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Juno, a review by Jon

Juno ****
4 out of 5

Juno (Ellen Page) is 16 years old and pregnant. She can't bring herself to have an abortion, so she decides to continue the pregnancy for a childless couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman).

This isn't the sort of film I'd normally go for, but I've heard so much about Diablo Cody's script that I wanted to see it. I really enjoyed it for that reason. It's humble, but very sharp, unpredictable, smart and frequently funny. I don't know any 16 year-olds, let alone pregnant ones, but I think the average teenager should be pleased by this adult representation. It doesn't feel as accurate as a John Hughe's Breakfast Club, but if all teens were this well grounded, even while experimenting against better judgment, the world would be a happier place. Perhaps it's a bit of a fantasy in that respect, but a fun one at least.

Ellen Page is particularly good. She's a smart-arse and every other line is quote worthy, but while any decent actress can deliver a zinger or ten, Page also puts across the emotion and the story has a poignancy because of that. Juno, both character and film, never get too clever for their own good. The rest of the cast are all solid too, well served by characters that refuse to be conventional. And it's reassuringly positive; J.K. Simmons is great as Juno's dad anyway, but the moment he finds out about the pregnancy is fantastic. Michael Cera is great too. The overview calls him "charmingly unassuming" and I can't think of a better way to put it.

In keeping with the overall tone, the ending is realistic. It isn't a neat, happy ever after fantasy, but dependable optimism. It is a wonderful example of a very good script being brought to life by brilliant, honest acting throughout.

(From Jon's Random Reviews on August 30th, 2009)

First Blood, a review by Tom

Title: First Blood
Year: 1982
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Rating: 15
Length: 93 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: DTS HD Master Audio
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Sylvester Stallone
Richard Crenna
Brian Dennehy
Bill McKinney
Jack Starrett

Extras:
Interviews
Scene Access

When I have last seen some parts of this movie, I was disappointed as it wasn't the Rambo I always had the impression of what Rambo should be like. But knowing this is not the case when I went into it this time around, I really enjoyed it. And I was surprised, how much of the Rambo I always envisioned him to be is in this movie, even if didn't kill anyone directly in this movie. I have a feeling that this is another Stallone franchise I will enjoy getting into years after it was made. Similar I got into the Rocky movies a few weeks ago.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on April 18th, 2009)

Valentine's Day Episode Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Veronica Mars: Season 3 Episode 14: Mars, Bars
One down, one to go. Veronica solves the Coach Barry case, but the O'Dell murder just gets more and more complicated. And guess what Logan finds on a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt: a new love interest.

My Thoughts:
This episode is a lot of fun. Jumping right to this episode it took me a few minutes to remember the ongoing storyline. But the episode... especially the scenes of the Valentine's Day scavenger hunt... were just a lot of fun.

My Rating:

(From Valentine's Day Episode Marathon on February 13th, 2010)