Juno (2007) Review

(From this review onward, there will be more production details on each film)

Director: Jason Reitman

Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich (yes THAT John Malkovich!), Mason Novick and Russell Smith

Screenplay: Diablo Cody 

Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons and Olivia Thirlby 

Score: Mateo Messina 

Cinematography: Eric Steelberg

Editor: Dana E. Glauberman

Production Companies: Mandate Pictures and Mr. Mudd

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Productions

Release Date: December 5th 2007 (US)

Budget: $6.5-$7.5 million

Box Office: $231.4 million

Running Time: 96 minutes

Rating: 12/12a

'Juno' is a comedy-drama that deals with the 'taboo' (I put taboo in quotation marks since it should be discussed in some capacity) subject of teen pregnancy through it's titular character, Juno MacGuff. It received critical and commercial success, winning the Academy Award for best original screenplay and putting actress Ellen Page on the map. Does the film deserve such acclaim and more importantly, is there any way I can get that hamburger phone?

Page stars as Juno, a 16-year-old teenage girl who, after a night of passion with best friend Paulie Bleeker (Cera) becomes pregnant. She resolves to give the baby up for adoption to failed rock star turned commercial jingle composer Mark Loring (Bateman) and his wife Vanessa (Garner) but when Mark and Juno grow closer, complications arrive that put the whole adoption process in jeapordy. 

What's surprising about this film that despite it being a comedy about pregnancy, something which has happened before, this forgoes the usual cliches. The most notable of which is that instead of acting in an over-the-top matter, the characters are more calm and logical about the situation which is doubly surprising as this seems to treat teen pregnancy as less of a big deal than normal pregnancy. This does raise a bit of an issue regarding its portrayal of teen pregnancy since this calm portrayal could lead to some complaints about depicting a serious issue as something trivial. On the other hand, it is very mature about it. The characters do treat it as a problem but instead of panicking about it, they instead deal with it in a logical way. Heck the film does address that there is a stigma behind it with several characters treating Juno like an outcast, shown in a great scene where her presence parts the crowd like the Red Sea in Moses. I guess at the end of the day, this is showing how someone DOES react to teen pregnancy rather than how someone SHOULD react to teen pregnancy. Either way, I applaud the unique way it deals with the matter.

However, the film is too unique. Let me explain: there are moments where the movie is basically going FIND ME QUIRKY! FIND ME QUIRKY! Moments such as Juno showing up to Bleeker's home with a stolen chair and a tiger, Juno and her friend Leah (Thirlby) having lunch on a trophy display, Juno's room being a hipster's paradise (though that hamburger phone is awesome) and Mark's rather creepy behaviour towards her. It's not just individual moments, Juno's entire character is basically a cynical hipster with dialogue that, whilst funny, are also somewhat unnatural. 

Here's an example of what I mean: 

You see what I mean? I don't know if that was how teenagers talked back then but it sounds really weird nowadays. 

Aside from that though, there are few faults with the film. Its biggest strength lies with the performances. Ellen Page plays a star-making turn as Juno, her deadpan delivery providing most of the laughs of the film but also being emotional when needed. Though the cast is impressive, this is Page's show and she knocks it out of the park and despite being in her early 20s at the time, she was a very convincing teenager. 

That's not to discredit the others though. Michael Cera plays a likable dweeb (which for some reason I find relatable minus the 'getting a girl pregnant' part) with Bleeker and he shares good chemistry with Page in a genuinely sweet romance. Then there's the Lorings and despite Mark being a pretty deplorable character, you do understand his motives somewhat and Jason Bateman plays him well. Vanessa is a much more likable character and the scenes with her are often the most emotional moments with Jennifer Garner putting in a wonderful performance. J.K. Simmons is brilliant as usual as Juno's father with some genuinely sweet moments as well as providing the biggest laughs of the film and Allison Janney, despite having not much to do, has her moments as Juno's stepmother and it's refreshing to see a stepmother in film portrayed in a positive light. The same can be said for Olivia Thirlby as Leah since she does well with a smaller role. 

