November 21, 2009

• NEW MOON MOVIE REVIEW - Just about Perfect!

  There are some spoilers! Read with caution if you haven't seen the movie yet!

  How do I start? Well … let’s get the fangirl shrieks out of the way. OME! … OMJ! … Squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

  Furthermore, I also feel the need for a disclaimer to show that I try to be as unbiased as I can in my review. Here is the thing: I like the Twilight series. Heck – I love the Twilight series. Not as much as I love Harry Potter, but I do! And although I AM “Team Edward” (not that there is such as thing – as Bella says “It’s always been him” – but that’s a whole other blog), my swooning over Edward has more to do with the actor that portrays him in the movie than with the character. (I always joke with my BFF Cynde that she can have Edward, but Rob is mine!) Don’t get me wrong – I love the idea of an “Edward” being out there for everybody, a love, a bond so strong that being without it is impossible. But my own life experience has left me with a hole in MY chest that will not heal and has left me jaded. Therefore, like I said, love the story and the idea behind it but you won’t find me falling for Edward.

  Ironically, that very hole in my own chest is what made “New Moon” my favorite book of the series. I can identify with that installment the most. Bella’s confusion as to why he is leaving. There is no fight, they love each other, don’t they? As well as the pain Bella feels, the physical pain when Edward leaves her. The way Stephenie Meyer describes that Bella has to hug herself in order to “hold herself together”. That feeling of the world and life outside of you passing by, while you seem to stand still (as in the chapters October, November, December and January). I sobbed through this book, unable to put it down, turning the pages frantically to find out whether Bella’s story would end up happier than mine.

  This is where I’m coming from as a lover of this book and movie series. Not your average fangirl, I have slightly different angles of looking at it, which I hope I explained a little bit.

  With all that being said, I want to start off this movie review with saying that I absolutely loved, LOVED this movie. Is it going to be one of the great Classics (from a cinematic viewpoint)? Probably not. But we have to consider the source material. Again – let me say that I am a fan of the books, but let’s face it – Shakespeare they are not! But looking at it strictly from the question “did they translate the book New Moon successfully to the screen?” I have to answer with a thundering “YES!”

  For me this was a perfect adaptation of the source material to the screen. Melissa Rosenberg obviously “gets” the books. She captured the essence and translated it to the screen. I loved how in this movie Bella’s narration is driven by (undeliverable) emails to her BFF Alice. What an ingenious way to “avoid” boring voiceovers and drive the story along. (Incidentally most of my own fanfiction has Bella writing in a diary – spooky, Angie, huh?). Chris Weitz, the director, did a great job of maintaining the look and feel of the first movie (which became evident when watching the “double feature”) while taking it to the next level. He took this world that had been created by somebody else and kept the integrity, yet improved it with his own vision. (I’ll come to the minor missteps later). The Studio – Summitt – obviously realized after “Twilight” exactly WHAT they have on their hands and decided to put a little more money and effort in it. And it shows! The CGI is 1000x better than in Twilight. The wolves are amazing! The fast movements of the vampires are described in the books as something you can’t really see with the naked eye. The special effects now translate that beautifully with slow motion and really fast blurs. A-N-D, of course, the sparkling – they finally got it right! “Like Diamonds”, that’s what it looks like now!

  Let’s talk about performances. Kristen Stewart stepped it up a notch. While I was still a little hesitant about her after Twilight she’s got my full support now. Billy Burke – consistently great, the wolfpack – seem to work out fine. Victoria is still deliciously evil, I’m sad to see her go. The Cullens, as in the book, are regretfully mostly absent from this movie. But when we see them they are great as always. I still can’t believe how much older and how different Peter Facinelli looks with the blonde hair and with that hairstyle. Not sure about the Volturi, they looked different in my mind. Martin Sheen plays it deliciously heinous, but I’m not impressed with the others, save for Dakota Fanning. I think she fits Jane perfectly and her little sadisitic smile when she first tortures Edward, then tries it on Bella and that grin fading into frustration when it doesn’t work is brilliant!

