Movie Review : Juno

Review (9.5/10)

Every year, the Toronto International Film Festival manages to unearth a few "hidden gems" - films that gain box office momentum more through critical and audience praise and endorsement than through aggressive marketing. Films like Brokeback Mountain, Almost Famous, Crash and Sideways have all screened to rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2007, the Festival’s hidden gem would have to be Juno, the sleeper hit by Canadian director Jason Reitman. No stranger to Toronto, Reitman’s freshman feature debut, "Thank You For Smoking", screened at the 2005 Festival and garnered numerous awards, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

Juno tells the story of Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), an eccentric, wise-beyond-her-years sixteen-year-old who finds herself pregnant after her first foray into the mysterious world of human interpersonal relations with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). After perfunctorily deciding to terminate the pregnancy she realizes, upon attending at a local woman’s clinic, that the decision is not quite as uncomplicated as she thought. She decides to have the baby and to give the child to a couple, "desperately seeking spawn", and in doing so she begins a journey that is sometimes humorous, sometimes bittersweet, but always heartwarming.

Since its wide release in Canada on December 25th, 2007, I have been eagerly anticipating the day that Juno would make its way to my local theater, and began to fear that it would not. Although I saw it at the Festival, I wanted to have an opportunity to savour it again, away from the crowds and the critics. My second viewing merely confirmed that Juno is an absolute delight and is deserving of the critical praise and recognition that it is receiving. It is a perfect storm of writing, directing and acting.

Juno is the first screenplay by Diablo Cody, a former stripper and infamous internet blogger, whose website name I dare not repeat in any publication that could be read by minors. With Juno, Cody has made her mark as a masterful storyteller, giving the audience a wonderfully nuanced tale that slowly and deliberately unfolds onscreen. An unlikely feat for a teen film, Cody creates characters that are surprisingly complex, a storyline that is refreshingly unpredictable and dialogue that is witty and original. I will be shocked if Diablo Cody does not walk away with a gold statue on Oscar night.

For director Jason Reitman, Juno is a coup on several levels. While the critical success of "Thank You for Smoking" created a level of expectation for his sophmore project that may have been difficult to achieve, Reitman rose to the challenge and crafted a film that exceeded its predecessor. The critical and commercial success of Juno will no doubt allow Reitman to step out of the shadow of his famous father, Ivan Reitman (Animal House, Stripes, Ghostbusters) and to forge his own path in Hollywood.

At the end of the day, however, it is the casting of Juno that gives it the distinction of being a truly great film. Casting the lead role with a relatively unknown Canadian actress was risky, but the gamble was well-rewarded. Ellen Page is a delight and, while I fear that she is a longshot to win the Oscar for which she has been nominated, I also believe that she is well on her way to becoming Canada’s next great entertainment export. Canadian Michael Cera, who always reminds me of a child who has been caught with his hand caught in the cookie jar, is a wonderful comedic foil for Page. Jennifer Garner delivers a surprisingly poignant performance as Vanessa Loring, the potential adoptive parent for Juno’s unborn child. Cast alongside her as her husband, Mark Loring, is Jason Bateman, who is quickly becoming one of the busiest supporting actors in Hollywood. The cast is rounded with the solid supporting performances of J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney as Juno’s beleaguered parents.

Contrary to popular belief, Juno is not simply, "that teen pregnancy film". It is a film about falling in and out of love, about making difficult choices in the face of adversity and about striving to distinguish oneself. As the audience watches Juno being ostracized by her classmates and looked upon with disdain by school and hospital staff, it is clear that the film is not intended to glorify teen pregnancy.

Although it is rated 14A, Juno is a film that I would have difficulty recommending to anyone under the age of 16. Juno is not a teen comedy. While it has its share of humor, it is really more of a light drama. The film’s language and dialogue, while peppered with euphemisms directed to a teen audience is, at the end of the day, decidedly more mature and adult than one would expect to see in a teen comedy. I also found that the film was just as much about the reactions and the relationships between the adults around Juno as it was about Juno herself.

It is very rare that I will make two trips to the theater to see any film, but Juno was, for me, an exception. Unfortunately, much like Sideways in 2005, in the face of some stiff competition, is unlikely to take the Oscars by storm. But Oscars or not, like Sideways, it is also a film that is refreshingly original and multi-faceted and, for cinephiles, it is a worthy addition to their "must-see" list.

