Juno

Introduction:

Director:  Jason Reitman

Writer: Diablo Cody

Stars: Ellen Page, Michael Cera and Jennifer Garner                                                         From: IMDb

Storyline:

A tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she’s pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the PennySaver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds. Will Juno’s plan work, can she improvise, and what about Bleeker? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

Picture Credit: Poll Community

I saw this movie several times, every time I have different feelings. But every time the purpose of watching this movie is the same—-to relax.

I still remembered the first time I saw this movie—my roommate and I in our college dormitory in a boring and hot afternoon. After finishing this movie, we both showed the expression of not understandable, maybe because we cannot understand the plot in this movie, first—a teenage pregnant girl, second, the reaction of Juno’s lovely parents. If this kind of thing happened in China, first, the teenage girl will be despised by other peers at school, second; the parents will severely blame a teenage pregnant girl like Juno, since Chinese parents will think this humiliating if their young daughter gets pregnant. I guess this is the cultural difference.

Second time when I saw this movie, it was shown by our English Listening instructor in my second college year, we usually would see a movie every one or two weeks, this time, I did not remember how I felt about this movie, I just had a feeling that since our instructor showed this movies for us, it must be something.

The more times I saw this movie, the more I like Juno. She was such a cool girl. Leave the cultural difference between China and America, just think of the personality of Juno, you would not like to move your eyes off this girl.

One of my favorite TV host and author Kangyong Cai commented Juno like this: if he would like to know one character from a film, Juno is the first person he wants to know. Because “as a 16 year old girl, she is smarter, cooler, more honest, more fun, more energetic, more braver than I was at my 16.”

The last sentence he wrote was: when a person is wonderful, everything happened around her will easily become wonderful. I guess that’s why I like this movie, I like Juno. Because I am always thinking that I am the opposite side of Juno, I am the person who cannot be wonderful only on my own.

Plus, I like the music and the lyrics in this movie.

While He Was Sleeping

Introduction:

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Writers: Daniel G. Sullivan, Fredric LeBow

Stars: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher                                                       From: IMDb

Storyline:

Lucy’s life consists of constant lonliness that is until she saves Peter’s life. Now she is a part of his family, and with a strong heart and fate on her side, others begin to realize what a terrific person she is, especially Jack, Peter’s brother. An extraordinarily true-to-life sequence of events begin to take place as Lucy and Jack become closer and learn more about each other and themselves than one would ever expect from such coincidental, yet believable events. From: Michael Lee Pollock

Picture Credit:  Michael P. Weinstein – © 1995 Hollywood Pictures Company.

After seeing this movie second time, I decided to write something down. I just saw it randomly on the playing list, and then I watched this movie. The moment when the leader actress appeared on the screen, I knew I’ve seen that movie before. One of the scenes came straight to my mind—the woman and the man were leaning on each other and they were trying not to slip and fall over on the slippery ice. I recognized the leader actress—Sandra Bullock.

When did I saw it for the first time? I think when I was still in my junior school, in maybe 2000.The movie I saw at that time was already translated into Chinese. At that time I don’t see as many films as I was in university and now. Internet was not appearing at that time, yet. So, once there were some interesting movies showing on TV, I wouldn’t miss that chance to see it. So the movie gave me very deep impression.

There must be some reasons I still remembered this movie. I guess maybe because the plot of the movie was very interesting and god, when I saw it this time, I just wonder Sandra Bullock was so beautiful at that movie and her performance was so natural. Furthermore, it was the love existing in the movie. Either it was love between the leader actor and actress, or the love between family members, or the love Jack held for Peter. All these love made this movie unforgettable, at least for me.

It was a weird and wonderful feeling when I recalled a movie I’ve seen like ten years ago. This time, I knew the real name of the leader actress and I kind of trying to want to reminisce the feeling when I watched it for the first time.

As for me, it is really a cool thing.

Becoming Jane

A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.

Director: Julian Jarrold

Writers: Jane Austen (letters), Kevin Hood

Stars: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy and Julie Walters

Release Date: 10 August 2007 (USA)                                                                                              From: IMDb

Storyline: The year is 1795 and young Jane Austen is a feisty 20-year-old and emerging writer who already sees a world beyond class and commerce, beyond pride and prejudice, and dreams of doing what was then nearly unthinkable – marrying for love. Naturally, her parents are searching for a wealthy, well-appointed husband to assure their daughter’s future social standing. They are eyeing Mr. Wisley, nephew to the very formidable, not to mention very rich, local aristocrat Lady Gresham, as a prospective match. But when Jane meets the roguish and decidedly non-aristocratic Tom Lefroy, sparks soon fly along with the sharp repartee. His intellect and arrogance raise her ire – then knock her head over heels. Now, the couple, whose flirtation flies in the face of the sense and sensibility of the age, is faced with a terrible dilemma. If they attempt to marry, they will risk everything that matters – family, friends and fortune. Written by Orange

 

From: 2  Entertain

It is a review I wrote when I watched the film in several years ago.

I just finished Becoming Jane ,on the one hand, I found that well I was so ill-informed about Jane Austin as an English major, I even didn’t finish the complete novel Pride and Prejudice. So I have decided to see the novel this semester. I just read the abridged version when I was in my fresh year; it was the teacher to force us to do that.

