January 27, film 16: Juno

Trailer is full of spoilers, but actually it doesn’t matter much for this movie.

What?
Juno quite literary, fucks up during sex with her friend, and gets herself pregnant. She now has to decide how to deal with the consequences and make decisions that generally only adults need to make.

Where?
Parents’ place.

With?
My mom

Why?
Because I watched Whip It! a while ago, I really wanted to revisit that other movie with Ellen Page in it. I really loved it the first time I saw it, and wanted to see if it is still as good the second time I see it.

Worth it?
For some reason the market for teenage pregnancy films has been more or less cornered by cheesy dramas about hopeless white and black trash that get impregnated by people that don’t care for them. The great thing about Juno is that this for a change is a movie that is really about people that care for each other. The stepmom is not an evil witch, but instead is a really warm and caring person, and there is a great scene scene where she stands up for her “irresponsible stepdaughter.” Last time I saw this film, I hadn’t seen The West Wing yet. Now I have seen it, it is even more awesome how Allison Janney uses some of the attitude that CJ has in the West Wing to convincingly portray a nail technician instead. And it is not just one or two characters that carry the movie, but it’s all of them together that make the film an organic tale about real people. This film may have some flaws, but it really brings a smile to my face.

8/10

January 23, film 13: Children of Men

Warning: trailer is a bit heavy on spoilers.

What?
It’s 2027. The youngest person on the planet was born in 2009. Hope has run out, most of the world has collapsed under it’s own weight. Only the UK is holding it more or less together, but in the process it got a dictatorial regime and the whole world appears to be fleeing to the last place on earth that has a semblance of civilisation left. All of a sudden Theo (Owen) gets contacted by his ex (Moore), whom he hasn’t seen or spoken with in a decade. She is in an activist movement that promotes equal rights for immigrants, and she needs him to arrange papers so a girl in their group can travel.

Where?
At parents’.

With?
My mother (and the dogs).

Why?
I saw it once before, and thought it was pretty good. Also, recently I saw a special in io9 about long shots in movies and it mentions one scene that seems more or less impossible to have been shot in one take, but yet that is the case, and it is brilliant. The quality is a bit crap, and there might be a spoiler or two, but it’s still worth watching.

Worth it?
First of all a word of warning. I had forgotten about the ultraviolence in this movie. It might not be the best idea in the world to watch it with your mother… Nevertheless. Wow. It was as good as I remembered. There are few dystopias as bleak as this one, and it really succeeds at making you wonder what in life is worth living for if there will be no one left to carry the torch. This film is full of memorable scenes, one of the best is close to the end when people respond to the sound of hope. The only downside to this movie in my opinion is that it is a bit heavy-handed in it’s social commentary of nowadays  Brittain, but it’s still very very good.

8/10