Another Movie About Sex

Over Fall break, I saw the movie Don Jon, and I have to say, I wasn't too impressed. This movie was written by Joseph Gordon Levitt and depicts a character who is addicted to porn and ultimately prefers pornography over sex. Although there is definitely character development, I found some serious plot holes in this film. For example, Scarlett Johansson's character, Barbara is greatly emphasized in the beginning of the movie and the trailer, but by the end she is somewhat irrelevant to the plot line as a whole. From their initial introduction, Jon feels very attracted to her in the way that he has never been to anyone before. She represents a beautiful, seductive girl that everyone thinks is perfect for him (especially his family). Although he is falling in love with her, he still finds pornography to be more fulfilling. He tries to quit, but can't bring himself to do it. Ultimately, Barbara catches him watching pornography and accuses him of being addicted. They eventually break up, and that's the end of that. Totally independent of his situation with Barbara, Don starts talking to an older women in his night class named Esther (Julianne Moore).

Esther is very different from Barbara, as when she catches Jon watching porn on his phone, she surprises him with a 70s porn DVD during their next class. They start to hit it off and the relationship he forms with her is very different from his relationship with Barbara. After getting to know her and spending more time with her, he learns that Esther lost her son and husband in a car accident. She explains to him that the reason he is so addicted to porn over sex is because it is a one-sided affair. He has to be willing to let go with another person to let it be a two sided street. Therefore, because they are both somewhat disconnected, they form a pretty strong relationship. The other problem I had with this movie however, is that there doesn't really seem to be a conclusion in the end. It is never clarified if Jon gets over his addiction to sex or if he is just okay with it and continues to date Esther. Ultimately, I don't really think this movie has much of a point. The progression is somewhat disoriented and Esther isn't introduced until about halfway through the film. The two girls are completely unrelated and I'm not sure if or how they are supposed to connect. By the end of the film, Jon realizes some things about himself from Esther, but he doesn't really change as a person. I guess that's the biggest point I got out of it, that Esther accepts him for who he is, while Barbara was trying to change him. He says from the very beginning, "there are only a few things I really care about in life: my body, my pad, my ride, my family, my church, my boys, my girls and my porn."

The Simple Bear Necessities

Disney's trailer for the new live action "Jungle Book" was released this week. If you haven't seen it, here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcgJRQWxKnw. When I first watched the clip I was impressed and excited, especially when I saw Christopher Walken's name flash on the screen. (I love me some Christopher Walken.) Anyway, other actors the new movie will include are Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o and Scarlett Johansson. I think picking Johansson to play the role of Kaa (the snake) is a great choice. Her calming voice has a strange eeriness throughout the entire trailer.

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The entire look of the film is really appealing. It reminds me "Life of Pi," but that might just be because of the tigers. It also has a similar feel to the hit "Avatar." Many wide sweeping shots are used as well as interesting POVs that draw you into the action. Also of course fast paced dramatic music is playing in the background as well. 

But even with the amazing production quality, I'm sure a lot of loyal fans are debating whether it can stand against the original charm of the 1967 classic. I feel like there's a fine line between turning a classic into a  modern phenomena or completely ruining a classic and all your childhood dreams that go with it.