Gerard Butler smiled big and played cameraman at a press conference for P.S. I Love You in Tokyo yesterday. While he's busy overseas, rumor has it he and Jennifer Aniston were flirting and being touchy-feely at the Toronto Film Festival last weekend. While everything is still speculation at this point, do you think Jen and Gerard would make a good couple?
All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, you can now rent or own the Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler weepie, P.S. I Love You.
I'm Not There
I'm Not There was a highly buzzed-about film last year with a lot of the attention focusing on director Todd Haynes' unique conceptualization of Bob Dylan's (or, "a musician like Bob Dylan") life through the years. The talent associated with this film was staggering but the untimely death of one of the stars, Heath Ledger, added even more poignancy to Haynes' ambitious endeavor.
In the movie, six different actors emulate Bob Dylan using different names and appearing in different eras. I wasn't the biggest fan of the film, but other folks were enamored with this movie, more willing than I to ignore the annoying parts and focus on the great performances by Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett (who won the Independent Spirit award for her role), and Christian Bale. This is a good addition to your queue if you have been curious about this film but would enjoy the luxury of a fast-forward button.
Special features include commentary by director/co-writer Tod Haynes, red carpet footage, and deleted scenes.
Two more titles if you read more
Note: My buddy Molly wrote this review because I was unable to attend the screening for the movie. Thanks, Molly!
To be fair, P.S. I Love You isn't as bad as I feared it would be, but it also wasn't nearly as sweet a movie as the premise could have created. Instead, Hilary Swank further proved that she's far better at serious dramas than slightly endearing romances. Hey, on the bright side, Gerard Butler was on screen more than I thought he would be and he spent much of the time either shirtless or in a tight tank top. No complaints there.
The premise of the movie is nothing more than it seems. A young couple in love is ripped apart when Gerry (Butler) dies fairly suddenly of a brain tumor. But before he passes he writes Holly (Swank) a series of letters and arranges for them to find her in various ways over the course of the year following his death. On the one hand, it's heart-meltingly sweet, the kind of movie that you just know you'll cry watching. On the other, is there something a little sadistic about forcing your widow to wait every day hoping for word from you only to draw out the heartbreak of your death over a whole year? It's an interesting conundrum, and one that P.S. doesn't quite figure out.
To read the rest of my review just read more
Back when this movie was a part of my tearjerker movies Fall Movie Preview post, there was no trailer available, but I was looking forward to seeing what the tone of this movie would be. Now, judging from the newly released trailer, it looks a little sappy, but also cute and endearing — if you're in that kind of mood. Plus, I recently learned that Swank injured herself during a scene in which Gerard Butler is stripping, and somehow that makes me like the movie more.
Opening December 21, the movie is based on a novel and stars Hilary Swank as Holly, a young widow who discovers that her husband wrote out messages for her just before he died. Some of the notes include unusual requests, and before long, Holly and her girlfriends (played by Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon, pictured) are going on a string of adventures that Holly's late husband planned for her.
I think the best parts of the trailer feature Lisa Kudrow's character's ill-fated attempts to pick up men (well, those moments and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's extremely adorable smile are my favorite parts), but you can see what you think of the trailer yourself if you read more
We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films. Today I'm bringing you three movies that may just jerk at the tears and yank at the heartstrings.
The Kite Runner
The trailer for this movie is already enough to start me crying, especially since I've read the moving novel on which it's based. The story follows two childhood best friends: Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. Before Amir and his father flee to America, the boys' friendship is tested by a moment when Amir falls silent as Hassan is brutally beaten. Settled in California as an adult, this moment haunts Amir until he learns of Hassan's death at the hands of the Taliban, and returns to his homeland to search for Hassan's young son. It sounds bleak (and it kind of is), but there's a lot of beauty in this story as well. The Kite Runner opens November 2.
For two more emotional rollercoasters, read more
