Movie Review for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I liked it. A lot. Waaay better than Twilight, and marginally better than New Moon.

If I were to go back and grade the first two movies based on my opinion of them now, just so you can relate my grade for Eclipse in comparison, this is what you'd have:

Twilight: C-

New Moon: B-

Eclipse: B+

Little by little the Twilight Saga movies are growing up. I was ticked when Summit Entertainment fired Catherine Hardwicke. But what do I know? In hind site it really seems like the best idea they had, that is after actually snatching up movie rights to the saga in the first place. Each successive director has added to the series and put a different spin on it all, building on the last directors, well, direction. Hardwicke had the saga's best interest at heart and God love her, really was a fan of the franchise. But her vision of Forks, WA was a little crusty around the edges.

Then comes Chris Weitz, a seemingly odd choice for New Moon. But he brought a sleekness to New Moon that Twilight only aspired to. He made it hip. And he saw fit to trust in Taylor Lautner when he promised to bring the heat and heartbreak to the Jacob Black role. He gave Lautner free reign to smolder shirtless onscreen.

It seems Weitz must have also been as annoyed with Kristen Stewart's clunky and uncomfortable acting as the rest of us. He wisely got her to stop fluttering her eyelashes and stuttering long enough to get whole lines of dialog out at one time without seeming spasmodic. And next to Lautner's stellar turn as Jacob, she was almost... forgivable for sucking next to his superior acting chops. He was so good, he made her better I guess.

Now with Eclipse, David Slade waltzes in and turns the Twilight Saga into a bona-fide Hollywood blockbuster (okay, maybe that's generous). But seriously, Eclipse really has the feel of a stylized big budget production. There was so much going on in the movie that it made me forget the lackluster 'chemistry' between the two leads Stewart and Pattinson (that's right, I said it). Okay, they weren't too bad, I think they must feed off of each others weaknesses, poor things. I think they do better when each is in scenes with stronger actors. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Taylor Lautner's unbelievably big talent.

But overall everyone did a good job, some great. Those worth mentioning are the kid who played Riley, Xavier Samuel. He rocked. And Bryce Dallas Howard filled Rachelle LeFever's shoes nicely as Victoria. I had liked LeFever so well that I didn't want to like 'the new girl' in her role but I give Howard credit for a job well done.

I guess that The Twilight Saga is becoming so good that the Twi-Haters really don't have any reason to complain anymore. Twilight has evolved to the point where it's not just for fangirls anymore.

My Own Personal Edward Anthem

Hi All! Happy Saturday! One day closer to the New Moon premiere!

The images of Edward I added yesterday from the Italy New Moon set has inspired me to attach a personal anthem to the mystique and rampant sexiness that is (Rob's) Edward. The new photos have immortalized Rob as Edward. There can be no doubt in any one's mind, including the most stoic of non conformers, that Rob is the personification of Edward Cullen.

Thank you, Chris Weitz for taking the inspired, unpolished vision of Catherine Hardwicke and shaping it into perfect truth.

The boyish image of Edward that was so appropriate in Twilight has been hard edged into the dangerously angelic visage of New Moon. The changes are minuscule but unmistakable. I can see this man in the set photos as becomingly lethal. The draw of his beauty is palpable, even if in your mind you know it may be deadly. I can see this Edward as the angel and the devil. I could imagine relishing the coming of death just to experience the thrill of his touch. Now, that's power.

When I saw the picture above, one song came to mind and I attach it as my own personal Edward anthem. Below please find the video footage and lyrics for The Cure's Pornography, my Edward Cullen Anthem!



"Pornography"
THE CURE

A hand in my mouth
A life spills into the flowers
We all look so perfect
As we all fall down
In an electric glare
The old man cracks with age
She found his last picture
In the ashes of the fire
An image of the queen
Echoes round the sweating bed
Sour yellow sounds inside my head
In books
And films
And in life
And in heaven
The sound of slaughter
As your body turns

But it's too late
But it's too late

One more day like today and I'll kill you
A desire for flesh
And real blood
I'll watch you drown in the shower
Pushing my life through your open eyes

I must fight this sickness
Find a cure
I must fight this sickness

A Little TWILIGHT Experiment...

