My Review: Twilight Saga:Breaking Dawn Part II (8/10)

¨Lot of red eyes around here... ¨

After five films The Twilight Saga finally reaches its epic conclusion. What started for me as a pretty interesting franchise with the first film went downhill with the next sequels until the first part of Breaking Dawn which I thought was terrible. I still had to see how the franchise was going to end so I went ahead and watched the second part which to my surprise was really quite entertaining and up to par with the first film. The climatic ending was really worth the slow opening. I absolutely loved the final half hour of this film with the epic battle which in my opinion was one o the most entertaining battle sequences I´ve seen in a long time. There were a lot of things that this film got right: first of all the love triangle soap opera was put to an end finally, then you had Kristen Stewart finally playing a stronger character once she was turned into a vampire, Taylor Lautner wasn’t annoying like in the other films, and the werewolves finally stopped talking amongst themselves. These were all good enough reasons for me to like this film better than all the other sequels. Another thing I enjoyed quite a bit was the addition of all the new vampire characters, but the best thing about Breaking Dawn was that epic battle scene which made the movie for me. It was a worthy ending to the franchise although I doubt it will convert any anti Twilight fans.

The film picks up right where the first part left us, with Bella (Kristen Stewart) being converted into a vampire after giving birth to Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy) by Edward (Robert Pattinson). Bella begins to adapt quickly to her new life as a vampire and her newfound strength. Edward teaches her a few things about hunting and feeding before letting her see the baby. Once she is ready to see Renesmee she finds out that Jacob (Taylor Lautner) has imprinted himself on her. At first she is furious as we see her strength unleash itself on his pack, but later comes to her senses. The rest of the Cullen family are all home welcoming and congratulating Bella, but peace doesn’t last for very long when the Volturi hear rumors that Renesmee is an immortal child that could threaten their very existence with her powers. Alice (Ashley Greene) has a vision of the future and warns her family that the Volturi will come to kill Renesmee. The Cullen`s decide to gather their vampire friends around the world so they can act as witnesses and stand up to the Volturi claiming that Renesmee is actually human. However they are ready to fight the Volturi alongside with their allies if they try to harm the girl. Everything seems set for the final epic battle between both sides.

Kristen Stewart is a lot better in this film considering she gets to play a much stronger character now and doesn’t have to struggle about deciding between Jacob and Edward. Robert Pattinson isn’t all that great here, but the truth of the matter is that no one came to these films for the performances. I´m really grateful that the werewolves weren`t used as much here as in the other films. The twist at the end is also pretty fulfilling, and I really wasn’t expecting something like that in a Twilight film. Bill Condon is a great director and he made this film much better by changing the final scene from the book. I still think he is way too good of a director for a franchise like this. The screenplay was once again adapted by Melissa Rosenberg from Stephenie Mayer`s famous novel. As I said before, the material really isn’t that great, but the film is really worth watching for that final half hour.  

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My Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (4/10)

¨No measure of time with you will be long enough. But we'll start with forever. ¨

The biggest winners of the Twilight Saga are definitely going to be the producers since they managed to stretch the last book of the series into two separate films; which means a lot more money in the box office. The problem is that this first part feels so stretched out that nothing really seems to be happening. The two hour movie could have been only half an hour long, but in order to make more money the producers decided to give us an extended wedding and honeymoon scene. To be honest I really enjoyed the first two Twilight films, I felt the third was a little repetitive, but this latest film is by far the worst in the series. There are some scenes which are just ridiculous and laughable (the mind reading scenes between the wolves for example), although there are a couple that worked really well and were the highlight of the film (the bloody birth scene reminiscent of a famous Pulp Fiction scene). I`ve never read Stephenie Meyer`s novels so I didn`t know what to expect, unlike most of the fans of the franchise who have already read the novels and know what is going to happen. The first two movies surprised me, but then the fantasy wore out and the love triangle got boring. It`s gone downhill for me since, and this latest film directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon is one of the worst films of the year in my opinion. All I can hope for is that the second part will work and end the franchise decently with a little more action or at least a decent plot. A scene after the end credits with the Volturi`s gave me a little hope. Micheal Sheen is the best actor in this series and it`s a shame he barely got any screen time.

