Juno (2007)

Okay, so I know that it has become trendy and cool to say that you like and 'get' this film. I don't know if I 'get' it, I think and hope I do, but I certainly like it. In fact, I more than like it. I love it.

I am actually surprised to be sitting here saying that. The film never really took my fancy and even when I did agree to go, I expected nothing greater than a jolly, quirky, light piece of afternoon fare. Not so.

Well, it is all these things. In places, it's a film with a soul lighter and more full of grace than air and it's certainly quirky, with a masterful performance by Ellen Page delivering that aspect to such great effect. It's also so much more than all this, though, and the film is simply littered with great, genuine, characters, who are as ordinary as any I've ever seen on screen, with the possible exception of the late Roy Scheider in Jaws.

That last sentence should point to what a complement this is. Nothing is more difficult to portray than ordinary. Most characters are just that, characters. Some, of course, are deeper than others, many hued, and full of emotion, but so few surpass that to portray the humanity we see before our eyes everyday, a humanity it is so difficult, if not impossible, to bottle. It is to Juno's vast credit that it is a film flooded with performances that take its protagonists to such a level. This is particularly the case with J.K. Simmons' masterful (and I do not use that term lightly) turn as Juno's Dad and Alison Janney's similar effort as her stepmum. They simply do not get enough screentime, though, in fairness, that is more forgivable in a film of this nature than it often is. Olivia Thirlby is also great as Juno's friend Leah. The one slightly less satisfactory effort is Michael Cera as the superbly named Paulie Bleeker. Cera has much work to do to leave the large shadow of George Michael Bluth behind and this performance sailed very close indeed to that wind. I haven't yet mentioned Jennifer Garner and Jason Batemen who are both perfectly cast in roles that end up lending that vital extra dimension to the film that, ultimately, makes it so damn good...

...Their relationship also ends up providing the film's best scene, truly one of those rare and beautiful moments which stay with you long after you've left the stale popcorn smell and stained carpets of the Leicester Odeon. Perfectly pitched and delivered. I have no shame at all in admitting that I cried like I haven't cried for a while.

I know this is a review of Juno but I can't help ending by echoing my colleague's comments about 2007 as a whole as this will be the last film I'll see at the cinema from 2007. It has been a great year, and I've still got many - potential - treats (American Gangster, Into the Wild and others) waiting for me on DVD. Fantastic. So that's an...

A+

For Juno.

Has any film year ever produced three A+ films for a single person before? Well, dear readers, you'll just have to re-read our lists to find out. Unbelievable. And 2008 has delivered another one already.

I'm in dreamland.

2007 completed list to follow soon. Where will Juno - and its protagonists - find themselves?

The Kingdom

Jamie Foxx's latest vehicle is marketed as a smart action film with a little bit of political swagger thrown in. The opening credits play like an abridged history lesson on America's relations with the Arab world and, whilst the history may be over-simplified, the graphical presentation is really cool so that's okay. This uneasy alliance between serious political commentary and high-octane, stylishly presented action thriller isn't restricted to the opening credits, but to be fair it isn't something that jarred with me too much whilst watching. It's only something that I'm thinking about now I've come to jot down a review and I think I'm inclined to give the filmmakers a pass.

Berg and co knew they'd be open to criticism of of dumbing down a tremendously complex dynamic for the benefit of your Saturday night popcorn eating fare yet they've gone ahead and made the film anyway, and I feel they pulled it off rather well. It is probably not fair to criticise them for something they didn't do rather than what they did. The didn't set out to solve the middle east crisis nor produce a polemic against the American government. What they have done is resisted the sort of flag waving nonsense that we may have seen in lesser hands and have cleverly posed more questions than answers. More to point hovever, they've produced a brisk, at times very well staged, thriller that captures your attention and makes you perhaps think a little bit about some of the problems facing parties on both sides.

This fairly restrained approach hasn't helped at the box office though. US receipts of $39 after 3 weeks means it'll be well short of its $80m production budget and once you factored in marketing, and with the inevitable realisation that this film plays less well overseas than it does in the States, then you've got a box office failure on your hands, which is perhaps a shame.

Foxx is able as the lead investigator from the FBI who takes a team of 4 to Saudi Arabia after a softball game is bombed inside a supposed safe zone, home to numerous American citizens. His team are made up of Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman. Garner to me is a complete non-entity. Does she attract her own fans to theatres? That can be the only explanation in casting her in a role that could have been played by any number of young actresses at a fraction of the cost. Cooper and Bateman are obviously good value, although it's a little odd to see Bateman in a serious role after is deadpan brilliance in Arrested Development. The 4 Americans are joined in their efforts by the Saudi police force, lead by Ashraf Barhom, who turns in a nice performance opposite 4 better known actors. The Americans work to gain the trust of the Saudis during their 5 day attempt at solving a crime without being able to touch any evidence, nor interview or even touch any Muslims. It's all too frequently implausible but despite its shortcomings it manages to hold your attention thanks, in large part, to the direction of Peter Berg.

Now Berg has the distinction of directing one of the very worst films I've ever seen. Very Bad Things is just an appallingly unfunny attempt at black humour, that is of course unless you find it funny when your driving along and you crash, pinning your brother/cousin/friend between your van and another vehicle, crushing his legs and no doubt paralysing him from the waist down. Wait a minute, you do find that funny? Then Very Bad Things is your sort of film.

Some years after that debacle Berg helmed the very very good Friday Night Lights, on which a successful US TV series is now based. The guy undoubtedly has talent and has graduated to the big leagues in this film. Sadly for him its underwhelming return may see him back in Friday Night Lights territory, but that wouldn't be a bad thing at all. Berg is a very good director and skilfully executes the tricky material here. He's directed a flawed but undeniably exciting film that probably deserves a better reception that it's received.

B