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By Erin Cullin

Movie Review : The Host

Every now and again a great piece of original entertainment comes along, something that takes a common theme, adds something sparkling and relevant and creates a new whole. In this case, it happens to be a breath of fresh air for a classic movie genre. That area of filmmaking is the "monster" film and the title of the film is The Host. The monster story in this movie is good but it's the film's family elements that make this film worthwhile. Others would seem to agree since this Korean film has already been singled out for a remake in the United States. All the adorations aside, I have not seen a monster movie this good in years. The reason why The Host is so satisfying is because it is a family drama masquerading as a monster film. Godzilla (all of them), Lake Placid, The Ghost and the Darkness, The Blob and most of their genre brothers and sisters were all lackluster-to-good monster films at best but their human elements almost always meandered as unrealistic and non-substantive. The inhabitants of these films were simply waiting to be killed off or to survive, in one piece, the absolutely farcical and ultra dangerous situations that would see the end of a top tier team of Green Berets.

That is what is so novel about The Host. No one is safe. A dose of reality has been added to the monster movie genre in this film. When you watch the remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, you know from the beginning that nothing is going to happen to Jessica Biel. Sure, the protagonist will be put into perilous situations at the hands of a misanthrope and the idiotic decisions on their and other characters part but that is it. These characters are the audience's bridge into the presented world on screen and some writers/directors feel that the destruction of that bridge will be detrimental to their film. The Host's director, Joon-ho Bong, takes a chance with his bridges and it pays off in the end by escalating his film beyond the established limits of its genre.

The Host revolves around the five members of a slightly dysfunctional family consisting of a father, Hie-bong Park (Hie-bong Byeon), his champion archer daughter Nam-Joo Park (Du-na Bae), a son he has put through college, Nam-il Park (Hae-il Park), another son prone to dozing off, Gang-Du Park (Kang-ho Song) and Gang-Du's 13-year-old daughter Hyun-Seo Park (Ah-sung Ko). In some scenes these people actually make you believe they have known each other for years. They call each other names behind each others back, crack insensitive jokes and hit each other. Though the family has its problems, they have nothing to do with the emergence of the film's monster. When formaldehyde is carelessly dumped into the Han River (a stream of water that flows through Seoul into the Yellow Sea) at the beginning of The Host, the film's mutant monster soon makes its first full on-screen appearance, after two smaller off-screen sightings. During its third appearance and subsequent rampage against unarmed civilians, Hyun-seo is kidnapped by it and initially thought dead. When it is revealed that she is still alive, her family breaks out of the hospital all the rampage survivors are being kept in and go in search of Hyun-seo.

This is the point where The Host notches up the tension and where the drama involving the Parks comes to fruition and blooms. When the family becomes separated during the course of their search, handing off leads to one another via the means at their disposal, the lambency of The Host's screenplay comes out for all to see. It's just good and effective plot construction and once again, something you would not expect in a mere monster film. Sure the computer generated effects could be better in some scenes but when the effects need to be great, they are. Case and point - when the monster regurgitates some of its victims, very well done. The monster in the Host is the main draw for the film's marketing campaign but in actuality, it's the film's human elements which are its real centerpiece.

Joon-ho Bong's The Host is a film I did not expect to be as good as it was based on the trailers released for it. I was wrong. Many films have great trailers but sometimes the films they advertise fail to deliver when the lights go down in the movie theater. Sometimes the trailers are actually better than the films themselves. Neither of these is the case with The Host. The advertisements for this film actually fail to sell or even hint at this film's true strengths. This may have cost the film dearly in box office receipts but since it is being so well received (its the highest grossing film in South Korean history), people are actually being given a surprise when all they think they are going to see is the latest monster flick.

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By Reginald Williams

New Movie : Saw 5

There's a certain part of me that's envious of the average "SAW" fan. I truly wish I could appreciate this horror franchise on a more visceral level, screaming along with the rest of the crowd as mayhem arrives, lives are ended, and Jigsaw's legacy is twisted further into a mind-bending puzzle only the most patient out there have kept up with.

It's criminal that I refuse entrance into the club, but, then again, when I view a "Saw" movie all I can see are bargain-basement production values, abysmal acting, and a soggy narrative that's spun completely out of control. The only elements holding the franchise together at this point are the blind enthusiasm of horror nuts, truckloads of distraction, and the forgiving nature of the Halloween season.

Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is being prepped for hero status after his takedown of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), thus ending the string of crude murders that plagued the city. The only person alive to challenge Hoffman is Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson), who barely survived a Jigsaw trap and is now ready to uncover the truth behind Hoffman's clandestine activities. Chasing the clues, Strahm gets closer to the horrors of Jigsaw's legacy, while Hoffman ventures back into his own past and the events that introduced his evil ways.

