Posts Tagged ‘love’

  • 27 Oct

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    Toronto After Dark Video Reviews: Love

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    Check out all The Substream coverage for the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011, including the quite excellent print reviews by Mamo!’s Matt Brown.

    p.s. Kurt’s written review of Love is here.

  • 28 Sep

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    TADFF ’11: Full Line Up

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    Without Toronto After Dark it is unlikely that there would be a RowThree.com for y’all to hang out, talk about a wide breadth of cinema goings on and enjoy a plethora of podcasting profundity. Row Three was formed when Andrew, Kurt and John hung out in the third row (literally) of The Bloor Cinema and took in films like Funky Forest, Aachi & Ssipak, Mulberry Street and Behind The Mask. In between screenings and over copious amounts of micro-brew, we talked about starting a website that favoured user discussion and community and a general vibe of ‘shooting-the-bull’ over the typical film-nerd comic book movie casting items and/or regurgitated pop-culture focused press releases. So it is always with interest and fondness that we hold this particular genre festival which is now going strong in its sixth year of operation. Incidentally, John, who, these days mainly operates behind the scenes on the site, because he started up a similar festival in Sasktown, Dark Bridges – which sees its sophomore year festival starting tomorrow!

    Narcissistic nostalgia notwithstanding, Toronto After Dark has announced its full line-up today! The second round additions are pretty darn good, thus assuring that the temporary change of venue to Toronto Underground Cinema should see a showering abundance of genre trick ‘r treating this October. Locals will get a chance to see Ti West’s follow-up to House of the Devil: The Innkeepers on the big screen, as well as Lucky McKee’s controversial Jack Ketchum adaptation, The Woman. Also, weird comic book mayhem with VS (described to me by programmer Peter Kuplowski as the marvel-superhero deconstruction equivalent to the DC-universe breakdown, Watchmen.) Also, I’ve seen the little indie vampire tale Midnight Son, and it is a work of maturity and quality in a genre that sorely needs it. Further quality titles include slick mountain chase film, A Lonely Place to Die (Kurt’s Review) and indie Science fiction epic, Love (Kurt’s Review).

    For the Full Line-Up, it’s all tucked under the seat.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 30 Jun

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    Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

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    Eclipse Movie Poster

    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.

    Eclipse Movie StillAs 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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  • 13 May

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    Review: Letters to Juliet

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    Letters to Juliet Poster

    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.

    Letters to Juliet Movie StillSophie 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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  • 08 Apr

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    First trailer for Sook-Yin Lee’s “Year of the Carnivore”

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    Year of the Carnivore Movie Still

    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.
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 02 Feb

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    Shorts Program: Foolishly Seeking True Love

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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.

    Foolishly Seeking True Love

    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!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 19 Nov

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    First Trailer for Pattinson Romance Remember Me

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    RememberMeMovieStillSome 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.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 07 Oct

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    VIFF 09 Review: Puck Hogs

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    PuckHogsMovieStill

    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.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 07 Oct

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    VIFF 09 Review: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould

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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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  • 02 Oct

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    VIFF 09 Review: Gigante

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    GiganteMovieStill

    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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  • 02 Oct

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    VIFF 09 Review: Black Field

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    BlackFieldMovieStill

    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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  • 01 Oct

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    TIFF 09 Review: An Education

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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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