Just got back from watching “Juno” at the Picturehouse and I’m settling in for E!’s coverage of the Oscar red carpet. Doubt I’ll make the actual ceremony, but “Die Hard” is on itv, I’ve got a litre of chocolate milk in the fridge and my popcorn’s almost ready, so the evening’s far from over. Sweet.
Two of the movies vying for honours tonight are “There Will Be Blood” helmed by Paul Thomas Anderson (”Magnolia”, “Boogie Nights”) and token indie underdog “Juno” by freshman Jason Reitman (son of the legendary Ivan). Both are excellent and I strongly recommend you see them. Are you sold? You should be. My word is gold. Ask anyone.
“There Will Be Blood” spans the career of self-made millionaire and “oil man” Daniel Plainview and offers something of an educational but tinted window on the broadening of America’s frontiers at the turn of the 20th century. There aren’t really any funny bits in this one. It’s a very troubling movie. You’ll probably walk out of the cinema feeling a little fucked up. We sure as hell did. But Daniel Day Lewis’s performance is flawless and is quite possibly one of the best that I’ve ever seen. If I was a betting man, I’d put a trolley of cash and the family jewels on him walking the Best Actor category tonight. Daniel Plainview is a serious badass; I thought that Javier Bardem in “No Country For Old Men” was hardcore, but Day Lewis really teaches him a lesson or two in being a total cock. Daniel (Day Lewis) must be an unbearable freak in real life – anyone who can bring an asshole like Daniel (Plainview) to life so utterly convincingly must have serious, serious issues of his own. Scary stuff. But without doubt one of the finest performances in cinematic history. In fairness, I haven’t seen Viggo Mortensen get his junk out (literally) in “Eastern Promises”, but I’m not going to let a little ignorance swing my vote.
What else can I say about “There Will Be Blood”? It’s a really nifty movie – beautifully shot, masterfully composed, etc, etc, etc. Unfortunately for the picture as a whole, Daniel Day Lewis dominates over every other aspect which means it’s most likely that “There Will Be Blood” will lose out to “No Country For Old Men” in the Best Picture shtick. As superb a movie as it is, I figure it’s cursed to be remembered as “that Day Lewis movie”, in much the same way that Forrest Whittaker stomped the crap out of “The Last King of Scotland” in 2007.
I was pleasantly surprised by “Juno”, which (as I’ve now learned from E!) was penned by former stripper and celebrity blogger, Diablo Cody (also nominated). Its Oscar predecessor “Little Miss Sunshine” (also by Fox Searchlight) was cute enough, but this is a good flick. And it was so nice to walk out of a film feeling upbeat about life for a change.
That’s not to say that “Juno” doesn’t have its share of drama, because it does and Reitman more than manages to instil great depth and feeling into what is ultimately a light-hearted, optimistic film. Which means it works on any number of levels, giving it guaranteed re-watch potential. It doesn’t hurt that the movie sports a killer cast, including Jennifer Garner, “Arrested Development” alumni Jason Bateman and Michael Cera (who are always great but disappointingly don’t share any scenes) and veteran cougar Allison Janney who rocks the kazbah in this one.
Ellen Page is a breath of fresh air in the titular role – like a female Zach Braff, only cool and not totally up her own ass – and brings a compelling vulnerability to Juno’s fringe-focused feistiness (it’s called alliteration and it’s awesome) and retro-punk bravado. Sure, she’s not a classic hottie, but she’s cute as hell and I’d happily knock her up all over again. Scratch that: one thing I definitely came away with from “Juno” is a healthy fear of unplanned fatherhood. Fuck the clap, pregnancy is just as terminal as any rough-and-regular STD.
Although the story relates superficially to teenage irresponsibility, “Juno” is a generous canvas that engages the ageless themes of commitment and of, well, aging. Everyone will take something out of this, even if it is just a healthy prophylactic wake-up call.
So here’s my prescription: one dose of “There Will Be Blood” followed shortly thereafter by a generous application of “Juno”. Hopefully the latter will go some way towards healing the emotional trauma inflicted by the former.
HAHA! Gary Busey just wandered into Ryan Seacrest’s interview with Laura Linney and Jennifer Garner and molested both of them. It was beautiful. True blue Busey! And once the ladies left, Busey turned on Seacrest, who embarrassingly had no idea who Busey was, resulting in a ridiculous half-cocked stand-off between two enormous douchebags. Although, in fairness, Gary Busey is more of a fruitloop than a douche, which makes him a real card. Ryan Seacrest’s just an idiot. Quality entertainment. Red carpets rule.