Not to rock the boat here, but I consider last year's "Saw IV" to be the finest installment of the series so far, contorting itself hilariously into a shell game of a motion picture, perhaps best titled "Saw 3.5" for comfort. With a genuine actor (Patterson) slapping the film awake and director Darren Lynn Bousman taking a few minor chances with the plot, "Saw IV" was garbage, but not a hideous proposition quite like the other volumes of this rancid franchise. For "Saw V," Bousman is off to directorial purgatory, replaced by series production design vet David Hackl, who sticks uncomfortably close to the "If it ain't broke..." motto during his face time with Jigsaw.

It's actually somewhat startling to watch "Saw V" behave more like a dopey detective story than the hardcore horror extravaganza fans have come to expect. Either the mythos of Jigsaw is becoming too complicated to shoehorn in some gore sequences or perhaps the producers are finally growing weary of repeating themselves with increasingly ridiculous torture devices. Either way, "Saw V" is a sedate feature film, spending more screentime tracking Hoffman's footsteps with Strahm than snuggling up to bloody entrails. The change is refreshing, as is the loss of Bousman, but the restraint only lasts for a few breaths. After all, there's a legacy of blood to protect here.

A sophisticated Jigsaw trap subplot weaves throughout "Saw V," returning to the "Saw II" aesthetic of strangers (including Meagan Good and Julie Benz) duking it out for precious remnants of life. How it ties to the rest of the story is spoiler territory, but it's clear imagination is running low for the death set-pieces, with explosions and low-light executions replacing the splatterfest that once was.

"Saw V" feels like a transitory piece to clear a way for next year's "Saw VI." Hackl chucks in plenty of inexplicable material ready to be explored a year from now, teasing the audience with characters and props that feed the haphazardly constructed arc being assembled by the producers, who resort to time travel once again to pad out the running time to 85 minutes. Not only is "Saw" losing its taste for blood, it can't stay in the present, leaping back and forth through the sequels to shake the audience off the narrative's trail. A trail, mind you, that doesn't actually lead anywhere in "Saw V" except to absurd backstory and the chance to spend more time with Bell as Jigsaw (pass).

"You won't believe how it ends" is the official tagline for "Saw V," but the real question is, will you care? Admirers will undoubtedly fling themselves at the feet of anything the producers dream up, but more careful viewers might be starting to question the validity of this ongoing story: a five-film-too-long journey that has never felt more arbitrarily plotted than in the final 10 minutes of "Saw V."

(By Brian Orndorf)

Movie Review : X-Men Origins: Wolverine

(By Garth Franklin)

Whether you deem it a prequel, a spin-off or a cost-effective fourth entry in the "X-Men" film franchise - the result either way is an oddly bland if modestly respectable adventure through some of the important life events of cinema's most famous mutant.

The lack of emotional resonance or visceral punch is surprising, especially to those of us unfamiliar with the comics who won't be sticklers for detail like the hardcore fans. Admittedly the three previous "X-Men films have grown our awareness of the character and the events of the 'Weapon X' incident. Yet you can't help but feel that the best bits of Wolverine's back story were either left on the cutting room floor or didn't make it past the script stage. This character has had decades of written adventures and, chronologically according to this, almost two centuries of life and THIS is the best they can come up with?

Though the slowest and clumsiest portion of the film, the first act also demonstrates the other potential avenues of where a more ambitious adventure could have gone. An opening credits montage shows us Logan and his brother Sabretooth fighting together in the American Civil War, both World Wars, and in Vietnam before kicking off with its own story of Stryker's team of covert ops mutants on a mission in Africa.

That concept alone would make for an interesting adventure all by itself, but the filmmakers seem acutely aware that this film is already overstuffed and are determined to keep things lean. Thus they move on to loosely establish storytelling archetypes of brothers turned rivals, a mentor gone bad, and an inevitably tragic romance with the sweet Kayla (Lynn Collins). The promising and gorgeous Collins tries her best, but her screen time is so limited and her character treated with almost disdain by the writers that you could cut it out with minimal impact to the rest of the feature.

Things pick up as the story moves to the familiar Weapon X events with Wolverine undergoing the adamantium grafting. Danny Huston is perfectly cast as a young Stryker who is using these mutants to advance his military experiments. Despite knowing its outcome, it's his conviction in these scenes that makes the Frankenstein-esque birthing and nude escape scene of 'Wolverine' himself the film's best scene. Soon after comes the most thrilling action sequence involving an impressively explosive motorbike/helicopter chase.

