THIS COULD ACTUALLY BE “THE” FUTURE : “SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD”

I love “feel good” movies. Come on, admit it, we all do. Sometimes, you just need it – you don’t have the mental energy or the enthusiasm to take on something heavy and / or depressing. But the trouble I find with feel good movies is that they tend to be a little too… You know… Light. I mean, finding an actual good quality film that will give you a barrel of laughs and make you feel brilliant is in fact no mean feat. Just think about it, you’ll see what I mean… This is why I say that Scott Pilgrim might JUST be the future on that count alone. Excellent quality, brilliant actors and a hilarious movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. You’ll feel light and warm and bubbly at the end – plus the stomach cramps from laughing. No kidding folks, I am in LOVE with this movie! I mean, I loved Michael Cera anyway – you probably had that one figured. Kieran Culkin I was curious about – like a lot of people of my generation I was crazy about Macauly his older brother (shame he burnt himself out eh? I reckon he could have been great… Oh well he might do a comeback I suppose but we’ll probably never know…). Mary Elisabeth Winstead, our female lead, I had never heard of but oh well… The director? Edgar Wright, director of such British classics as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the dead (and if you’ve never heard of them fear not; reviews are coming your way VERY soon). I should now get on to what I’m actually raving about, right? Right. Here’s the story.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a normal 22 year-old living in Canada. He is in a band, he lives with his gay roommate (and landlord)Wallace has a pretty average life. His love life,however, is complicated (does that sound familiar or what?). Ever since his BIG ex dumped him, he has been unable to get his love life back in gear. There is progress though; he can just about get himself to date 17 year-olds. But then Ramona breezes into his life. She is mysterious, charismatic and beautiful; Scott doesn’t stand a chance so to speak. Even better, his feelings seem to be mutual. There is, however, one problem. To get to date Ramona, Scott must defeat her seven evil exes in battle. For the quiet and mild mannered Pilgrim, this is going to be interesting…

Ok, I will not go into great detail and give the “game” away. But you may have gathered from that short summary that the film has quite a few “fantastic” elements. First, there are the special effects. Dear God, the film has some of the best / cutest special effects you EVER saw. Then there is the editing. Very quick, very funny, VERY witty. It was pretty much the same story in Hot Fuzz if you saw that one. I mean, it’s fast but not like Magnolia where your head starts to churn after a while. Still, the editing is so damn clever it has an actual presence in the film along with the special effects. You’ll get what I mean when you watch it. (Yes, even if you’re not sure what editing is….)
This film has two very obvious aims, to amuse and entertain; boy do they succeed – down to the smallest touches and details (AGAIN for those of us who saw Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz). And naturally, no opportunity at getting a laugh is missed as far as the characters are concerned either; these are some of the funniest characters I have ever seen on the big screen. The straight faced and sarcastic Wallace as portrayed by Kieran Culkin was by far my favorite. (I seem to have a “thing” for side characters this week). Scott’s 17 year-old girlfriend Knives Chau – priceless. One might of course (quite rightly) say that Michael Cera is getting slightly typecast. This part is almost identical to Nick in Nick and Nora’s infinite playlist. The two films, however, could not be further apart stylistically. And besides, Cera is so damn good at the part anyway; it won’t do anyone any harm to see him do it a second time… This film is worth it…

(P.S. You may need basic knowledge of video games to “get” one of the plot twists, have someone like that handy if you don’t. It’s not rocket science either however, I mean even I figured it out without help and I’m computer-game illiterate… )

TEENAGE PREGNANCY MADE AMUSING – MEET JUNO!

I kinda like the idea of honoring Oscar ® winners past and present seeing as the awards season is upon us. So I’m going to keep it up for a bit… Now, do you remember Juno? Won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay, was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress the same year. I bet that got your attention, even if you didn’t remember it before!
Well, I’m kind of sure my title got your attention too. And of course, teenage pregnancy is nothing to be scoffed at or laughed about. But this is not any old film. And Juno ain’t any old girl…
Ok, so meet Juno (our Oscar® nominee Ellen Page). She is an eminently original and down to earth 15 year old, and she is in a bit of a predicament. Because after having “tried some sex” with her best friend Bleaker (Michael Cera – possibly one of my favorite actors of his generation) she is pregnant. Abortion seems the only sensible course of action and Juno actually almost has her foot through the clinic door when she is reliably informed that her baby has fingernails. That does it as far as Juno is concerned, and the baby has to be born. It will just have to be put up for adoption. So Juno and her best friend start looking for a suitable couple (in Pennysaver) and find a perfect looking ad, right next to the advertisement for parakeets. And they indeed seem to be the ideal couple. She (Jennifer Garner) has a good job in the city; he (Jason Bateman) is actually a composer and kinda cool. So all seems to be going well. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as “the perfect couple” and life tends to throw curveballs in these situations, as Juno and her baby are about to find out…
There is so much I simply LOVE about this film. Ellen Page and Michael Cera make a brilliant couple. The characters are out of the ordinary in more ways than one – both from real life and nothing you’ve ever seen at the same time. And the story-line is also fresh, I mean seriously, how many amusing takes on teenage pregnancy have you watched before? There are many twists to the tale and I promise you, you will not be expecting them. Last of all, ok, the main characters are 15. But that DOES NOT mean this is a children’s film. Oh no. Not by a long shot.

NICK AND NORAH’S INFINATE PLAYLIST

When I stumbled across this bizarrely named little gem, I honestly had no expectations for it what so ever. An hour and a half later, I stood corrected. It was (is, in fact) possibly the sweetest film I have ever watched…
And let me add straight away that I am not a great fan of calling films sweet. The problem is that there is no other way to describe it. The characters are all wonderful, believable, funny, faulty and very easy to sympathize with. The storyline is not that new and contains some clichés but funnily enough none of it is cheesy. I mean, even the “gay best friends” (who seemed to be an obligatory accessory for many films in the 90’s) have a fresh, fun take on them that make them real (by the way, one of the said gay friends in question is played by Aaron Yoo, who it turns out I have seen in a number of other films one of which was The Wackness I picked last week! Seen and admired I should have said incidentally, I greatly enjoyed his performance here as well) In short, it is very much like a real love story, and leaves you feeling all fuzzy and glittery inside… Yes yes, you DO know what I mean, don’t deny it.
Now the story: High-school student Nick (Michael Cera – star of the Oscar winning film Juno) has a problem. He can’t get over his ex – Tris. To be fair, Tris was a man-eater who cheated on him and dumped him but such is life. He is a musician and is in a band, and his depression has even started to affect the band. He tries to reconnect with Tris by making mixed music cds for her, but Tris just laughs and discards them. But they do not go to the trash, oh no. They are adopted by her “friend” Norah (Kat Dennings), whose respect for Nick and his taste in music are growing daily – even though they have never met. Norah, by the way has an affliction: a famous father. It makes her suffer greatly, but she just does her best to live a normal life and in the mean time tries to keep her party-animal friend Caroline from getting wasted. Again.
One night, a completely random encounter after Nick’s band’s gig will transform what could be a completely random evening out into a crazy adventure. And will transform Nick and Norah’s lives forever…