Reel reviews for real people

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality

Genre: Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Drama

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene

Director: David Slade

Plot: As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself… As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which? (Rotten Tomatoes)

Running time: 2:04

Kate says -3 stars “I’ll just be upfront at the beginning of this review and tell you that I am a fan of the Twilight series, and therefore, not an entirely (or even somewhat) objective reviewer of this film. That being said, I think that even if you aren’t a Twilight Saga fan, you may actually enjoy watching Eclipse. This movie is the first of the three in the series that doesn’t feel low budget. Spade has done a great job with the pacing of the film, alternating between scenes of the love triangle romance, and solid action scenes with much more believable fight scenes and CGI effects. The wolves look more realistic, the vampire gravity- defying skills more believable, and even the vampire sparkle has been toned down and improved. There’s even a bit of levity and humor as the writer, actors and director seem to be making a nod at the incredible life of it’s own the Twilight Saga series has taken on. The relationships of the three main characters, Edward(Pattinson), Jacob(Lautner) and Bella(Stewart) are the real story here, and the decision Bella faces in choosing between them. Lautner, as Jacob, has come into his own in this role and does a stand-out job portraying the emotions and conflicts of his character, as do Stewart and Pattinson, as well. This is not an award winning movie (except in MTV land – think Best Kiss Award, this time between Stewart and Lautner) ) however, this universal story of love certainly has taken hold of the world, and one could argue that, in itself, is a good thing. If you are a fan of the series, you’re sure to love this one.”

Ebert says – 2 stars “The movie contains violence and death, but not really very much. For most of its languorous running time, it listens to conversations between Bella and Edward, Bella and Jacob, Edward and Jacob, and Edward and Bella and Jacob. This would play better if any of them were clever conversationalists, but their ideas are limited to simplistic renderings of their desires.” (read full review)

Kirk Honeycutt (The Hollywood Reporter) says - “It took three films, but “The Twilight Saga” finally nails just the right tone in “Eclipse,” a film that neatly balances the teenage operatic passions from Stephenie Meyer‘s novels with the movies’ supernatural trappings. Where the first film leaned heavily on camp and the second faltered through caution and slickness, “Eclipse” moves confidently into the heart of the matter — a love triangle that causes a young woman to realize choices lead to consequences that cannot be reversed.” (read full review)

Eric Snider says – “B” “Eclipse” brings the “Twilight” series into the big leagues. It still isn’t great, and there still isn’t much crossover appeal, but it’s easily the best of the three films so far, with a well-constructed story, suitable climaxes, and — at last! — a main character who occasionally thinks for herself rather than being defined by her monster boyfriends. The men who are coerced into seeing “Eclipse” with their ladyfolk will surely enjoy this one more than the last two.” (read full review)

Elizabeth Weitzman says – 3 stars (of 5) “If you adore Meyer’s characters already, you’ll be thrilled to spend more time with them. If you don’t, well, you’d just end up sitting among a bunch of sighing teens (and their moms), wondering what the fuss is about. (Director) Slade – who imports some of the darkness from his last vamp thriller, “30 Days of Night” – knows just how to reach his audience, alternating suspense and romance in carefully precise degrees. It may not be the subtlest approach, but it is effective.  Most important, Bella and Edward are allowed a wider range of emotions than we’ve seen before; as a result, Stewart and Pattinson finally appear fully comfortable in their roles (though Lautner once again proves the standout, working hard to make Bella’s decision a difficult one). The truth is, almost everyone planning to see “Eclipse” will know how things end before the opening credits even appear. So Slade and his cast can be proud that they consistently keep us involved anyway.” (read full review)

So in an effort to bring myself back up to speed with the Eclipse news and tid bits that I’ve been neglecting, I’ve been zipping here and there all over the internet gathering information. (I can think of worse things to do with a Monday afternoon…heehee.)

First of all, here’s the new official Eclipse trailer. Get ready, it’s a good one!

