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| Juno (Single-Disc Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Jason Reitman
Actors: Jason Bateman, Emily Perkins, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner, J.k. Simmons
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $4.98
You Save: $25.00 (83%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  (335 reviews)
Sales Rank: 74
Format: Color, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 96 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: FOXD2250687D
UPC: 024543506874
EAN: 0024543506874
ASIN: B000YABYLA
Release Date: April 15, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: December 14, 2207 (In -14214 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 I keep running into great films these days... January 5, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
...and this is one of those films. It is both hilarious and touching. It is also one of the most realistic films about teenage life that I have ever seen. Ellen Page is amazing. I loved her in "Hard Candy" - her performance, not her character - and I loved her in this film as well. She IS Juno, and you care for this young lady and her ordeal. Ellen Page is an amazing actress, and I cannot wait to see her future films. The rest of the cast is also excellent. One thing that must be mentioned here is the writing. It is so funny and so honest, and all I have to say is that screenwriter, Diablo Cody, is a genius when it comes to words. Some people have said that this film is derivative of Wes Anderson's work, but I totally disagree. It is Jason Reitman's best film so far, and I liked this one better than "Thank You For Smoking". The music is also very quirky, and I liked it a lot...
Please, do not miss the chance to see this one in the theatre! You will laugh your head off, and you will come out of it deeply moved. I loved this film!
SEE IT!
A star is born January 3, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
There are many, many good things that one could say about JUNO, but they all have to begin and end with Ellen Page. Mind you, this film features a very good cast and everyone excels in their role, but if Ellen Page is in the scene -- and she is in nearly every scene in the film -- she dominates everything. As the wisecracking, (almost) unflappable, and very pregnant 16-year-old Juno, Ellen Page steals this movie. She has already been nominated for or out and out won a number of awards for her performance in JUNO (including the Screen Actor's Guild and the Golden Globes -- she is considered a lock for an Oscar nomination), and seemed destined to sweep all awards for break out performance of the year. She really is that good in this film. I'd noticed Ellen Page before. I first became aware of her in the third X-MEN movie, when she played my favorite X-Man, Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat. She did a great job in a pretty small role. Later I saw her in the independent Canadian film WILBY WONDERFUL. Most people will know her from her role in HARD CANDY. But JUNO could be more than a breakout role for Page. This could be the making of a legitimate star. She is both extremely young and extremely talented. If she wants to be, she could well be the next Winona Ryder. The "wants to be" could be huge. From interviews it doesn't sound like she especially wants a star career. JUNO was not a Hollywood production, but was instead filmed in Vancouver. In the past a number of Canadian actors have turned their backs on Hollywood and stayed largely north of the border (Paul Gross and Sarah Polley are just two actors I can think of who could have had big careers had they "gone Hollywood," but instead fostered smaller but superb careers in Canada). I would not be surprised if Ellen Page was one of those. But I would also not be surprised if she gobbled up a score of very desirable roles for smart, sassy young women in the next several years. One thing she certainly has going for her is versatility. She has at age 20 already shown that she can excel in drama, comedy, and horror. Her range as an actress seems unlimited.
As great as Ellen Page is, much of her success has to be credited to Diablo Cody's incredibly witty script. To be honest, this is not truly a great movie. The central story isn't that substantial. But a dominating lead performance stringing together an unending number of great one-liners can certainly give the appearance of greatness. I don't remember the last time I saw a movie that had so many truly funny lines. And for that Cody has to be given the credit.
As mentioned above, the film has a great supporting cast. I was especially impressed by Jennifer Garner, who plays what is largely an unsympathetic role (until fairly near the end of the film). As the "uncool" half of the couple who plan on adopting Juno's child, she has to play completely against type. As a huge ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT fan I was delighted to see both Michael Cera (for whom 2007 has been a very good year) and Jason Bateman together in the same film, though they didn't have any scenes together. J. K. Simmons and Allison Janney were both wonderful as Juno's parents. Rainn Wilson of THE OFFICE has a very small but memorable role as a convenience store clerk.
One thing that struck me while watching this film is how few starring roles there have been for wisecracking young girls. There have been scores of films featuring wisecracking teenage boys (one need only look back to SUPERBAD as a recent example). But once one gets past JUNO and GHOST WORLD there aren't a huge number of comparable films for young girls.
One other random comment. There was a very strange moment in the film when I realized that every actor in the scene (excepting Jason Batman) had been in a major action movie or TV series. This was when Juno and her father were meeting with the adopting couple and their lawyer for the first time. Ellen Page had been in X3. J. K. Simmons, who played her father, has memorably portrayed J. Jonah Jameson in the SPIDER-MAN movies. Eileen Pedde, who played the Lorings' lawyer, is a regular on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA as Sgt. Mathias, a veteran marine. And Jennifer Garner portrayed yet another Marvel superhero, Elektra, in a pair of films, as well as Sydney Bristow for five years on ALIAS.
A couple of more random comments. The opening credits are among the best I've seen in ages. They apparently took photos of Eileen Page and digitized them somehow to produce an animated sequence. Very compelling and quite unforgettable. Finally, the film has a truly great soundtrack. Almost every film these days has a great soundtrack, but this one was especially fine. They use the music of Kimya Dawson pretty extensively (whose music, I must confess, has always underwhelmed me), but they also use a long string of gems by Belle and Sebastian, the Kinks, Buddy Holly, Sonic Youth, Mott the Hoople, and Cat Power for one of the best and most eclectic soundtracks I've heard. They also name drop the Stooges, but alas use none of their or Iggy's songs.
