Juno and Diary of the Dead

I went to the San Marco Theatre last weekend with Jeanne and watched Juno over a pitcher of ale and a box of popcorn. It's a great little theatre with good food and a nice atmosphere. We'll try to catch There Will Be Blood there next week.

Juno is a very solid movie, and if it didn't try to be so cute it might even be a great one. Ellen Page can clearly act. She plays a well-adjusted and intelligent (if not annoyingly referential) pregnant teen. Diablo Cody's screenplay is sharp. The dialogue is fluid and the players seem to have a nice time on screen with each other. The piece moves well. All points in its favor.

But sometimes, it just tries too hard to proclaim its status as an indie. The little sketch graphics indicating the seasons are lame. Some of the plotting is burdened with cliches. And even the music (yes, I said it--the music) becomes tiresome after awhile. Some of it's catchy and I'm glad that films with this much cultural impetus provide exposure for many, many excellent artists that would otherwise not receive it, but you don't need to hit me over the head with one tortured-accoustic-overly-clever ditty after another. And it didn't help that some lady in front of me was singing along with all of them. Damn, yo!

That's not to say I need this. But every cut doesn't have to be a starving artist recording from his mom's basement.

It's a good movie, don't get me wrong. And T.K. Simmons is amazing. He steals every scene he's in. I'll give it a 'B' and move on.

Nothing worth looking at this weekend, but that's ok. I'm going fishing over near Tampa. Any tips on how to catch one of these? There are lots of recipes for preparing mermaid tail on the net, but surprisingly few on the types of bait I need to use...

Here's a trailer to get you geeked for later in the year. And ok, maybe Juno could have used this one (check out the spin-move at 3:15; I'll be wearing one of those jumpsuits all next week as I work on my ranch novel)...