When I first heard about the movie Juno for some reason I thought it was about that small town in Alaska. Why would I want to see a movie about that? Alaska is cold and boring like the last 3 minutes of Sopranos.
Turns out that Juno is a movie about a young woman who gets pregnant in high school and decides to put her child up for adoption. She meets this great adoptive couple early on in her pregnancy and that adds to some more complications in her young life. Like Juno says in the movie, “I’ve been dealing with things way beyond my maturity level.”
The film is a common tale of youth and pregnancy. Juno is played by Ellen Page who was great in Hard Candy and had a minor role in X-Men 3 as Kitty Pride. She delivers in this movie too as a confused teenager. She also has some of the movies laugh-out-loud moments with her witty one-liners. When discussing with the adoptive parents their options she says, “You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.”
The adoptive mother Vanessa is played by Jennifer Garner of Alias fame. I’m not usually a big fan of her work (I’m still bitter about seeing Daredevil), but she’s even good in this movie. She plays that mom who is unable to bear children. She wants a child so bad and the movie shows the effects on her marriage. Her husband Mark is played by Jason Bateman (He seems to be landing a lot of roles these days). Mark is classic as an old musician who never saw his Rock N’ Roll dreams come true so now composes cheesy tunes for commercials. The relationship between him and Juno is very awkward to watch in the movie. Some of the scenes with just the two of them had a weird feeling to them. I left feeling like he was sort of attracted to his high school kid even though he was older and married.
The supporting characters in the movie are hilarious. Juno’s father Mac MacGuff (J.K Simmons) and boyfriend Bleeker (Michael Cera) are great and add a lot of depth to the characters they play. Bleeker is her nerdy boyfriend who is obsessed with orange tic-tacs. The kid seems to be lost most of the film but that’s what you like about the character. He gets a girl pregnant and she decides to give it up for adoption with no real conversation about it. Her father Mac is a dad who’s dealing with his daughter being pregnant at 16. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. The film takes a very light approach on the subject. Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) makes a nice cameo in the beginning of the movie and has some pretty funny lines in the film.
Juno is a look at how people deal with those situations. What was different about this movie was when they added the comedy to level of the seriousness of the subject matter. There are some very tense/real moments in the film and instead of taking a serious turn, the movie makes light of it with the comedy. It allows you to still get the message but not leave the film feeling heavy. I left Gone Baby Gone feeling like I had been in an emotional battle royal.
My suggestion: See Juno. Great movie that’s full of laughs and also has a nice message too it. Not too preachy and not too funny. It’s a good mix.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
I Am Legend
A few years ago I watched the 1971 movie Omega Man based on Richard Mathesons 1954 book I Am Legend. The movie starred Charlton Heston as Dr. Robert Neville, who was the last man on earth. He was busy working on a cure for an experimental vaccine that has killed most of the world’s population. The people who haven’t died have formed a group/cult called The Family and are lead by Matthias. He leads the group to try and kill Dr. Neville. In tradition of the post civil rights era, these infected want Neville dead because he is not like them and represents the way things used to be before the virus. The infected people looked liked Druids-Klansmen with hoods on protecting them from sunlight. Their skin looked like they had been playing in powdered doughnuts all day, and eyes as red as cranberries. Scary for 1971, not so much in 2007.
Reason # 167 I love seeing movies at the IMAX: I went to our local IMAX at the Seattle Center to see I Am Legend for the 2nd time. Why would I see it twice? IMAX is showing 7 minutes of The Dark Knight the second installment of the new Batman series. The preview is well worth the long lines and $10.75. The Joker looks great and the action sequences just as amazing. Okay back to the movie.
This re-make stars one of my favorites Will Smith. Smith stars as Dr. Neville and is trying to find a cure after most of the world is killed off by the Krippen virus. A virus that was created to help cure cancer. Neville spends his days roaming the streets of New York with his dog Sam systematical checking buildings, leaving a radio message, and working on a cure for the virus. At night he prepares himself to fight off those infected or “dark seekers”.
