Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - ★★★★

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Writers: Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Michael O'Neill, Griffin Dunne

Dallas Buyers Club is an absolutely terrific film. I'm just in awe of Matthew McConaughey right now. He has surprised the hell out of me, delivering his career best performance as a man dying of AIDS. Jared Leto gave a phenomenal come-back performance as a transexual who is also dying from the disease. Jean-Marc Vallée doesn't handle the subject delicately. The transformation of the character's is truly upsetting, and the lack of help for those suffering through the disease almost defies belief. While the film delves into important issues of corruption and prejudice, what makes it so damn great is the fully realised performances by Leto and McConaughey. They both became their characters, body and soul. They are the reason this is a great film.

Fight Club (1999) - ★★★★

Director: David Fincher
Writers: Jim Uhls (screenplay, Chuck Palahniuk (novel)
Stars: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meatloaf, Jared Leto

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything" is one of the many entertaining lessons we learn from Fight Club. This film is marvelous! The twists and turns, the dry humour, the spectacular acting and an amazing original story from director David Fincher makes this one of the greatest movies I have seen. 

Edward Norton plays an insomniac office worker 'everyman' that takes comfort in going to self-help groups for various illnesses by faking being sick. Through doing this he is born again by crying out all the pain in his life and leaving a happier person through the experience. When a chain smoking woman starts faking illnesses and showing up to all of his support groups, he can't cry anymore because she reflects the lie he is living. Her name is Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). 'The Narrator' unaffectionately refers to her as "the little scratch on the roof of your mouth that would heal if only you could stop tonguing it, but you can't." Although neither are attractive or likable characters, there is beautiful chemistry between the two. She was the catalyst that launched him into the crazy world of Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt. 

'The Narrator' is sucked into Tyler's world of self-confidence, self-dependence and manhood. Together they create mayhem and start an underground Fight Club franchise where every day men come to release their frustrations by beating the living daylights out of each other, resulting in catastrophic consequences for the Narrator. The way this film describes human nature is presented in an unsettling and raw way. The special effects and directing technique to this movie is masterful. I believe this is one of the best screenplays in film history and has one of the most memorable endings. Just a riveting watch. I highly recommend it. 

Urban Legend (1998) - ★★½

Director: Jamie Banks
Writer: Silvio Horta
Stars: Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Loretta Devine, Tara Reid

Urban Legend is in many aspects just another 90's horror movie where teens are killed one by one by a surprising killer. What sets this movie apart from others though is the unbelievable yet entertaining plot of a serial killer that murders students at Templeton College using Urban Legends as their method. This movie is thrilling and entertaining but unfortunately the combination of bad acting and terrible dialogue make this movie just as ridiculous as it is scary.

In a memorable scene at the beginning of the movie, we see a young woman driving in the rain singing (badly) to 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler. She notices that her gas tank is empty, so she pulls over to an eerie gas station and meets a deformed and suspicious gas station attendant that tells her that her card has been declined. Little did she know, he got her out of the car because he saw someone in the back of her car. She thought he was trying to kidnap her so she got back into her car and drove away with the axe wielding murderer, which ended in a suspenseful and brilliant start to the movie.

Other highlights to the movie was the cop that tries her best to be like Foxy Brown, played by Loretta Devine, and Rebecca Gayheart's brilliant performance as Brenda. Jared Leto and Tara Reid also star in this movie and surprisingly Tara does a great job at being a semi-intelligent outspoken coed. What took away from this movie most was whenever the main character Natalie tried to emote how scared or upset she was, she just came across as an actor trying to act. The good thing about this movie is that most scary scenes were executed well however it just wasn't enough to save it from everything else.