Nights in Rodanthe
Diane Lane and Richard Gere team up again after their marital troubles in Unfaithful. This time, their characters intertwine in a story with a message that is more optimistic. The pair, gorgeous but emotionally wounded, meet while staying on the east coast of the US and forge a relationship that challenges their perspectives on what lies ahead. Lane seems to be playing the kinds of roles that Diane Keaton was playing a decade ago, though with less slapstick, and her faithful fans will surely be lining up for this one, as will Gere’s. This film is opening wide in the US in tandem with Taiwan.
Rogue
Next up from the director of the brutal Aussie horror opus Wolf Creek is this critically applauded mutant-croc-on-the-loose sub-species of the monster movie. The good news for less adventurous audiences is that it goes for the scares and the thrills without shoving violence or gore down their throats. Instead, Rogue opts for atmosphere, scenery, unconventional elements and just plain fun. An American tourist visits Australia’s deep north and before too long he and his tour group are marked for dinner. Released in Australian cinemas, where it should be seen, but it more or less went straight to DVD in the US. So much for casting an American.
Genova
A car accident starts this film and leaves two girls without their mother. The father (Colin Firth) then takes the stricken pair to Italy, where he has an academic job in the city of the title and ... maybe things can get better for everyone. But the younger daughter starts to see visions of her mother, the older daughter becomes rather less obedient and Firth samples the local ladies as tensions build to a climax. Director Michael Winterbottom’s latest movie has passionate supporters, unlike his last film released here, the sexually explicit 9 Songs, which was censored (the sex, not the songs). No such fate for Genova, thankfully.
Chocolate
A step up from Shaolin Girl, this is a Thai carnival of kickboxing mayhem; this time the hero is female — and autistic. Snacking on chocolate will get her in the mood for violence, especially when a friend sets her up with victims who owe her ailing mother a lot of money. The trailer features a relentless series of matchups, which are intense enough to conclude that the heroine should stay away from dark chocolate if possible. From the director of Ong-Bak. The Chinese-language title is “Fatal Chocolate”; perhaps the local distributor is trying to cash in on the fear of imports from China with complimentary toxins.
Le Rayon Vert
And now for the winner of this month’s Weird Release Award. Legendary French director Eric Rohmer made this drama way back in 1986. As with most of his work, multiplex audiences will be left scratching their heads over this tale of a Parisian woman (Marie Riviere) who splits up with her beau, then spends the rest of the film struggling to communicate with almost everyone as she recoils from social agendas she would rather not satisfy. Showing exclusively at the Changchun theater in Taipei — an art house multiplex. Also known as Summer.
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