Another strength is that, at the very least, its heart is in the right place and it certainly hits the right emotions. The film can be funny with its absurdities and performances and the more emotional moments are genuinely heartfelt such as a scene where Juno's baby kicks in response to Vanessa's voice. And yes I will admit, the ending made me shed a tear. Yes shut up, even the toughest nuts must crack sometimes. I'm not made of stone.

The film's production values also scream Indiewood (a hybrid of indie films and Hollywood films) with a harsh orange colour palatte and a creative if pointless motif involving diary-like drawn animations. Reitman and Steelberg shoot this film well with a stand-out style though the mise-en-scene, like I said, is trying too hard to be quirky. The music is a bit of a let down as well as I didn't even realise that there was a score since the soundtrack mostly consists of indie music (which by the way, dominates the film so much it could give 'Suicide Squad' a run for it's money). Fortunately, the costuming is well done with some impressive pregnancy and childbirth effects. 

Overall, Juno is a very modest, funny heartfelt film with some very strong performances and a surprisingly mature approach to the topic at hand. Yes the film tries way too hard to be quirky with its dialogue and style but it also leads to some funny moments. I do see why this film received acclaim and I'm glad that Ellen Page went on to have a fairly successful career after this. I would recommend this to anyone 12 and over though I wouldn't recommend that any teenagers get pregnant because of this. This does portray teen pregnancy as an issue after all, don't let its casual approach fool you. Otherwise, watch the film and enjoy it for yourself!

This film receives 4 and a half hamburger phones out of 5.   

And yes I would like a hamburger phone...

Logan (2017) Review

Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant and Dafne Keen

Director: James Mangold

Screenplay: Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green

Producers: Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner

Based on: 'Wolverine' by Roy Thomas, Len Wein and John Romita Sr; and 'Old Man Logan' by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Running Time: 2hrs 21m

Rating: 15


I'm baaaaaaaaaack! For what seems like the upteenth time, I'm relaunching Perfectly Honest Film Reviews. Since I do film studies and I go to a Sci-Fi and Fantasy Society, I decided to review the films I will subsequently watch a day after watching them. With that promise out of the way, here's my first comeback review: 'Logan'.

The X-Men franchise has had it's fair share of ups and downs but if any films have had the biggest downs in the franchise it will be the Wolverine films. Despite Hugh Jackman being terrific in the role and the only actor to appear in every X-Men film (unless you count Deadpool), his standalone films were pretty rubbish with 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (Gavin Hood, 2009)being a gigantic convoluted mess and 'The Wolverine' (James Mangold, 2013) being boring and forgettable. With Hugh Jackman allegedly stepping down as the Wolverine and Mangold returning to direct, is this mini-franchise doomed or does it have a secret healing factor that can save it at the last minute.

What's the story? It's 2029, there are hardly any mutants left with most of the X-Men gone and no new mutants born for 25 years. James 'Logan' Howlett (Jackman), formally known as the Wolverine, has lost his healing factor due to adamantium poisoning and is slowly aging and dying whilst tending to an ailing Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart) whose degenerative brain disease cause him to have seizures that, because of his psychic powers, is a threat to humanity. When a nurse tasks Logan with helping Laura (Keen), a young mutant with powers very similar to Logan's, escape from Donald Pierce (Holbrook) and his army of Reavers, he must take Charles with him and get Laura to safety before Pierce catches up to them.

I'd better get any gripes I have with the movie out of the way first. I will say though that the movie's main problem is that it can get slow at points and whilst nothing is outright dull as every scene has a purpose both in the plot and with it's characters, the movie's length does get felt, particularly in it's final act. Other than that though, the rest of the film is pretty almost flawless, not only giving us the best Wolverine by far but maybe the best film in the X-Men franchise.

