Showing posts with label Matthew McConaughey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew McConaughey. Show all posts
Putting the Magic In Your Love Life
Stripping, it’s been a female game at the movies for many years, but not anymore. Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) is an entrepreneur. Really, he is! He’s more than just a male stripper. He has a couple other business ventures on the side including as part of a construction crew and his dream business creating unique furniture from pieces that wash up on the beach.
Stripping, it’s been a female game at the movies for many years, but not anymore. Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) is an entrepreneur. Really, he is! He’s more than just a male stripper. He has a couple other business ventures on the side including as part of a construction crew and his dream business creating unique furniture from pieces that wash up on the beach.
Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) is his boss and together they are running one of Tampa’s best male exotic dancing establishments. Of course there is drama to be had here as not everything goes the way that it should at this club for the ladies to have a wild night. But the dreams of Mike also include being an equity partner at a new club in Miami. Mike gets teamed up with a new kid at his construction job with Adam (Alex Pettyfer). Adam is a naïve 19 year old that follows Mike around, almost like a lost puppy. When he is exposed to the lifestyle that Mike lives outside of his day job; he is immediately hooked.
Now as they dance for their dinner and much more, will they be able to avoid the trappings of the stripper lifestyle and thrive? Or will they fall down and need help to find their way off the stage.
Director Steven Soderbergh brings his individual fell to a movie that we have seen before. The movie that we have seen before usually features women in the roles that are played by men here. Soderbergh’s visual style gives that look to the club like only he could.
I found myself enjoying the chemistry between Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer. Each actor took their character and became the individuals they were portraying. That and the supporting cast help make Magic Mike work on so many levels.
Now, of course, this movie will appeal to women more than men, but I have a suggestion for the men out there. If your lady wants to see this (and they don’t have a girls night planned) take her. It’s a win/win scenario as when the night is over…I gotta believe everyone will be happy. Magic Mike will put the magic in your love life.
B
Warner Brothers Pictures
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Munn
Rating: R for pervasive sexual content, brief graphic nudity, language and some drug use.
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes
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| Leonardo DiCaprio |
"Their money was better off with me. I could spend it better."
The "true" story of crook Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), who ripped off numerous clients with his firm Stratton-Oakman, then had the gall to write a book about his exploits after he was imprisoned. The movie shows how he began it all, how he justified his actions, and the sex-and-drug lifestyle he became addicted to. While Wolf is admittedly fast-moving and sometimes funny, it's still basically three hours of looking at the life of a bigoted, self-important loser who barely deserves five minutes of our time. The movie doesn't necessarily condone his actions -- it just lets Belfort via DiCaprio [Inception] damn himself with his words and deeds -- but one could easily argue that Scorsese has offered Belfort a self-serving platform, covering up for him, and is just offering up another portrait of lowlives as he did with his mafia movies. Belfort acts as if his schemes are so brilliant, but a really smart person could have achieved his goals honestly. DiCaprio is okay and there are some good supporting performances from Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, and Matthew McConaughey [Killer Joe] and others, but surely Scorsese [Shutter Island] can come up with better subjects than this?
Verdict: Vastly overlong study of a complete loser but generally well-acted and well-made with perhaps more entertainment value than it deserves. **1/2.