I thought the movie was great. Here’s why: In the 1971 you saw Dr. Neville as a hero who was here to save the earth and spent the past 3 years working on a cure. No real contact with anyone and was still very much a regular man. I’m not sure in 2007 we would buy that. We know way too much about how the human brain works. Legend shows the affect that 3 years of near isolation can do to a person. The fact that he was working on a cure when the virus broke and all of these people have died. His character carries a lot of that guilt and the film does a great job of showing that.
Since I’ve seen the movie twice I was able to see a few more things. What’s alarming are some of the signs that are posted around the city and in the homes of people. Signs like “WARNING: Infected dogs can come out at night” and “Stay in the light”. Also inside some of the homes have people stockpiling prescription drugs and water. You could tell they were preparing to leave. The thought of people preparing for disaster is almost as bad as the disaster itself.
The dark seekers were alarming. I’m not sure if it was the howling or the how they looked almost transparent and you could almost see their insides. Like most recent movies, these creatures were fast and strong. The age of the slow zombie/vampire/flesh eating human is dead. Of course like the Legend movies in the past, these creatures are sensitive to light. I always tell my friends that if you start eating peoples flesh you are no longer my friend and if I turn into one of those things, kill me because I would definitely kill you. (I do love my friends…………really I do)
There was also what I would like to call a “God piece” in the movie. I think in crisis people will either turn from God or turn to God looking for answers.
Our own World Health Organization always talking about an emerging global pandemic that may or may not infect humans causing serious illness and death. This movie may not be too far from the truth. I doubt we have dark seekers or a group called The Family, but we’ve already seen cholera, influenza, and the Spanish flu can do. We don’t need as strong as the Krippen virus.
My suggestion: Rent Omega Man, and definitely go see I Am Legend. If you can see it at the IMAX I would recommend doing that. The Batman bonus is worth it, but a regular movie theater will do. It’s a good movie and I think won’t be appreciated until years later. I’m just glad they finally got the story right.
Reason # 167 I love seeing movies at the IMAX: I went to our local IMAX at the Seattle Center to see I Am Legend for the 2nd time. Why would I see it twice? IMAX is showing 7 minutes of The Dark Knight the second installment of the new Batman series. The preview is well worth the long lines and $10.75. The Joker looks great and the action sequences just as amazing. Okay back to the movie.
This re-make stars one of my favorites Will Smith. Smith stars as Dr. Neville and is trying to find a cure after most of the world is killed off by the Krippen virus. A virus that was created to help cure cancer. Neville spends his days roaming the streets of New York with his dog Sam systematical checking buildings, leaving a radio message, and working on a cure for the virus. At night he prepares himself to fight off those infected or “dark seekers”.
I thought the movie was great. Here’s why: In the 1971 you saw Dr. Neville as a hero who was here to save the earth and spent the past 3 years working on a cure. No real contact with anyone and was still very much a regular man. I’m not sure in 2007 we would buy that. We know way too much about how the human brain works. Legend shows the affect that 3 years of near isolation can do to a person. The fact that he was working on a cure when the virus broke and all of these people have died. His character carries a lot of that guilt and the film does a great job of showing that.
Since I’ve seen the movie twice I was able to see a few more things. What’s alarming are some of the signs that are posted around the city and in the homes of people. Signs like “WARNING: Infected dogs can come out at night” and “Stay in the light”. Also inside some of the homes have people stockpiling prescription drugs and water. You could tell they were preparing to leave. The thought of people preparing for disaster is almost as bad as the disaster itself.
The dark seekers were alarming. I’m not sure if it was the howling or the how they looked almost transparent and you could almost see their insides. Like most recent movies, these creatures were fast and strong. The age of the slow zombie/vampire/flesh eating human is dead. Of course like the Legend movies in the past, these creatures are sensitive to light. I always tell my friends that if you start eating peoples flesh you are no longer my friend and if I turn into one of those things, kill me because I would definitely kill you. (I do love my friends…………really I do)
There was also what I would like to call a “God piece” in the movie. I think in crisis people will either turn from God or turn to God looking for answers.
Our own World Health Organization always talking about an emerging global pandemic that may or may not infect humans causing serious illness and death. This movie may not be too far from the truth. I doubt we have dark seekers or a group called The Family, but we’ve already seen cholera, influenza, and the Spanish flu can do. We don’t need as strong as the Krippen virus.