An impressive aspect of this movie is how little is explained. We don't exactly know why Logan is dying, nor are we explicitly told what happened to the X-Men or mutant-kind. Mangold and his writing team instead leaves clues for the audience to figure it out. This is a good thing because it demonstrates that Mangold trusts his audience to figure out what's going on without having the need to spoon-feed us. It's a very mature film in it's subject matter, content and it's treatment of it's audience and I respect that very much.

What's very surprising about this movie is how small-scaled it is, especially as it's Jackman's swansong. With most superhero movies, including those in the X-Men franchise, the world is usually at stake, there's an all powerful villain and the action sequences are very CGI-heavy. Here it's all stripped back. There's a limited cast, a group of children are at stake rather than the world and the action sequences are very grounded with minimum use of CGI. On top of that, the pay-offs to certain character arcs are intentionally anti-climatic to the point of possible disappointment. 'Days of Future Past' set up a brighter future for mutantkind but here, it's never been more bleak as what few mutant characters are left are at their lowest points. This isn't your typical X-Men film that's for sure.

This adds to the sombre atmosphere that accompanies Jackman's departure and it's strangely fitting. Logan is a man who's never felt peace in his life and nowhere is this more blatant than in this film. This isn't the Wolverine we're used to as he often staggers throughout the film with poor eyesight and an inability to break out his claws properly. As expected, Hugh Jackman is terrific here, portraying a broken and aimless Logan who has no hope for the future and this is a very fitting end to his time as the Wolverine. He's so synonymous with the role at this point that it's impossible to thing of a person who can take over and his portrayal is up there with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool as one of the best Superhero portrayals in film.

That's not to discredit the rest of the cast who are all excellent here. Patrick Stewart portrays a very different Professor Xavier, one who is senile and a bit of a foul-mouth which is simultaneously amusing and sad since the once dignified professor has been reduced to a helpless old man and since it's Patrick Stewart, he just owns the role and he is certainly responsible for the film's more heartbreaking moments. Stephen Merchant is also very different as the mutant tracker Caliban. He has his stand out character moments and he has good chemistry with Jackman as he is basically Logan's voice of reason. It's very weird to see Stephen Merchant in such a serious role but he does very well here. Boyd Holbrook is appropriately slimy as the villain Donald Pierce though his character is sort of one note. Same with Richard E. Grant's Zander Rice who's an underdeveloped mad scientist. There is another villain as well which I won't spoil and though it's a perfect mirror of Logan's character and it has some good fight scenes, it's nothing special.

However, the standout actor besides Jackman is Dafne Keen who plays Laura. Laura is the only bright spot in this otherwise bleak film which is quite fitting since she actually has hope for her future whereas characters such as Logan and Professor X do not. Keen is wonderful in the film being very intimidating whilst nailing her more vulnerable moments as well as providing some of the very few laughs in the film. Her rapport with Jackman and Stewart is very strong and during the actions scenes... well let's just say in a film involving the Wolverine, she is the most vicious person on screen. She could give Hit-Girl from 'Kick-Ass' a run for her money.

Speaking of the action sequences, this is the first R-Rated Wolverine film and man does it pull no punches! The action is very brutal and no blood is left unspilled which is understandable as the main character has metal claws. The final act can dissolve into familiar comic-book territory which is a bit of a shame given how grounded the action and the movie is but it's thankfully nowhere near as jarring as 'The Wolverine's' climax. We also finally get to see Wolverine during berserker mode and boy is is satisfying to see!

James Mangold's direction isn't very flashy here but it still looks very good. The desert looks hostile with the use of harsh colours (though I hear the Black-and-White 'Noir' version is very good as well) and the cinematography is very well done with some stunning shots. There's no yellow costume or any superhero costume sadly but it helps add to the realism and Marco Beltrami's score is sombre and haunting. The effects are also very subtle with some impressive moments of violence as I've already mentioned.