The cast is the biggest slice of muscular beefcake on display this side of "Troy". Jackman spent months getting in shape for this film and he won't let you forget it. Donned in a tank top and form-fitting jeans much of the time and butt naked during one scene (albeit from behind and at a distance), the actor is what grounds the film and saves it from itself at points. You can see how demanding the action is as the veins and muscles of his upper body bulge obscenely, but being the trooper that he is Jackman delivers the determination, the rage, and sadly only glimpses of the sly humor that his portrayal of the character has become so synonymous for.

For bear lovers there's Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth. Considering the embarrassing way the character was treated in the first "X-Men" film, Schrieber's take as a beastly foot soldier with a dark heart and fierce sense of loyalty makes for a welcome antagonist to Wolverine. The role doesn't allow for much outside of atypical bad guy antics (ie. lame putdowns, off camera killings), but Schrieber makes it sly fun without falling into self-parody and has a solid chemistry with Jackman.

For the twink brigade there's Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Kitsch. The former as Deadpool only shows up at the start and end, impressing more with his sword skills than his usual quick wit which is decidedly limited. The latter as Gambit starts out as a potentially interesting hustler who quickly turns into Wolvie's bland personal assistant for much of the final act. This character is the one the fans have been clamoring to see the most on screen and while Kitsch himself, like Collins, demonstrates a dashing charisma and a lot of potential beyond this franchise - the character itself seems like a decidedly wasted opportunity. Smaller supporting roles like Lost's Dominic Monaghan and musician will.i.am come and go with little impression.

With almost all the action confined to the film's second half, the balance here is decidedly awkward. The early rush of exposition feels dry, lumbering and ungainly. There's very little feeling of a thought out plan on the writer's part so events and characters are thrown together for the sake of it and written around to try and make things gel cohesively. It doesn't work. This feels especially true in the latter half which is a bunch of action set pieces strung out on screen one after the other. A young Cyclops is inserted purely as fan service, while a visual effects-assisted cameo by one of the other regular cast members is cute but perfunctory.

Director Gavin Hood, more notable for his politically fascinating dramas like the brilliant "Tsotsi" and the misguided "Rendition", displays a surprising adeptness at shooting action. Even if the set pieces themselves are rather under choreographed, they are filmed and edited with cohesion even if the visual effects are often not up to scratch. Yet Hood's hiring is obviously to bring a depth of dramatic chops the way that Chris Nolan turned the previously cartoonish "Batman" series into an emotionally and thematically rich franchise, or Bryan Singer's clunky first film and pitch-perfect second film in this franchise did the same to a lesser and more pulpy extent.

On those terms this "First Blood"-lite fails. It's not an outright betrayal of the characters or embarrassing example of studio interference like "X-Men: The Last Stand" was, but it lacks the polish and visual bang for your buck of Ratner's better paced fizzer. To be fair it 'gets' the character and makes faint-hearted attempts at establishing its own sense of mythology, but it always feels forced and all too familiar. Falling somewhere between noble failure and modest success, "Wolverine" is ultimately a generic Summer film actioneer that will quickly be forgotten.

Oceanic / Pacific Art : The Asmat

The Asmat

Located in southwestern New Guinea, the Asmat live along the vast system of rivers that flow into the Arafura Sea. With an estimated population of 70,000, the Asmat are divided into several hundred villages ranging in size from 35 to 2,000 inhabitants. The Metropolitan Museum has an outstanding collection of Asmat art, the majority of which was collected in 1961 by Michael C. Rockefeller.

Wood carving is a flourishing tradition among the Asmat, and wood carvers are held in high esteem. The culture hero Fumeripits is considered to be the very first wood carver, and all subsequent wood carvers (known as wowipits) have an obligation to continue his work. The Asmat also believe that there is a close relationship between humans and trees, and recognize wood as the source of life.

According to the Asmat origin myth, Fumeripits was the first being to exist on earth, and he also created the first men's ceremonial house, or jeu (a club house for men where community issues are discussed, artwork is made, and ceremonies are held). Fumeripits would spend his days dancing along the beach, but after awhile grew tired of being alone. So, he chopped down a number of trees, carved them into human figures, and placed them inside the jeu. However, since the sculptures were inanimate, Fumeripits was still unhappy. He then decided to create a drum (1978.412.962), and chopped down another tree, hollowed out the center, and stretched a piece of lizard skin over the top. As he began to play the drum, the human figures miraculously came to life, their elbows came unstuck from their knees, and they began to dance.

