Director: David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night)
Screenplay: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer (novel)
Producers: Wyck Godfrey, Greg Mooradian, Karen Rosenfelt
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Billy Burke, Charlie Bewley, Xavier Samuel, Daniel Cudmore, Christopher Heyerdahl, Dakota Fanning, Cameron Bright, Noot Seer, Michael Sheen, Graham Greene, Tinsel Korey
MPAA Rating: PG13
Running time: 124 min.

(3.5/5)

Let’s speak frankly, shall we? The Twilight franchise is not now, nor will it ever be, the all encompassing beast that is Harry Potter. Regardless of how much money the studio throws into the marketing machine, it’s wasted time, effort and dollars because as proven by the previous two films and now with the third instalment The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, they’re never going to win everyone over. The reasons why are too many to argue (and mediocre films are only one of them) and quite frankly, they don’t matter. Author Stephenie Meyer’s stories were never going to appeal to everyone, the key demographic has always been the hopeless romantic (and even some of those take issue with the story) and the films based on those stories clearly haven’t won over a large chunk of the population so why bother trying? The fan base is large enough, and ever growing, that the nay sayers are drowned out, even if they yell as loud or louder than the supporters.

As clear from my thoughts on the previous two films, I am a fan and as one, I came to love these characters long before there ever was a Twilight (review) film and the movies have been a sort of icing on the cake. Some bits of the icing have been sweeter than others but Eclipse is, for this fan at least, the sweetest. By this point in the story, Bella is back with Edward and happier than she’s ever been but Victoria, the rogue vampire who has been responsible for much, though not all, of Bella’s heartache, has a new plan of attack. She’s building an army and brining them to Forks in an effort to wipe out Bella in retribution for the loss of her own mate but to do so, she first needs to dispatch the pesky Cullens who have adopted Bella as one of their own.

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Director: Gary Winick (13 Going on 30, Bride Wars)
Writer: Jose Rivera, Tim Sullivan
Producers: Ellen Barkin, Mark Canton, Eric Feig, Caroline Kaplan
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gael García Bernal, Christopher Egan, Vanessa Redgrave
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 113 min.

(3/5)

It was clear from the trailer that Letters to Juliet wasn’t going to be high art, a timeless romance like Gone with the Wind or Atonement (review). It was a trailer that crammed the entire film into its two minute and thirty one second running time complete with stolen looks, half hidden smiles and Taylor Swift. The sort of thing designed to sweep the romantics off their feet and it must have worked because it caught my attention.

Sophie and Victor are in love and engaged. She’s a fact checker for The New Yorker. He’s a budding chef getting ready to open his first restaurant. They’ve planned a trip to Italy. For her, it’s a pre-wedding honeymoon. For him it’s a business trip (with a little fun on the side), meeting and schmoozing with suppliers. After a day together driving across the Italian countryside tasting cheese, olive oil and wine, they decide to part ways for a few days. He to work, she to see the sites. “Win win” Victor says. During an excursion to Juliet Capulet’s home, she spots a woman taking away the letters that hopeful romantics leave behind, uncovers Juliet’s secretaries, responds to a 50 year old letter and a short week later, is met by a handsome Brit who has returned to Verona with his grandmother on a wild goose chase searching for an old love – all thanks to Sophie’s letter. The rest of the film, as you may guess, is one car ride after another as Sophie accompanies Charlie (the grandson) and Claire in search of her Lorenzo.

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If you watched any Canadian television in the 90s, you’ve probably heard of Sook-Yin Lee. The West Coast artist/musician/vj/dj has been in the limelight for years with stints both in front and behind the camera but her first full length feature is really getting her a lot of attention.

Year of the Carnivore has been making its way through the festival circuit since it first played TIFF last year and gaining a bit of love. It’s a quirky story of a girl in search of romance or more accurately, trying to find herself (and her sex life). It’s an unabashed story of women’s sexuality and for that, I give it props even if it did rub me the wrong way (my review from VFF expands on my thoughts). It’s a troubled film and one with a tad too much quirk for my liking but it’s impossible to fully hate a film when it features such a great performance from Cristin Milioti; she’s just too charming to dislike.

