Movie Tarts: June 2011

My most anticipated movie of June 2011: Super 8 (06/10) - It's here!  Finally!  Since I saw the teaser trailer in the theaters 7 years ago, I've been so excited.  (It feels like 7 years because "J. J. Aberg" decided to tease everyone like a year too early.)  I suspect that this movie will be a modern ET, but with a scary alien.  But the thing that makes me most excited about this movie is the big role of Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) from Friday Night Lights. (One of the best TV shows ever.)  Congrats Coach!



My second most anticipated movie of June 2011: Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times (06/24) - This documentary is from the people who made Waiting for Superman, An Inconvenient Truth and Food, Inc.  I loved two of those three.  (Guess which, duh?)  In a world where it feels like technology and the printed word are giant tectonic plates fighting for position, this film gives you a front row seat while the two clash.



X-Men: First Class (06/03) - Of all the different stories and sub-plots involved with the X-Men series, why in the world would they choose the boring history between Magneto and Xavier?  Not only is it the most unexciting part of X-Men, but they have already explained it in previous movies.  Those are my trepidations about this movie.  But I think it will be exciting like X-Men Origins: Wolverine was, but I fear it will be the birth-child of X-Men 3, easily the worst of the series.



Beginners (06/03) - Since Brokeback Mountain, it feels like movies surrounding homosexual themes have "broke" (ha) into the mainstream.  This indie-feeling drama starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer is about a man who has gone through some difficult relationships finds out his widowed father is gay.  Also there is a dog that talks through subtitles.



Submarine (06/03) - Story of an adolescent teen who struggles with his identity.  And girls.



Green Lantern (06/17) - I like Green Lantern.  I like Ryan Reynolds.  Why am I not really excited for this movie?  It might be the over-saturation of super hero movies recently, or the fact that this movie was speculated about for so long.  It's like when waiting for your name to be called at a restaurant and you're starving.  By the time your name gets called, you aren't that hungry anymore.




Cars 2 (06/24) - I didn't really Cars 1, so I am not too excited for this unnecessary sequel.  It was only slightly better than Up.  (Don't agree with me?  Bring it on in the comments!)



Bad Teacher (06/24) - The cast seems great and the story seems good, too.  I like seeing Jason Segel in movies more.  But I am just not attracted to this type of movie.  Since it's rated-R, I have a feeling it is going to be overly raunchy.  I'm just not going to be in the mood for that.  (How can they release a rauncy flick AFTER The Hangover Part 2?)  Also, I suggest watching this and then watching Waiting for Superman right after.  (haha)

It all started with a chair.....

Have you seen Juno yet?

If not, why not?

I saw Juno while playing the 3rd wheel with some friends one weekend night (I think I was more accurately the 5th wheel). Looking back, I am glad I was stag that night because I don't think I could've absorbed the amazing-ness of Juno otherwise.

(No Spoiler) Juno is about a 16 year old know-it-all cutie named Juno. She has a crush on Paulie Bleeker, a tall, skinny cross country runner that goes to her school. As high schoolers do sometimes, they got bored and had sex. And when you have sex, pregnancy is always a possible outcome. In this case, it was the outcome. The rest of the movie shows Juno's struggles and witty comments while dealing with pregnancy during high school. It sounds like this is a serious movie, but it is completely the opposite. I've never enjoyed a movie's dialogue so much. Juno is the funniest weird-named, pregnant girl ever. I know this little summary probably doesn't make you want to get up and go see it right away, but please know that this movie has a stellar chance of getting best movie of the year. Comedies have a hard time pulling that off and this is a high school comedy even. It is honestly one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Sweet Facts about Juno

It's directed by Jason Reitman, who is great. He also directed another of my all-time favorite films, Thank You For Smoking, and has helped directing on the set of the hit TV show The Office. If knowing he helped in those two productions doesn't make you more keen to Jason, than you should probably stop reading and go watch Grey's Anatomy.

Juno was written by a woman named Diablo Cody. Cool name right? I think its fitting, and I don't even know her. She's from Chicago and from reading her biography on IMDB.com, she is just as interesting, if not more, than Juno. She's been nominated for a Golden Globe, and another 7 wins & 2 nominations in screenplay awards. After seeing Juno, you'll want to watch every screen-written movie she does.

Next there's Ellen Page, the girl that plays Juno MacGuff. She is spectacular! When you see Juno, you'll try to figure out where you've seen her before, and chances are it'll be on the tip of your tongue. So let me help: most notably she was in X-Men: The Last Stand playing the part of Kitty Pryde, or Shadowcat. For the not-so-hardcore X-Men fans, she was the girl running through walls. She also had a role in Hard Candy in 2005. Lastly, she is ironically friends with Olivia Thirlby, who plays her best friend Leah in Juno, and also had a role in the movie United 93.


Lastly, are the two Arrested Development boys, Michael Cera and Jason Bateman. Michael Cera plays the lovable, quiet Paulie Bleeker, a boy that has Laz-y-Boy sex with Juno, and Jason Bateman plays the adoptive husband of Juno's bastard child, Mark Loring. Both of these guys are great and have been in some really good stuff. I'm just going to list it. Michael Cera: voice in the Bernstein Bears TV series, Frequency (2000), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), "Arrested Development," Superbad (2007), and in 2009 Youth in Revolt (It's going to be good!). Jason Bateman: Black Sheep (1994), "The Twilight Zone," Starsky and Hutch (2004), Dodgeball (2004), "King of the Hill," "Scrubs," "Arrested Development," The Break-up (2006), Smokin' Aces (2006), The Kingdom (2007), and in this year Hancock (starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman).

Oh and Jennifer Gardner was in it, too. And Allison Jenney playing Juno's step-mom and J. K. Simmons playing Mac McGuff, Juno's dad.

So I'm going to ask it again: Have you seen Juno? If not, why not?