vip – article

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Romance, SXSW, Theatrical Reviews

The moment I knew I was in love with Myth of the American Sleepover was a scene in which a recently dumped college senior (Scott, played by Brett Jacobsen) confesses feelings for a pair of twins he went to high school with. The twins (Nikita and Jade Ramsey) humor him with an ultimatum that I won’t give away here, but there are so many little things going on in the scene that feel complicated, funny, and true. Scott’s confession doesn’t lack honesty, but it’s motivated by the specific pains of being on the rebound — the immediate need to feel a personal, intimate connection to someone else, no matter how ill-advised. His desire to be with both of the girls as a single unit is a Playboy magazine fantasy, and when the girls call him out on it, he faces the situation as honestly as he possibly can. Everyone has looked back at their past, not just at The One Who Got Away, something dozens of comedies and romantic dramas have covered, but at the one that Might’ve Been.

With the Might’ve Beens, we attach romantic daydreams to the people who pass in and out of our lives. Their fleeting nature doesn’t make those minor attractions untrue, and they’re rarely explored on film because of how difficult they are to express. They’re something more than sexual desire, but something less than an honest-to-goodness crush. Writer/director David Robert Mitchell absolutely nails it here, just one true moment in a film filled with true moments. Myth of the American Sleepover may be cut from the same ensemble youth culture cloth as American Graffitti and Dazed and Confused, but there’s more of a romantic thread that runs through this film than those.

Continue reading SXSW Review: Myth of the American Sleepover

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Go to Source

Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels

In the world of film journalism, there has been talk of ‘critic-proof’ films (ie: those movies that no matter how many bad reviews they rack up, the fans just don’t care and will see them anyway). But when it comes to the Twilight franchise, it’s almost gone beyond ‘critic-proof’ and straight into ‘mockery-proof’, because it seems like no matter how many jokes the critics make or how much snark we direct at fans, nothing can stop the love story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Which is good for Summit Entertainment’s bottom line, but to their credit they do seem determined to up the ‘dignity’ factor in each installment of the fantasy romance, and prestige seems to be the word of the day. The latest news of Summit’s search for respectability is courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, who are reporting that the studio reached out to Sofia Coppola, Bill Condon (Dreamgirls), and — wait for it — Gus Van Sant to take helm of the last installment in the franchise, Breaking Dawn.

Now I have an obsessive need to find out how a story ends sometimes, and while I wasn’t willing to work my way through Meyer’s opus, I did cheat a little and treat myself to some spoilers here and there. There’s no doubt about it, it’s going to be a tricky proposition adapting this book for the big screen (as we’ve discussed at length before), and if you’ve read it, I’m sure you will agree (I mean — spoiler alert — what was up with that C-section thing?). So far, only Van Sant has confirmed that he has spoken to Summit about the job, but was obviously not providing any more information than that. It’s a strange short-list to be sure, and I can’t even imagine the near toxic levels of ennui the story could reach if Coppola were to take the job.

After the jump: Breaking Dawn could break the bank….

Continue reading Sofia Coppola or Gus Van Sant to Direct ‘Breaking Dawn’?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Go to Source

Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips

I don’t think the deluge will let up now that we’re only three and a half months away from the big-screen release of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Right on the heels of the first trailer, and just before New Moon hits DVD shelves on March 20, the YouTube feed UnofficiallyEclipse is sharing the Eclipse sneak peek on the new DVD. I would assume this is the previously reported WalMart footage, but that’s supposed to be 7 minutes long, and this is only 2.

Regardless, this bit of clips and sound bites from the stars should appeal, probably even more than the trailer. Rather than focusing on the bosom-swelling romance (although there is a tiny bit of snuggly Edward and Bella), this sneak peek is designed as an introduction to David Slade and just why he was brought in for the darkest chapter of the book series. You see more of the cast — chats with Riley, Victoria, and even Bree, some glimpses of the newborn army, and a lot of quick clips of the Cullens practicing their fighting moves before the attack.

Check it out after the jump.

Continue reading Watch This: ‘Eclipse’ Footage from ‘New Moon’ DVD

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Go to Source

Filed under: Drama, Romance, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews

Remember Me is a film that’s shot through with the pain of death, from a brutal opening segment that could be dropped wholesale into a 1970’s era Charles Bronson flick, to its characters who dwell on losses from which they’ll never recover. “We leave fingerprints on everyone we touch,” says hunky-broody Tyler Hawkins (Twilight’s Robert Pattinson), underscoring an overarching theme that death reverberates through the lives of those who are left behind.

Positioned as a Nicholas Sparks-style tearjerker and starring two current pop-culture faces — sparkly vamp Pattinson’s love interest is Emilie de Ravin of TV’s Lost – it comes as a surprise to find that Remember Me is literate, sensitive, often quite funny, and altogether engaging, despite its formulaic underpinnings. Pattinson is very good as the Rebel with Little Real Cause, burning with daddy issues thanks to his older brother’s suicide and a father (Pierce Brosnan) who’s distanced himself from Tyler and his smart, awkward little sister (Ruby Jerins).

After a standard-issue James Dean-ish kerfuffle that leads to a busted-up face courtesy of an angry police officer (Chris Cooper), Tyler takes the rather dumb advice of his best friend and chats up the cop’s daughter, Ally (de Ravin). Naturally, the two fall in love. Naturally, she has issues of her own, going back to the murder of her mother, on a subway platform, when Ally was ten. Naturally, Tyler fails to tell Ally about his history with her dad, and what follows is predictable.

Continue reading Review: Remember Me

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Go to Source

Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Paramount, Theatrical Reviews

She’s Out of My League opens at an airport, all but guaranteeing a climactic dash to stop a flight; this is a romantic comedy after all. But as opposed to many other rom-coms of late, League doesn’t ask for much of a contrivance to stick its unlikely couple together and starts out working more, not to mention working better, as a comedy of manners and social mores before falling back on those standbys of raunchy humor and sprints to the gate.

Kirk (Jay Baruchel, gawky as ever) is bearing with working security at a Pittsburgh airport when in walks Molly (Alice Eve, gorgeous as can be). As the other guys stand around and drool, he sees her through with some measure of respect and, as luck would have it, he’s the one to find her phone once she discovers that she’s left it behind. The meet-cute turns into a returned phone, which turns into a hockey game, which turns into a nice dinner and so on and so forth as both Molly’s friend (Krysten Ritter) and Kirk’s pals (T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence) look on and wonder what a girl like her is doing with a guy like him.

Continue reading Review: She’s Out of My League

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Go to Source