‘To the Wonder’
Director: Terrence Malick
Stars: Olga Kurylenko, Ben Affleck
Rating: R
5 (out of 5) globes

There’s a lot of twirling in Terrence Malick’s sixth-ever film, mainly done by actress Olga Kurylenko. Plus a precious title. Plus Ben Affleck, not really an actor who should take on a silent role, almost never speaking. Despite this, the temptation to chuckle at “To the Wonder” has been grossly overstated. There are those who have called it self-parody or a debacle — as though no pretty girl has ever twirled too much in a Malick film, or that the filmmaker has never used potentially giggle-worthy whispered narration (“What was this love that was us?” purrs one character.) This is a Terrence Malick film, in some ways the purest example of his work, in others a deviation from the conventions only he follows closely.

Kurylenko and Affleck play lovers who meet in Europe and then go on-again-off-again. Kurylenko narrates, but is temporarily replaced by Rachel McAdams, who is not long for the picture (she still fared better than Jessica Chastain, Rachel Weisz and a few others who were cut entirely.) Love lost may seem less weighty than previous Malick topics — war in “The Thin Red Line,” America’s genesis in “The New World,” everything in “The Tree of Life” — but Malick doesn’t treat it that way, nor should he have.

This is the first Malick entirely in the modern day; you haven’t lived till you’ve seen one of his patented florid, propulsive montages make room for a Sonic. It’s also the only one mostly in another language, despite being set largely in Oklahoma. Along with Kurylenko, who appears to be French by way of Ukraine, Javier Bardem plays a priest, the two of them searching for an ideal (love; a god) that’s forever elusive. Being forced to read the narration forces you to pay attention to it, even if it’s even more scattered and context-free than usual.

“Wonder” is more intimate and, at times, more diffuse-seeming than Malick’s other work. The religious aspect doesn’t always meaningfully jibe with the main thread, beyond a superficial connection. But let your guard down and you’ll miss something. There’s something intriguing about the gaping hole that is Affleck’s character, who almost never speaks and who is nevertheless the obscure object of desire of two heartbroken women. On a more immediate level, “Wonder” continues a project Malick began with 1973’s “Badlands” but only developed in this fashion with “The Thin Red Line:” getting inside characters’ perceptions at their most attentive, seeking to capture sensations as they’re fresh and raw.

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Look. I know the members of Hanson are old and they have, like, 23 kids between them (even the baby drummer has procreated — twice.) I’ve interviewed them several times and the voice on the other end wasn’t prepubescent (they are also supersensitive to people thinking they are teenagers, something I learned the hard way when I squealed, “You are so grown up!” to them.) I’ve even listened to their later albums. What I’m saying is: I KNOW THEY ARE OLD AND CAPABLE OF PARTYING. But when I read on E! News that Kristen Stewart decided to celebrate her 23rd birthday by crashing a record release party for the band at L.A. nightspot No Vacancy, my first thought was, “What is KStew doing with a bunch of 8-year-olds?” Apparently, if you broke out as a little person, I will always consider you a little person (don’t get me started on Lil’ Bow Wow.) Anyway, according to E!, the birthday girl arrived around 11 p.m. with Robert Pattinson and about 10 friends in tow, though it was unclear if they knew ahead of time about the band’s party. “They weren’t overly affectionate or anything, but at points they were standing together as they talked to friends,” a source says of Stewart and Pattinson. And then Hanson played pin-the-tail on the donkey, ate confetti cake and all three had temper tantrums when they were told it was bedtime. (I’m so sorry, Hanson. Next interview we do together, impress me with your 401K plan and maybe I’ll wrap my head around the fact of your aging.)

The drama between Rihanna and Chris Brown continues
Reports that Rihanna and Chris Brown have broken up might not exactly be accurate, but that doesn’t mean the couple is happy, according to Us Weekly. A source tells the magazine that while the pair hasn’t actually split up, they are fighting all the time. “Every second it’s a blow-up and then full-on in love,” the source says. “She’s touring and working her ass off, and he’s working his off in the studio,” and those busy schedules are adding to the stress. Rihanna is even using work to vent some of her frustrations, asking an audience at an L.A. concert this week, “How many of you are in love? How many of you hate love? How many of you don’t f—ing understand it? I’m in that group. The confused group.”

