Letters To Juliet

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: May 13, 2010 (Australia) / May 14, 2010 (USA)

DVD Release Date: TBD

Plot 411: On a pre-wedding trip to Italy, Sophie discovers a 50-year-old letter to Juliet and replies to the author.

Review: Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and her fiance Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal) take a vacation to Verona in place of a formal honeymoon because of Victor's upcoming restaurant opening. However, once in Italy, Victor spends most of his time meeting with vendors rather than with Sophie. While sightseeing on her own Sophie finds the famous home of Juliet Capulet, which has turned into a shrine for women who are having problems in love. While writing her own letter, Sophie witnesses a woman pulling off all the letters. She follows the woman and learns that four women serve as Juliet's secretaries. As she assists them the following day, Sophie uncovers a 50-year-old letter that has gone unanswered. She writes to Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and a few days later is traveling with Claire and her grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) to find Claire's Italian lost love. The amazing Italian countryside of Sienna was a picture-perfect sight and its sun-drenched vineyards were amazing. The idea of a woman returning to the place of her youth to find and reconnect with a 50-year-old lost love is indeniably romantic. Seyfried is cute (her enormous blue eyes didn't seem as enormously distracting as they were in other films) and likable as Sophie (yes, it's the same character name she had in Mamma Mia!), but somehow this movie didn't live up to all the hype. Bernal and Egan were somewhat unlikeable in their own ways. While I thought the Claire storyline was moving, the Sophie/Victor/Charlie plotline seemed forced. The Charlie character's arc is definitely more like a spike with no warning or any indication of his motive for change. Everything was just too predictable, and what's worse is that the trailer reveals the entire movie.

Watch It: If you're a romantic at heart.

Skip It: If you've already watched the trailer. There's no need to spend your $10 after that.

The Motorcycle Diaraies / Diarios De Motocicleta

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: February 6, 2004 (Norway) / September 24, 2004 (USA)

DVD Release Date: February 15, 2005

Plot 411: Two friends travel throughout South America and experience real life.

Review: This is the story of Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal), his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) and four months of touring South America. Based on his memoirs, this film is of Guevara's life before becoming a political figure. The experiences he has during this vacation and seeing firsthand the lives of the impoverish motivate him later in life. However, at this time he is simply a young man out experiencing the world. The two friends travel far on Granado's motorcycle dubbed "The Mighty One." They are exposed to pleasures and hardships, joy and injustice. Despite an acknowledged biased when it comes to Bernal (I did watch The Science Of Sleep after all.), I don't think it'd be far fetched to say that Bernal's portrayal is captivating. He is especially good during those moments when like light bulb switches on and he sees the great divide between people who have and those who do not. You can almost feel the emotional connection he has with people he meets on the road. This is a road movie, one that goes from point A to point B, and you experience the journey as the characters do. It is also a personal journey for Guevara, who is a changed man by the end of the film.

Watch It: For a somewhat poetic look at how a person can be inspired by the hardship of others.

Skip It: If you actually liked The Science Of Sleep because this is another type of movie completely.

The Science Of Sleep / La Science Des Reves

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: August 16, 2006 (France) / September 22, 2006 (USA)

DVD Release Date: February 6, 2007

Plot 411: Stephane lives more in his dreams than in reality and becomes enthralled when he meets a girl he thinks can live in his world too.

Review: This movie was a strange mix of dreams and reality. Gael Garcia Bernal plays Stephane, a half Mexican and half French graphic designer who has returned home to his mother's native France for a job. Unfortunately, his job is not fulfilling nor does it provide a creative outlet for him. This seems to make him retreat further into his dreams. When he meets his new neighbor, Stephanie, he becomes enchanted by her creativity and believes that she may understand his inner thoughts and feelings, which are all a jumble. But, their relationship is also quite puzzling because it seems that she is interested in him but not at the same time he is interested in her. Their timing is off and because Stephane's behavior is quirky and weird at times, you can't blame Stephanie for her hesitation. Stephane's dreams are technically superb in its production and design. It must've taken many, many months to complete the painstaking work. I enjoyed the diversity of his dreams and how each was carried out in a slightly different manner depending on his feelings. The movie was really confusing at times, but so is life, love and our sleeping hours.

Watch It: For a look at love and rejection, feelings and dreams.

Skip It: If you're opposed to all those arty, foreign flicks. This is one of them that'll keep you confused for many days.