Hiya! I've decided to conduct a little experiment. I haven't read any of the Twilight books since before Twilight the movie opened. And here lately I've genuinely been missing it; the words, the details of Forks, nuances of Edwards looks explained, all the stuff not included in the movie.

I got Twilight out last night, right before I went to bed. Understand, I have a cold right now and the pinnacle of feeling crappy was around 9 PM last night. So, I get Twilight out, and I read the prologue, planning to start the book the next day..

Then I go ahead and read the first page. I felt miserable but I just couldn't tear myself away from those alluring words. Before I knew it, I was 60 pages in. I barely was able to set it aside and finally succumb to the rest I needed.

So I guess that no matter how many times you read the books, the words and phrases so artfully strung together by Mrs. Meyer will always have an intoxicating pull on the readers.

I am glad it's been so long since I've read them though because the details are unfamiliar to me again. Oh sure I remember the story and my favorite parts, but all the details are new again. I love that, even though I'll never be able to experience it like the first time I read it.

I've noticed something after having seen Twilight the movie so many times. Now when I read anything in the book that is in the movie too, I keep picturing the scene in the movie. It's somewhat annoying to me! I loved how my imagination filled in the blanks and built all the minute substances and situations. I am trying hard to push those images out of my head. Because although I love the movie, it's Catherine Hardwicke's vision of Forks and how it all went down there, not mine. I want my details back.

I'll keep posting on things I notice. I'm curious to see if I'm so heatedly drawn back into Edward's world with wild abandon, totally forsaking my real life to stick my nose in a book. The fact that there is a (very real) chance that that may happen is a little bit scary. But honestly, it's more exciting than anything and I'm looking forward to it!

Bring on the achy yearning for that glittering vampire manboy!

Lautner Returns as Jacob: CG to Provide Male Enhancement

Well, this is likely to be a pessimistic post. One, because my plans to go see Twilight again in the theater tonight were thwarted by old man winter. Enough already! Bring on spring.

But mainly because it's confirmed that Taylor Lautner will indeed be back as Jacob Black in New Moon. I feel like this was a selfish and stupid decision, in part made by Summit, but also by Chris Weitz. Chris Weitz, in case you don't already know, is the guy who took over the reigns of directing the Twilight saga from Catherine Hardwicke.

This gives me another reason to doubt Summit's ability to make rational decisions. It's like they want future Twilight films to fail. They've repeatedly done stupid things:

1. Fired Catherine Hardwicke
2. Decided to only bump up production moneys for New Moon to $50 million, just barely more than the shoe string budget they allotted for Twilight. Even though New Moon will require extensive CG effects for werewolf transitions, site shoots (in Italy, no less!), cast additions (Volturi, anyone? HELLO.), more spectacular vampire stuff and lastly the freaking cost of digitally turning Taylor Lautner into something he clearly IS NOT; a feasible Jacob Black. Which brings me to the last dumb thing:
3. Brought Taylor Lautner back as Jacob. Fans are familiar with his face already. SO WHAT. If you remember right, A LOT of fans didn't want Robert Pattinson to play Edward. So, fans don't always know best and can be fickle. I mean, the same fans that said Robert had a gargoyle's face are now adoringly sighing his name on message boards.

Since Summit is throwing away most of the budget on uber sizing Taylor to pretend that he has any assemblance with the maturing Jacob Black, they might as well throw some money into making Kristen Stewart's acting believable. Let's face it, it's kind of uncomfortable watching all her twitching, eye rolling and stuttering.