Like Fumeripits, present-day Asmat have a strong tradition of carving figural sculpture out of wood. These figures (1979.206.1589), which are representations of ancestors, are traditionally displayed inside the men's ceremonial house. Although these sculptures commemorate specific individuals who have died, they are not direct portraits, and have generalized features and similar body types. A common pose for these ancestral figures is the elbows-to-knees position (or wenet pose), believed to be the same pose that all humans assume at birth and again at death.

Ancestral imagery also appears on other forms of Asmat art, including wooden war shields (1978.412.929). Shields were created as functional items for warfare, and were meant to protect the user from the spears and arrows of his enemy. At the same time, the imagery that is carved and painted on the surface of the shield endows the piece with the power of the ancestors, which is also intended to protect the user. The designs can be either figural or abstract, depending on the region from which the shield came.

Bis poles (1979.206.1611) are perhaps the most impressive works of art by the Asmat, reaching heights of up to twenty feet. These poles are carved to commemorate the lives of important individuals (usually warriors), and serve as a promise that their deaths will be avenged. These works also assist in the transport of the souls of the dead to the realm of the ancestors. The mangrove tree, from which the sculptures are created, is actually turned upside down and a single planklike root is preserved (which will ultimately project from the top of the artwork). The imagery on the pole itself varies, but usually includes a series of stacked ancestral figures. In interior Asmat villages, wuramon, or spirit canoes (1979.206.1558), serve a similar function.

Asmat body masks (1978.412.1282a) are full-length costumes made of plaited cordage composed of rattan, bark, and sago leaf fiber. The body masks are usually painted with red and white pigment, decorated with carved facial features, and given skirts made of sago leaves. The end result depicts an otherworldly being, which appears only for special funerary ceremonies, known as jipae.

by Emily Caglayan, Ph.D.
Department of Art History, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Art prints: Pablo Picasso

by Nikki Sabato

Pablo Picasso, famous Spanish expatriate painter, was the leading proponent of the Cubist Movement together with Georges Braque. He is considered to be one of the most influential painters of modernism in the 20th century. Also influenced early by the modern Impressionists; Claude Monet, August Renoir and Gustave Courbet, Pablo Picasso's style viewed art in various dimensions and merged space, lines, forms into a geometric representation of human figures and still life rather than trying to convey them as real. His earlier work was often characterized by a muted and limited color palette of browns, beiges, whites and black. Work from 1912-14 saw the reintroduction of color and the use of other synthetic objects on the canvas. Picasso work was also at a time, influenced by the often disturbing or erotic imagery of the Surrealist movement. Picasso maintained his avant-garde, non-conformist and modernist style to the very end, creating a large collection of work that today remains his legacy to the world.
It is useless to discuss Picasso's most famous works as it is certainly arguable. Some may be better known than others though due to numerous reproductions as poster prints. Some of them include:

• Three Musicians, 1921-This oil on canvas painting features a colorful jigsaw of three musicians. It was painted in the summer at Fontainebleau in France. One plays a horned instrument and the central figure is a harlequin playing the guitar. A closer look reveals that the artist includes a dog under the table. This painting hangs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. This is probably the most popular poster print of Pablo Picasso. Poster prints online are often viewed and printed through online posters printing companies that print them in standard or custom sizes.

• Girl before a Mirror, 1938-This oil on canvas painting features one of Picasso's favorite subjects during that period, Marie-Thérèse Walter, as a colorful portrait of a woman standing in front of a mirror. Picasso's uses a vibrant collection of shapes that exude a cheerful, fond view of his young mistress. This painting can be found at the Museum of Modern Art and posters can be bought or printed conveniently through online poster printing services.

ART : Van Gogh Artwork

Almond Branches in Bloom, San Remy, c.1890
by Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh’s exquisite “Almond Blossom,” which he painted for his newborn nephew as a symbol of budding life, embraced one of his favorite subjects: flowering branches against a blue sky. Epitomizing the tormented artist, Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) was a post-Impressionist Master whose fragile psyche was uplifted by the healing effects of painting outdoors. Extraordinarily prolific, Van Gogh produced all of his works during a 10-year period—at one point, creating an astonishing 150 paintings and drawings within one year. Although Van Gogh only sold one painting within his lifetime, he profoundly influenced modern Expressionism, Fauvism and Early Abstraction.