Showing posts with label Steven Soderbergh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steven Soderbergh. 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
 |
| Matt Damon and Michael Douglas |
There seems to be no way around the fact that popular entertainer Liberace (Michael Douglas) was a big, flamboyant, outrageous gay stereotype, and this telefilm makes no attempt to get around it. It is also based on the book by Liberace's [ex] lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), so really has to be taken with a grain of salt. Thorson appears to be a type of [supposedly bisexual] hustler who moves in on Liberace even as Liberace moves in on him -- and suggests he move in with him. The movie suggests that the promiscuous entertainer eventually wanted to replace Thorson with a younger model, making him little different from a lot of straight guys. The one thing the telefilm has going for it is the acting, with Douglas [The China Syndrome] giving an outstanding performance that almost makes Liberace likable, and Matt Damon [The Departed] is not far behind him. Rob Lowe is also quite good as the shady "feelgood" Dr. Startz. Dan Ackroyd and Cheyenne Jackson [The Most Happy Fella] also have significant roles, and Debbie Reynolds is fine as Liberace's mother. Soderbergh also directed Douglas in Traffic.
Verdict: It's well-acted and certainly holds your attention, even if it often comes off like a gay dirty joke. ***.
 |
| Jude Law in a tense moment |
Emily (Rooney Mara) welcomes her husband, Martin (Channing Tatum) home from jail after his incarceration for insider trading, but the changes in her life depress her and cause her to attempt suicide. A sympathetic shrink named Dr. Banks (Jude Law of Alfie) prescribes a new drug recommended by Emily's previous analyst, Dr. Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones). When Emily apparently slaughters her husband while sleepwalking, it is not only the drug that is called into question, but Dr. Banks himself. As he finds his life unraveling, he uncovers disturbing information about Emily -- maybe she wasn't sleepwalking when she murdered her husband? Or is he clutching at straws? Side Effects is a twisty thriller, with a good idea and interesting sequences, but it's not that well done all told. One of the characters sort of comes off like an old-fashioned evil lesbian [perhaps for no other reason than to show some girl-on-girl action]. Jude Law and Mara give good performances, but the most impressive is Zeta-Jones [Ocean's Twelve], with Ann Dowd also making an impression as Martin's concerned mother. This modern version of the old Lauren Bacall thriller Shock Treatment is quite contrived but has a satisfying conclusion and a nice score from Thomas Newman.
Verdict: Always read the label. **1/2.