Two nights ago I had a dream that winged creatures were attacking my school, which for some reason looked like a castle.  As my friends were devoured in front of my eyes by hungry jaws (RIP Cassidy), I could not cower in fear because I had a mission.  That’s right, thanks to weeks of seeing Breaking Dawn – Part 1 trailers on TV, my dreams were being infiltrated, this time with Kristen Stewart.  As I did everything in an attempt to save her, I ended up sacrificing myself.  Clearly I should have gotten her to promise that she would not waste her life, because after seeing Breaking Dawn Part 1 I am really afraid I dream died in vain.

With the 4^th book in the Twilight series coming to the big screen, or as I like to call it Breaking Dawn: Bella Contemplates Life in Mirrors, we find our vampire / human couple of Edward and Bella on the day before their wedding.  With only one day left to save Bella from a lifetime with a monster, Edward reveals a monstrous past he has kept for her, becoming forced moment #1 of the film.  I am no stranger to vampire brooding, and this is a nice idea in theory, but no matter how well the flashback worked on it’s own, it was far too forced in this moment.  Which begs one to wonder, why the heck are these two getting married?

Yes, they are in love, but this movie seemed to be bringing the relationship into question far more than necessary.  Starting with the wedding itself.  As Bella (Kristen Stewart) walks down the isle, she looks as if at any moment she is going to start sobbing and pulling away as her father drags her kicking and screaming by the wrist into a forced marriage.  As someone familiar with the Team Edward / Team Jacob divide, I understand the importance of the love triangle for this series, but once Bella has made the choice in marriage I think it is time to have this resolved more than it has been.  But instead of having the loving marriage starting off as such, it almost felt as if through it all she was more happy to see Jacob than her own husband, happily jumping into his arms as he arrives at the wedding (as opposed to the hardly visible smile when she sees Edward at the alter), or by later telling Jacob that with him there she is complete.  Come on Bella, stop being such a ho.

This sums up my biggest complaint as far as story content presentation goes, but the whole film felt like a lot of potential was just being ruined by poor choices.  Starting with the choice to break the film into two.  Because of this, this portion of the story feels rather stretched thin as the director reaches for anything that will help create something film length, throwing every movie making technique into the mix.  Here are a few of the biggest problem moments:

1. As I mentioned before, the Edward flashback seemed rather forced into the story instead of being given the time it was due (such as Jasper’s flashbacks in the previous film).
2. One more horrible choice prior to the wedding was shooting a dream sequence where Bella pictures the alter resting on a mound of bodies of her friends and family.
3. We finally get to hear the wolves talk to each other telepathically.  Unfortunately the voiceovers just seemed so ridiculous in this moment as the wolves angrily paced around each other that this high intensity conversation of conflict came off as laughable.
4. An imprinting sequence is shown through a series of images, such as a teen girl and rolling clouds.  I always wondered what this would be like, and I now know it is something similar to a perfume commercial parody.
5. The use of CGI in order to physically show a change to a character was completely unnecessary, and in all honestly removed all of the impact of the final shot before the screen goes black.

I never thought I would say this, but in addition to Billy Burke and Anna Kendrick as the highlights of the majority of the film, Taylor Lautner actually pulled through far more than I ever expected him to.  Let me just put it this way, as a character I have always found Jacob to be extremely annoying, but for the first time I actually enjoyed his time on the screen.  I’d like to believe that it was just because he is improving as an actor, but that does not help me forget just how mediocre the inclusion of some of the other characters were (who will now be considered the “sit quietly in the background characters.”  I’m looking at you, Cullens).

Other than the expected great soundtrack to these films, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 brought the series back down a notch, or seven.  The series has always fluctuated in the level of satisfaction with the films, but following Eclipse I really thought they were heading for improvement.  But no, with a mass of misused opportunities, I can do nothing but wait for Part 2 to fix the mistakes of this film.

Final Grade: D+

(If this was Jacob she would be looking at him far more longingly)

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The Twilight Saga is coming to an end with Breaking Dawn: Part 1 and while some are counting away the days till it is out of their lives it should be remembered as a series that missed opportunities to actually be interesting.

