Eclipse -- Review

 Dear Twilight Franchise --

I know that over the past handful of years you have been compared to the Harry Potter phenomina, which there is nothing wrong with since it was and still is wildly sucessful, but you should not have let that go to your head.  Just because HP is splitting the final story into two parts does not mean that you have to as well.  Yes Twilight blew up over night just prior to the first film.  Yes the books are a great YA (young adult) series that got a ton of teens back into reading after the HP books were completed.  Yes you have one of the actors who was in the Goblet of Fire film as the star of your films, but how far are you really going to take this competition?       

Now let me begin by preferencing this with the fact that I have been a fan of both book series for many years and the books are fantastic.  BUT dearest Twilight, you have saddly disappointed me for a second year in a row with your films, and what I am about to do is not only a little sad, and sligtly embarrassing, but I feel as though I need you to understand just how much you broke my heart with the third installment of the Twilight Saga.

"Yo Twilight, I'm really happy for you, I'm going to let you finish but Harry Potter is one of the best franchises of all time...one of the best of all time!"

Twilight did so well with the adaptation of the first book, and even the second film was palatable outside of the fact that you have made a sex symbol out of a 17 year old boy who some 30-something women have a hard time controlling themselves as they watch the film, and who even twilight-moms make complete fools of themselves by embarrassing their daughters by making such odd requests as asking the buff star to sign their Team Jacob panties.  I'm sure it will be a story told anytime Mr. Lautner is asked what is the craziest thing that has ever happened to him, but did you really need to go as far as you did? And with Eclipse I am saddly left speechless. 

 

Eclipse had so much potential but I felt it fell short of what it could have been.  The two-hour film was hard enough to sit through with awkward dialog (which I've yet to figure out if that is just because Kristen Stewart still has not come to terms with her new found fame that the role continues to make her one of the most awkward and uncomfortable actress to watch on screen, or if it was just the dialog chosen for the film) and a third of the film being visual effects that moved so quickly that all I could focus on was the blurry CG playing out before my eyes.  No matter how much I love Stephanie Meyer's writing, this film did not stand up to the reputation and stands of the two films that came before it.  Too much time was spend on visual effects, and not enough was spent on the story itself.  Had a viewer not read the books they would have been left in the dust as they would have had no idea who the characters were or what was happening in the story.  I felt it was the weakest film of any series I have ever seen.

Although I cannot say that the whole film was a bust.  There were a few saving graces during the 2-hour running time.  I commend the writer, Melissa Rosenberg, and director David Slade in their flashback sequences as they were the highlights of the film.  I loved seeing each of the Cullens' back-stories play out on the big screen.  As far as the actors go, it was Billy Burke (Charlie Swan) who saved the film for me.  His quick one-liners were the comic-relief that made the film easier to stomach.  And of course I just have to mention that my favorite line in the film is Edward saying: "Doesn't he own a shirt?"

I am sad to report that I am no longer a Team Edward or Team Jacob advocate.  I will stand beside Jasper any day of the week and turn to Charlie when I need a quick pick-me-up.  However the films just are no longer doing it for me.  I would rather turn back to the black and white pages of the books and re-read the series to get the original excitment and joy I felt when Stephenie Meyer first introduced me to the Twilight series. 

Overall, I give Eclipse a 2.5 out of 5.  Judge as you may, but after seeing the film don't say I didn't try to warn you.

New Moon Review

Twihards went out in full force last night and filled midnight screenings all over Manhattan. This time late year I attended the midnight screening of twilight on 34th st, but choose to catch the second installment at a theater in queens, and the thing I noticed is that those who attended the screening all seemed to be much older then the fans that attended the first film. Was it the area? Is it just the the fans have grown up that much in the past year? Or is the Twilight series beginning to become so different that in comparison to the harry potter series it actually is a series for "older people"? Those are all questions you will have to answer for yourself.

New Moon not only brought an older crowd to the theater, but it also appealed on a lot of levels to the series' older fans. Like in the books, the characters have grown up a little. It is nice to see the change in some of the characters but with purrs you almost do not even recognize them. Mike's weak stomach is by far the best source of comic relief, but having to spend just over 2 hours in a theater of shrieking women (emphasis on women - these ladies are not teens, tweens, or even in their early twenties) sounding as though they were about to faint and talking the entire time as though they were sitting at a chip n' dales club, I found it a little hard to enjoy the film to the extent I was hoping for. Yes everything swoons for R-Patz, but only now after the 30 pounds of muscle is the ever so talented (and now heavily ripped) Taylor Lautner is getting the attention of people who in any other situation may never have thought twice about the actor. I do not even believe this to be a "team Jacob" or "team Edward" thing, and as the movie progressed and Jacobs spent the last two thirds of the film with out a shirt on the only words I could hear were not those from the film, but instead the group of women talkin about jacob.

Aside from the audience yelling to each other to try and get people to stop talking during the film, everything else was pretty good. If you have seen other films directed by Chris Weitz I assure you that you will enjoy this film. The story is well told and follows the book pretty well. The CGI used for the werewolves is tastefully done. However, I do wish that more time could have been spent telling the wolves' story, as well as more of the film spent with the Volturi. If you have never read the books you will have no problem following the story as it does very well as a stand alone sequel to the Twilight film. I will just give this piece of advice... unless you don't mind crows of screaming and cheering tween and adult women, I would recommend waiting a week to see the film as I'm sure the crowds will be insane with Twilight Fever.

