Film : Juno by Jason Reitman - Movie Review Example

? Films  - and number - - submitted - Juno Juno is an American feature film that was released in the year 2007, directed by Jason Reitman and written by renowned Hollywood scriptwriter, Diablo Cody. The film follows a young teenage girl on her journey to life as she encounters an obstacle in the form of an unplanned pregnancy. It is thus about how she manages to handle her life despite deciding to have the baby, and the kind of impact the situation has on her psychological maturity and social lifestyle. The movie has gained worldwide recognition due to it being able to address a large audience on a global scale that has been able to relate with every aspect of it. Juno the film has a very basic story line as well as concept attached to the tale; it is about a young girl trying to explore the nooks and crannies of intimacy and relationships without understanding the implications that might arise along with the same. The story has been told through the eyes of Juno herself, as she takes the audience along on her woven tale of how she ended up having sexual relations with her classmate whom she did not have any feelings for. It is an excellent sense of revelation for teenagers around the world as they silently begin to question themselves about the kind of company they keep, as well as the peer pressure they fall into, especially when it comes to having sexual intercourse with others. The film thus helps teenagers to explore the kind of curiosity that reigns within them, and how the same should be understood not by simply jumping in and trying things out with friends, but by reading about things and comprehending the facts about life from one’s parents first. It helps children and young adults to understand how friends might not be the best option when it comes to understanding such information about pregnancy and intercourse. These aspects of life are crucial to one’s existence and they must be understood well by every individual so that he is able to make his own decisions without falling into trouble or having unplanned circumstances crop up in his life. (Sciretta, Peter) Thus, the film achieved mass appeal because of the story telling as well as how the girl managed to learn her lesson without panicking much about the situation. The various characters within the movie have been portrayed in a very interesting manner. The director has taken his time to choose the main protagonists and provide them with a different twist. Juno is a young teenage girl who comes off a little strong on the first meeting with everyone. Full of sarcasm, she helps to put an indie spin on the movie and gives a very intense performance with her dominating nature and need to control everything that might not even be in her reach. However, she understands where she went wrong by getting pregnant but decides to bring about a change in a couple’s life with the help of her baby who she is willing to give up in order to make someone else happy. Her parents played the part very well by helping parents all around to understand how to cope with their children if they befall such a similar situation in their future. Juno herself wonderfully shows the kind of solid and sincere relationship she always wanted a child to be under the influence of during his or her growing up years and thus decides to give the baby to the perfect couple who will be able to raise it with love and patience. The film however, has received a vast amount of criticism from people all over the world, mostly for being based on a teenage girl’s life who takes her unplanned pregnancy very casually. Juno does not seem to panic at any point during the movie because of the mistake that she made and most critics feel that this has resulted in sending out a wrong message to young children out there who might feel that it is okay to engage in sexual intercourse before attaining any knowledge or education about the same and thus has affected society in different ways. References Chris. (2009). Juno: Film Review. Eye For Film. Retrieved 26 June 2011 Sciretta, Peter (2008) Juno is the Most Successful Indie Film in Six Years; DVD Details. Slashfilm.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011 500 Days of Summer 500 days of summer is based on relationships and how they sometimes fail to be concrete and take a futuristic shape. Acted in by Zooey Deschanel and Jospeh Gordon Levitt, the film revolves around a 500 day span of Tom and Summer’s nonlinear relationship and how the two grew close to each other, however, then apart with time. It is based loosely on the love life of the co writer of the film, indicating a story that wraps around the lives of most people that undergo relationships in the world today. Every man and woman brings to the table a different perspective to any relationship and that is what helps it either prosper or break down. What starts off as a workplace fixation and slight flirtatiousness, turns into a coquettish yet attractive ardour for both Tom and Summer. They grow very close together initially, sharing all the time in a day and spending each and every moment together. This helps the audience to discover the kind of social interaction the two chare with one another, while being both friends as well as lovers. Furthermore, the setting within the film, the greeting card company that they work for, adds to the idea of romance brewing in the air as the two give in to temptation just like most people around the world, in order to find out more about themselves through the other person. It also helps to depict the characteristics of both Tom and Summer while they try and figure themselves and their desires out through the other’s personality. Tom is ambitious whereas Summer is happy with the assistant job that she has. She wants to get by life each day with whoever she can spend it with, without worrying too much about money or health or any other factor that most people worry about. This is what sets the two apart and creates the friction among them, leading them to understand that they ultimately share very different perspectives