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Tumbledown Review: Tumbledown starring Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis and Joe Manganiello

Posted on December 25, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Tumbledown starring Rebecca Hall and Jason Suedekis. Image via Amazon.

Writer Hannah (Rebecca Hall)’s world comes tumbling down – pun intended- when her musician husband and the love of her life, Hunter, dies. A legend in the making, his death draws many to his grave, allowing her to continue her grief.

New York writer/university lecturer Andrew (Jason Sudeikis) is one of his fans, and he wants to write a book about him. But when he makes his intentions clear in the small town where Becky lives, she is more than a little hostile. She doesn’t want his memories distorted, and she wants to write his biography herself.

As Andrew is about to give up, however, the feedback she receives from her boss/friend/mentor Upton (Griffin Dunne) makes her reconsider working with him.

As the two begin work on her own terms, they get along better than either thought was possible. As understanding and attraction form between them, we start wondering if Becky will want to live in the present again.

Tumbledown is a sweet drama with enough comedy and romance to keep it realistic yet lighthearted enough.

Both characters walk a fine line between being likeable and unlikeable, but for the most part, we like them just enough to follow their journeys.

Tumbledown was written by Desi van Til, Desiree Van Til and Sean MewShaw. Directed by Sean Mewshaw in 2015.

Favorite scene

-When Hannah leaves Andrew home to go interview a local woman, he gets the dogs out, locks the doors and snoops around the stuff Hannah hasn’t shown him. As he hears Hannah’s car, he rushes out in a T-shirt, trying to get the dogs in, falls down in the snow and freezes his ass off. He also gets locked out.

Fun notes:

Joe Manganiello plays local, “real man” Curtis, with an ever-present crush for Hannah.
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The Space Between Us starring Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson and Carla Cugino: An Uplifting Love Story with Space Elements

Posted on May 6, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

the_space_between_us — The Space Between Us. Image via impawards.

East Texas is scientist/businessman Nathaniel Parker (Gary Oldman)’s brainchild: A group of astranouts will go to live on Mars for four years. He couldn’t be prouder. But when it turns out his lead astranout Sarah Elliot is pregnant on space, a difficult consensus is reached to save the baby: He should stay on Mars as a journey to Earth could be deadly.

Baby Gardner grows up to be a smart and resourceful teenager (Asa Butterfield).
His only connection to our planet – managed without the help, consent, or the knowledge of the astranauts who raised him – is a high school student named Tulsa (Britt Robertson). As far as world-wary and street-smart Tulsa knows (and doesn’t believe a word of), Gardner is stuck living in a NY penthouse due to a rare disease. Gardner is the one thing about Earth that doesn’t seem to piss Tulsa off.

But as much as astranout Kendra (Carla Cugino) loves him like a son, Gardner longs to go to planet earth. And while a trip to Earth can be physically detrimental, being here isn’t doing Gardner’s psychology any favors. Despite Parker’s protests, Gardner is treated for bone density, goes to physcial therapy and finally arrives on Earth…only to find out more tests await. A discouraged Gardner manages to escape, with only two goals in mind: to meet Tulsa and find his father.

Tulsa and Gardner get along swimmingly, minus some understandable disbelief on Tulsa’s part. But as the two teens grow closer, so do Kendra and Gardner to finding them. And as much as we want Gardner to have the time of his life, we also know the two adults are only concerned about saving Gardner’s life. Can Gardner find his father and collect enough memories before he has to go back? And will Kendra and Parker find him before it is too late?

The Space Between Us is the perfect drama romance adventure. But the focus of the movie is on the connection and love between human beings, and while the romance of Tulsa and Gardner takes focus, there is also a lot of paternal love going on.

Despite being a writer, I’m a lot like your average viewer. When I love a movie to bits, I don’t notice flaws. So if this one has any, you are going to have to let me know in the comments.

Yes, I’m a romantic. And I’m really sick of the same old sick kid love story. But Gardner isn’t originally sick. He is just literally raised on another planet. Whatever health problems arise, it arises due to different gravity and his heart responding negatively. It’s a pretty original (and logical) health problem right there.

