Let’s kick things off with Film of the Week, Juno. Whether it is the razor sharp Oscar winning script, the assured direction or the excellent performances, this film is just plain irresistible. Starring Ellen Page as the titular pregnant teen and Michael Cera as the male half of the equation, Juno is a refre
shing, thoughtful and down right hilarious take on the teen pregnancy movie.
Cloverfield. What have I got to say about this movie? On the positive side the film works a lot better on the small screen than it does at the cinema but unfortunately it is still not as good as some would have you believe. Whilst the concept of a monster movie as recorded by a citizen journalist is intriguing the film suffers from breaking the rules of the format (the camera man claims that he wants people to know ‘how it all went down’ but frequently ignores the ‘great big once in a life time you ain’t seen nothing like this event’ in favour of the unconvincing domestic drama – in fact if you want to see this type of thing done really well check out Spanish horror film Rec. when it hits 
DVD in early August). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this is originality as defined by the self obsessed YouTube generation and maybe that is where it should have stayed.
Of the new releases that I have not yet had the pleasure of watching I am most intrigued by The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and River Queen. The first relates the story of a man who became paralysed everywhere apart from his left eye and used this one way of communicating to dictate a memoir and the second concerns a family in 1860’s New Zealand who find themselves caught between opposing Maori and Colonial factions. Whilst both of these films sound slightly on the dour side of life they have both been highly praised for their bold visuals and compelling subjects.
Also released are the Eva Longoria starring Over Her Dead Body and Dan in Real Life (featuring Steve Carell) – the most interesting nuggets of info I can find about these two is that the former was, apparently, originally titled Ghost Bitch and the later features a nice performance from Juliette Binoche.