on living life. Tom is looking out for true love whereas Summer is content with whatever she has and does not want to delve into an array of emotions leading her to stay with one man for the rest of her life. She wants to explore and live large by doing whatever it is that she can. This is what begins to break the two apart because she realises that she is not able to fulfil her dreams with Tom and needs someone else. She helps him understand that he will eventually fall in love with someone who will be able to keep him happy and understand his emotions, needs and desires. Therefore, in this way, the movie takes on a sociological perspective as it talks about a bigger picture of how people want different things and need each other to be able to figure that out as well. Relationships are the biggest part of our lives and most people need that someone else to be able to comprehend life and all its intricacies. References Scott, A. O. (2009, July 16). Exploring Love. NY Times. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/movies/17five.html Senna “Senna in our hearts!” scream most formula 1 racing fans, and brought to them on a silver platter is a movie about the life and times of Ayrton Senna – one of the greatest racers there ever have been. This documentary on the great race car driver is a complete tribute by Asif Kapadia, written by Manish Pandey as it follows him through his life and struggles, both on and off the track. Not just his life, but the documentary helps the viewers to understand the kind of dirty politics that go on behind this sport as well, and how there are always certain people in every sport that cannot keep their hands off the worse emotions and feelings in life. Senna has been depicted in this movie as a very calm and spiritual being with a ruthless character and a need for perfection in his professional life. Despite these qualities, he retains his humility and generosity in his private life and has attempted to show the world the great potential lying within him. His charitable side has also been depicted in the film as the director has tried to show the kind of man he was beyond the track – a true man of the people. He served millions of his countrymen and helped them get by and live substantial livelihoods. However, the film also beautifully, but painfully, captures the so called ‘Black Weekend’ of Formula One Racing as it shows the tragic death that the great man suffered and how he met his end, in the presence of some 300 odd million people on the planet. The film won the World Cinema Award for documentaries at the Sundance Festival 2011, and truly deserved to win so as well. Many reports have also said that this documentary was able to capture very wonderfully, the life of one of the greatest sportspersons that have roamed this planet, and a man like Senna, who especially dedicated his life to serving others, both on and off the race tracks. The film has thus helped to show the kind of impact that such a great race car driver has had on millions of people around the planet; they depended on him and survived with every moment that he breathed. When he died in the crash, a million pieces within people died with him. This was how attached people were to Senna, in an extremely emotional manner. Thus, through his art and his skill he won a sociological interaction with people to an almost unimaginable feat; he won hearts around the world and was able to get through and speak to people and make them understand the right path to live on. Even today, after his death, the documentary helps in displaying how people have been trying to help his legacy stay alive, by living on the principles and policies that he modelled for himself within his lifetime. This is how Senna has truly affected society and the movie has depicted exactly that – through the words and actions of people who were moved and grieved by his death, all around the world. References "Sundance Film Festival 2011 : Senna." Sundance Film Festival 2011 : Home. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. . V for Vendetta Directed by James McTeigue, ‘V for Vendetta’ is a dystopian thriller based on the comic titled by the same name, written by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Hugo Weaving portrays the role of ‘V’ a bold man full of charisma, trying to figure out a way to seek revenge with those who did wrong to him. It is a though provoking film set near Britain in the near future. He is forced to acknowledge himself in the face of adversity and come to terms with what he understands social justice as. He has been wronged by people in the past and wants to fight an eye for an eye because of his choosing hatred over love. According to the movie, V has tried to depict a different side to the aspect of violence altogether, by stating that it can be used for the good of social justice and this paper helps to provide an insight into the very aspect of the film through V’s actions and how they may be used for the good of society. V tries to make use of strategy rather that muscle power in order to come up with the best possible way to tear down the tyrannical rule that the society was bound by. The only emotion that motivates him is revenge and he is often seen being overshadowed by the demarcation between revenge and justice. He has a common goal to unite the people of dystopian Britain to overthrow the dictatorship that had been established by the use of force however he soon realises that his own will to seek vengeance gets caught up in the bigger picture. Violence sometimes does allow for social change to enter because it is the only efficient tool that can be used to stop other forms of violence from happening. As seen in the past however, leaders in modern day reality, like Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi, preached the use of non violence to resist oppression taking place however, in some cases, violence is required in order to make a section of society have their voices heard by the majority. When a person or group of people are being violent unnecessarily, then it is important to take