I saw Juno last night and have mixed feelings. It was great to see a complex, smart and self-directed teenage girl on film and the actress who plays her (Ellen Page) is AMAZING. The dialogue is very self-consciously clever at all times, even at the expense of character, so that bugged mightily. Still, well worth seeing, and I felt a lot of Whedon influence so Buffistas should enjoy it.

the actress who plays her (Ellen Page) is AMAZING

Have you seen Hard Candy ? She's amazing in that too. And then I watched her brief scenes as Kitty Pryde in X-Men 3 last night, and though she doesn't have a lot to work with, she plays a distinct character from her other two.

I felt a lot of Whedon influence so Buffistas should enjoy it

Did you see my post earlier? Ellen Page practically quoted Joss's Equality Now speech. I don't know whether she'd seen it and it was intentional, or they just think the same way.

The dialogue is very self-consciously clever at all times, even at the expense of character, so that bugged mightily.

I almost didn't make it past the first 20 minutes because the dialogue was so stilted and "hip." But I thought the movie improved vastly after the scene where she tells her parents she's pregnant, and I ended up liking it quite a lot.

It's early days because the foreign box office hasn't reported in officially yet, but I think it's doubtful The Golden Compass will get a sequel. Personally I'd blame the studio for that one - it would have done fine if it didn't have a $180m production budget. Seriously - that's insane - I watched the film and really liked it (I've not read the books), but they really didn't need to spend that much on the thing.

Jessica--I had the same reaction. The non-dialogue scenes, like when Vanessa talks to the baby at the mall and it kicks or Juno cries in her pulled over van got me the most.

Those were both great scenes.

Okay, I netflixed Waitress and I didn't get to see it in the theatre and really loved it. I'm taking a break from the commentary to make dinner and watch for TAR. I'm just so sad that we won't get more Adrienne Shelley movies. What a loss.

I was kinda nervous watching Waitress because I'd read that Nathan's character starts out well and then becomes bland and pointless. But I didn't see it that way. The moment when Kerri Russell holds the baby in her arms for the first time and falls in love and the men in the foreground fade away into a blur? It was so right. Sure, the movie never explains his character fully, but it wasn't his movie. It wasn't his story. And the special features where NF talks about how his character perhaps wasn't finding happiness in his life with his wife kinda filled in that blank. And also, his comment about how the doctor was cinnamon, kinda "eh" on it's own, but mixed with other ingredients enhanced the whole? Loved this.

I was really surprised how dark the situations in the movie were, and yet the quirk and the humor was still there and it was all yummy together. Like black coffee and baklava. I loved all the characters, the cheestastic music for the makeout sessions (and boy were they great!), the narration, and how the thing with Joe wasn't resolved and they didn't exactly go the one dies, one is born/circle of life cliche.

Adrienne Shelley done good. Now I'm gonna go cry.

Right! I mean, it was mostly a comedy but it had all these dark elements and the main character was in a pretty bleak situation and it has such an original feel.

I saw three movies today. It was a totally nonproductive day work-wise, but my soul feels better.

First, I saw Juno. I liked it a lot, for reasons named in many places, including above. A very enjoyable movie, felt good in all the right places, just the right amount of depth, and Ellen Page rocks.

Then, I saw The Golden Compass. It was fine. I'm a pretty big fan of the books, and the movie was not the books, but it was very pretty and exciting. I liked Dakota Blue Richards a good bit. And I don't mind that the movie doesn't end where the book ends because MAN would that be a weird ending for a film. I think they could make the sequel for about a sixth of what they spent on this one (fewer bear battles, for one thing) so even if they lose money on this one they'll probably go ahead and make the sequel.

Finally, I saw Atonement. Wow. I've never read the book, which I hear makes me a literary loser or something, but I'll pick it up soon. I thought the movie was fantastic. It's pretty ponderous, with a few scenes that, narrative-wise, could have been dropped with little effect, but it's extremely well-crafted throughout. All of the performances are stellar. And the ending is extremely powerful. There are some very gory war bits, for the squeamish, but otherwise a full-fledged recommendation from me.