As for the plot goes, nothing really seems to be happening that we haven`t seen before. The staring contest continues between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart), and more tension ensues between Edward and Jacob (Taylor Lautner). The wolves continue to growl and run all over the woods while disputing with the Cullen`s. The Volturi`s are the ones that are left out of the film in this first part (until the credits that is). This fourth part begins with the wedding that is about to take place between Edward and Bella. Bella`s best friend, Alice (Ashley Greene) is doing her makeup and helping her out with the fashion while the guests are arriving to the ceremony. The wedding is beautiful, everyone there looks great, and the toast after the ceremony is perhaps one of the funniest scenes of the film where we have several of the characters give some funny speeches like Bella`s dad, Charlie (Billy Burke), who warns Edward that he knows how to use a gun if any harm is done to his daughter. Then there is also Bella`s mom, Renee (Sarah Clarke), who sings a lullaby she used to sing for her, and Edward`s parents, Dr. Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) and Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), who welcome Bella into their family. Edward`s vampire brothers (played by Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, and Jackson Rathbone) are also present at the wedding and everyone is happy. Then it`s time for Edward and Bella to go off on their honeymoon to Rio and finally consume the act. Edward doesn`t want to convert Bella into a vampire until they have sex so he is going to wait after the honeymoon. The problem is that Bella gets pregnant with this vampire baby exceedingly fast and her health is threatened.

The entire film seems as sort of an introduction to the final film, there is little going on really in the movie. I wonder if Twilight fans will sincerely enjoy this movie. To be honest I really liked the Twilight series at first, but it has grown repetitive and old, and the dialogue continues to get worse. The script was never the highlight of the franchise, it was about the characters and the fantasy world which was created, but instead of getting better the script continues to get cheesier and dumber by the minute. There is no reasonable way anyone would actually enjoy this film over the others. I think this was a weak effort and the material was never meant to be split into two films. The problem is that fans of the series are going to go see it anyways and the producers will be the ultimate winners. I expect most girls will enjoy this movie however in a similar way as they enjoyed staying up late to watch Kate and William`s wedding. I don`t think many guys will actually enjoy this film, and many will probably be dragged by their girlfriends.

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My Review: Valentine`s Day (5/10)

¨There you have it, folks. Young love. Full of promise, full of hope, ignorant of reality. ¨

This romantic comedy is exactly what Valentine`s Day is all about: commercialization. First of all you have Garry Marshall involved in the project, who has directed many hits such as Pretty Woman, Frankie and Jhonny, Beaches, The Princess Diaries, among many others. He gets the dream team of actors to get involved as well: Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts, Taylor Swift, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, George Lopez, Hector Elizondo, and Shirley MacLaine. With all these names there is no reason why someone wouldn`t want to go see this film, we all at least like someone in this movie (if not all), it`s a cast of All-Stars; between them they have more than 15 Oscar nominations combined. There is one major problem however: the movie is a huge disapointment. The screenplay, written by Katherine Fugate, doesn`t seem to work and it gave me the sense of being in a crowded room because it introduces one character after another without allowing for any character development or attachment on the part of the viewer with any one of them. This movie tries really hard to be Love Actually, which was a very successful romantic British comedy that also had a star cast, but the difference was that Love Actually was actually a good movie and Valentine`s Day isn`t. I didn`t have problems with the performances as much as I did with the predictable stories and cliches. Out of the more than ten different stories that are told here only one really caught me off guard, and if you`ve seen this movie then you probably know which one I am talking about.