One thing you can bet on, since Summit is being stingy with the cash to make New Moon, somewhere quality is going to suffer. Especially since a goodly amount of money will be allotted to correcting the glaring mismatch of Lautner as Jacob. They plan to resize him in every scene (ala Hagrid in the Harry Potter films). Let's remember just what a big part Jacob plays in New Moon. That's a lot of male enhancement!

One thing that will be in the forefront of my mind while I'm watching New Moon is that Taylor is not real. That he's just a little guy trying to fill the shoes of my big old Jacob. I hate it! I want a real man to step into the role.

Perhaps the crappiest thing of all is that when New Moon doesn't do as well, Summit will blame it on Edward not being present through a large part of the story. When the truth is if they'd went about making the movie smartly New Moon would be even greater than Twilight is.

Summit Entertainment Dumps Director Catherine Hardwicke

In a revealing article on Nikki Frinke's Deadline Hollywood Daily website (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/index.php?s=catherine+hardwicke) Summit Entertainment announced that Catherine Hardwicke will not be asked to direct the second installment in the Twilight saga movies, New Moon. They said basically that there was a schedule clash between her time frame and theirs. But it really sounds like a load of bull to me. Read the article and decide for yourself.

I personally enjoyed the earthy feel Hardwicke's direction gave to Twilight. I imagine whoever they choose will make it a point to give the movie a 'polished' feel. What ever vision the new director has, s/he better live up to what Hardwicke has done so far. I think it's crappy to dump Hardwicke, especially since Twilight has the distinction of grossing more money opening weekend than any other female directed movie in history!

Take heart Twilighters. I'm not completely opposed to seeing someone else at the helm for New Moon. This isn't a totally bad thing. Although I'd rather Catherine be given the chance to direct New Moon, especially with more cash available the second time around. I'm somewhat curious how another director will envision the book in movie form. I have only two requests (and by requests, I mean demands).

1. That they choose a female director. Because, after all, the Twilight saga was written by a woman, mainly for woman, from the viewpoint of a woman. And so it should be directed by a woman!

And 2. the director must be a passionate fan of the saga. No one else can do it justice. It was Catherine's passion for the story that drove her to work so hard when creating a vision true to the book.

Whether that is Summit's intent or not, I hope they have their hearts in the right place when shopping around for a new director. Otherwise, there's no wrath quite like that of a scorned Twilighter!

3 DAYS, people!!

Let me just take this opportunity to say ARGGGGGGG!!!! YAY, WOO HOO!!!

Ok, that is basically it. Just to let you Twilight lovers out there know, my friends and I are going to see the 12:01 showing of Twilight. I've never been to a midnight showing of a movie before and I'm extremely excited about it.

I know that Twilight is going to live up to my expectations. I can hardly wait to see it and fill in all the gaps in my mind created by the teaser trailers. I love Catherine Hardwicke (director of Twilight) by now. She is just so amped and excited about the Twilight saga as the rest of us and I believe that she put her heart and soul into creating a vision true to all of our imaginations. I hope that she is signed to direct the rest of them, as I am sure the sequels will be made. I read that Summit Entertainment claimed that in order to merit making New Moon, Twilight would have to make at least $20 million the opening weekend and at least $160 million all together.

Well, let me be the first to go out on a limb here and say I'd be surprised if Twilight doesn't haul in $60 million this coming weekend, and that's my conservative estimation. They just don't want to underestimate us Twilighters, Twi-hards - whatever you want to call the masses out here who clung to every written word spoken by Bella, Edward, Alice and the rest of the gang. I can foresee us out in hoards seeing the movie 2, 3, 4+ times in theaters.

We romantics at heart aren't going to be able to get enough of our star crossed lovers, Edward & Bella. I feel like they are old friends and it'll be wonderful to hear (and see) the words that are so dear to me spoken aloud on the big screen.

And just to think, Rob Pattinson said in an interview that when he read Twilight, he knew a few pages in that he'd never get casted as Edward Cullen after reading how heavenly beautiful he was describe. Silly boy. We can't wait to pine for your softly brooding angel's face. You'll do Edward justice, I just know it.