Big kudos to QE for the hookup on the trailer which pretty much captures the wackyness of the feature; it’s a pretty good indicator on what you can expect. The film will open in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal on June 18th.

NSFW trailer tucked under the seats.
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“Shorts Program” is a semi-regular column highlighting a short film that is well worth your time. If you have a short film you would like to share, drop us a line at marina@rowthree.com.

Last year, Film Independent announced a partnership with Banana Republic and Vanity Fair called “Project:Involve.” The idea behind the project is to provide filmmakers from culturally diverse backgrounds with funding and mentorship to create a short film. The theme of the competition was “City Stories” and there wer two major limitation: tell your story in under three minutes and the film has to be shot in the French New Wave style. One of the film makers selected for last year’s competition was Jarrett Lee Conaway.

Conaway recently shared his short, a romance titled Foolishly Seeking True Love, with the world at large and boy, am I happy he did. It’s a sweet, charming and beautiful looking story that left me smiling. Take a 3 minute break from the Oscar chat to check out this great up-and-comer.

Film is tucked under the seat!

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Some credit needs to be given to the folks at Summit fore releasing this at the peak of Robsession. As the New Moon crew runs through the promotional ringer and RPattz and KStew are everywhere, they release the first full length trailer for Robert Pattinson’s newest film Remember Me.

Directed by TV regular and first time feature film director Allen Coulter, the film stars Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin (of Brink and “Lost” fame) as a young couple trying to keep their budding relationship strong amidst various family problems. The film also stars Chris Cooper (as Ravin’s over protective cop father) and Pierce Brosnan (as Pattinson’s uncaring father).

I haven’t been tracking the production that closely but am impressed that the studio managed to pump out a trailer so soon (the film isn’t scheduled to open until March 12, 2010) but what’s most impressive is that it actually looks promising. I’m not sure how well I guy Pattinson’s accent (I had a slight problem with it in the past) but the trailer suggests a promising drama. And no, not just because of the fangirls.

Trailer tucked under the seat.

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It’s sad to see movies go downhill. You know what I mean, the ones that start off with great promise and then end badly. Some take their time to show their true colours while others take a while but one thing’s for sure, it’s always disappointing to see it happen. It’s even more disappointing when the movie in question starts off as well as Puck Hogs.

Warren P. Sonoda’s mockumentary about a recreational hockey team on their last legs starts off with a bang. It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s a bit crude and reminiscent of the often dumb, dry and sometimes genius comedy that has made “The Trailer Park Boys” such a huge success, but once the film moves past the opening ten minutes, it quickly devolves from funny to amusing to downright painful. It was a great relief to finally see Gyan, the “filmmaker”, return to make his final statements on hockey.

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Glenn Gould was a genius. A child prodigy turned world class pianist, he broke social boundaries and pushed the classical music establishment. He was well spoken, flamboyant and charming but what of the man behind the long coat, scarf and hat? Though the media often (if not always) chose to concentrate on Gould’s eccentricities, much was never revealed of the man behind the myth.

Over the years, documentaries and even feature films (some more straight forward and accessible than others), have tried to shed some light on the inner workings of Glenn Gould and Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould follows in that tradition using a combination of interviews, archival footage and Gould’s personal notes to shed some light on Gould’s life outside the public eye.

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This isn’t your average love story. It may involve a boy and a girl and a boy falling for a girl but it’s done in a way I’ve never seen before, at least never seen work. Meet Jara. During the week he’s a security guard at a big grocery store, by day he sleeps, takes care of his nephew and listens to heavy metal, during the weekend he’s a bouncer at a night club. He’s a big guy and at first glance, you’d likely turn the other way and run but on closer inspection, we see a kind face and eyes that reveal the soul of a big teddy bear. But what makes Adrián Biniez directorial debut Gigante, a Berlin Prize Winner, special is the way in which the romance evolves.