Also, it’s seems we have a new vampire to swoon over in Eclipse. It’s 26 year old Xavier Samuel from Adelaide, Australia, playing Riley, “right-hand vampire to Bryce Dallas Howard’s villainess, Victoria.”

Check out this story on him in Elle magazine.

http://www.elle.com/Pop-Culture/Celebrity-Spotlight/Bloody-Brilliant-The-Next-Twilight-Heartthrob

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Also, you may want to take a look at another Eclipse trailer (the first one).

And one more tid bit for today…

Twilight Saga author, Stephenie Meyer, has written another book, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella, available on June 5, 2010 (hmmm…that would be the birthday of yours truly. I guess I know what I’ll be asking for.)

Little Brown Books press release

Order The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner from Amazon here.

Well, that’s enough Twilight Saga info for one day. Now that I’ve been re-bitten (bad pun intended, sorry, couldn’t help myself) with the Twilight bug, you can be sure there will be more to come.

Other Twilight stories

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break.

*Just leave a comment on this post, or any other post for that matter, and be automatically entered in this week’s giveaway.

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Here’s the trailer for…

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Just seeing this makes me have goose bumps.

Check out our other Twilight Saga stories in our

Twilight Zone

Reel reviews for real people

Rating: PG 13 for some violence and action

Genre: Drama

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Edi Gathegi, Rachelle Lefevre, Billy Burke, Jamie Campbell Bowers, Michael Sheen, Cameron Bright, Graham Greene

Plot: The supernatural tale of starcrossed lovers continues as the Cullen family flees Forks in order to protect Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the heartbroken high-school senior discovers that vampires… The supernatural tale of starcrossed lovers continues as the Cullen family flees Forks in order to protect Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the heartbroken high-school senior discovers that vampires aren’t the only creatures in town. Realizing that Bella will never be safe as long as he’s around, Edward (Robert Pattinson) makes the difficult decision to leave his beloved behind shortly after her 18th birthday. Reeling from her loss, Bella embraces self-destruction after being comforted by Edward’s image during a moment of mortal peril. But as heavy-hearted as Bella may be, her old friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) distracts her from her sorrows by helping her renovate a weather-beaten motorbike. When Bella encounters a former adversary with a sizable grudge, she’s rescued from harm at the last second by pack of enormous, ferocious wolves. Subsequently delving into the history of the Quileutes, Bella discovers the secrets of Jacob’s tribe while looking forward to a reunion with Edward that may have deadly consequences.

Director: Chris Weitz

Running Time: 2:10

Kate says: 3 stars “I will just tell you right from the get go here, this is not an objective review…this is a review from a Twilight saga fan. A fan who has read the entire Stephenie Meyer series more times than I’ll care to admit in public. And let me tell you, this one is better than Twilight.  There won’t be any film making awards given out for this Chris Weitz directed film, but New Moon does give it’s fans exactly what they are looking for – a visual version of the book that they love so much. If you know the movie Twilight well, and you know the New Moon book well, you know every detail of what the characters are thinking and the motivation for why they do what they do. This gives the movie a depth that the non-Twilight lover will undoubtedly miss.  The New Moon the movie is nowhere the experience of reading the book, but in my world, I’ve never met a movie I liked better than the book.”

Ebert says: 1 star “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” takes the tepid achievement of “Twilight” (1988), guts it, and leaves it for undead. The characters in this movie should be arrested for loitering with intent to moan. Never have teenagers been in greater need of a jump-start. Granted some of them are more than 100 years old, but still: their charisma is by Madame Tussaud.” (read full review)

NY Daily News (Elisabeth Weitzman): 3 stars (of 5) “If you’ve come to this movie looking for fancy filmmaking or an original voice (other than Meyer’s), well, Weitz frankly doesn’t care. You’re not his audience” (read full review)

