Movie Review

“Juno” Review

Juno PosterHere’s my review of “Juno,” the first of two movie reviews I’ll be doing this week. (I’m using the “Ramsey Movie Criteria.”)

Content
“Juno” follows the story of Juno MacGuff, a witty and “offbeat” teen who gets pregnant after becoming “sexually active” with Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera from Arrested Development). She decides to give her baby up for adoption, finding a perfect couple to raise her baby.

“Juno” is a very funny movie, with clever quips and punchy, fairly realistic dialog among its characters. The story is unique and relatively well-conceived. There isn’t a lot (any) action, but the film moves along at a nice pace, never dragging or feeling boring.

The movie is rated PG-13 due to mature thematic material, sexual content and language. There is some fairly foul language and the subject is also mature, but the sexual content is relatively minor, with absolutely no nudity.

Performance
I think that all of the actors did an incredible job playing their part — even Jennifer Garner! Ellen Paige did a phenomenal job brining Juno to life. Michael Cera’s nervous innocence was perfect in this role. Jason Bateman (another AD cast member) was great. J.K. Simmons was natural in the role of Juno’s father. In short, the performances were excellent all around, with no one coming across as too bizarre, stereotypical or exaggerated.

Artistic Value
Artistic value is an interesting category for this type of movie. It’s not what you would call “beautiful” exactly, but its editing and graphics match the quirky feeling of the film nicely. The music is absolutely great (I’m listening to the soundtrack right now).

Outcome
Hayley and I both enjoyed this movie immensely. The ending is satisfying and leaves you feeling encouraged and happy. This film will definitely be purchased by the Ramsey household upon its DVD release.

Rating:
I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

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“Stardust” Review

Stardust posterThis weekend, Hayley and I saw “Stardust,” a fantasy that follows Tristan’s journey to become a man by winning the heart of his true love. Here’s my review. (I’m using the “Ramsey Movie Criteria.”)

Content
Stardust provides us with a wonderful, new fairy tale. The protagonist, Tristan, promises the girl he is courting that he will retrieve a fallen star in return for her hand in marriage. But Tristan isn’t the only one after the star. A witch and a wicked prince are also after it for their own nefarious purposes.

The story is engaging and satisfying, if not particularly surprising. Things play out pretty much the way you expect them to, but this is hardly a slander against the film. It is, after all, intended to be a fairy tale and it executes this purpose magnificently.

Speaking of “executing” there was a bit of violence in this film, but most of it was standard fare for movies of this type. Most of the violence was implied, not shown. That said, it might be a little disturbing for younger viewers.

The movie is rated PG-13 due to fantasy violence and some risqué dialog.

Performance
I thought the actors’ performances were spot-on from the sweet, but timid Tristan to the frighteningly powerful and evil Lamia, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who, of course, did an absolutely stunning job (how do you like the number of commas in that sentence?). Ricky Gervais was almost the highlight of the film for me, bringing his hilarious delivery to an entirely too-short scene. Movie producers, we want more Ricky!

Artistic Value
The film was beautiful with exceptional special effects, perfect costumes and nice camera work. The score was slightly forgettable, but inoffensive.

Outcome
Hayley and I both enjoyed this movie immensely. The ending is satisfying and leaves you feeling uplifted and happy to be in love. This film will likely be purchased by the Ramsey household upon its DVD release.

Rating:

I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

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Have you seen this flick? What did you think?
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