Then, there is one or two minor twists that you might or not see coming, which serve as sweet additions to an already sweet story.

And it’s refreshing to see “antagonists” that are really just concerned about a kid’s well-being. It’s hard not to root for both sides, which makes it all the more fun and emotional to watch.

Yes, we want Gardner to find love and experience many, many firsts- including feeling the wind on his face and the rain on his body. But we also don’t want a 16-year-old to die. We want a loving, caring man (Parker) to fix his mistake. We want Kendra to save her surrogate son. We want Tulsa to finally be happy, and we definitely don’t want her to lose her favorite thing about Earth, which is understandably Gardner.

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I WILL SPOIL THE ENDING – Meaning, I’ll tell you if it is happy or sad.

Of course, I tend to have a sweet spot for Allan Loeb stories, he is one of the co-writers, and I’ve always had a bit of a crush on the awesomeness that is Gary Oldman. So I’m positively biased.

So I’m warning you. It’s a love story. It’s about different kinds of love. It’s a road trip film. It’s fighting for someone’s survival vs. someone’s happiness. And in the end, spoilers ahead, optimists and romantics win. So there. I told you. The ending is all warm and fuzzy. I loved it. It’s also embrassing, but I didn’t see the twist coming.

Loved the cast, visuals, and the soundtrack.

The film was directed by Peter Chelsom, and written by Allan Loeb, Steward Schill and Richard Barton Lewis. It is currently rated at 6.4 on IMDB.

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Allied Movie Review: Brad Pitt and Marion Cottilard in an Engaging Robert Zemeckis Spy Romance

Posted on April 12, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Allied starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. Image via IMP awards.

I liked the film, and this will be a positive review. So if you want to hate on it, you can do so in the comments or just ignore this.

Still with me? Awesome!

Allied is a 2016 feature drama, war, romance movie written by Steven Knight (Locke, Burnt, Eastern Promises) and directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Back to the Future, Flight, Forrest Gump). It stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard (Inception, The Dark Night Rises, A Good Year) in the lead roles and features Matthew Goode in a tiny but key part.

It’s important to mention that Allied is an old-fashioned film shot in an old-fashioned way. There is nothing unique or disruptive about it, and this is one of the main reasons I loved it so much.

Now, I love uniqueness and disruption where it is needed. Sometimes, you need to break the rules. Go outside of what is expected. But a sexy, traditional romance story with a bit of action starring your favorite actors directed by one of your favorite directors is sometimes exactly what you need to escape the complexities of your own world.

This is not to say the characters don’t have to go through hell. They do. They must, as any compelling story will have their characters suffer. But before the suffering, there is a tremendous reward, (in the form of a romance), a fun storyline and just beauty.

So here is the Allied Plot: (No spoilers; this is all in the trailer)

Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), a capable Canadian intelligence officer, meets the equally capable and attractive, French operative Marianne (Marion Cotillard) for an assignment that requires them to play a married couple.

It’s easy to fall in love during wartime: They are both intelligent, passionate, successful, and well, beautiful to a fault. By the time their assignment is over, they are a couple in love. They get married soon and have an adorable daughter.

However the biggest challenge for Max won’t be the war, but the accusation from his government that Marianne is a German spy. In 72 hours, her innocence or guilt will be proven. If she is guilty, Max will execute her himself. If he refuses, he will be hanged.

Can the woman he loves really be a spy? And if she is a spy, does it change the fact that he truly loves her?

It’s a horrible situation to be in, and it provides us the suspense and action we need for the second half of the film as Max tries to prove her innocence by whatever means necessary, while the war is in full swing.

Throughout the film, our focus is on the passionate and loving relationship of our two protagonists. The war is in the background, however horrible it might be.

And Max is in the most horrendous situation of his life. Sure, he has lost friends. He has killed people, in both self-defense and doing his job. But the possibility of being betrayed by his wife, and the fact that he might have to kill her, almost breaks Max, and Brad Pitt does a good job making us feeling his pain.