Overall, this isn't a very fun film as it does wrap up the X-Men story in a rather underwhelming way but it's a very marvelous film! The actors, especially Jackman, Stewart and Keen are excellent, the film is refreshingly grounded, the action is spectacularly violent and James Mangold's direction is visually impressive despite it's limitations. Yes there are some weak characters and the film is a bit long but other than that, this film is the perfect ending for Hugh Jackman's time as Wolverine and a must watch for anyone that can stomach the violence. Oh and the final few moments are some of the most heartbreaking and will likely break both men and women. Thank you Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart for giving us the definitive performances of your characters. You really were the two best parts of that franchise and I hope your future is brighter than your characters.

Side note: Whoever decided to use Johnny Cash as a major influence in the marketing of this film is a genius and should be promoted!


This film gets 4 and a half adamantium claws out of 5

What did you guys think of the film? Do you agree? Disagree? Sound off in any comments section below and be sure to like my Facebook page 'Joel Mole' and well as sharing this around social media outlets. Hopefully this will lead to more reviews in the future! Until then, fare thee well good people of the internet!

The Mole Mends: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

So I'm trying a different format for 'Perfectly Honest Film Reviews.' Instead of conventional reviews, I'll instead attempt to do my own versions of movies that I was dissatisfied with. Yes I am taking inspiration from Belated Media's 'What If' series (check that out by the way) and don't worry, I won't do the Star Wars prequels because of this. What I'm doing instead is a movie that many people disliked: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

This movie was supposed to be the launch pad of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) but instead it turned out to be an overstuffed, boring mess of a movie with cookie cutter characters, too much filler and a larger focus on set-up than story. In that case, my first movie repair is perhaps the most difficult because the movie has a lot riding on it.

Before I get to the meat and chips of this analysis, I will first list out elements I will keep.

Elements I will keep:

• The central conflict
• Lex Luthor as a villain
• Batman hating Superman because of Metropolis which is shown in the opening
• Superman being a reluctant fighter
• Superman being a controversial figure
• Wonder Woman being in the background until the climax
• The party scene
• Lex Luthor building a new villain
• The climax consisting of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman defeating the new villain
• Superman being out of the picture towards the end
• The film ending with Batman and Wonder Woman going to look for the Justice League 

Now on to my new version:

The film opens with Bruce Wayne going to Metropolis to meet Lex Luthor (not played by Jesse Eisenberg because that was horrible casting) for a business deal. The two are professional rivals but they maintain a sense of civility, This changes with the battle of Metroplolis from 'Man of Steel' and it happens like in the film except LexCorp is destroyed, not Wayne Tower. After the attack, Bruce sees a child looking for their parents and it's implied that the parents have died. This irks Bruce as Superman essentially made someone an orphan, something which affects him. This leads to a distrust against Superman. Likewise, because his business was destroyed, Lex Luthor now has a reason to hate Superman.

6 months later, we cut to Superman saving people from a perilous situation (maybe a burning building). This should be treated like a standard Superman rescue complete with charm and a sense of hope. Superman should also lighten up, being more friendly with people and taking extra care not to get them hurt. However, one person refuses to be saved because their family was killed in Metropolis and dies in the flames. It becomes clear that here, Superman is trying to compensate for his reckless behaviour after 'Man of Steel' but he can't fully atone for his actions since people won't stop reminding him. He has a confidant in Lois Lane (who knows his secret identity) and Superman's arc is set up. He's trying to be helpful but is unsure about whether or not he can ever make up for his actions. 

Meanwhile, Batman has been going about his business (cue action sequence of Batman being Batman) but he's more brutal after the loss of Robin (though not lethal because Batman killing is stupid and goes against everything he stands for). He has also been trying to find a way to detain Superman should he need to but he has no way of harming him. As Bruce Wayne, Batman has also invested lots of money in restoring Metropolis and has now bought LexCorp to save it from bankruptcy. Nevertheless, Lex Luthor still hates Superman and is now feeling humiliated at being Bruce Wayne's pawn. 

