Juno

Rating: 8

I'll try not to get to bugged by Hollywood's inability to acknowledge that abortion is still (for the moment) safe and legal in the U.S., and many people do use this option. For some reason, this is the Year of the Unwanted Pregnancy in cinema: Knocked Up, Waitress, and Juno. All of these films are terrific, so I can't complain. Juno has a rocky first 20 minutes but lets go of the initial pretension and gets very sweet as it moves along. The characters who initially seem square, played by accomplished actors such as J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, end up being smart, interesting and well-developed. And Ellen Page and Michael Cera are delightful as the two main characters.