steps, even if they might be violent ones, to stop them in order to re-establish social order within society. Violence can sometimes be used as a depiction of strength and ability; in the movie for example, there are a number of scenes where V is shown showing off his muscle power as he takes on a number of people and kills them just to be able to show the audience that he is made of steel on the inside. Despite this however, the vengeance that builds up inside V shifts him from his ultimate goal which was to condemn the existing form of oppression through revenge solely for the purpose of social justice. This is how the film has impacted society at large and seeks to be driven towards a much larger audience with a much bigger perspective of understanding how people are affected by a single event or happening that is enough to change their lives with a domino effect – as depicted in V for Vendetta. References Posada, Tim. "“V for Vendetta, Vengeance, or Violence”." OLD MEANINGLESS (archive). Web. 17 Nov. 2011. . Avatar Avatar has been one of the most scintillating movies made since 2009, directed and produced by James Cameron. The story weaves itself around a science fiction plot on a lush habitable moon called Pandora on which a local tribe Na’vi’s existence is being threatened because of humans exploiting and mining a precious mineral called ‘unobtanium’. The film revolves around how genetic engineering can help Na’vi-human hybrid bodies to interact with the native Na’vis belonging to Pandora and convince them to let human beings mine the mineral with a view to save the Earth from collapsing. It is a beautiful story set in the future and teaches people how to take care of resources and minerals while there is still time to do so. The film has been widely acclaimed by most of the world and is also one of the all time best sellers in the box office. The movie was a painful treatise of racism where a white man tries to claim ownership over the last remains of the planet. It talks about acceptance of Jake into the Na’vi society as he wins over even their blood in the end by completely converting into a species of the other form, so that he may win over his lady love, Neytiri. In popular culture this was not accepted by a lot of people and it took over the impressive effects that the movie had to offer. This is because most people understood that one cannot simply give up on their identity in order to grasp another one and at the same time, it is not possible for someone to intrude into another’s society and take over what belongs to them. In conclusion, there have been a number of critics talking big about this movie. Despite being so widely acclaimed by the audience, there are a number of people that came out with the negative points that Avatar reeked of. Its technological prowess helped it to bag the number one spot for a long time in the box office however, if one actually looks at the dialogues or the story line, a great amount of improvement could have been brought about. Nonetheless, the acting and performances of the various actors, as well as the creation of the Na’vi language itself was a wonder truly and one must take his hat off to salute Cameron’s imagination which was able to affect the minds of a large audience and help them become aware of the problems that every society in the world faces today – may they be about people in general or about conservation and preservation of resources and life. References Gibron, Bill. "“Avatar” — A Film Critic Review — Slice of SciFi." Avatar: Review. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. . Limitless “According to an old joke, a buyer pays for and consumes pellets marketed to him as "smartenin' pills". Later, he comes back complaining that he took the pills, but doesn't feel smarter. "You need more pills, then!” retorts the seller. The buyer concedes, and goes on his way. This continues until a day when the buyer shows up, somehow enlightened: "I'm on to your scam! These aren't smartenin' pills - they're rabbit poop!" To this the seller delivers the punch line, "Ah! Now you're finally getting smarter!"” This anecdote connects the movie Limitless in a very crucial manner because the movie is essentially a sci-fi or psychological thriller that has taken over brain power and intelligence, making the audience around the world understand the ill effects of drugs through strong and strange visuals and graphics. Bradley Cooper is the main character in the movie Limitless, directed by Neil Burger, released on the 18th of March, 2011. The film is based on the novel ‘The Dark Fields’ written by author Alan Glynn, which speaks about a rather surreal trip taken by a man desperate to find new ways to living life, without any obstructions. The movie follows the life and times of Eddie, (played by Cooper), a struggling writer living in the dingy areas of New York City, trying to make a name for himself, but to no avail. However, one fine day, he chances upon some NZT pills, a drug he is told, which will increase human access to his brain by a 100% instead of the normal 20% that most human beings that was available to most human beings. Cooper begins to take the pills, feeling a drastic change in his everyday routine, as the pills sharpen his skills and make him feel more energised than ever before. They provide him with the opportunity to feel manic and think extremely fast, making him finish the first ninety pages of his book within an instant. He shows the book to his publisher, and to his surprise, the publisher loves it and accepts it; this makes Eddie think that the pills were effective and that taking them on a daily basis could indeed change his life. The film then follows the course of Eddie’s dosage as he has an encounter by Russian thugs and tries to restore his past by comprehending and fixing his relationship with his ex wife. Several murders and violent scenes take place as Eddie gets mixed with villains that are out to get him and his pills, and the film also goes through a series of medical complications because soon Eddie witnesses that almost every person who had ever taken those pills has either died or is seriously ill and in danger of passing away very soon. He too begins to undergo blackouts and fits and cannot understand what is wrong as he begins to see that everyone around him is dying. Furthermore, the addiction caused by the pills does not help him in trying to overcome what has become his deepest and darkest fear. Thus, it has a haywire effect on the minds of the audience as it helps them decide the course of life each individual should pertain to with respect to drugs and other such substances. This film has had a very wide social impact as it has been able to gain an audience that has begun to fear the illicit use of drugs and their ill effects. References Tudor, Jim. LIMITLESS review. 