Saturday, November 21, 2009

New Moon Review *spoiler alert*

Last night I gathered at the movie theater with the book club ladies and saw the next installment of the Twilight movies:  New Moon.  It was... better than I expected.  I tried not to listen to any reviews prior to our showing.  I did, however, grudgingly hear one review late Friday afternoon when NPR gave its report.  They evicerated the entire film, cast and series.  Of course, what do you expect when a teenage vampire love story is being reviewed by a grumpy old man!
What I carried away from New Moon is this:  I now like Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart both a little better in their roles as Edward and Bella; I am not completely sold though.  Taylor Lautner seems to have added to his acting ability along with his 30 lbs of muscle and teenage angst.  I really loved him as Jacob.  In fact, I am offically setting up camp on the Team Jacob side of the line.  There were more than a few oohs and ahhs from girls and moms alike as he strode around with his shirt off- even some that were not instigated by Sonrisa.  =)
I think this director did a much better job than the first.  There were significantly fewer ridiculous close ups and awkward shots and the cg work with the wolves was pretty cool -regardless of the fact that when the black wolf first showed up on screen I started having Neverending Story flashbacks.  I loved watching the Bella/Jacob relationship develop, enjoyed that Bella narrated her emotional state through emails to Alice and am thrilled that they preserved my favorite part of the book in the film-the three pages which simply say October, November, December.
As for the end, well, as I was waiting outside of the theater for some friends before the show I overheard a rather loud group of teenage girls say, "And you know at the end that Edward proposes."  (Yes, I restrained myself and did not drop kick them for spoiling the end of the movie for me!)  I was glad to see that the director decided to remain faithful to one of the critical points of the book, despite webchatter to the contrary. 
My grade for the movie:  a solid B+ (It would have been an A- if Jacob had kept his shirt off the whole time.)

5 comments:

Steph said...

Yes, I agree with your review. I probably would rank it in the B range as well. Much better than the last. Although, I think my esteem of Edward shrunk a little bit. Seeing him with his shirt off just after seeing Jacob was a bit of an embarassment for him. Can he find his way to the gym? Please, with all of the money he's making, he should be able to hire himself a personal trainer. The guys a vampire, not a pasty wimp. Oh well. I guess I am on Team Jacob too.

yamsey said...

Love it, Steph! I totally agree about Edward!

Stevens1007 said...

YES! YES! YES! I agree w/ your review, & I cracked up when you mentioned the Neverending Story! Jacob won me over in the movie as well, but when I read the books Edward wins.

Preethi said...

Hahaha, I love this. I haven't seen either movie, but I am totally Team Jacob all the way from the books. And I totally laughed out loud at your last parenthetical. :)

Anonymous said...

Sorry Erin, Steph, preethi: TEAM EDWARD, here!! And Robert Pattinson DID go to the gym, but he could not have gotten BUFF like Jake and been believable as Edward. Edward was dying of Spanish influenza--in 1917 or 1918--when Carlisle bit him and made him a vampire. Not only were "buff" males uncommon back then, but he was really, really sick when he changed. It just wouldn't have made sense. PLUS there are SOME women (myself included!!) who actually prefer the tall, slender, pale--almost anemic look... ; )

Otherwise, I agree with your review Erin--so glad we got to see it together!

XOXOXO