90-Minute Tours: Jaunts To Canada, France, and Ireland At The Movies This Weekend

 
Judge us if you will, but we’re quite ready to throw away our art-house street cred and plunk down our dollars for a weekend trip to the 1980s with “Hot Tub Time Machine”. Of course, the era of Aqua Net and the McDLT isn’t the only exotic destination offered at this weekend’s box office. We’ve got trips to County Cork, rural France and others all waiting for you.

DESTINATION: County Cork, Ireland
MOVIE: “The Eclipse”
Sorry, girls. This is not another installation of the “Twilight” saga. Rather, this is a tight, little supernatural thriller starring Ciar´n Hinds, Aidan Quin, and the under-appreciated Iben Hjejle. Reviews are mixed, but there’s no question that the cool, clammy visuals and the chilly, but beautiful Irish coast add shivers to this psychological ghost story.
 
DESTINATION: Angkor Wat, Cambodia; New York City, U.S.A.; Seattle, U.S.A.
MOVIE: “Dancing Across Borders”
Living up to its title, this documentary about a 16-year-old Cambodian dancer’s journey from the holy, but impoverished gem that is Angkor Wat to schools and performance spaces in New York City and America’s Pacific Northwest hits more spots on the map than any other release this week. As well, it’s a truly inspirational, transporting tale of art transcending cultural divides. If you’re looking for something uplifting with some fine locations, try here.
 
DESTINATION: Toronto, Canada
MOVIE: “Chloe”
Now, we know, Toronto isn’t anybody’s idea of an exotic getaway. Nonetheless, “Chloe” is one of those rare opportunities to see a town that is always being used as a stand-in for New York, Chicago and other cities to take a star turn as itself for once. Moreover, this oversexed thriller wherein a despairing wife (Julianne Moore) becomes erotically involved with the escort (Amanda Seyfried) she hired to spy on her husband (Liam Neeson), was helmed by Canuck director Atom Egoyan who always covers his films with a lovely glow, bringing out whatever beauty the city has to offer.
 
DESTINATION: Rural France
MOVIE: “Bluebeard”
What do you get when you mix firebrand neo-feminist French director Catherine Breillat and an old, creepy Gallic fairytale? Trouble, trouble, trouble. It’s perhaps the best-reviewed film of the weekend and certainly the most visually lush what with its Medieval castle setting, period details and jewel-toned cinematography. Be warned, though&mdashl;the script flashes between the far past and near present in a plot that is rife with adolescent girls under constant physical and sexual jeopardy. It’s a Breillat film after all.
 
DESTINATION: British Columbia, Canada
MOVIE: “Hot Tub Time Machine”
Oh, come on—you didn’t really think we’d leave this one out did you? Far and away the best-named film since “Psycho Beach Party”, “HTTM” was almost entirely filmed in the beautiful, remote ski country of Fernie, B.C., employing the resort town as a sort of dilapidated Aspen. Yes, it may be getting sunny outside, but this might be a good choice for those of you who missed out on ski season. Also, it features a hot tub that is also a time machine, so…
 
Above (clockwise from upper left): “Bluebeard” courtesy of Flach Film, “The Eclipse” courtesy of Treasure Entertainment, “Dancing Across Borders” courtesy of 123 Productions, “Chloe” courtesy of Studio Canal.