The film is an extended look at the first few weeks of Bella and Edward’s marriage and it stresses under the attempt to split the single book into two films.  Easily broken into three parts, the film encompasses the wedding, the honeymoon and the speedy pregnancy, giving us no real plot until it barely scrapes one together in the third act.  There was clearly no real reason to split this into two and the film’s quality is certainly sacrificed because of it.  The film is supposed to be the culmination of these two’s long delayed sexual desires and the results just fall flat.

From what I have heard about the books this chapter of the saga was supposed to be rather R-rated and the film is certainly PG-13.  The film practically glosses over the first time between the two and doesn’t get very sexy on top of that.  The film could be steamy without being graphic, but Bill Condon chooses to just let us see the aftermath of this supposedly epic sex romp.  Also being short changed due to the rating is the alleged graphicness and craziness of the birthing scene.  Through the hazy gaze of Bella’s POV they imply some nasty work by Edward, but had it been more graphic it could have made the moment far more interesting.

The film’s structure is also quite odd in that it races through plot and lingers on scenes of nothing.  The honeymoon sequence is a bloated mess, the wedding (while mostly quite good) runs a tad long, we see Bella looking miserable forever, and then when they reintroduce plot to the proceedings they rush through every element.  The plot didn’t have to be great; I just want to think about something once in awhile.

The movie also, again, has questionable CGI which is completely uncalled for in a billion dollar franchise.  Summit, why are you cutting corners anywhere with these films?  Sure some of the effects look good, but don’t short change a money shot (the baby’s face during the imprint) if you want us to have any sort of a reaction. No excuse.

The film also glosses over just about every interesting bit the story throws out there and I really miss getting to know the supporting characters’ pasts; like in Eclipse.  They tease us with one such flashback here, Edward’s human hunting days, and it is by far the most interesting thing introduce; too bad we only get a whole minute in this scene.

What did work for me?  The fight at the end was pretty good.  The music and score are great.  Condon and his cinematographer make sure this is the best looking film in the series and take full advantage of the Cullen home’s awesome architecture.  There is also a scene that would have been awesome, had the atrocious wolf pack voiceovers not made it almost terrible.

Acting wise everyone is consistent with the other films so I am not going to bother getting into it.  A house keeper on their honeymoon is a forced and horrible bit of acting though and none of the newcomers get time to do anything.  The wolf pack is also over exposed, even though they are only in a third of the film, and the film is tone deaf as it tries to interject humor at the most inopportune moments throughout the runtime.

In the end, leaving the theater I didn’t hate the film, but I was disappointed at the many missed opportunities.  Overly long and aimless, the film shouldn’t have been split in two and writing it up only makes the film’s shortcomings shine brighter.  I bet after seeing Part 2 it will be clear there was a solid movie in Breaking Dawn as a whole, but as it stands Part 1 has a lot of problems standing in its way from being able to stand on its own.  Awesome credits though!

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is a D+

P.S. Please more Michael Sheen in part 2

That’s right, my write-up for rentals has changed yet again.  This time around (and hopefully I will stick to it this time) I will write up little blurbs about the movies I have seen in the past week on Fridays, giving you suggestions for what to pick up and what to avoid when considering what to rent that weekend.  On this weeks list we’ve got: The Back-up Plan, The Last Song,  Operation: Endgame, Repo Men, The Runaways, A Single Man, and The United States of Tara.

Fight for the Last Copy:

United States of Tara: Season One

This Diablo Cody created, Showtime TV show is about a woman who has recently gone off the medications that have helped to suppress the other faces of her multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder).  Toni Collette plays Tara, and the way in which she moves in and out of these other personalities is pure artistry.  Though this is a serious topic, it does not shy away from the humor of it all, thanks in large part to the people she becomes.  In the beginning she is aware of three: Alice is a 1950s housewife, Buck is the redneck hick with a heart of gold, and T is basically the teenage slut, but eventually another emerges (but I will not spoil in for those who want to watch) in response to the overriding story arc of Tara digging into her past to discover what caused this disorder to take form during her teen years.

