Forget Juno

So this "indy" film Juno as been receiving a ton of buzz. It even got an Oscar nod, Yay!

This sweet tale was written by a brass, funny "uber cool" chic that even credits my home town of Minneapolis as her living quarters for a few years where she stripped for money and created her quirky tale of a pregnant teen: Diablo Cody. I enjoyed the movie with my mom at the Historic Heights Theatre in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, hometown of my cute mamma! The movie was fun, and yet sometimes awkward, but Michael Cera made up for it all.

That said, the whole actual point of this post is that I don't believe Juno is the indy film that warrants such attention. Okay do the Oscar peeps think they must follow the buzz, find one Indy film that is 'good' and promote it at an Oscar-worthy love fest? Last year it was Little Miss Sunshine, which was pretty damn adorable, but really let me just say...

If you are looking for a wonderful, genius, funny, artsy flick that will have you feeling giddy, laughing inwardly and just thinking A: This is good! and B: This is creative as all get-out, then I highly recommend the New Zealand film Eagle Vs. Shark written and directed by Taika Waititi.

As the plot outline from IMDB states "Eagle vs Shark is the tale of two socially awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love; through revenge on high-school bullies, burgers, and video games."

Okay seriously it's too cute for school and as I said before, so inwardly funny! Imagine a party where you dress as your favorite animal; a horse head kicking ass at video ultimate fighting; an absolutely harmless girl nicknaming herself "dangerous person"; a cute, but bizarre, grown man making prank phone calls to a childhood nemesis; awesome use of sleeping bags; and on top of the humor, the quirky story, the likability of the characters, you have some great still photography film work reminiscent of Julian Schnabel's Basquiat—and you will be in awe.

Rent this movie, or, if not, then just consider dressing up as your favorite animal for fun, maybe an eagle, maybe a shark, but keep in mind what Jarrod the Eagle tells Lilly the Shark:

"I almost came as a shark actually, but then I realized an eagle's slightly better."