Month: March 2023

Philadelphia (1993)

Rating 12
Length 2h06
Release 25.2.1994
Director Jonathan Demme
About A young Philadelphia lawyer who is infected with AIDS keeps his homosexuality hidden from his employers. When he is suddenly dismissed, he hires a homophobic lawyer for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Now TV
Trailer:

The Good

  • Both Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks gave incredible performances.
  • The story itself is powerful and one of the first of its kind to explore, or rather challenge, views on sexuality and the stigma of the HIV/AIDS crisis that had been misrepresented in mass media for the entire decade since being recognised as a “novel illness” in the early 80s.
    By no means an easy watch, the film highlights the difference between opinion, morality and the law. It will make you think, learn and question. Something all films try to achieve, but very rarely accomplish.
  • For me, one of the highlights of the film is Daniel Von Bargen as the Jury Foreman. He’s a well known, been in everything, character actor (films include Thinner, The Faculty and A Civil Action). You’ll be forgiven for any presumption you make; don’t worry, the film manipulated you in that way too. He has very few lines, but draws your attention from the start to give a rather surprising and satisfying payoff in the end.

The Bad

  • There’s a use of the camera as Andrew’s POV. I can see what it was trying to achieve, however I felt it distracted and pulled the viewer from the story rather than being emotive and immersive.
  • How was it that Denzel Washington was not even nominated for an Oscar?! I knew he hasn’t won, because I believe he received that honour for Training Day (2002) almost a decade later.

The Ugly

  • The tears. This might be one you watch alone, because there’ll be a point in which this film will break you. When that happens, the cathartic tears will come, but they won’t stop till long after the film’s credits finish.
  • There’s some ugly language used, even by one of our protagonists; Joe. However hard it is to hear them being used, we have to remember the context and it’s representation of a certain time, culture and society. It makes for a hard, but important watch.

Final Thoughts

So good everyone must watch it once in their lifetime, but so heart breaking that it most likely be just that once.

Juno (2007)

Rating PG
Length 1h36
Release 12.4.2017
Director Jason Reitman
About Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Disney+
Trailer:

The Good

  • The music. Damn, that’s a time capsule of the late Nought’s indie scene. Not only that, but it plays perfectly into the relationships and the situation.
  • There’s some heavy hitters coming to play and they really bring their all. Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney and J K Simmons all are all bringing their known faces a-game.
    Elliot Paige and Michael Cena are both excellent in their breakout roles as awkward teens navigating a difficult situations. It annoys me how good Cena is, and if anything it makes me hate him more.

The Bad

  • I hate Michael Cena. Despite his perfect approach to the role, his existence in it makes it near on unwatchable. Everyone has one, that actor that you just cannot stand for an inexplicable reason.

The Ugly

  • I didn’t find the Juno-babble as charming this time around. Perhaps being older, I now see it for what it is: rude and self centred. Particularly in the way the character talks to her step-mother. Who has been incredibly understanding, supportive and loving throughout.
    Yes, Elliot Paige is amazing in the role and he is perfect casting. However, the charm of the film as a whole is dampened by not finding the charm in Juno.
  • The ick factor of the jailbait love-in sub-plot. Don’t get me wrong, I love how it all ends up, but no matter how many times I watch this film, I physically feel sick.

Final Thoughts

It’s a feelgood pro-choice movie with a chunk of charm. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but most importantly you’ll feel uplifted before the credits roll.