Check out the maddness that happened in Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkN5FH9W-UY

Interviews with Vampires

Trends in the entertainment world are something that we always watch closely. Everyone looks for what the next hottest fashion trend will be. We wait to see which A-list celebrity has a baby and what the new name trends will be. And then we patiently wait for the next greatest thing to come about that will clearly dominate all the markets. Well, the wait is over. The newest greatest thing since pizza bread has finally arrived and it is blowing all of its rivals clear out of the water. Actually it is sucking the blood out of any competitor who poses a threat. Vampires are taking over the world. Our fascination with the dark creatures of the night is something that no one has truly been able to describe or explain completely. But as you watch the reports coming back from this weekend’s Hollywood releases you will see that vampires are taking over the big screen, as well as every other media market.

I was first bitten by the vampire bug after reading Christopher Pikes' The Last Vampire series back in elementary school. Today I find myself completely glamoured by the dark and mysterious creatures of the night, although the vampires I speak of are not actually creatures of the night at all. Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series, has created a story and character that has captured the hearts, minds, and even souls of many tweens, teens, and adults alike. The ember eyes of Edward Cullen first captured us in literature, but after this weekend he, along with the entire Cullen family, will have captured the hearts of fans and non-fans alike.

In 2005 a new teen novel was published by Little, Brown and Company written by an unknown author that was like no other. It brought out a whole new side to the mysterious creatures that have been previously known to stalk the innocent at night. The type of characters that are usually described as being soulless and wake to live an undead life only during the night hours are being introduced as supernatural beings that are far more complex than any other vampires before them. Of course they do resemble previous vampires like those from the Underworld series with their dislike of lycans (werewolves), and even a resemblance to the characters from Charlaine Harris’ Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, which is sweeping the broadcast market called True Blood as one of the greatest HBO series since The Sopranos and Sex and the City, as beings having a conscience regarding their previous actions and ways of living that they wish were better understood. The Cullen family has more heart than any other undead creatures I have previously read about, and I believe they are the first vampires that have retained a soul. Twilight fever has truly swept the nation and when word reached fans about a film option the craze grew exponentially and the anticipation for further news became painful to endure as Twilight nation became obvious to the author and director.

Film options for literature are always something to be desired; yet they create a sense of fear for both avid fans and those involved with the actual production. The writer is usually consulted in final decisions and the creative aspect of casting, set design, and story editing; but the process can be tedious leaving mixed feelings. The author is also consulted on any gaps that need to be filled in for visual story telling purposes that may not have been covered in a novel due to the point of view from which the story is told. The director strives to create a film that best represents the original story, but sometimes there are things that must be altered for timing and budget limitations. All of these factors make any news of leaks, exclusive clips and interviews, and official releases dyer information coveted by fans. We waited a year after the release of Eclipse for the final book in the series, with many avid fans participating in mid-night release parties that could rival those during the days of Harry Potter. We waited in long lines just to pickup a book hours before it would be released, we waited anxiously for casting photos and the ballet room scene to be released this past June, and then on Thursday, November 20 we waited one last time.

In mid-town Manhattan I saw fans wearing Twilight merchandise wandering the streets passing time to stand in line for a mid-night screening. 42nd Street theaters were all sold out, 34th Street theaters were all sold out and $7 million dollars in sales for just the mid-night screenings has been reported. I was one of those avid fans standing in line for over 6 hours waiting to see how director Catherine Hardwicke adapted the newest pop culture phenomena.

Standing in line you meet many interesting people. I stood at the front of the cue with fans of the novels that varied in ages from 16 to middle-forties, and as we spoke with each other about various details from the books, our expectations of the film, and our hopes for scenes in the film, I realized that this author had done something I did not expect. Stephenie Meyer has brought complete strangers together in such a way that while we waited I felt like I was surrounded by friends. Sitting and waiting for over 6 hours was an experience that surprised me as much as the final film did and I will say that I cannot wait for New Moon to hit theaters in 2010. If you have read the Twilight series, I believe the film will delightfully surprise you. It is everything I expected and more. I felt like I was watching a film with all my best friends and everyone in the auditorium was included and involved with the running inside joke. I have never before had so much fun at the theater. I laughed and cried along with everyone sitting around me in a stadium theater that sits 300. We laughed, cheered, and gasped together. Every emotion I felt reading the book was intensified by watching the film version unfold before me, and it was fun being able to share that with people I had never met. It was an unusual experience to have at a theater and one that I hope to experience again.

Stephenie Meyer and Catherine Hardwicke could not have done a better job to make their fans happy with this film. It is truly something that has surpassed all expectations and it was a roller coaster ride that we enjoyed together. It is something that those who have not yet read the books can also enjoy and understand because of how everything has been brought to the big screen. It is a story of forbidden love between a human and a vampire, unlike any other vampire genre. It has enough adventure to keep any action fan entertained, and it has so much heart and soul that it reminds us of things we have forgotten or experiences we are going through in our own lives. It brings the supernatural world close to the human world unlike any other vampire story. I am only disappointed to say that I now have to wait for the next installment in the series to hit the theaters. So if you are looking for something a little different this Thanksgiving weekend, take your friends or family to the theater and check out the newest vampire trend to sweep the nation. The newest addition is the upcoming CW's season of Vampire Diaries adapted from author L.J. Smith.