The stories all take place in Los Angeles on Valentine`s Day. Reed (Ashton Kutcher) is a florist who wakes up next to his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) and proposes to her. She says yes, and he goes to work excited on the busiest day of the year for him. His bestfriend is Julia (Jennifer Garner) who is having an affair with Dr. Harrison (Patrick Dempsey), although she really doesn`t know he is married. One of Julia`s students from school, Edison (Bryce Robinson) claims to be in love, and he lives with his grandparents Edgar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) who have been married for years and have been faithful to each other all their lives, or at least that was what Edgar thought. Since Edgar and Estella are going out on a date, Grace (Emma Roberts) is going to babysit Edison. She is planning on having sex for the first time with her High School sweetheart Alex (Carter Jenkins). Willy (Taylor Lautner), the School jock, gives Alex some advice. He is dating Felicia (Taylor Swift) and they are interviewed by a reporter who is covering a story about the most romantic day of the year. Kelvin (Jamie Foxx) is the sports reporter who is covering the story, but abandons it to cover the story on Sean Jackson (Eric Dane), a veteran QB who is giving a press conference about his next career move. That is where Kelvin meets his PR agent, Kara (Jessica Biel). Jason (Topher Grace) also wakes up next to his girlfriend Liz (Anne Hathaway) who he has just begun dating. Two strangers travel on a plane back to LA together: Holden (Bradley Cooper) and Captain Hazeltine (Julia Roberts).

As you can see the movie just tries to juggle all these different stories in a very short time and there is no room for character development. The actors don`t have enough screen time to build their characters or work any chemistry between them. The movie also is a bit long for a romantic comedy and by the end you are left expecting much more from this all star cast. The film had the potential to be great and I don`t know how they managed to get all these actors into the film with such a mediocre script. No matter what I say about this film you are probably going to see it anyway because there is a good chance one of your favorite actors is in this movie. I just wished they could`ve done more with such a great cast. Taking your date to this movie might end up being a much more expensive gift then you should of wished for.

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My Review: The Twilight Saga Eclipse (7/10)

¨You have a choice. I didn't. None of us did. But you do and, you're choosing wrong.¨

The Twilight saga continues with this third installment of the popular Stephanie Meyer novel, Eclipse, and I don`t think the film will win any new converts by now. You either liked the previous Twilight movies or you hated them and this third film will not change your opinion on them. So if you disliked the first two then stay away from this one, but if you liked them -like I did - then you won`t be disappointed with Eclipse. Yes, the movie continues with its cheesy dialogues such as ¨Isabella Swan I promise to love you every moment of forever, ¨ and awkward pauses such as ¨I kissed Bella (pause). And she broke her hand (pause). Punching my face (pause). It was a complete misunderstanding.¨, but the characters are what make us come back, the soap opera triangle love between Edward, Jacob, and Bella. The scenery and action scenes are also pretty well crafted.  This movie even plays a little with the audience and decides to use some humor. Bella`s difficulty to decide what she wants is getting kind of old and some of the same situations from the second part repeat themselves in this film so it doesn`t feel as fresh, but the film is entertaining nonetheless. Like in the previous two installments the screenplay for Eclipse was adapted by Melissa Rosenberg, but this time it was directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, the last one was a movie I enjoyed quite a bit in 2005) and he does a decent job at satisfying the hard core fans who really just want to see more of Jacob and Edward fighting for Bella.

The pace of the Twilight movies are so slow that there isn`t really much explaining to do with the plot that is pretty simple. Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) are graduating from High School and it is time for the Cullen family to move once again. They are planning on moving to Alaska and Bella is going with them. Meanwhile there are a series of murders taking place in Seattle and the Cullen`s suspect that the killings are being produced by a newborn vampire army. What they don`t know is that Victoria (this time played by Bryce Dallas Howard) is behind this army and is preparing them to attack Bella so that she can get her revenge on Edward for killing her partner.  Edward`s brother, Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), knows how to face this breed of vampires so he prepares everyone for the upcoming battle. The Cullen`s and the werewolves make an alliance in order to face the army because they both want to protect Bella. In the meantime Jacob (Taylor Lautner) declares his love for Bella and she has to decide who she wants to stay with, so the soap opera begins.

