Uncle Northcott’s Movie Reviews

Well the Oscars have come and gone and while it was a lackluster affair, managed to get things right. Jon Stewart was his usual smug, smirking self but kept his left wing politics out of most of the show. It turns out that the writers strike helped the show as there were no bloated segments and the unfunny banter between presenters was absent. There was no energy in the crowd I’m not sure what happened. The Independent film awards with Rainn Wilson was way more entertaining. Anyway the big winner was the deserving No Country For Old Men which won 4 awards. 1 writing, best director. best supporting actor and the big kahuna best picture. Daniel Day-Lewis was a slam dunk for best actor. The actress awards had the suprises. Best Actress went to Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose insted of Julie Christie. Supporting went to the scary, androgenous Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton insted of Cate Blanchett stunt acting as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. Oddly 4 euros won all the acting awards. England, France and Spain in the house. I loved No Country and Javier Bardems peformance so I have no complaints. Way to go Coen Brothers!!!

Ju-know this is overrated. Dan Paul Balis said it best,” I dont need Juno firing wise beyond her years quips at my face.” Juno is a pregnant high schooler who has to decide wether to abort or adopt. Then tell her parents,deal with the changes with her boyfriend etc etc. This movie is very gay bear. You know Bi-Polar. Ha Ha. The good: Ellen Pages Oscar nominated performance. Any movie with Michael “The Terra” Cera, J.K.Simmons, Rainn Wilson and Jason “Master” Bateman cant be bad. The bad: At no time did I ever think Juno was a real person. She sounded like a puppet tossing out ideas, music and movie tastes, everything from the perspective of a mid-thirties quirkie female script writer. So much time was used establishing Juno that every other person was barely written. The boyfriend runs track and likes orange Tic-Tacks but other than that I dont get why Juno loves him. This is Diablo Codys first screenplay and she’s already been contaminated by Hollywood happy ending-itis. EVERYBODY gets what they want. Juno, boyfriend,rich guy, rich wife. Come on Diablo give us some realisim. From the parents calm reactions to Junos Dad not smacking the boyfriend to giving the baby away nothing rang true. Can you just give a baby away? Are there no laws? Re-reading my review its harsher than intended. This is’ent an awful film. Well acted and funny in parts but not rooted in the real world. Maybe Fantasyland. Next: Strange Wilderness.