Madonna continues fight with Malawi president
Madonna’s ongoing feud with Malawi President Joyce Banda isn’t getting any better, with Banda now blasting the singer for reportedly demanding expedited travel privileges for herself and her entourage for a recent visit to the country, according to Yahoo! News. “Granted, Madonna is a famed international musician,” Banda says in a statement. “But that does not impose an injunction of obligation on any government under whose territory Madonna finds herself, including Malawi, to give her state treatment. Such treatment, even if she deserved it, is discretionary, not obligatory.” Madonna and company instead had to queue up with regular passengers and were reportedly frisked before being allowed through security.

Ben Affleck: Mr. Mom
It’s Jennifer Garner’s turn to go to work, which means husband Ben Affleck will be staying home with the kids, the “Argo” director reveals, according to Us Weekly. “She’s got a couple of movies coming up. There’s going to be a little Mr. Mom action and I’m going to get back in the ring,” Affleck says. “She told me to go to the gym, I’m preparing myself. I’m going to take on some more of the burden.”

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When Ben Affleck accepted the Oscar for Best Picture, he thanked his wife Jennifer Garner and said that marriage is hard work, but it is the best kind of work. He’s right — it takes great effort to find the balance between each person’s needs and desires. Say football is your thing — it always has been, ever since you were a little kid watching at home with your dad. It’s hard for you to understand why your new partner has no interest in it. You want to go to games together, talk about plays and plan weekends around the tailgate parties. If the answer is “no,” what do you do? Ask for a compromise.

One couple I worked with had a basic problem: She wanted to stick to low-key staples like pizza and hot dogs, while he wanted to wine and dine on fancy, gourmet meals.  The difference in their tastes was a source of constant bickering and resentment in their relationship.

Compromising is key in any relationship, even if — as Ben Affleck pointed out rather awkwardly  — it takes work. In your relationship, you have to find a balance between your own pleasures and the things you love while respecting the things your partner is into, as well.  Is there a way to include your significant other but not force-feed them?

This is where a little bit can really go a long way. You remember when you were a child and your mother wanted you to eat broccoli, right? It looked awful, but you had to have some to appease her, so you took a small bite. With that taste, you showed her you respected her wishes enough to open your mind a little bit.

The same thing holds true in your relationship. Acknowledge to your partner that you understand and accept that football or pizza is not his or her cup of tea. When the playoffs roll around or a special event comes up, say that his or her company is important to you. Be clear that you know it is a sacrifice, but that a small portion — one game, or one slice of pizza — would mean a lot.

Doing this means you can share your passions and interests while respecting your partner’s desires. The key is to encourage them to be open and try to appreciate what it is that you find so fascinating. Who knows, your partner just might like it. Sharing pleasures and being open to each other helps to turn the wheels for more mutual passion. Doesn’t sound like such hard work, does it?

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America isn’t the only country to boast lavish, self-congratulatory, end-of-the-year awards ceremonies celebrating the year in motion pictures, but it was, as with everything America does, the first. The Academy Awards commenced in 1929, while the BAFTAs, the British equivalent (though, like the Golden Globes, they fête TV as well), launched in 1946. It took the French till 1976 to kickstart the Césars, their version, which this year decided to upstage the Oscars by holding their ceremony on Friday, two days before the one in Los Angeles.

Though obviously French-centric, there is some overlap between the Césars and the Oscars. The big winner Friday night was, perhaps inevitably, “Amour,” Michael Haneke’s celebrated study of an elderly man tending to his dying wife. The film won five awards out of the ten for which it was nominated, including Picture, Director and Screenplay (both Haneke), Actor (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Actress (Emannuelle Riva). Of these, only Trintignant isn’t an Oscar nominee [ed. which is a shame].

Also winning was Matthias Schoenaerts for “Rust and Bone” as Best Newcomer, an award the Oscars do not have because the ceremony is already much too long.

The Césars also named “Argo” as Best Foreign-Language Film, which was likely both a treat for its director, Ben Affleck, and more salt in his already salted wounds, seeing as he was “snubbed” a Best Director nomination at the Oscars. Traditionally, the lack of that nomination means it has little chance of taking home the Best Picture trophy. The last film to win Best Picture without its director even nominated for an award was “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1989.

The Césars also gave an Honorary Award to “Swing State” star Kevin Costner.

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