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner have become overnight sensations with Twilight. Stewart is by far the most talented of the group as an actress and she has proven herself in other movies like Adventureland and The Runaways. She is also a pleasure to see on screen although her character in this film may become a little tiresome with all her indecisions, but that just proves how human she really is. The movie itself has become some sort of soap opera, but by now those of us that are hooked want to see the final outcome of the franchise. There is nothing new in this third installment and some elements can get old, but the action scenes make up for it in the final battle. This time the vampires and the Cullen family had more screen time, although I wasn`t a big fan of all the flashbacks which only served to make more time before we got to the final battle scene. If you come to think about it not much really happens in this movie and most everything could be told in 30 minutes since it serves as a kind of bridge to the next film. From the beginning we are left waiting for the final battle and the entire midsection of the film focuses on the love triangle, but the movie still manages to entertain because by now we are already drawn to the characters and used to the pace of the movie. I recommend this movie only to those who have enjoyed the previous two because it is more of the same, so let me state once again if you didn`t like the other films then save your time and stay away from this one.

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My Review: New Moon (9/10

(9/10) The wait is over for Twilight fans as the second film of the franchise is finally out and just like the first one it`s getting mixed reviews. The saga is based on Stephenie Meyer`s novel of the same name. Just like in the novel, there are going to be four parts and New Moon is the second one of the franchise. I really enjoyed the first Twilight, and thought that the action slash romance was well balanced and worked very well. When I heard Twilight was about vampires I was completely expecting it to be the typical vampire blood sucking movie, but I was suprised to see how different the film was. In New Moon I already knew what to expect, but I found it even better than the first one. I thought it had a lot more action and the addition of the werewolves was a plus because their characters were complex, interesting and it presented a whole new world that hadn`t been introduced to us yet the first time around. The romance also got better as Edward and Bella were seperated and a third character was thrown in the mix, Jacob. The friendship between Bella and Jacob and the mixed feelings of love and friendship that they felt was an interesting addition to the saga. It`s always good when in a film you have mixed feelings for which character you want him or her to end up with and in this case many of the fans were routing for a different guy and that is what explains so many status updates about Team Edward or Team Jacob.

I know this film is targeted towards teenage girls, but it has enough action and good vissual effects to be enjoyed by guys as well. I really thought the special effects were much better than in the first one and after watching 2012 I thought these effects felt cool and they just felt more real and not exagerated. The werewolf transformation scenes were pretty nice, as were the chasing scenes between werewolves and vampires. There is plenty of action for guys to enjoy as well although the first 20 minutes do feel a little cheesy. The dialogue is probably one of the weekest parts of the movie, but the story is just engaging and I guess most guys can identify with the Jacob character. We have all fallen for a girl that sees us as a friend who has always been there for her, but not as boyfriend material. Ouch. I don`t know maybe it`s just the teenage adolescent girl inside of me doing the talking. It feels kind of good of letting that repression out. The love triangle between Edward, Bella, and Jacob was a great addition to the franchise. There were several references to Romeo and Juliet and in a way this film has several similarities to the Shakesperean play (although they could have learned a lesson or two on how to write decent dialogues that didnt feel so cheesy) because of the rivalry between two families, in this case the werewolves and the vampires and somehow Bella is caught in the middle of both worlds.

Another improvement from Twilight were the villains. Micheal Sheen was great as Aro the head vampire of the Volturi (a sort of vampire royalty), and Dakota Fanning was also creepy in her role as Jane a pain inducing illusionist. These villains made you feel like the ones in the first Twilight were a joke. Kristen Stewart is also a delight to watch on screen and she makes the love scenes work despite the bad dialogues. The chemistry between her and Pattinson really works and you can feel the sexual tension between both chracters despite the awkward long pauses and stares. Taylor Lautner plays Jacob, Bella`s best friend who is in love with her and actually is a werewolf who haunts down vampires therefore the plot thickens. The rest of the Cullin family doesnt`t have much screen time as the main focus of the film is in introducing the werewolves and building the relationship between Bella and Jacob. I really enjoyed this movie and it will probably end up in my top ten films of 2009.