Peter Afterman

http://braidedthreads.blogspot.com/2008/09/dyou-know.html ...Juno, like a lot of other Independent films of the last 6 or 8 years, has that heavily marketed independent feel. That coming-of-agedness. That whiplash of the ironic and the adorable. These are smart films that unroll predictably before our eyes, winking knowingly at us while also trying to appeal to the pocketbooks of a wider audience. I am thinking of such recent films as Thumbsucker, The Squid and the Whale, and the little movie that could: Little Miss Sunshine. In fact, if you watch the trailers for these films back-to-back, their marketing campaigns will suddenly seem embarassingly derrivative.

Well-deserving of its Academy Award nominations and best-screenplay win, Juno is more than another indie teen romp. Ellen Page is believable as a teenager who deals with an unplanned pregnancy with very real emotions and actions. There are great performances, especially from Allison Janney as Juno's exasperated but loving stepmother. The soundtrack is great, too.

This movie isn't a spectacular, big budget hit (think Pearl Harbor), but the story is told well and the CGI is decent. I think the African-American pilot's character is based on the story of Eugene Bullard - a real-life hero who flew for France. It's a worthwhile rental.