The show does not just stop with how this disorder effects Tara, but shows the strain it puts on her family.  John Corbett plays her supportive husband who i leading the search to discover her past and must constantly coral the other personalities (though he is far from ashamed of his wife). They also have two children together played by Brie Larson and Keir Gilchrist, each with their own issues to work through during the season, both in relation to Tara and just being a teenager.  Also, Rosemarie DeWitt adds another point of view as Tara’s sister, who is still unwilling to believe that this is something Tara can’t control.

The first season is only 12 episodes long, each about 30 minutes each.  This may not seem like a lot of time for a dramedy, but they are able to fit an amazing story arc and plenty of character development into this short amount of time.  In a nutshell, it is a must see.

Final Grade: A

A Single Man

To state it simply A Single Man is a beautiful, artsy film that is not afraid to experiment with the editing and presentation of the story as apposed to a more conventional approach.  The acting from the cast is great on all accounts, with appearances by Matthew Goode, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Ginnifer Goodwin, but a huge, heaping amount of praise should be thrown at Colin Firth for his representation of George Falconer as he goes about his day after finding out that the love of his life has died.  As the day progresses memories and the inner working of Falconer’s mind affects how the film is presented, working in flashbacks as they naturally flit through a person’s mind, as well as simply editing out sound, slowing down time, etc. to further present Falconer’s internal processing and evaluation of the world around him.  A beautiful, ominously solemn soundtrack tops adds a great finishing touch.

Final Grade: B+

Rent:

The Last Song

I will say that like many others I went into this film with the predisposition to hate it.  The movie has Miley Cyrus in it, for crying out loud!  But hey, Nicholas Sparks wrote the book the film is based on, and though I know there will never be a movie that quite lives up to The Notebook (*sigh*) I am more than willing to give his other attempts a try to fill the void.

When the movie starts I was nitpicking and in all honesty Cyrus’ depiction of her moody “I hate the world” mentality gave lots of material for snarky commentary.  Eventually her character comes around and actually starts smiling and being a decent person, and I will admit that Cyrus does a better-than-expected job during this time.  And she can emote too, something that is much needed for Sparks’ works.

The locations and story is also something that seems a little worn in his work.  There is always a part of the Eastern coast in close proximity, love, a wrench thrown in said love, someone with some type of illness, etc., but he still makes me fall for his magic each time.  Though I won’t say that this film was perfect in any way, it still managed to win me over from hating it as I thought I would.  And a cute boy sure doesn’t hurt.

Final Grade: B

Repo Men (Unrated)

At this stage in the future disease has yet to be cured, but man has found a way to skirt the issue as we have a tendency to do by creating artificial organs to replace those that have gone defective in the potential client.  The problem is that these organs aren’t really covered by insurance, with the money putting a huge dent in the patient’s wallet, if they can pay at all.  If they get behind on their monthly installments, well that’s where Jude Law comes in.  He plays a man that does the dirty work for this miracle company, acting as the title suggests as a repo man, or someone who will take back what is no longer yours.  Eventually he has a change of heart (literally), and must come to terms with the company he works with as he is forced to see things through the eyes of those who usually look back at him in fear.

Forest Whitaker takes the role of Law’s partner in (questionably legal) crime and it is pretty fun to watch these two men at the peak of their professional careers, yet as the same time it is sad to think how desensitized to watching violence I have become.  The blood will flow in this film, with a splash of blood here as a throat is slashed or a pool will form there as it drains from a recently vacated chest cavity, but it isn’t until they actually start performing extractive “surgery” that the visuals become disgusting.  These moments of violence fill out an otherwise imperfect story that seems familiar at times, but it is still entertaining enough to forgive the similarities and forgive the tacked on relationship between Law Alice Braga.  Then again, without it we wouldn’t have gotten an awkwardly grotesque and provocative scene towards the end of the film.

Final Grade: B

The Runaways

The Runaways is a biopic of The Runaways (surprising, I know), an all girl rock band that only lasted a year or so during the mid 70s.  Like any film like this (Ray, Walk the Line) the story follows the group as they get caught up in the excitement of the lifestyle, leading to the coveted sex, drugs and rock and roll that eventually leads to their downfall.  Even with this familiar story this film is still worth at least one viewing.