You see, Jara doesn’t meet a girl, date a girl and then fall in love instead, he spots a young woman who works on the store floor and becomes infatuated to the point where he begins to follow her. At first, you can’t help but chalk up the interest to curiosity but as the film slowly unfolds and Jara’s stalking activities escalate, a bell goes off. Amazingly, due in part to the direction and the performance from Horacio Camandule as Jara, the film never feels creepy and instead, I found myself rooting for Jara to succeed in his quest to finally speak to the girl.

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Two women, sisters, living on a farm in Manitoba, their closest neighbour is 18 miles away. The two are etching out a meagre living from their farm when a stranger arrives. Though Maggie, the eldest, turns him away, David refuses to leave and instead makes himself at home in the barn. She insists he only stay for a day or two but he slowly warms up to them and begins a secretive relationship with Rose, the younger of the McGregor sisters. In the cover of night, the two run off and Maggie follows after them but when she discovers that David is a wanted man, the situation becomes even more dire than before and Maggie finds herself fighting against time and her romantic feelings for David in a race to save her sister.

Danishka Esterhazy’s Black Field is a story of tragic romance, sisterly love and survival. Shot in Manitoba, Esterhazy uses the prairie setting to her full advantage, filling time and space with breathtaking visuals that immerse the viewer while mirroring the inner workings of the characters. At times we see glimpses of the barren land, a clear visualization of the emptiness in the sister’s lives and when Maggie is in transit, searching desperately for her sister, the camera follows her through creepy, tangled pathways that are constantly pushing her back.

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A beautifully told, classic coming of age tale through the eyes of a mature, cultured 16 year old growing up in suburban London in the 1960’s, Jenny (Carey Mulligan). Attending an all-girls school, she is by far the most inspired of her peers, the biggest dreamer. Though the dreams of her stern parents have their little girl studying at Oxford next year (and Jenny has the credentials and talent to see it through) her greatest joys come from listening to her Juliette Greco albums, as oppose to playing her cello, and speaking French instead of her dry school-book Latin. With Jenny’s cross into womanhood playing out for the duration of the film, this familiar struggle is an on going battle between her institutional obligations, and the new world she is carefully escorted into as she seeks her path in life.

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Somewhere in my mind, I took note of the fact that noted designer Tom Ford had left behind the fashion world for film. There had been rumblings of his debut A Single Man, being good but it wasn’t until the film’s turns at Venice and Toronto that the rumblings turned to shouts.

The subject of a bidding war between the Weinstein Company, Summit and Miramax (a war the Weinstein’s eventually won), A Single Man recently played to an adoring crowd at Toronto where the film received a standing ovation and much praise. The story of an English professor trying to move on with his life after the death of his lover, the film stars the fabulous Colin Firth as the professor and Matthew Goode as his lover with Julianne Moore and Ginnifer Goodwin thrown in for good measure.

Firth has already taken acting kudos at Venice for his performance and all signs suggest that he may be a shoe-in for Oscar consideration. If the trailer for the film is any indication, I expect the film may also be looking forward to some awards love come early next year. It’s a gorgeously cut trailer which tells very little of the story but suggests a somewhat magical world full of love, beauty and tragedy.

I expect that with the awards buzz, the Weinstein Company will look to get the film out for distribution before the end of the year. I can’t wait for the opportunity to see it.

Trailer is tucked under the seat.

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A year ago, I came across news that William Hurt and Maria Bello had worked together on a film. A remake of Yôji Yamada’s 1977 film, The Yellow Handkerchief is the story of two kids (Eddie Redmayne and Kristen Stewart) on a road trip. Along the way, they pick a man who has recently been released from jail (Hurt) who is on his way to see his wife (Bello).

Since its original run at Sundance and SFIFF, the film has continued to make appearances through various festivals but it has yet to find an American distributor and considering it’s been floating around for well over a year, it seems unlikely the film will be picked up for theatrical distribution any time soon. Though reviews have been predominantly positive, it looks like the only people excited for the film are Twihards who will latch on to anything even remotely associated with the saga. In this case, that fixation may prove helpful.

I’m hopeful this won’t get buried away somewhere and then quietly dumped onto DVD.

Trailer is tucked under the seat!

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