|
As many of you surely already know, Yvonne Strahovski has already filmed I Love You Too, an Australian romantic comedy by Peter Helliar.
No clear picture of when the movie will hit state-side, but a new trailer has been released!
Check it out at Herald Sun: Trailer for I Love You Too.
My apologies for not embedding the video. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to embed their player.
EDIT: YouTube video embedded. It blows out the column a little bit, but oh well.
I may be a few weeks late, but I finally got my hands on a copy of The Canyon on DVD. I’ll take any excuse to watch Ms. Strahovski in action, as I’m sure most of the Strahotski.com readership would.
I’m not quire sure what genre The Canyon is in, and that’s part of the problem I think it’s had with advertising. While some have called it a Horror film, it’s not really fair to do so.
Of movies I’ve watched, The Canyon is most like Open Water. It’s a story about survival, and at times that can mean horrific things happen. I would call it Survival Horror, but that seems to be the name given to Post-Apocalyptic Zombie games. This movie has no Zombies.
In a nutshell, the movie centers around two newlyweds — Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) — who elope and choose to have their honeymoon near the Grand Canyon. For reasons not fully explored in the final cut of the film, Nick has an overwhelming desire to take a mule trip down into the Canyon.
They find a shady guide named Henry (Will Patton) and embark on their journey only to have things go horribly awry, leaving them stranded with the sun scorching overhead and a pack of wolves hot on their trail.
As fair warning, the screenplay was written by Steve Allrich. We consider both him and his wife, Karina, friends of the site. Both have contributed information about the movie to Strahotski.com.
The Canyon is not a perfect film. It went straight to DVD for a reason, and it was probably the right medium for the movie. Don’t mistake that to mean that the film isn’t good — it’s just not blockbuster material.
The writing is actually pretty solid. The script does a good job of turning back on itself and weaving themes throughout the movie. Although such devices aren’t quite as subtle as I would have liked them to be, it did tie the story together nicely and was able to bring to life the real horror of the situation.
The film benefits greatly from its three primary actors. All three give solid performances, with Yvonne Strahovski shouldering most of the burden. Her ability to emote serves her well in this role, as we can see the frustration turn to horror, despair and the loss of hope as the movie progresses.
I’ve always been a fan of Will Patton and he does a remarkable job as their guide into the Canyon. It’s hard to believe this is the same guy that helped Bruce Willis drill a hole into an asteroid so many years ago.
While doing a fine job of acting, Eion Bailey’s character always seemed a bit off for me. He never felt entirely trustworthy, and I spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what Lori saw in him. I half-expected to find out that Nick was a mobster setting this all up to kill Lori, or some other such reveal of the true nature of the character.
The wolves in the film did prove to be a menacing opponent. It was refreshing to see a lot of practical effects in this film. Though bigger-budget films would have CG’ed the entire wolf pack, we see real live animals in The Canyon.
For any flaws the movie might have, they were easily overlooked for the poignant story underneath. Though well written, most of the credit belongs to Yvonne Strahovski for really drawing the viewer into her plight. As a viewer, I didn’t really care about whether Nick or Henry made it, but Lori’s troubles hit home.
The movie left me thinking about what it would be like to be stranded in the wilderness with no food, water, or communication. The progression of Lori’s mental state throughout the film feels realistic, and that alone is what makes it horrifying.
Though I’d like to tout The Canyon as the best movie ever, I can’t do that in good conscience. It had its flaws, and its smaller budget is apparent throughout the film. If you can engage yourself in the story, however, you’ll find a truly scary story about a girl put into extraordinary circumstances.
As a first US movie outing for Yvonne Strahovski, it is a worthy entry. She delivered the A+ performance we would expect of her talent, making this movie is a must-watch for all Strahovski fans.
Verdict: B
While Yvonne Strahovski herself isn’t scheduled to appear at Screamfest, her new movie, The Canyon, will be showing tomorrow night, October 20 at 9:30pm at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in LA.
Ticket prices are a reasonable $11.50 when ordered online. If any of you Strahotski-ites are in the area and get to check out Yvonne, we’d love to here any reports of Yvonne’s performance!
The Canyon is nearing release on DVD on November 17, and has been in the making for a long time. For previous Strahotski news on the subject, check out the following links:
* Impressions of Yvonne from Karina, wife of Screenwriter Steve Allrich
* Watch the trailer of The Canyon
The Canyon is a tale of a pair of newlyweds who get lost without their guide in the Grand Canyon wilderness. It’s been compared to movies such as Open Water as a story of survival.
ShockTillYouDrop recently posted an short interview with Yvonne about the movie, specifically focusing on her fun with the wolves in the film.
You can discuss Yvonne’s role in the movie on our forums in the thread dedicated to her role. If you get a chance to see the movie, let us know!
EDIT: According to a Facebook post on the Horror Festival Page, Yvonne Strahovski will be attending the showing of the Canyon at Screamfest on Tuesday night. All the more reason to get your tickets and watch!
I just got a tip from Karina, the Gluten-Free Goddess that the trailer for The Canyon has finally been released!
The movie stars Yvonne Strahovski and will be premiering at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal.
Check out the trailer below for some Yvonne in a pretty different role than Sarah Walker. You can read more about the film over at Twitch Films.
I should point out that Yvonne looks amazing in the trailer, though she seems to have failed to escape from doing scenes in her underwear.
Be sure to check out our original article on the movie from a couple of years ago, where we got some great words about Yvonne Strahovski from Karina. Sounds like Ms. Strahovski is every bit as delightful as she seems.
Here’s hoping we see a relatively wide distribution in the US so that we can all get an Yvonne fix on the silver screen.
Although NBC has not officially held its upfront yet, the news is pouring in via a number of sources that Chuck has been renewed for a third season.
The caveat is that it’s only for 13 episodes (with a potential back-9 pickup) and there’s going to be some budget cutting.
Exactly how the budget is going to be cut isn’t yet released, but expect to see some minor characters reduced in scope and possibly eliminated altogether. It is also reported that the show is going to lose a couple of staff writers.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Yvonne Strahovski is not in danger of getting the boot.
In addition to at least 13 more episodes of Sarah Walker, there has also been news that Yvonne Strahovski is set to star in at least two more films in addition to “I Love You Too” announced late last month.
The ever-loyal Strahotski forumners have created threads dedicated to each, a heretofore unnamed project and a movie called “Shadows from the Sky.”
Though both are early in development and it is not entirely clear how big of a role Ms. Strahovski will play, I’m sure you’re all with me when I say that any amount of Yvonne is a great thing!
So check out the forum threads, and breathe a collective sigh of relief. Whether it was the “Save Chuck” campaign, divine intervention, or just good business — Chuck is back!
Edit: The official announcement has been released. It looks like we won’t be seeing Chuck back until March, though. 