Of course, when it comes to other things, the screenplay doesn’t bother. When you think about it, both Max and Marianne do horrible things. They had to kill a lot of people: to defend themselves, because it is their job, etc…One could argue wartime ethics and laws are different.

But Max also caused a lot of deaths, directly and indirectly, while he was trying to prove Marianne’s innocence. He didn’t blink an eye. He didn’t have time, was facing a life and death situation, his world was falling apart, etc. But his ability to compartmentalize was so scary and impressive at the same time.

Was there really little to no guilt? Did he have a superior coping mechanism? Or did he have sociopathic tendencies?

As I said, it wasn’t this movie’s goal or job to look into Max’s psychology outside of his feelings for his country/country’s allies or his wife. But if you want to dig deeper, there is a lot to think about.

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Before Midnight starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy: The Sequel I’d So Wanted to Like

Posted on November 2, 2014 Written by Pinar Tarhan

before midnight movie poster — Image via eksiil.net.

It’s essential to remember where we are coming from, and before diving straight into my review, I want to talk a bit about the two movies that came before. But you can head straight to the Before Midnight part if you like. Just scroll down a bit;)

Before Sunrise: A Romantic Haven for The Realistic Romantic

In 1995, Jesse and Celine met on a train, and connected like they haven’t connected with anyone. They were both cute, young (in their early 20s) and, as much as Jesse was more obviously so, romantic. They got along so well, in fact, Jesse didn’t want to get off at his temporary station in Vienna (he was flying back home the next day) so he persuaded Celine to get off with him and spend the day/night in Vienna (Before Sunrise). You can read a more thorough, spoiler-free review here.

Of course Celine and Jesse fell in love during their spontaneous and romantic day, and we fell in love with their story (as well as the city.) Now, I’ll spoil the ending, so you might want to avoid this post if you haven’t seen Before Sunrise.

Hell, you shouldn’t be here if you haven’t seen Before Sunset (sequel to Before Sunrise, which we’ll talk about shortly). But please do come back after you’ve seen it.

OK, so Before Sunrise has a semi-happy, semi-vague ending. Celine and Jesse agree not to exchange numbers or addresses (which is pretty dumb and naive, considering how they felt about each other), but to meet in Vienna in six months. They say their goodbyes and go on their separate ways. But don’t get me wrong, Before Sunrise is one of my favorite films, and I pretty much love everything about it.

Before Sunset: A Little Darker, More Realistic and Just As Good Sequel

Come 2004, we get Before Sunset, the sequel. This is where we are disappointed in the beginning to find out that that planned meeting never happened. Jesse has gone on to publish a bestseller about their day in Vienna, and is on a book tour in Paris, which is where Celine lives. Celine drops by at his book signing, and from then on, the movie is about them catching up 9 years later.

As they mostly walk around Paris, we learn what they’ve been up to. Professionally, they’ve chased their ideals. Romantically, they’re a mess. Celine is in a kind of relationship with a guy she doesn’t care much about. Jesse is unhappily married with a young son; he would probably have bolted if not for him.

Here, because they are in their mid-30s, things are, or at least seem to be, a bit bleak. And not just because of their current disappointing relationships, but because we learn they couldn’t meet at their designated time and that they still have feelings for each other.

The ending is still a bit vague, but basically, this time we kind of, sort of know they stayed together. OK, let me put this way: we guess they stayed together at that moment, but we aren’t sure if it lasted. Well, we weren’t sure for 9 years, until Before Midnight came out.

Before Midnight: Bleak, Hostile, Insensitive, Bitchy, Toxic – Is this the sequel about Celine and Jesse’s dumber, more aggressive and ultra insensitive clones?

I love Before Sunrise to bits, and in some ways, I love Before Sunset even more because it seems more realistic and sincere. It’s easy to relate to the disappointments and missed opportunities and what-ifs of being a grown-up.