2012. LIMITLESS review. [ONLINE] Available at:http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2011/03/limitless-review.php. [Accessed 08 January 2012]. Easy A Easy A is a movie about a young girl who is out to discover herself amidst her classmates, friends and family. Through the course of the film, Emma Stone helps to portray a confused teenage character who is trying to understand the use of her sexuality as well as be mature about it at the same time. The story takes a different twist as the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’ is incorporated into the modern day, helping teenagers to understand whether or not adultery committed in those days as compared to today could be branded as a total sin without understanding how it might be the woman in the first place, who is the real victim. Society plays a very important role when it comes to helping each other understand the importance of another individual in their midst; it is the impact that each person has on the other which helps people to ultimately think in one aspect and change the path that they want to follow in life. However, this movies teaches young children to be themselves and not lose themselves over conformity by letting them know that it is important to be loyal to their friends but not at the cost of their own personalities and beings. Emma Stone undergoes a major life changing decision when she decides to help a young gay boy tell people that he is indeed straight, so that he is able to gel with the other guys and make friends, while at the same time, she risks herself being called a ‘slut’. Soon, people begin to give her gifts in exchange for them being able to tell others that they slept with her, and she becomes misunderstood by everyone else as a prostitute, and thus gets accustomed to wearing a scarlet ‘A’ for having committed adultery just to prove to people that they are wrong. People are not able to understand her at first and only visualize her as being the one victimizing other people; her classmates who believe in the church and God are outraged by her behaviour and decide to throw an intervention for her. However, she tries to help them comprehend how it is not she but other people around her that are actually turning her out to be the evil person when she indeed is the victim of this entire mess. What turned out to be a process of trying to help some young men find their way in the world, Emma finds her own self in a heady mess of trying to let people know that she is not the one committing adultery but others around her are making her out to be that way. In the end, when no one comes to her rescue, she decides to make a web telecast of the entire episode and help people understand that she is a just a lost young girl trying to look for love and the right guy. References Honeycutt, K. (2010, October 14). Easy A Movie Review. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/easy-film-review-29975 Memento Memento is a murder mystery about a man suffering from amnesia; the movie takes the audience over a story about how a man has been tormented by others and is doing the same to people in order to get back what was once his. He has been fighting for his love without a memory, and at the same time, trying to help the world understand that his bad looks and conduct do not make him the evil man in the first place. As the plot of the film unfurls, the hero seems to be the villain, however, during the course of the film, the audience is able to understand the helplessness with which the hero, or Leonard, was able to tell his story to the police, about how he lost his one love and is currently suffering from amnesia. Memento is a movie about the mind and how a person may lose his memory but still be able to recall the things that matter to him the most. It is a very sociological as well as psychological aspect that human beings deal with; when they really want to remember something, then no amount of illness or amnesia can help them forget it or wipe it out of their memories. This film as well, helps to tell the story of a man who has solely been seeking for some respite and solace in order to have his loved one rest in peace; he will not rest until he is able to get the killers put to justice for the crime that they committed. However, the twist of the story involves making a sociological impact on people and helping them understand the importance of being able to have a voice that is heard. It is very tough for a person, who is especially mentally challenged, to be taken seriously by the rest of the community because people assume that he is out of his mind or not speaking rationally. However, this is not true and such people need their voice to be heard as well by others in order to have justice restored and have other people know what it is like to be in their shoes at that point. In conclusion, Memento is a social psychological film helping a man realise the tricks that his mind is playing at him, and thus helping him to make himself be heard in the face of rationality and justice. The film was able to make a very big social impact on the lives of other people and help them realise the vitality of being able to understand people who are challenged physically or mentally. References Null, C. (n.d.). Memento. Film Critic. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/2001/memento/ Read More