Roger Moore (Orlando Sentinel): 2 1/2 stars “The Twilight soap opera continues with a lighter, goofier and far less erotically charged sequel, New Moon, a movie directed by a man and not a woman…At least this time the movie is more polished, the brawls (save for the silly wolves) more believable. Most of the laughs are intentional and we get the sense that even though a guy directed it, he wants the mostly-female fanbase to revel in the overheated romance, the blood-enforced chastity and the sacrifices this toothy Romeo and Juliet tale serves up.” (read full review)

Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips) 3 stars: “Why does “New Moon” basically work, even with its grave self-seriousness? A few reasons. Weitz lets the material breathe, and his actors interact. The film does not try to eat you alive. Kristen Stewart  and Robert Pattinson are interesting to watch…” (read full review)

Net Buzz Examiner Marci Stone: “The second movie in the Twilight series, New Moon was released at midnight on Friday 11/20/2009 and the reviews are out. The internet buzz on this movie is the hottest search of the day. Many Twilight fan movie goers were in line yesterday to see the midnight showing of the movie and they just can’t get enough.

Fandango New Moon movie description: In the second installment of Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally successful TWILIGHT series, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of—only to find herself in greater peril than ever before. With more of the passion, action and suspense that made TWILIGHT a worldwide phenomenon, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is a spellbinding follow-up to the box office hit.

USA Today: Werewolves inject life into ‘New Moon’ but the sequel still sputters – The werewolves have it all over the blood-suckers in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. When these oversize, hirsute creatures burst onto the screen, they inject life into a rather inert story. Once Jacob and his pals morph into teenage werewolves, the pace picks up. Then it dials down again when Bella, Edward and Edward’s sister Alice (Ashley Greene) venture to the Italian hilltop town of Volterra. The intended suspense when they are confronted by evil vampire rulers never pans out. Michael Sheen, the crimson-eyed Aro, plays the character with more high-pitched giddiness than menace. Daokta Fanning has a small role as the innocent-looking Jane, who calmly tortures Edward with her mind. The lovelorn Bella has little to recommend her as a heroine. She’s sullen, self-absorbed and stubborn. That such a bland and passive character elicits the amorous devotion of both Edward and Jacob is rather mystifying. Almost as incomprehensible is the huge appeal of this series, beyond the obvious timeworn fascination with vampires and werewolves.

Rotten Tomatoes says: 83%

Other movie reviews by Kate

Psst! I have a secret for you, and I’ll tell you what it is if you promise not to hate me for it.  I’ve just come home from seeing New Moon.  It’s a perk of being a movie reviewer.  Let me tell you, if you’re a Twilight fan, I think you’ll be pleased with Twilight Saga: New Moon.

(read Kate’s review of Twilight Saga: New Moon)

But to help you while away the time until then, I’ve put together a New Moon post for you to keep you entertained.  We’ve got the video of the Oprah interview, the answer to the Oprah teaser about a fifth Twilight book which was never answered on the show and  Stephenie Meyer answering fan questions.  Hope you enjoy!

Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga, made a rare appearance on Oprah last week.  Here’s what she said on her website pre-interview.

You know I’ve been doing the hermit thing this last year, in so far as media is concerned, and I’m not changing that now, but I am making an exception. I’m doing this for a good reason: I am so pleased and amazed and thrilled with what Chris Weitz has done with New Moon that I want to talk about it, and to show my support for him. And since I’m only doing one interview, better make it big. Really big. So….I will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday, November 13th.”

During the show, Oprah teased, “Coming up, will there be a fifth book in the Twilight saga? Stephenie answers that later.”

Only she didn’t answer it, because Winfrey didn’t ask, because of time constraints.  A deluge on complaints flooded the show.  Here’s their response…

“Reps for the show said that sometimes Winfrey doesn’t get to every question on live television, but good on Oprah’s folks for following up with Meyer backstage after the show.

When pressed about the possibility of a fifth “Twilight” book, Meyer gave a lengthy, yet vague answer.

