Reviews and More

The J.J. Abrams-produced Cloverfield struck box office gold over the weekend with an estimated haul of $41 million — almost twice what industry experts predicted, and rather surprising given the fact that the cast contains no big stars.

27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl, debuted at No.2 with an estimated $22.4 million in ticket sales. Mad Money, the Katie Holmes-Diane Keaton-Queen Latifah vehicle, was the only other new release in the top 10, holding the No.7 spot with $7.7 million in earnings.

Last week’s box office champ, The Bucket List, dropped down to No.3 with $15.2 million.

Here’s the complete Top 10:

1. Cloverfield, $41 million
2. 27 Dresses, $22.4 million
3. The Bucket List, $15.2 million
4. Juno, $10.3 million
5. National Treasure: Book of Secrets, $8.1 million
6. First Sunday, $7.8 million
7. Mad Money, $7.7 million
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks, $7 million
9. I am Legend, $5.1 million
10. Atonement, $4.8 million

Many celebrity gossip sites have been buzzing with Eminem weight gain rumors for the past few weeks. Apparently, the rapper was rushed to the hospital during the Christmas holidays because of a bout with pneumonia, and at that time, TMZ reported that the 5′7″ Eminem weighed in at a hefty 212lbs.

Other sites, including a few UK-based newspapers, quoted Eminem’s mom as saying that her 35-year-old son is becoming a “fat Elvis.” She said that he orders steaks and Mexican food every single day, doesn’t work out, and is likely suffering from depression.

The more weight he gains, the more reclusive he becomes. That’s why he hasn’t made any public appearances in a very long time.

I kind of feel bad for the guy, as it sounds like his eating is stress-induced and is a symptom of bigger problems. He’s got enough money to hire personal trainers and buy weight loss pills, so getting back into shape will be relatively easy once he decides that’s what he wants to do. But resolving the underlying issues will be a much tougher task for sure.

Hopefully someone in Em’s regular crew will see to it that he gets the help he needs.

Teenage pregnancy has apparently become so commonplace in middle-class white neighborhoods in Minnesota that the occurrence is barely shocking enough to raise eyebrows. At least that’s the reality that exists in the world of Juno MacGuff, the titular character of Jason Reitman’s latest film Juno.

Witness the scene in which the smart, articulate 16-year-old works up the courage to tell her father and stepmother the news that she’s three months along. Instead of anger, disappointment, or any other emotional reaction, Mac simply wonders aloud who the father is. When Juno reveals that it was the geeky Bleeker, he says, “I didn’t think he had it in him.”

I guess with such a concerned, involved parent as that, no one should be surprised that Juno found herself in this predicament to begin with.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The film opens with Juno (played by Ellen Page) walking to the local drug store to buy a pregnancy test. It’s the third one she’s taken, and they all indicate the same thing: she’s pregnant.

Juno briefly entertains getting an abortion, but changes her mind after going to the clinic and seeing various downtrodden women in the waiting room. She then consults with her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), who suggests that Juno place the baby up for adoption. There are always couples looking for a baby; all they have to do is check the free sales circulars at the supermarket.

Sure enough, Juno discovers a perfect-looking couple in the classifieds section. They are Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa (Jennifer Garner), and after meeting them, Juno feels that they’re going to be just right for her baby. Vanessa is a little rigid and uptight as far as housekeeping goes, but Juno thinks she’ll loosen up once the baby arrives. Mark is much more laid-back, and pretty much just rolls with the punches. Juno likes him almost immediately — especially after discovering that they both have an affinity for great music.

The rest of the film then chronicles how the rest of Juno’s pregnancy shakes out. In addition to developing her relationship with Mark and Vanessa a little further, we see Juno try to come to terms with her real feelings for Bleeker (Michael Cera) as she watches him go through his daily life as though nothing is different. Finally, Juno has the baby, with just one slight hiccup preventing the entire experience from being completely perfect.

My Reaction: I wanted to see Juno because film critic Roger Ebert named it as his pick for the best movie of 2007. As a result, I was expecting this to be a fantastic film from start to finish, with a bunch of laughs, great dialog, and a wholly satisfying story. Boy, was I disappointed!

First of all, I just couldn’t figure out what kind of alternate universe Juno and her family lived in where puking in a favorite vase generated more of an animated response than learning that a 16-year-old was pregnant. Has our society gotten to the point where teen pregnancy is merely an “oh well, what can you do?” situation? Please tell me that’s not the case!

Another unbelievable element in this film was the dialog. Juno didn’t sound like a real person at all. Yes, I know that a lot of teenagers are cynical and witty, but please point to someone who spits out one-liners every time she opens her mouth. It just doesn’t happen.

Juno’s dialog sounded as though it was scripted — which of course it was. But aren’t screenwriters taught to make their characters sound like real people, and not characters. It got to the point where every time Juno spoke, I could see Diablo Cody hunched over her laptop reworking the dialog to make it more “punchy”.

Furthermore, I found it extremely unlikely that the only bump in the road during Juno’s entire pregnancy was Mark flaking out on Vanessa. Oh, I guess I forgot the “stink eye” that Bleeker’s prom date threw her way. At any rate, almost nothing went wrong, which makes me wonder what the hell the point of this whole movie was. How about a little conflict, people.

Overall, I really can’t understand how Ebert saw fit to call Juno the best movie of 2007. It sure as hell isn’t my pick, and it looks like various awards voters feel the same way. This film doesn’t even come close to the hype, so I give it just 5.5 stars out of 10.