He uses some of his remaining funds to retrieve Zod's ship where he discovers Kryptonite and a dormant AI called Braniac. Luthor revives Brainiac who promises to destroy both Superman and Wayne Enterprises if Luthor builds him a body. Luthor agrees and Brainiac instructs him to find a way to manipulate and enable Batman to fight him. Luthor knows that Batman will need Kryptonite, upon discovering that it weakens Kryptonians, but he wants to hide his involvement. Braniac hacks into databases and reveals both of their secret identities, causing Luthor to invite them both to a party

At the party, Bruce meets Diana Prince who reveals her knowledge of his secret identity and offers a meeting between the two of them. Bruce also meets Clark Kent and Bruce argues against Superman whilst Clark defends him. He also points out that other vigilantes, such as Batman, are using brutal tactics whereas Superman is at least being careful but Bruce argues that at least Batman doesn't have the power to destroy worlds. This sparks an interesting debate that makes more sense than the hypocritical arguments they present in the actual film. Bruce does some snooping and discovers the hidden Kryptonite. 

We soon get another action sequence when the Joker crashes the party, causing Batman to intervene and dispatch the goons brutally. Superman steps in to stop him from causing serious harm. This causes the Joker to get away and Batman to become furious. He warns Superman to stay away from Gotham and disappears. Superman likewise flies away. Diana is appalled by this whilst Luthor is pleased.

Diana calls Lois Lane in for an interview where she reveals herself as a metahuman and the existance of other metahumans. She has been meeting with them with Superman as her next client but upon seeing his rivalry with Batman occuring after Bruce and Clark are invited leads her to suspect foul play and asks Lois to keep an eye on Superman. 

Bruce decides to get the Kryptonite but when Luthor declines, he dons the Batman suit to steal the Kryptonite (and we see him steal it rather than skipping it in the film). He then builds a Kryptonite arsenal and a metal armour with Alfred warning him against this crusade. 

Meanwhile, Superman is beginning to think that Batman was right about his idiocy in allowing the Joker to escape and vows to catch him to be in Batman's good books. Lois encourages him to do this but cautions him against fighting Batman. Superman replies that he will if he has to but he will keep the damage to the minimum. He leaves for Gotham. Lois, worried, rings Diana, telling her that a fight between Batman and Superman is likely to happen. Diana decides to don her Wonder Woman outfit and takes Lois with her.

Meanwhile, Superman finds the Joker but Batman finds Superman and picks a fight with him for going into Gotham and for the destruction of Metropolis. Through Kryptonite, Superman is rendered vulnerable but he's still a competent fighter. The big changes I will make for this fight are as follows:

• The fight will be longer (8 minutes maybe)
• It will take place in an alley (maybe even crime alley)
• The fight will be equal with both Batman and Superman gaining advantages (since the fight in the film was in Batman's favour)
• The fight will not end with 'SAVE MARTHAAAAAAAAA!'

Instead the fight will end like this: Batman wins the fight and is prepared to kill him, fearing that he's too dangerous to stay alive but Wonder Woman stops him. Lois tends to Clark and Wonder Woman admonishes Batman for doing this. Batman comes to his senses and realises that he's becoming just as bad as his enemies. He also realises that, due to Superman's reluctance to fight, he really has changed and is on the same side as him. Batman leaves in shame.

Wonder Woman informs Superman of her suspicions of foul play and the two figure out the links between Luthor, the party and Kryptonite. The two go into LexCorp and confront Luthor (dropping Lois off on the way). Luthor confesses his involvement and even admits to summoning the Joker to his party to provoke Batman into attacking. He then reveals Brainiac (now with a body). 

