The poster declares the theme of the film to be “knowing when to say when,” which is as good a summation as any, and has just the right amount of vagueness. In this case the “when” applies to, well, I’m not entirely sure — on the surface it’s when to draw the line at casual flirting. Or when to break up with a partner who’s coasting through the relationship. Or when to grow up — a theme that’s driven far too many indie films.

That lack of understanding is probably my fault, but it may also be director Joe Swanberg’s intent. This is the same guy who made Silver Bullets, a film that made me want to abort fully developed children, mainly because it meandered through the running time with no direction, no story, and a mass of sickly dialogue that wanted to sound fresh and spontaneous but came off as fully self-aware.

He tries a similar approach in Drinking Buddies, but it works infinitely better here. The actors improvise their dialogue, with an outline of the major plots points to guide them. I think that works best whenever the characters have an uncomfortable pause, but aside from that there is an easiness to their interactions. Granted, it should be simple for anyone to sell an attraction to Olivia Wilde.

Reprising her role as Marion from 2007’s 2 Days in Paris, Julie Delpy directs, stars in, writes, edits, and possibly caters this sequel. Marion’s an artist living in New York with her partner Mingus (Chris Rock) and their two children from previous relationships.

Marion’s family, specifically her father Jeannot (played by Delpy’s actual father Albert), her sister Rose (Alexia Landeau), and Rose’s uninvited and unwelcome boyfriend Manu (Alexandre Nahon) come to visit for what quickly devolves into an endless weekend, made unbearable for Marion thanks to their numerous quirks.

Jeannot, for example, wanders about the big city like a child, keying cars, mistaking a massage for…something else, and getting held up at customs for attempting to smuggle 30 pounds of sausage. Rose cannot open her mouth without making a snide comment to or criticism of her sister, and Manu is simply the kind of person with no qualms about inviting a drug-dealer to Marion’s apartment for a quick score of weed.

Against the screwball antics of her family is the backdrop of Marion’s upcoming art show, where she plans to auction off her soul to the highest bidder. It’s casually referred to throughout the film but drives the final act, and I mention it here mainly because the joke of her soul not fetching much and the person buying it were my favorites.

I’m a Bob Marley fan, but I wasn’t ready for a two-and-a-half-hour documentary on the guy. I liked director Kevin MacDonald’s other stuff, particularly The Last King of Scotland and Life in a Day, but, again, two-and-a-half hours.

And while the time doesn’t fly by, it does hold your interest. There’s the standard talking heads you always see in a movie like this, but instead of each and every one endlessly talking about how much of an influence Marley was, MacDonald does the opposite and focuses more on the personal details and experiences that directly influenced Marley.

The film opens in Ghana, with a guide taking the camera through a tour of an old slave port. He stops at an ancient wooden door. “When the blacks passed through this door,” he says, “they knew they would never be coming back, that’s why it’s called ‘The Door of No Return.’” We’re then whisked to the shanty town of Nine Mile, Marley’s home town, and the story of his early life begins. Many of the details will come as a surprise—for example, I never knew his father was a white, English captain in the Royal Marines, nor did I know his father was 60 years old when he married Marley’s 18-year-old mother.

Interviews with Marley’s friends, cousins, band members, aunt, and mother reveal a man who struggled with his mixed race and saw music as his only way out of poverty. A lesser director would have several interviewees reiterating that point to drive it home, but here many of MacDonald’s interviews are conducted on location, so when we see one of Marley’s cousins leaning against an outside bar worked into a dilapidated shack, nursing his Guinness and puffing on half a cigarette while a stray dog runs by, we only need to hear it once, and the point has already been made by what we’ve seen.

It may be difficult for some to think of Seth Rogen as a romantic leading man. However, in this particular film, that’s okay because he’s actually the other guy. He’s the husband that hottie wife Michalle Williams is bored with and considers cheating on.

All of this happens in the upcoming film Take This Waltz. We’ve got a trailer for it to share wtih you today. Here’s more about the film from its official synopsis:

When Margot (Michelle Williams), 28, meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), their chemistry is intense and immediate. But Margot suppresses her sudden attraction; she is happily married to Lou (Seth Rogen), a cookbook writer. When she learns that Daniel lives across the street from them, the certainty about her domestic life shatters.

She and Daniel steal moments throughout the steaming Toronto summer, their eroticism heightened by their restraint. Swelteringly hot, bright and colorful like a bowl of fruit, TAKE THIS WALTZ leads us, laughing, through the familiar, but uncharted question of what long-term relationships do to love, sex, and our images of ourselves.

Take a look at the trailer after the break. Look for Take this Waltz to arrive in theaters on June 29.

Robert Pattinson is in an important turning point for his career. As the Twilight franchise goes away, he really needs to establish himself as a really actor, not just a sparkly pretty face. He is likely going to turn a few heads in David Cronenberg’s next film, and now he will get a chance to in a more mature affair.

The trailer for his new film Bel Ami has just been released, for those who are unfamiliar with the project here is the synopsis:

BEL AMI is the story of Georges Duroy, who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.

This is exactly the kind of movie Pattinson should be doing right now, it allows him to capitalize on his ‘cinematic hearthrob’ status, but it clearly gives him a lot of character to play with. Plus any film that ends it’s top billed actors list with ‘and Colm Meaney’ immediately becomes worthwhile in my book.

Interestingly, the film is getting a VOD release May 4th, but doesn’t make it to the theaters until June 8th. Check out the trailer after the jump.