To call Juno, a nice little movie would be a serious underestimation of this film. It is so personal in every single aspect that this is easily the most relatable film I have seen in quite some time. This is the story of Juno (Ellen Page), as she falls pregnant at 16 years old and decides to give the baby up for adoption, to an older married couple. This movie has an amazing ensemble cast who are treated to a witty and relevant screenplay from first time writer Diablo Cody. These factors combine to reward us, the audience with strong and likable characters, delivering amazing dialogue in believable circumstances. Ellen Page is truly awe inspiring in the way she is so comfortable in the lead. She oozes confidence while at the same time coming across as a normal girl next door. And kudos must be given to Michael Cera who may not have the traditional looks of a leading man, but has a likability about him that will serve him well in a Hollywood career. So good was Juno that even the opening credits were highly original and enjoyable. The final touch of intimacy was added by a soft rock soundtrack that added a sugar coating to an already highly pleasurable ‘nice little movie.’
Hallam Foe was an unusual film that it did garner any interest from me in its opening moments, however when it ended I was left wanting more. This was a bizarre coming of age story where Hallam (played by Jamie Bell), comes to terms with his mother’s death by stalking people, he takes particular interest in women and Kate (played by Sophia Myles) especially, who strongly resembles his mother. This is a film that has no clear story, but has a clear narrative and takes a glimpse at a short period of Hallam’s life that is pivotal and engaging. However the film takes far too much time to get going and runs the risk of people losing interest and not seeing it through to its end. The cast was this films biggest asset, with Bell and Myles putting in strong performances, and being supported by many familiar British faces. Bell is particularly strong when it comes to showing Hallam’s character development as he learns to deal with his issues and move on with his life. Of course Bell can’t take all the credit for this, and praise must be given to the screenplay, which was highly character driven. I would recommend you watch this film, but you will have to bear with it and watch it develop along with Hallam.
What a paradox Japanese culture is. On one hand Battle Royale is a tale about how deeply conservative Japanese society is, and on the other it relishes in the uncensored freedom that the Japanese media enjoy. This film is set in a Japanese society where its teenagers run amok and its government in an attempt to regain control, selects one school class every year, places them on an island and orders them to kill each other until there is only one survivor. This narrative makes for a brutal movie that often leaves it audience dazed and shocked. However to dismiss it as mindless violence would be a mistake as this film talks about some of the fears of Japan’s people. Kinji Fukasaku brilliantly focuses on fear of our children, as well as fear for our children, as incredible acts of violence are perpetrated in this film, by and against children. This is cleverly emphasised by casting actors of the correct age, who are more believable in portraying the melodrama of a teenagers life than the 20 something’s that would have got the job in a Hollywood production. This is a film that will not only bluntly assaults you, but leave you pondering questions for days to come.
I had very high hopes for The Hurt Locker, and as is usually the case for the Oscars best picture winner it failed to deliver. The Hurt Locker attempts to take an in depth look at an American army bomb disposal unit and their time in Iraq. Lets first look at what this film did well at that was its visual styling’s, Kathryn Bigelow should be commended for the gritty and realistic camera work that could have made this film feel almost like a documentary. However this films biggest strength was also its biggest weakness, as due to the realistic camera work, when the other elements weren’t as realistic they seemed out of place. For example documentary camera work did not merge well with the traditional fast paced editing that was on display, and perhaps longer cuts would have suited this film better. The acting also suffered the same fate Jeremy Renner particularly gave a solid performance but due to reality of the camera work it just didn’t feel it fitted the film. The Hurt Locker is not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, however it is also not a great one.
The concept for Legion was a brilliant one, God sends angels to wipe out mankind, but the archangel Michael defies him and decides to defend us. Sounds good right? Unfortunately almost everything but the initial idea for Legion was terrible. The biggest problem was that this films reported $26 million production budget, was nowhere near enough for a movie of this scope, and due to this at points an awful lot of nothing happened. In terms of feel this film had to very unusual influences, firstly at times Paul Bettany’s Michael looked like a 90’s action hero blasting away with automatic rifles under each arm ala Schwarzenegger. It also seemed to be a zombie movie in disguise, with all the usual clichés including a group of diverse strangers being trapped in a building while zombies or in this case angels, try to get in. The script also deserves a bit of a pasting, as aside from the occasional one liner the dialogue was awful and unrealistic, and the characters never thought to ask Michael the hows or whys as to what was going on, he just turns up, says the Armageddon is coming, and everyone excepts it with no more explanation than that. This films only redeeming feature was Paul Bettany who made the most of dismal circumstances.
Boiler Room was written and directed by Ben Younger, and it is quite clear that Mr. Younger had something personal to say about the a man’s place in the world, however after watching this film I’m not sure what it is. Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth a young man, who continually disappoints his father and partly to appease him, lands a dream job as a New York stock broker. This movie is excellently cast with Ribisi being an unconventional yet believable leading man, his big strength is his normalness allows him to relate to the audience well. Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel were also effectively used a senior brokers that Seth looks up to, which again was very easy to understand as a viewer. The world in which the Boiler Room was set was unique yet grounded, as the cast were shown to be normal New York guys who by becoming stock brokers, have more money than they know what to do with and this inevitably leads to trouble. This film could have been a great movie except for one significant problem, it was either unsure of what it was trying to say or failed to say it clearly. Other than this fault all other areas excel making this film well worth watching especially for young males who I feel will heavily indentify with Ribisi’s Seth.
Clash of the Titans in 3D was a far from perfect movie, however was an immensely enjoyable summer blockbuster. Zeus (Liam Neeson) decides the human race has become ungrateful and decides to punish them by releasing a beast known as the Gorgon, his Demigod son, Perseus (Sam Worthington) embarks on a quest to save humanity. Firstly the 3D was almost non-existent which will disappoint those paying extra for the experience. Now onto the film itself and its biggest problem was that it was too modern and American considering that it was supposed to be ancient and Greek. This was especially true of the dialogue that would have been at home on an American TV show such as Friends. And particularly humorous was the depiction of Medusa as a sex siren. However this was something that for the most part you could dismiss and enjoy the awesome spectacle created by the sets and some of the best CGI I have ever seen. Sam Worthington also deserves credit, as he appears to be developing into a credible and charismatic leading man that can carry a film of this magnitude. This is a film that as long as you can suspend your belief, will provide two hours of solid entertainment.
To call Juno, a nice little movie would be a serious underestimation of this film. It is so personal in every single aspect that this is easily the most relatable film I have seen in quite some time. This is the story of Juno (Ellen Page), as she falls pregnant at 16 years old and decides to give the baby up for adoption, to an older married couple. This movie has an amazing ensemble cast who are treated to a witty and relevant screenplay from first time writer Diablo Cody. These factors combine to reward us, the audience with strong and likable characters, delivering amazing dialogue in believable circumstances. Ellen Page is truly awe inspiring in the way she is so comfortable in the lead. She oozes confidence while at the same time coming across as a normal girl next door. And kudos must be given to Michael Cera who may not have the traditional looks of a leading man, but has a likability about him that will serve him well in a Hollywood career. So good was Juno that even the opening credits were highly original and enjoyable. The final touch of intimacy was added by a soft rock soundtrack that added a sugar coating to an already highly pleasurable ‘nice little movie.’
