Movie #330 - Juno

Juno
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 36 min
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Rainn Wilson

Finally, a movie about teen pregnancy that's not a heart-breaking drama.  In fact, it's funny. Really funny. Ellen Page's quirky Juno is priceless, always quick with the pickup and always ready with an off-beat joke.  Rad.

One of my favorite things about this movie is the cast.  Overall, it's cast really well: Allison Janney has some great moments as Brenda, Juno's stepmom.  Garner and Bateman make the unlikely pair they portray believable.  JK Simmons is the coolest, calmest, most collected dad of a teen mom I've ever seen, but it works. And Michael Cera staked his claim on the charming geek-boy domain with this film, transitioning smoothly from his charming geek-boy character on Arrested Development. It's almost the same character, just on the big screen and in running shorts.  But he does it so well, it makes sense.

Diablo Cody made her screenwriting debut with this gem of a flick, and I'm looking forward to seeing more from her.  With dialogue that's clever and witty, characters that could be your own friends or neighbors, and a plot that's simple but realistic, I really enjoy this movie all around.

Movie #304 - Inception

Inception
2010 - Rated R - 2 hr 28 min
Director: Christoper Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine

This movie seems to be quite polarizing, at least in my opinion.  People either love it or hate it.  I happen to love it, mostly because I love a good "thinking" movie that sparks hours of debate when it's over.  Sure enough, everytime we watch this movie, the debate starts up all over again.  And every viewing also brings additional information to the table through new discoveries.

If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil anything for you.  Suffice it to say, Leonardo DiCaprio and friends know how to go into peoples' dreams and extract information.  The premise of this movie - the concept of inception - is a little harder than that.  With inception, the team must plant an idea seamlessly into someone's mind, making it seem as though it were there all along.  As DiCaprio's own past starts to catch up with him, Ellen Page tries to help him root out the truth and confront his guilt.  What happens to DiCaprio - and the end of the movie, in particular - is the subject of the debate.  Is it possible to lose track of reality when you jump through dreams for a living?  Makes sense to me.

Anyhow, I really love this one.  If you don't, I'd love to hear why not.  Plot too convuluted, overall movie too artsy, characters too flat... whatever.  I certainly wouldn't object to another debate on this one.