  Taylor Lautner – well …. Everybody is talking about the 30 lbs of muscle he put on, which is obviously … umm… nice to look at. But on top of that I have to give him HUGE props. This kid is what, 17 now? He was my weak link when Twilight casting was first announced. With his sparkling white teeth and cockyness. “Sharkboy as Jacob?”, I thought – puhleeeze! But he won me over in the prom scene when he gives Edward the evil eye. From then on I couldn’t wait to see what he would do with his expanded role in New Moon. Despite what I just said, I was rooting for him to keep his job. He was obviously dedicated to the role and boy, he did not disappoint! He nailed this! He makes us root for Team Jacob – almost. He makes us understand what it is like to be “the friend”. His emotions are an open book. Sometimes just with subtle facial expressions. I also liked how his stance and walk change after he becomes a werewolf – but is in his human form. Watch for it! Taylor has no problem carrying this movie. I am really, really impressed!

  Which leaves me with Rob. We all know that I am a little biased on that front. I was a Robert Pattinson fan long before I became a Twilight fan and when he was cast I shrieked like a fangirl. The irony that he plays the one character I said in my disclaimer I wasn’t falling for, is not lost on me! But yes, I knew he would be perfect for the role. I had seen what he can do and he is amazingly talented, slipping into each different role he plays perfectly. Be it a WWI fighter pilot with PTSD or a 16 year old nerdy geek. It is sad that the world only knows him as “the guy from Twilight” because he can do so much more. Judging from what I’ve seen in the “Remember Me” trailer he will be able to show the world soon! Another irony, of course, is that my favorite actor doesn’t show up much in my favorite installment of the series. But again – WHAT he does is top notch. I don’t know where all the haters are coming from. I think he portrays Edward’s conflict perfectly. You can see his struggle of loving Bella, having to fight off the urge to drink her blood, wanting to be with her forever, but knowing that it puts her in danger. Then he needs to make Bella believe that he doesn’t want her anymore – heck, I believed it, but I also saw the pain in his eyes, in his face! After the phone call with Jacob, the dispair that drives him to go to Volterra – just wow! And I know that the make up had a lot to do with how horribly sick he looked at the end, when he starts walking out into the sun, but he is almost catatonic, like Bella was. It comes across when he sees Bella. The book has Edward thinking that Bella is a ghost or spirit that is waiting for him on the other side. He believes she is dead and that because he is almost dead he can see her waiting there for him: “It’s amazing … Carlisle was right.” Without saying a word in the movie Rob shows that on his face! And what about the torture scene? I mean think about how you would act to be in excrutiating physical pain, without anybody touching you. I thought he did a great job.

  Now about some scenes I particularly liked. Cynde, of course, also called the way they would keep Rob “in” the movie. Instead of just hearing Edward’s voice – as is in the book, Bella sees images of Edward when she does something dangerous. I loved the way they did that. I particularly liked the drowning scene, when they are both floating next to each other and when Jacob pulls Bella out her hand that was trying to touch him dissolves the image.

  The chapters where in the book it only says “October, November, December and January.” We actually discussed that at Twicon at one of the panels and I thought they would do something similar to what they did here. Almost like a scene in one of my most favorite movies “Nottinghill”. Here Bella sits on a chair staring blankly out the window. The world around her goes on and moves, while her own little world seems to stay still. Save for the pictures of friends on her walls! Did anybody notice that? With every month (and turn around her) pictures disappear from her wall. I really loved that scene.

  Another favorite is the scene in the rain, when Bella confronts Jacob for the first time after he becomes a wolf. Did you notice the steam coming off of him in the rain? He is supposed to be 108 degrees hot. Of course, there should be steam. No detail is left out. But I thought it was funny that the first thing Bella says is “You cut your hair!” ?????? You don’t see the freakin’ abs on him, and him running around in shorts, without a shirt, in the pouring rain? LOL!

  Like I said, the wolves are great, the phasing is fantastic. Not sure about the “brotherhood” dynamic yet. I haven’t been able to really “feel” for the guys yet. A lot of important key points were explained in conversation, which was good.

  Also loved the scene where Edward recites Shakespeare in the classroom.

  There were lots of little jokes again (“as soon as you put the dog out”).

  And, of course, the grand finale – Edward’s and Bella’s negotiation of when to change her. I wish that would have come across a little bit clearer, but it ended perfectly! I mean, even the music stopped! And Edward drops the bombshell! Perfect!

  I have some little qualms but I decided they were not enough to warrant a deduction in stars. The music – not as great as for the Twilight movie, but after hearing it with the movie now, it makes sense. I didn’t like the eyes. Although I am starting to get used to it after watching three times, I still think they shouldn’t have changed them from the first movie. They are too prominent now. They are supposed to look different, but in a way that nobody can figure out why. I think they meant well, but it was too much. I actually liked the makeup – except for Laurent, who was ash-looking. I thought Rosalie looked a lot better and more beautiful than in Twilight, but I didn’t like that they changed Alice’s hair.

