Fate sticks its foot out to trip all the characters in all the worst ways in “Remember Me,” a grave romantic drama with grandiose thematic intentions. Framed in a portentous manner with a calamitous ending that will only come as a surprise to those who haven’t been paying attention, the modestly scaled film delivers some moving and affecting moments amid a preponderance of scenes of frequently annoying people behaving badly. It is precisely the young female fans of star Robert Pattinson who will react most wrenchingly to this doomed romance, which should enjoy a short but sweet B.O. life.

Pattinson is in heavy James Dean mode here as a reckless, unwashed, chain-smoking, intensely confused pretty boy named Tyler who, as Dean did in “East of Eden” and “Rebel Without a Cause,” has major father issues. Turning his back, at least for the moment, on his family’s wealth — dad Charles (Pierce Brosnan) is a mighty Wall Street lawyer, while classy mom Diane (Lena Olin) has remarried and is raising precocious 11-year-old artist Caroline (Ruby Jerins) — Tyler rooms with crude low-life Aidan (Tate Ellington) while occasionally attending NYU classes between drinking bouts.

If Twilight is Robert Pattinson’s ride in first class – the smooth, painless jaunt with slightly-prettier views and largely grime-free surroundings, then Remember Me is the British heartthrob’s excursion in Coach – a slightly cheaper, not quite as cushy and slightly bumpier ride without the views and continuous pop music playing from surrounding speakers.

But as most usually discover when they ride coach, it’s a lot more memorable a trip, and even more so, you’re usually surrounded by great people you’ll possibly never forget (in my case, I met one of my oldest friends riding on a bus when I was about 14-years-old!). And I tell ya, you won’t soon forget the people or the plot of the terrific Remember Me either.

Can’t wait until March 12th to see Robert Pattinson’s new film? Fret not, Twihards, because we’ve got the scoop. We had a chance to attend a preview screening of Remember Me yesterday and can safely say that it will please existing Pattinson fans while – dare we say it – also introduce him to a whole new audience.

This is actually the second film Pattinson has released since the Twilight phenomenon made him one of Hollywood’s hottest stars. The actor starred as artist Salvador Dali in the limited release, Little Ashes, last year. Remember Me, tells the story of two people who meet through an unusual twist of fate and develop a relationship that may be threatened by some deep-rooted secrets.

Director: Chris Weitz
Screenwriters: Melissa Rosenberg
Starring: (press conference) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning
Running Time: 130 mins
Certificate: 12A
Ratings: 2/5 Stars

If the first instalment of The Twilight Saga was a celebration of teenage sulkiness, then this sequel positively drowns in it. As Bella, Kristen Stewart is pure ‘heroin chic’, though it isn’t drugs that means she’s looking so pale; it’s being dumped by her bloodsucking vampire soul-mate Edward (Robert Pattinson doing his James Dean impression) because he worries for her soul. Sigh… But it, like, totally sucks because he leaves town, which means all the girls who come to watch this movie hoping for two-plus hours of drool-worthy close-ups might feel, like, totally frustrated.

Robert Pattinson finds himself facing the same mountain that Daniel Radcliffe has begun to successfully scale: living down the pop-culture mantle cast upon him. Unlike Radcliffe however, Pattinson has wisely chosen to start the process with all due haste so as not to be forever known as “that Twilight vampire guy”. However, before Twilight was even a twinkle on his horizon, he made The Haunted Airman, a made-for-television movie first aired in the UK in 2006 and canned until this 2009 release when the American audience will get another taste of pre-Twilight Pattinson.

Review in a Hurry: Vampiric hottie Robert Pattinson trades bloodlust for boylust, playing bi-curious surrealist Salvador Dalí, who has a romance with revolutionary author García Lorca. Sounds smokin’, right? It should’ve been. But soggy plotting and Pattinson’s tepid turn keep Ashes from catching fire.

The Bigger Picture: This Madrid-set period piece would appear a major departure for Twilight star Pattinson (though Ashes was shot prior). But once again, he’s a beautiful, brilliant, brooding loner who succumbs to forbidden love, with homosexuality subbing for undead-mortal coupling as taboo. And once again, that repression leads to countless scenes of long, mooning stares. It’s the teen-romance version of the Spanish modern-art world.