Returning about the film, it was almost the same experience as Elizabeth did in the novel, but what the difference was that Jane gave her novel a very happy ending, totally different from her real life. The first time she met Lefroy, the plot was the same as was wrote in the novel. When she was waiting for L’s awkward uncle’s permission for their engagement, she began to pick up the pen to write this novel, the original name of the novel was The First Impression.

The moment when L appeared in the screen for the first time, I was so happy. The leading actress was so anxious looking for him when she entered the ball room. And I just thought well on the earth there could be nothing as beautiful as love; there could be nothing that makes people exciting as love could. I also found that women were indeed very powerless in front of love; they could just depend on men, especially at that age.

 

But even though they loved each other very much, finally they didn’t get together. After the publishing of the novel, Jane met L again who has been a father now. And he also named his first daughter Jane. Well, I can’t see any motion from Jane’s face when she met L again. Maybe as time goes by, her heart has become very quite. She never married so did her sister.L became lawyer and got great accomplishments.

When I was watching the film, there was always the plot in Pride and Prejudice jumping into my mind, because they were so alike. It intrigued me wanting to know more about Jane.

Breaking and Entering

Introduction:

A Landscape Architect’s dealings with a young thief cause him to re-evaluate his life.

Director: Anthony Minghella

Writer: Anthony Minghella

Stars: Jude Law, Robin Wright and Vera Farmiga

Release Date: 26 January 2007 (USA)                                                                         From: IMDb

Storyline

A mother and her daughter, a mother and her son, and a man living with one and attracted to the other. Miro, a teen from Sarajevo, lives near King’s Cross with his mother; he’s nimble, able to run across roofs, so his uncle hires him to break into office skylights, so the uncle can boost computers. Twice they steal from Will’s architectural firm, so Will stakes it out at night. He follows Miro home and returns the next day and meets Miro’s mother, Amira. At home, Will’s relationship with Liv is strained – he feels outside Liv and her daughter Bea’s circle. The stakeout and Amira’s vulnerability are attractive alternatives to being at home. The police, too, watch Miro. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

From:  Oldal

Here is a movie I wrote when I first saw Breaking and Entering in 04.05.2007 at 4:01 PM

Breaking and Entering, a short dialogue from the film:
Francis: I want you back

Liv: Then just win me back.

Maybe Francis has been made a mistake about what he loves and what love he is always looking for. Liv, F’s girlfriend, have an abnormal daughter, Bea, who seldom sleeps, always does gymnastics, and enjoys collecting batteries. Francis is not her born father, so Liv often thought F could not love B as much as she hoped. Liv is a Swedish woman. F is always telling her ” you are beautiful ,I love you”。

F is a good English man. He sure is. He hasn’t done anything to a woman who was trying to seduce him. She is a whore. I think he is a man who is easily to talk with and who is easily to be talked with. He slept with M’s mother, and at that time I was just pondering, “oh, my god, would’t he love that woman, who seemed to be older than him and looks plain”. But he was, he had a strong feeling about that woman.

The women, ignorant at first, but when she figured out “something of jacket”, she did something stupid even it could be said to be rediculous. Maybe we can just forgive her because she was a “mother”。When F talked to Liv “he has been always looking for love, and when he finally found it, he did find it, he lost it again.” The love he meant he has found was the love he got from M’s mom. He thought it was.At the end of the film ,all the details that when he told Liv he wanted to marry her, he loved her ,and the way he was looking at M’s mother,made me feel that well sometimes people can really get confused about in their daily life, and they thought maybe it was not the way they wanted, but when finally they sit down to think about what they have owned now, they would be appreciative.F was just a representative of most of us.We do lose ourselves sometimes,but eventually if we can find ourselves back,our life will have a different meaning,and we will become much maturer.

F is a good man, I like him, he is kind-hearted, he is responsible, and he is good-mannered. Maybe he got the traditional English men’s character, I like him very much.

I never wrote (perhaps I could call this one somewhat of a film review) this before, but today I make it. I find in fact it is a bit hard for me to write this kind of thing, in addition to that, I didn’t catch up well with the lines, since it is both in Chinese and English. I am busy in looking at the two languages. Maybe I will see the film for the second time, perhaps.

By the way, M is a handsome guy, althought in my opinion he is probably type of cue.

State Garden

Introduction:

A quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother’s funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.

Director: Zach Braff

Writer:  Zach Braff

Stars: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard

Release Date: 22 September 2004 (Trinidad and Tobago)                                                            From: IMDb

Storyline:  Andrew Largeman is a semi-successful television actor who plays a retarded quarterback. His somewhat controlling and psychiatrist father has led Andrew (“Large”) to believe that his mother’s wheelchair bound life was his fault. Andrew decides to lay off the drugs that his father and his doctor made him believe that he needed, and began to see life for what it is. He began to feel the pain he had longed for, and began to have a genuine relationship with a girl who had some problems of her own. Written by MichaelAGodfrey@aol.com

From: Picture of Garden State

I have seen this movie for three or four times. There is seldom a movie that I would like to see it again. The reason for it is that Natalie Portman. I like her and I like her performance in the movie. When Largeman and Sam (her name in the movie) met for the first time, her elaboration for the role was just wonderful and makes me feel awesome and it was natural.

The movie itself is a reason and she is another reason. I like to see what happens slowly in the movie and didn’t bother to guess the results.

When Largeman said, “I guess I could choose to trust you”. I am wondering the word “choose”, it is a perfect word to use at the scene.

I think I will watch it again.