Director Floria Sigismondi is able to create a gritty, dirty look to the film that sometimes seems hyper-exposed at times, reacting to the transitions of the people being portrayed.  The performances from the cast are all great, and a wise choice was made to cast Dakota Fanning as lead singer Cherie Currie.  Obviously we all know that the girl has the acting skills, but seeing this girl that I feel like I have watched grow up in front of me made her role all the more poignant and painful to watch.  She starts out as a more-or-less normal girl of the 70s with a meeker, not that impressive singing voice, but before long she has gained confidence and becomes a presence before her downward spiral into a drugged out trance.  In addition to Fanning, Kristen Stewart gives an equally strong performance both acting wise and vocally as Joan Jett.  However, the surprise star is Michael Shannon as the band’s manager Kim Fowley, who is like a cracked out hamster with poetic words of questionable wisdom.

Going in I didn’t really know a lot of the music from The Runaways (though I didn’t realize how much Joan Jett music I actually know), but the performances of the actors make this a film far more than just another rock-and-roll biopic, even though it is still full of similarities.

Final Grade: B

Possibly Consider:

Operation: Endgame

In some underground facility two highly top secret and volatile teams within the CIA can be found sharing office space.  The Alpha Team and Omega Team act to balance each other out, but today there are different plans when the facility is shut down and armed to explode in two hours.  Instead of working hand in hand to find their way out an all out fight for the death ensues with any weaponry they can make out of the items found within the offices.

The story doesn’t really pan out for me, but that didn’t stop me from loving the idea of this story.  The fights are fun and it actually works well as a comedic action film thanks to the outlandish duels and writing, the cast compiled, and the editing between the brutality and the commentating from Michael Hitchcock and Tim Bagley as they watch and react in horror to these gruesome murders going down on their surveillance big screen.  Yet somewhere it loses its edge, especially with the ending they went with, which seriously knocked the film down a full letter grade for me.  PS (Kind of a SPOILER!!!) – there is no way that Maggie Q would go down like that.

Final Grade: C+

Chop Off Your Hand Before Picking This Up:

The Back-Up Plan

No.  In all truthfulness that is really the only thing that I would need to say about this film.  It just does not work at all.  Jennifer Lopez plays Zoe, a woman who decides to go ahead with the artificial insemination process instead of waiting around for the perfect man.  As an act of cruel fate she meets Alex O’Loughlin when leaving the doctors office.  Surprise surprise.  The story continues as by the book as possible, with jokes that fall flat and acting that makes you cringe.  I couldn’t say that I am surprised on Lopez’s part because I haven’t really loved her in anything since Selena, but I do feel bad for O’Loughlin considering his abs get more praise than the character he is stuck with.  Other than his ripped body, the only other things worth mentioning are Michaela Watkins as Lopez’s hilarious and underused best friend, and Lopez’s handicapped dog.  My advice, find a different back up plan cuz this one will let you down.

Final Grade: F+

When I speak of my love of the vampire genre I always throw out references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Underworld, 30 Days of Night, True Blood…the list goes on and on.  However, unless directly asked I would never admit to having read all of the Twilight novels in a week or owning one of the two prior films.  Maybe it is the mushy soap opera nature, or maybe it is how much the fanatical Twihards creep me out; but no matter the case, I was embarrassed to admit that I find some level of enjoyment from these stories.  But after watching The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, I can now say with no shame that I am a fan of the Twilight series.

This entry into the series sees a lot of established storylines built into the previous films coming to a head as Bella moves closer to graduating high school.  As far as the love triangle is concerned, Bella has yet to answer Edward’s proposal of marriage and Jacob is still stubbornly persisting in his hopes of convincing her that he is the right supernatural being for her.  Also, Victoria has yet to give up her grudge over the Cullen family making a bonfire out of her life-after-death mate at the end of the first film, constantly trespassing into their territory. Though she is a common enemy for both the Cullens and werewolves, the proximity of the two groups is still causing some tension.  However, when a nearby spree of violence in Seattle starts to grow out of hand, the two groups are forced to form a truce to defend their home of Forks and the secrecy of their existence.