  So overall – I’m not sure where all the hate from the movie critics is coming from. I loved this movie, as it seems do all the Twilight fans. The midnight show I was too excited to get emotional to the point where I would cry – except for the big Volterra reveal scene, when the guy in front of us got up to go out at the crucial moment! And then comes back and does it again! WTF? But the second viewing had me in tears when Edward leaves Bella, and also when Edward is tortured. The third viewing I was on the verge of sobbing when Jacob turns into the wolf at the end and leaves.

  – Oh …. and one more thing! Remember my self-imposed abstinence from any pictures or clips? It was so well worth it. When I came home from the midnight show I you-tubed the 3rd trailer and I am soooooo glad I didn’t watch that beforehand. I am glad I saw all that for the first time in the theater and in the right places in the movie. It had a much bigger effect on me as if I had known them beforehand. I was even a little confused in the movie, because the way they cut the first trailer (which I saw beforehand) was misleading. And it threw me off while watching the movie. I vow right now that I will do the same thing for Eclipse! The first trailer, that’s it! You can laugh and tease me all you want!
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  A little addition to this blog!

  OK... one of my facebook friends just sent me a comment by private message, because she didn't want to offend anyone. And without going into detail, she brought up a great point that I forgot to mention and then something else, that I now think I should explain more and better. So I'm adding on my own comment.

  In the book there comes a point where Bella thinks (loose paraphrase) "could I ever settle for Jacob knowing that I could never love him with the intensity I know I could love with and have loved with in the past?" I think they captured it in the movie as well. Ironically right before Edward's phone call comes - the almost kiss, it was the closest in the movie they come to kissing and I think that symbolizes it perfectly. In my own life I had to consider that a couple of times as well. But I decided (for me personally) that I could not! I had a standard set by somebody and so far I haven't been able to "settle for less".

  My friend was also concerned that Bella, this being her first relationship couldn't possibly know what a "real" hole in you is that cold be left behind by lifes many trials and tribulations. And furthermore she believes that a romantic love that is so strong that one partner would die if the other left makes romantic love pointless and hopeless. - I, on the other hand think that the whole idea of this being Bella's very first boyfriend that she hasn't even had sex with is totally the point. I remember my very first love and when we broke up it seemed like the world was going to end. (He wasn't the one that ultimately left the hole, however). I think that is the point here. The teenagers that read it, who never had a boyfriend or maybe have their first one now can relate to it, because for them this IS their whole world. And everything is sooooooo dramatic, because they don't know anything else yet. It just resonates with them - finally somebody that understands what they are feeling. And the Jacob part - well.... maybe it shows them and makes them think about that there may be others out there that they haven't considered yet. We, of course, know - as you said, that the very first one very likely is NOT your special someone. That the world doesn't come to an end and that we don't just die when somebody leaves you or betrays you. Although I think you would agree with me, that it sure feels that way!

  Now.... why do I love the idea of an Edward? Because it gives me hope. Yup - after everything I've said it gives me hope that there may be somebody else out there for me. That maybe the guy that has left my hole wasn't my Edward after all and maybe when I meet him he will be able to close that. You see .... if that theory is correct that there is that bond - that one person in the world - where that bond is so strong that you would literally die if that person left, that person WOULDN'T leave "on a whim". That is the whole point - Edward thought he had to leave in order to protect her. He thought she would end up dead if he stayed. But he didn't realize that it was the other way around. And he himself was lost without her as well. But as long as he knew she was in the world he was willing to endure it. The moment he thought she was dead he didn't want to live either. Until, of course, he realizes in the end that they can't be without each other.

  It is the case for the other Cullens as well, by the way - they all have found that mate, that special bond. Rosalie even carried Emmett for hundreds of miles to Carlisle restraining herself from drinking his blood. And even the wolves - the imprinting. That again symbolizes that there is one mate for you out there that you will stay with forever. Jacob even tries to force it (I think in Breaking Dawn) but it doesn't work. So yeah.... I like the idea of having an Edward out there for me. Because if I didn't I don't think I could stand living.

  I hope that makes ANY sense at all.
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  'd love to hear your thoughts.... On the review, the movie ... anything!

  • 5:39 am
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