartbreaking and beautiful, matching McConaughey beat for beat. Jennifer Garner doesn't have nearly as much rich material to work with but she's solid as a sympathetic doctor. The film is effective and affecting without any schmaltz. A-

Dallas Buyers Club is a sound, straightforward legal drama elevated by a phenomenal showing by Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, both men arguably delivering the finest performances of their respective careers to date. Set at the height of HIV/AIDS paranoia in the United States in the 1980s, the film tells the true story of Ron (McConaughey), a hard-living, profane Texas electrician and gambler who is told he is HIV positive and may only have 30 days to live. Raging against the dying of the light with his boots on, he at first tries to find under-the-table ways to purchase AZT, the first drug for the purpose of prolonging the lives of AIDS patients recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Later, he begins investigating nontoxic, perhaps superior drugs available in Israel, Japan, Mexico, and other countries around the globe and then imports them to the States, creating around him a group of ailing customers desperate for any potential treatment, rendering him a natural enemy of the government and the mainstream medical establishment.

The aforementioned performances are the central reason this is a must-see film, and it is hard to imagine either failing to secure an Academy Award nomination. The roles are, of course, gifts to the actors, giving them the chance to undergo extreme physical transformations, convey vast expanses of longing and pain, etc., and neither fails to capitalize on the inherent potential. Gaunt, yet fiery and depicting his character's gradual evolution from homophobic lout to improbable entrepreneurial activist without a single note of sanctimonious artifice, McConaughey solidifies here his welcome transformation from chiseled romantic-comedy placeholder to one of the most distinctive and surprising actors and film stars of his generation. And Jared Leto, perhaps more widely known in recent years for singing in Thirty Seconds to Mars than acting, is a colorful and tender presence as a transgender person who becomes Ron's friend and partner, helping him navigate the gay scene.

Beyond their enormous achievements, the film is strong, if a shade unspectacular. Designed as a crowd pleasing and uplifting drama of the David-versus-Goliath variety, it may be too swiftly paced and could devote more time and care to various components of its storyline, such as the personalities of the other AIDS patients who encircle Ron and also Ron's experiences abroad as he must rapidly evolve from hayseed con artist to a wheeler and dealer on the international stage. There are no major problems, though; after all, a desire to spend more time with characters in their environment is far from the most damning criticism one can put forth regarding a film.

B+

I agree with this. It feels a bit...unsure in its final five minutes. The ending needs a bit more muscle and impact. When it says "Day 2555" (not the exact number), I expected another scene with Ron closer to the end of his life, but we are just told he died via text, roll credits. Maybe, at the very least, they could have shown a picture of the real man between this line of explanatory text and the director's name.

Very solid movie. Only thing that I thought was kinda blah was Garner's character but I guess she didn't really need more screentime. Bizzare how McConaughey's validity as an actor has gone up in the past few years but it's not undeserved.

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

I enjoyed the film. I wasn't blown away as the story isn't going to have a lasting memorable affect on me, but the performances that were given in the film were very good. McConaughey takes on a difficult role of being a person you really don't want to like or care about in the beginning. He's a racist a pig a bigot and he gets HIV. Dare I say, you might say you got what you deserved, but as the film goes along you begin to feel for the person. People deserve to be able to have the choice of whatever drug therapy they need if they feel it's going to help them survive. That's what the film comes down to for me. I can't believe that some people are still prevented from certain therapies like marijuana. If they think it will help and in some cases it may then why block it or prevent someone from obtaining it. It's ultra annoying to think of that. Anyway, Leto also turns in a touching performance and I liked Garner's work as well.

Grade - B

A very by the numbers, entertaining biopic which is lifted by two fantastic performances. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto are as great as you've heard and they both deserve Oscar nods. Jennifer Gardner was also very good. I do agree the direction and editing were really crap here, the entire movie felt very choppy. Still, it was very entertaining and the performances were just so damn good. Recommended.

8/10

run-of-the-mill

ANY gay sex, really

Yeah it's fantastic. The strongest part of the film obviously being the actors. For how great McConaughey is here (and he deserves all the awards praise), Leto is just as great and the two work fantastically off each other. I also liked Garner here and she is very hit and miss with me. While it definitely pushes its message home about the troubles with the FDA and treatment of HIV/AIDS during this time, it doesn't go overboard and allows the characters and not the overall scope take center stage.

It's a good Oscar film. Woodruff and Rayon working together as business partners is great cinema, but everything else is just solid. MM is great but Leto is even better, I at times felt like I was watching a real woman.

I also was more impressed by the directing than I thought I'd be. It could've gotten in for Best Director going by its editing nod signifying strength. Interested in Jean Marc-Vallee's Wild movie with Witherspoon

McConaughey has to win. Or DiCaprio. Both are better than Ejiofor.

Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey was really great, and deserving of his Best Actor Oscar. Jared Leto, on the other hand, while a shocking transformation, I don't believe his acting was noteworthy at all. Then comes Jennifer 'I-have-no-idea-how-to-cry-on-cue' Garner, she was awful. I didn't like how the film portrays drug users, homosexuals and people that generally live bad lives as wholly righteous, and people that lead normal, safe, and clean lives as somehow bad. But the film did make some great and relevant points about pharmaceutical/FDA corruption.

I'm glad it didn't get any recognition other than its acting, because the film is otherwise very average. The first third of the film was good, then the next two thirds were less good. I got a little bored on the 90-minute mark. Overall, a solid film, if unspectacular.

C+

Two acting wins at the Oscars is pretty big recognition.

Sure, it is, and that's the only place it deserved it.

*** / ***** (C)

There's really nothing wrong with this movie. It's rather well filmed and well acted (well at least a dozen girls could do much better job than Jennifer Garner did, but her character was made up so maybe it's not her fault the movie dragged every time she was on screen). But the movie felt very mechanical throughout. I was never really moved by it.

There's no point in arguing why this is completely off the mark. I'll just quote it so sane people can see this brain damage too.