Movie Reviews: 'Juno' and 'Iron Man'

Just saw 'Juno' for the first time last night on DVD. It had been hyped to an unbelievable degree by E and various friends and colleagues. I have to admit, it largely held up very well. It had been billed to me as an unexpectedly hilarious comedy. But what helped it meet or exceed expectations was that it is definitely not, in my opinion, a comedy.

The highlights for 'Juno' for me were the fantastic writing, fantastic characters, and fantastic acting. The writing was very witty, genuine, intelligent, sentimental, and refreshingly simple and straightforward. Funny, too, but it definitely wasn't through jokes or gags; again, a drama with funny moments, not a comedy. It also completely avoided being preachy, cloyingly sweet or sappy, or pretentious. The characters talked like real people would talk and only said things real people might say. But it was all stitched together seamlessly with a firm direction. The characters were beautifully developed. No stereotypes (I guess the adoptive husband comes the closest), no clear good guys and bad guys (again, husband comes closest), complex but genuine characters that you immediately care a lot about. And the acting was wonderfully understated, nuanced, and solid throughout. Ellen Page was justifiably heralded, though my close second was J.K Simmons as Juno's dad.

I also recently saw 'Iron Man' in the theatres. Totally different film, obviously, but also fantastic. Favreau did a great job directing this. Robert Downey, Jr. was spectacular and really made Tony Stark his own. He was powerful, gripping, charismatic out the wazoo, funny, and very very convincing. It was impossible not to have fun watching him. That's the movie in a nutshell: very very fun. The special effects were great (his armor is badass!) but didn't detract or overwhelm. The writing was light and well done for the genre. The plot was very feasible as superhero plots go; you could follow it without too much need for willing suspension of disbelief. And it packed plenty of thrills while still staying character-focused. The only drawbacks for me were that the romance with Gwynyth Paltrow was a tad forced, her character was a tad lightweight, Terrence Howard was also a tad lightweight and one-dimensional, and while Jeff Bridges was awesome as a greedy corporate tycoon, he unraveled a little when he put on the armor suit and became a supervillain, a little too formula. But all in all, considering the genre and source material, this was an extremely fun film.

This summer is promising to be a doozy! Next on my list is the new Narnia flick, which looks a lot more exciting and action-packed than the first. And of course the new Batman and Indiana Jones movies coming up. Just the things to pick up business for Hollywood after a slow start to the year.