Brainiac reveals his origins: he was an AI created by Jor-El to find a way to save Krypton from its inevitable doom. It's solution was to shrink the city of Kandor and bottle it up in order to find a new planet for it. However it malfunctions and begins shrinking key cities from all the surrounding planets. The Kryptonian council forced Jor-El into removing Brainiac from the main systems and launches it in an unmanned ship which later becomes Zod's ship. Brainiac now wants to continue its mission by taking Zod's ship and using it to shrink Metropolis. He dispatches Luthor and takes the ship, ready to shrink Metropolis.

Superman pursues him but Brainiac has raised the shields, making it impenetrable. Wonder Woman tries to stop it with her invisible jet but that doesn't work either. Superman instead tries to save as many people as possible whilst Wonder Woman tries to disable Brainiac's shrink ray. Luckily, Batman, after see the attack on Metropolis on the news, decides to help out and manages to figure out a way to penetrate Brainiac's shielding. This gives the three enough room to enter the ship but not destroy the dish.

Here, I shall address a big problem with the finale (besides other things like Superman's pointless sacrifice and Batman's overall pointlessness) and that's the lack of comradery between the three heroes. They barely talked to each other during the climax and that, as well as the lack of distinct plan, leads me to disbelieve them as a team. With my version, they all confront Brainiac and after trying to reason with it, they formulate a plan. I should note that there should be banter throughout the entire climax, including the attack on the ship. Superman fights Brainiac, Wonder Woman tries to keep the ship airborne and Batman tries to deactivate the shrink ray. Superman takes the fight away from Metropolis with Brainiac proving to be a tough enemy. Batman successfully deactivates the shrink ray before it fires and Wonder Woman flies the ship to safety. Superman is losing the battle with Brainiac but Batman and Wonder Woman shows up in their respective vehicles and together, they destroy Brainiac's body. His mind returns to Zod's ship where Batman deactivates it.

Batman apologises for his actions. Superman forgives him, stating that Batman had a point about Metropolis but Superman promises that he's changing. The people of Metropolis are also starting to see Superman as a hero. Superman decides to dispose of Zod's ship where he discovers that Brainiac did indeed preserve Kandor. Excited, Superman decides to leave Earth to find a new uninhabited planet where he could rebuild Krypton. He entrusts the safety of Earth to Batman and Wonder Woman, feeling he could trust them to protect it carefully.

As he leaves, Wonder Woman tells Batman of the metahumans: The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. Batman decides to assemble a team of metahumans so that they can safely protect Earth from dangerous threats.

I should probably include a mid and post credits scene. The mid credits scene shows Lex Luthor discovering a statue of Steppenwolf that comes alive and communicates with him and the post credits scene shows Batman pursuing the Joker and Harley Quinn, failing to capture the former but capturing the latter, setting up Suicide Squad.

So here is what I changed:

• Batman has a legitimate reason to hate Superman
• The central fight is longer
• There is no pointless set-up scenes (I'm looking at you Knightmare)
• The set-up for the Justice League is more subtle
• Lex Luthor has a reason to hate Superman and is not Jesse Eisenberg
• Superman has a character arc
• The climax villain has changed and appears throughout the film
• The reason to end the BvS fight has changed to Batman realising that Superman is more passive that he first thought.
• The Trinity works more as a team
• Superman doesn't die at the end.
• Lois' role has changed to helping Wonder Woman 
• Superman's distrust of Batman stems from his brutality rather than his vigilante nature.
• The Joker is introduced here and has a more active role than in Suicide Squad

Hopefully this has made a more coherent film but I know it's not perfect. But at least I tried harder than Zack Snyder. 

So what did you think? Did you like this version? Do you prefer the original? How would you improve the film? Are there any more films you would like me to do? Leave a like and comment below and like my Facebook page 'Joel Mole' where you can find my other blogs. (On a side note, let me know if I should do more of these). I had this kind of idea for a while now and I want to do this for more films! I'll see you next time. Until then, fare thee well good people of the internet!