“I can’t answer it. The way I write, it’s what makes me happy. Like, I can’t write when people are looking over my shoulder,” Meyer said.

She also admitted to some vampire fatigue. “I am a little burned out on vampires right now,” she said. “I think I need a little break. I might go spend some time with my aliens. I might do something completely different. I’ve got to cleanse the palate. I may come back to it. I did envision it as a longer series. But I wrapped ‘Breaking Dawn’ in a way that I felt satisfied with, so if that moment didn’t come, I’d be OK.”

A few days later Meyer answered some fan questions on her own website – www.stepheniemeyer.com.

“My favorite thing about Chris Weitz: everything. Sounds hyperbole-ish, but he’s really that amazing. If you follow along on some of the cast interviews you’ll hear the same thing over and over. We all adore Chris. I would have to say that my very favorite thing about Chris as a director, coming from my unique position, is his passion for being true to the source material. He really immersed himself in the Twilight world and came to the set with the feel of it already in his head. We were very much on the same page. Second thing, he listens really well—to everybody, cast and crew.

In comparing New Moon to Twilight, I would say that the biggest difference in style is that Chris is more classic while Catherine is a little more edgy and modern. I wouldn’t want both movies to be the same, though. I like seeing different interpretations. After all, no two people see the same thing when they read a novel. I enjoy seeing that visually.”

Hope this has helped you pass the long agonizing hours until midnight tonight.  You can make it!

Check out the rest of the posts in Twilight Zone

or

if worst comes to worst, just keep watching the New Moon preview over there on the right side of the page. Heehee

~Kate

this New Moon Trivia.

• The title New Moon is often thought to be a werewolf reference. Stephenie Meyer, however, says that is “refers to the phase of the moon opposite a full moon.  It is when the sun is on the opposite side of the moon from us and thus the bright side of the moon is not visible from the earth.  This is the darkest kind of night. New Moon is the darkest period of Bella’s life.”

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• Kristen’s eye color is really green, but she has to wear brown contacts when she plays Bella Swan.
• Kristen will earn $12 million for New Moon, which is $8 million more than she earned for Twilight.

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• After months of speculation, Taylor Lautner won the right to reprise his role as Jacob Black.  The actor’s ability to play the role was in question because the filmmakers worried that he would not be able to acquire Jacob’s physicality in time for shooting. He was given the green light after gaining approximately 30 pounds of muscle.

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• During the scene in Italy where Edward is going to come out into the sun, CGI markers were placed on Robert Pattinson to allow the computer effects team to make him sparkle in the sun post-production.

*Leave a comment on this, or any other post, and be automatically entered in this week’s giveaway.

Atlantic Records (the record label that produced the Twilight Soundtrack) has made the following announcement:

“The first single has officially been confirmed for the New Moon Soundtrack! Death Cab for Cutie has written an exclusive song for the movie entitled ‘Meet Me On the Equinox.’ ”

And here is a statement from Nick Harmer of Death Cab for Cutie

“We are very excited to be a part of this amazing series of novels set in our own backyard. It just seemed a perfect synergy that a band from the Northwest would create a song for a series of novels set in the Northwest. We wrote ‘Meet Me On the Equinox’ to reflect the celestial themes and motifs that run throughout the Twilight series and we wanted to capture that desperate feeling of endings and beginnings that so strongly affect the main characters. This song marks the first attempt that Death Cab for Cutie has ever made at contributing new, unreleased material for a film and we are proud to be a part of the Twilight legacy.” 

Here’s a sneak peak of the soundtrack album cover below!

The soundtrack will be on sale Oct. 20, 2009. You can pre-order you copy at Amazon by clicking here.

Enjoy your Coffee Break!

~Kate

Robert Pattinson in Premiere Magazine…My translation, not promising it’s 100% accurate…French readers, correct me if I’m wrong. “You wake up in the morning and suddenly you’re a star”

Hope you enjoy today’s New Moon fix.