The dialogue also sounds more natural than the first movie. Director/writer Richard Linklater, and co-writers/lead actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have done splendid jobs capturing a genuine, second part of a love story.

Before Midnight has a lovely trailer. It looks like you’ll look into the marriage of one of our favorite couples in movie history, and what years have done to their relationship (we know it has been years because they have kids and they’re on vacation together as a family).

And it starts well enough: Jesse is at the airport saying goodbye to his now teenage son Hank who has spent the summer in Greece with them. Then it takes a while we can get some quality time with just Celine and Jesse. Sure, it’s just them talking in the car while their twin girls sleep at the back of the car but it’s more talking at each other and making jokes about their kids instead of really sharing – not the type of Jesse and Celine exchanges we’ve gotten used to. Yes, we get it. They are married. Things are different. But are you really ready for just how much things have changed?

Then they’re back around the writer’s residence, Jesse talking to his friends, and Celine helping out in the kitchen (Celine in the kitchen???) and then it’s everyone at the house having dinner together. The stuff our duo would discuss among themselves is discussed together here, where Celine does her usual (in this movie!) putting-Jesse-down routine.

So 35 minutes in, and they still haven’t taken a walk around town just the two of them.

OK, about 47 minutes in or so, we’re finally with the two of them, only their conversation revolves mostly around their kids, and Celine’s insecurities. There are some delightful moments and smiles, but it’s very limited.

After a few minutes of Before-Sunrisey moments, we go to the hotel Celine was so reluctant to go to, and all hell breaks lose. This is where the movie puts me further off long-lasting relationships and having kids. This where I say forever goodbye to the Celine and Jesse I know, wishing I can forget this movie, so that I watch the first two movies again, without being haunted by this one.

Remember that beautiful scene by the fountain, little after dawn, in Before Sunrise where Celine was talking about how she’d grow to love someone more after she has gotten to know them entirely…Well, turns out, she just grows to resent them. Yay! Celine is another woman who has grown to resent her husband who shockingly didn’t change at all.

Now, I’m not saying I’m super awesome and Celine’s a bitch. We all have our own demons, problems and neuroses. But Celine here is making me miss Ally McBeal; and at least Ally was likeable and well-meaning most of the time. And she was funnier than she was irritating.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t head over heels with Jesse either. The last thing I want is a guy with a bitchy ex-wife and a teenage son, who plans a whole summer according to his needs, doesn’t include loyalty in his definition of being fully committed and who openly checks out younger, perkier women who happen to be dating his friend!

It’s just that next to Celine, he wins the lesser of two evils award.

I’m not saying I hated it. It had its moments. It had the trademark gorgeous scenery of a foreign country. But it didn’t have passion or romance. It didn’t have faith in the relationship and love story we grew up to love. There was no respect on Celine’s part, and don’t get me started about their lackluster ideas of being fully committed to each other…

So to sum it up all three movies’ reviews:

During Before Sunrise, you want to be Celine or Jesse.

During Before Sunset, you hope you don’t miss out on chances, and you wish you have the guts to follow your heart if you do happen to miss out on chances. You still don’t mind being Jesse or Celine.

During Before Midnight, you just want to go to Greece.

And I really didn’t want them to stay together, because that relationship became as harmful as toxic waste. I’m not some naive romantic that expects everything to be perfect. But I do expect an insult-free, loyal, passionate and respectful relationship. Otherwise, what the hell is the point? Speed had more romance than Before Midnight, for crying out loud!

This is a good, decent, honest movie. It’s just a highly disappointing sequel.

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Recommended Movies: Strangers Falling in Love in One Day

Falling Overnight

Forget Me Not

Monsters– with a sci-fi angle

Also on Ethan Hawke

Brooklyn’s Finest starring Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke and Don Cheadle

Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto and Ethan Hawke

Actors and Literature: Ethan Hawke, Hugh Laurie and Viggo Mortensen

Reality Bites starring Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder and Ben Stiller

Alias TV Show starring Jennifer Garner, Michael Vartan, Bradley Cooper and Victor Garber