Thoughts on Juno

The DVD for Juno (that teen-has-a-baby smash hit starring Ellen Page) released on April 15, and the promotional efforts were enough to remind me that I'd been meaning to see it. Conveniently enough, the film is currently showing at the University Mall Theatre in Fairfax (though why it's still out, I can't be certain). So I decided to watch the movie last night - way to be the last one on the bandwagon, right? - and I must say, I was pretty disappointed. It's not that Juno was bad -- it's just that the media hype had me expecting so much more.

The dialogue was fast and realistically unique, which was one of the biggest praises of the film from critics and casual fans alike. But I missed the outstanding wit that was supposedly there... Cody Diablo's script coaxed a few out-loud laughs from me, but as a whole it wasn't a particularly witty movie. In fact, I was more sad than amused -- where it didn't get laughs, the film earned a few tears. I think it works as an interesting look at people, but not as the fast-paced teenage-pregnancy charmer everyone seems to be claiming it is.



One of the other great praises for the film was the soundtrack, which featured a lot of Kimya Dawson. The music was passable; at times it felt cute and indie-appropriate, but occasionally I wanted a little more pitch and polish (for shame!). The soundtrack is probably a better buy than the DVD, though.

All in all, I think the praise for the movie ruined it for me. It's amazing how sometimes media attention can lessen the greatness of a work in some cases, and absolutely benefit it in others (and here I'm thinking of the slow-burning popularity of Across the Universe and Once, both of which I adore).

I guess I'll have to head to the Cinema Arts theatre for some off-the-beaten-path movies in the future. But then, isn't how this whole mess got started anyway?

The mainstream critics really know how to ruin a good thing.

We Are Wizards

So, this weekend I took a trip with Delma from the Northern Virginia Harry Potter Meetup Group [DADA] and her children to see the East Coast premiere of 'We Are Wizards' at the New York Underground Film Festival.

As a quick note: this is the final year for the festival, which has taken place for a decade and a half. Be sure to keep an eye on Migrating Forms, the next step for two of the NYUFF directors (Nellie Killian and Kevin McGarry).

'We Are Wizards' was nicely shot, though it didn't have a very cohesive storyline. It began telling the story of several Harry Potter bands - full disclaimer, I am a wizard rocker and friends with the Horntail family - and they were entertaining and served as a good introduction to wizard rock for the uninitiated. The story then gets a bit lost, delving slightly into fan culture and then focusing on the Warner Brothers controveries. While I loved the archival footage illustrating 'the man,' I wanted a bit more resolution on how the battles were settled; it felt like quite a lot of buildup for not a lot of answers.

Seeing the film was a great experience, though, because I fall along the line of the film's subject matter and so did a great deal of the audience. For those of us who were familiar with the story, it was an amazing chance to watch our history documented and see hidden glimpses of the stories behind the people we know and love. It was almost like watching Rocky Horror at times - audience members calling the Christian woman a witch when she motioned towards her 'crystal ball' and singing along with various wizard rock lryics. The moments focused on Brad Neely (creator of an audio commentary track for the first HP film titled 'Wizard People, Dear Readers') brought some of the biggest laughs of our showing, with his high-pitched warble retelling the story of Harry P.



All in all, it was a great weekend - though I was too young for the after party, for shame - and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Bonus: We stayed at the Hotel Le Bleu, which is a nice hotel stuck with little consideration to location in Brooklyn. It had a very sleek, modern design and classy color scheme, but failed to differentiate between bedrooms and bathrooms. Open showers and frosted glass doors make it much more appropriate for those with close relationships than for near strangers.