188. Twilight
189. New Moon
Twilight is based on the novel of the same name by author Stephenie Meyer. It was the first of four books and this movie is the first of (eventually) five movies.
Twilight tells the story of Bella Swan. She lives in Phoenix Arizona with her mom and her mom's new husband. Step-dad is a minor league baseball player so he's on the road frequently. Bella's mom decides that she'd like to join him on the road so Bella gets shipped up to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. Shortly after arriving, she meets Edward Cullen, a dark and brooding student who comes from what seems to be a bizarrely large family. They don't care much for each other at first but soften up their stances as time passes. Unfortunately for Bella, Edward is a vampire.
Make no bones about it, Twilight is a chick flick. Sure, there are vampires and a bit of violence. At the end of the day, however, Twilight's primary audience is of the gentler persuasion. The main genre here is romance, as the story focuses on Edward and Bella evolving into a relationship and the effects it has on their lives.
I don't feel the deep level of hatred that some people have for this series, to be honest. Sure, the story is nothing new and the dialogue tends to be pretty stiff. I still find this flick to be fairly entertaining. The leads here are Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Both are capable of better, but they do the best they can with what they're given to work with. The supporting cast consists of Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Anna Kendrick and Billy Burke. For the most part, their characters aren't given the same heavy handed dialogue as Bella and Edward, so they come off a bit better.
Overall, Twilight is certainly not a great movie. I don't particularly find myself recommending it but it's also not a terrible watch.
New Moon is the follow-up to 2008's Twiligt.
This one has Edward and Bella's relationship at a bit of a crossroads. Edward feels that he's no good for Bella so he breaks it off with her for her own safety. While they are apart, Bella spends more time with friend Jacob. As it turns out, Jacob is a werewolf whose family has had a centuries-long feud with vampires. Boy, can she pick them.
Relating to this one in terms of movie series, I'd equate this one to Empire Strikes Back. There's just enough stuff going on to keep it semi-interesting but the main point is to set up future conflict and further the story. Whereas the Cullens were developed in the first, this one focuses on Jacob and the werewolves.
I could say that I kind of liked Twilight but I can't really say the same for this one. Edward has become even more emo than previously and is pretty much unlikable. The story is more of the same, basically rehashing the first but from Jacob's point of view. Stewart and Pattinson are our leads again but a lot of screen time goes to Taylor Lautner's Jacob. The entire supporting cast returns with Facinelli, Greene, Kendrick and Burke being joined by Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning. Of the leads, Lautner is the solid one here.
New Moon is a transitional movie and one I really can't recommend seeing unless you're either a fan of the books or intending to keep up with the movies.
1 comment:
The thing about "New Moon" is that compared to the book, it's gold. The book made me want to pull my hair out. the transition of time passing around Bella while she sits at a window and moons over Edward's leaving is way quicker in the movie. In the book, it takes FOREVER for her to even come out of her sad coma, and she whines and pines and makes me hate her throughout (though I remember what I was like after my bad breakup, so I can relate to her...it was still really annoying to watch and I realize how annoying I must have been for my friends at that time). Then she starts being friends with Jacob and slowly starts getting closer to him, and then he abruptly leaves her and won't take her calls and it takes over a HUNDRED PAGES for her dumb ass to figure out that he's a werewolf. I'm not shitting you. Even with the story he told in "Twilight" about his ancestors believing they were descended from wolves, even though her ex boyfriend was a vampire, even then, it still takes her a hundred pages to figure out that Jacob is a werewolf. the movie sped that up considerably and made Bella a lot less stupid and clueless. I could understand a normal person not realizing Jacob was a werewolf, but Bella is no stranger to the supernatural, and it was just unbelievably stupid for her not to realize what was going on. All in all, the movie made her a much more likable and well-rounded character in my eyes, which is weird because movies usually take out character development, but in this case, the movie worked wonders with her idiotic character from the books.
Anyway, I guess I'm saying that you're right, as a fan of the book I got more out of the movie than other people might, but it's not for the reason most people would think. It's because I hated "New Moon" so much that I enjoy the movie a lot better. If this movie made you fall asleep, the book would bore you into a coma. Plus you're right, Edward is an emo idiot in this movie. that scene at the end where he's sulking while Bella is asking his family to vote on whether she should become a vampire, where he says "How could you betray me like this?" or something stupid and whiny like that, was priceless. I burst out laughing in the theater when he said that. I honestly don't understand why people moon over Edward. He's an immature, whiny moron, and Bella is a clueless, weak idiot. Ah, young love. :-p
Post a Comment