My suggestion: Rent Omega Man, and definitely go see I Am Legend. If you can see it at the IMAX I would recommend doing that. The Batman bonus is worth it, but a regular movie theater will do. It’s a good movie and I think won’t be appreciated until years later. I’m just glad they finally got the story right.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Gone Baby Gone
Growing up in Northern California in the 80’s, it seemed like kidnapping was very popular. I think back and it feels like kids were getting stolen every week. I know that was never the case, but I remember having to have a “buddy” to walk home from school with, don’t talk to strangers, and being a latch-key kid. I even remember a kid at my elementary was almost abducted one day after school. I know I’m going to be overprotective when I have kids.
Gone Baby Gone is a film about missing girl that the whole city is trying to find. The story starts as private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend/partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are asked by the family of the missing girl to help find her. The more questions the ask, the more questions seem to arise. The case of the missing girl starts to affect them personally more than it does professionally.
The couple is helped by gritty detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) who tries to help them piece together the puzzle and bring the little girl home.
This movie was unexpectedly good. I went in thinking it was going to be a bore fest or another “who done it” that shows it’s poker hand way too early and I’d be spending the last hour of the movie praying it doesn’t end that way. Michelle Monaghan is great in the movie as the apathetic partner who wants to help find the girl. She’s secretly moving up on my personal Hot 25 list. She was great in Heartbreak Kid and in Gone Baby Gone. I think it’s the light freckles. I’m not sure really, but she’s solidified her spot. Amy Ryan is great as the drug addicted mom Helene McCready. A few years ago I would volunteer for this homeless teen feed at one our local YMCA’s. She reminded me of a lot of the moms that I would see come in and out of there.
It was great to see Michael K Williams aka Omar on The Wire make a cameo in the movie. The Wire is by far my favorite show on TV and I’m always excited when I see one of the stars in something else.
Casey Affleck does a really good job in the film as well. I wasn’t sure if he could be the star of the movie, but he handles it well. He was most famous for his roles in the Oceans movies. I thought he was definitely headed down the same path as Tito Jackson, Frank Stallone, Omar Gooding, Haylie Duff, and my all-time favorite Don Swayze.
My Suggestion: This film is a great look at what is right or wrong , and if there is any gray area or if the line you cross is ever blurred. I loved the ending. It leaves you with a “what would you do” debate with strong points for either side to be made.
Gone Baby Gone is a film about missing girl that the whole city is trying to find. The story starts as private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend/partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are asked by the family of the missing girl to help find her. The more questions the ask, the more questions seem to arise. The case of the missing girl starts to affect them personally more than it does professionally.
The couple is helped by gritty detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) who tries to help them piece together the puzzle and bring the little girl home.
This movie was unexpectedly good. I went in thinking it was going to be a bore fest or another “who done it” that shows it’s poker hand way too early and I’d be spending the last hour of the movie praying it doesn’t end that way. Michelle Monaghan is great in the movie as the apathetic partner who wants to help find the girl. She’s secretly moving up on my personal Hot 25 list. She was great in Heartbreak Kid and in Gone Baby Gone. I think it’s the light freckles. I’m not sure really, but she’s solidified her spot. Amy Ryan is great as the drug addicted mom Helene McCready. A few years ago I would volunteer for this homeless teen feed at one our local YMCA’s. She reminded me of a lot of the moms that I would see come in and out of there.
It was great to see Michael K Williams aka Omar on The Wire make a cameo in the movie. The Wire is by far my favorite show on TV and I’m always excited when I see one of the stars in something else.
Casey Affleck does a really good job in the film as well. I wasn’t sure if he could be the star of the movie, but he handles it well. He was most famous for his roles in the Oceans movies. I thought he was definitely headed down the same path as Tito Jackson, Frank Stallone, Omar Gooding, Haylie Duff, and my all-time favorite Don Swayze.
My Suggestion: This film is a great look at what is right or wrong , and if there is any gray area or if the line you cross is ever blurred. I loved the ending. It leaves you with a “what would you do” debate with strong points for either side to be made.
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