Confession time - I really liked The Village. Part of it, certainly, is that I’m slow on the uptake and I didn’t see THE BIG TWIST coming from miles away, as some people seemed to. I also adore the two leads, Bryce Howard and Joaquin Phoenix. They met on the set of Parenthood as children, and Bryce has harbored a crush on him ever since. It’s sweet that they got to work together, to play a reluctant couple that’s really the heart of the story. Their chemistry was probably the best part of the movie, but it was enough for me.

It also served as my introduction to Bryce Howard, the lovely redhead who somehow doesn’t look anything like her dad, Ron. She immediately became a favorite of mine, and when Moviemaker Magazine did a feature on Natalie Portman that included a picture of the two young actresses at drama camp - they were friends growing up - I was understandably angry when they failed to identify her. No one puts Bryce in the corner!

(That event marks, by the way, the first and last time that my letter was published in a magazine. Granted, the only other magazine I wrote in to was American Girl, but still.)

So, I love Bryce Howard. Even if her choices in films aren’t always the best, she’s beautiful, lovable, and talented. So I was very pleased to read that she, not Charlotte Gainesbourg, will be featured as Kate Connor in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Previously portrayed by Claire Daines in Terminator 3, the character will be brought back for more mid-pre-sequel stuff. (Yes, I’m still confused by the timeline of the Terminator series. I doubt that the whole mess will ever be unraveled, so I’m content with not understanding.)

Gainesbourg and the producers cited scheduling conflicts, leading to the recast of the character.

Between Bryce Howard and Christian Bale, how can this movie go wrong - even with McG at the helm? I’m not sure, but I have a feeling we’re going to find out. Regardless, I’ll be checking this one out as soon as I can.

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