All in all, this is a really fine film. I'm not sure it is a great movie, but there is no question that Ellen Page turns in one of the best performances of the year by any actor, male or female. My best guess is that she will get nominated for an Oscar but will not win, though she probably deserves to. The Academy tends to bless mediocrity, hates comedies, especially hates films dealing with culturally controversial topics (like teen pregnancy, though drug addiction is usually a ticket to a walk to the podium, so go figure), and usually rewards bloated, "serious" films. But I'd be delighted if she defied tradition and won the Oscar.
"I don't see what anyone else can see in anyone else..." January 2, 2008
15 out of 22 found this review helpful
In the past month our local theater chain (we have but one in the Zenith City) has started listed "Critic's Choice" movies in their theater listing. The only two movies selected for such an accolade at the present time were the Coen Brothers' "No Country for Old Men" and "Juno." I have already told you everything I know about the former, but of the latter I had heard nothing. However, Roger Ebert's review of "Juno" appeared in the paper, and after scanning the first two paragraphs, where he calls it "just about the best movie of the year" and raves about Ellen Page's performance, I decided I wanted to see the movie. The accompanying photograph showed Page running down the stairs in front of her house in between Allison Janney and J.K. Simmmons. Recognizing the cast was enough to confirm my decision and I did not bother to read the caption for the photograph or the rest of the review. Consequently, I sat in the theater today to watch "Juno" without any idea of what it was about and I hope that some of you are fortunate enough to have the same experience because with all the time you know what a movie is supposed to be about and you are bitterly disappointed, being pleasantly surprised and falling in love with a movie is pretty sweet.
So I am not going to say anything about what the movie is about, although as a teaching of Classical Greek & Roman Mythology I feel compelled to point out that Juno is the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology and not in Greek mythology, where she is called Hera (Juno is a much better name for the lead character in this movie). I am going to say that first time writer Diablo Cody should win the Oscar for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen on the basis of his dialogue in this movie. At first I was thinking that the dialogue is like a condensed compendium of the sort of language we enjoyed for seven seasons of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," but that does not do Cody's dialogue justice. The last time I heard dialogue that made me set up and take notice it was probably Quentin Tarentino's "Pulp Fiction," but that was diction and timing rather than word choices. Probably the closest comparison is between "Juno" and "A Clockwork Orange," and that still does not do justice to the delightful verbiage that comes out of the mouths of these characters.
The performance from the ensemble is stellar. Those who have been debating whether Dakota Fanning or Evan Rachel Wood is the best actress under 21 are going to have to include Ellen Page in the debate. I recognized her from "X-Men - The Last Stand" and Michael Cera from "Superbad," but clearly these roles go to the top of their resumes. I know there is a bandwagon for Page for an Oscar nomination, but Janney and Simmons should be touted for their superb supporting roles as well. "Juno" is the best thing that Jason Bateman has ever done and he is probably the biggest surprise here, although when Jennifer Garner's name came up in the opening credits I wondered what she was doing in this film, but seeing as how Bateman and Garner made "The Kingdom together immediately before filming their roles in "Juno," I suspect that might be the connection. I have to think that everybody who read this script, from director Jason Reitman ("Thank You for Smoking") to the entire cast immediately signup for the joy of making this film.
The one thing to be aware of is that you should stay for the end credits just to check out the songs that are in this movie, although once the Antsy Pants start playing "Vampire" you should want to stick around. Be forewarned that "Juno" is one of those movies where you are going to want to get the soundtrack on the way home from the theater (or, um, download it as soon as you get home). The songs done for the movie are by Kimya Dawson, who is a perfect fit for Cody's screenplay, because she seems to be channeling Gilbert & Sullivan through postmodernist sensibilities. But the great thing about the soundtrack is that all of the key songs that either play in the background or are actually played by (or sung by) the characters in the film are on the CD. I should also mention that the shooting script is out there as well, if you want to read over the choice dialogue again while listening to the eclectic mix of songs on the soundtrack (while waiting for the movie to come out on DVD).
This is one doodle that can't be un-did January 1, 2008
77 out of 125 found this review helpful
Her parents didn't see it coming. They were hoping she'd been expelled, into hard drugs, anything but pregnant.
Well, Juno (Ellen Page) was hoping that, too. It took 3 pregnancy tests to convince her.
Juno tried the abortion clinic first, but couldn't go through with it. Her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) convinces her to check out the Penny Saver for adoptive parents--or as she puts it couples 'desperately seeking spawn.'
She finds Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa (Jennifer Garner), who seem to be the ideal couple. Vanessa has always wanted to be a Mom--and Juno and Mark have so much in common.
"Juno" takes us through a year of young Juno's life, including her relations with the father of her baby and her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), school, and the pregnancy and aftermath.
The film takes you on the gamut of emotions, but leaves you feeling good. I saw this film with my husband, who loved "Juno" as much as I did. We'll probably end up buying this DVD, because it's well worth another watch.
Warnings:
Some mature subject themes may not be suitable for really young kids, but I'd definitely take my young adults to this film.
You'll Laugh. You'll Cry. You'll Say, "Awwwwww" January 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Juno is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. It is so sad, but funny and romantic at the same time. Everything in the title is true. Juno is a wonderful movie on teen pregnancy, starring Ellen Page as Juno, a sixteen-year-old girl who becomes pregnant after having sexual intercourse with Paulie Bleaker (Michael Cera).
Juno wants to give her baby up for adoption to Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). She once finds herself in a conflict between the couple, along with trouble with Paulie, and her stepmother Brenda (Allison Janney).
Juno is one of, if not the best movie I've seen in a long time. No movie has ever made me cry like this before. I was pratically bawling by the end of the movie. It's a touching tale that will make you cry, make you laugh and make you watch it over and over again without ever getting tired of it. It's a must-see of 2007.
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