In the first Twilight film the love story between Bella and Edward was as awkward as it was cute, but when Edward left Bella in New Moon things spiraled out of control.  It was an emotional rollercoaster for Bella, and in all honesty the extent of the melodramatic nature of her breakdown was far too uncomfortable for me to enjoy playing witness to.  But now I am happy to say that third time is a charm, as Eclipse has been able to find a bearable representation of this heightened love story.  Don’t get me wrong, it is still as mushy as it ever was, but now instead of rolling my eyes at it I am back to giggling like the teenage girl these films usually cause me to revert back to.

Though this is a dangerous situation for the characters, it is not as dire and depressed as the previous film, with a lot of lighter moments that make it far easier to connect to the characters and enjoy the performances of the actors.  Not to bash on her previous performances in any way because I have never had a problem with Kristen Stewart’s acting, but she is best off with this change.  She seems to be fully comfortable in the role, mirroring Bella’s growth as a character as she gets more comfortable in her own skin.  And let’s face it, it’s far easier to connect to her character this time around because she is no longer an emotional wreck defined by the loss of her boyfriend.  Robert Pattinson gets the same boost to his character by being allowed to relax his face from an agonized brood with scenes between the two in which they are allowed to act like a happy couple. And to round out the love triangle, it is fun to watch both he and Taylor Lautner play off each other as they butt heads over their mutual love interest.

Something that I have always been happy about is the inclusion of the smaller characters in these films, and Eclipse is no exception.  Stewart gets to show even more depth in some heartfelt and fun scenes with Sarah Clarke and Billy Burke as her parents, with Burke continuing his part as one of my favorite characters of the films.  The high schooler friends are back briefly, and they take full advantage of having Anna Kendrick by giving Jessica a speech at their graduation.  As for the Cullen family, special mention must go out to Jackson Rathbone and Nikki Reed who both take advantage of their brief moment in the spotlight thanks to flashback sequences for their respective characters, and though Jasper’s seems much more relevant in the context and flow of the film, Reed provides my favorite comedic bit in Rosalie’s flashback.  My only complaint is that there is far too little Alice in the films, who is easily my favorite character of the books.  Here’s hoping Ashley Greene gets her moment as Rathbone and Reed did here.

The trailers definitely over-exaggerate the amount of action in Eclipse, but what little is included is quite amazing to watch.  In addition to this, the CGI werewolves look pretty good and as realistic as I expect from computer generated creatures.  Their addition into the culminating battle alongside the Cullens adds a great change of pace from usual fights scenes, as well as another level of viciousness.  The violence is more than I expected, with vampires’ bodies being audibly shattered as they are torn limb from limb, and it is quite the sight to see.

With the fan base and history that these films have already had, there is no doubt in my mind that Eclipse will do really well in theaters.  However, this entry into the series is stronger in every way that the previous films, making it far more deserving of the success.

Final Grade: B+

The third film in the quadrilogy (yes Breaking Dawn is splitting in two, but it is really one movie) known as The Twilight Saga, Eclipse is actually good, in fact it is really good, and is a huge step forward for the franchise before the finale.

Now, the film takes no time to try and catch up the outsiders and I won’t try to do so either.  Bella and Edward are busy going back and forth over the vampire’s marriage proposal while Alice sees a vision that will set the film’s plot into motion.  A growing threat in Seattle threatens the supernatural, and human, inhabitants of Forks and while the Cullens try and figure out what is going on up north in Seattle they must also try to keep Victoria and the Volturi from Bella.  The circumstances force the vampires and werewolves of Forks to form a loose alliance for the best of all of them and Jacob makes one last attempt at the heart of Bella whom he loves.

Now, if that paragraph didn’t make sense to you then you shouldn’t be seeing this movie as you should probably check out the first two films first.  And even if you think those two are just average to awful films, I would still implore you to give this film, Eclipse, a shot as it is a solid fantasy adventure that takes advantage of all of the best qualities of the series source novels by Stephenie Meyer.

If you are still unwilling and going to complain about watching a teen romance then there is no hope for you liking these films anyways and while there is still plenty of swooning and attempts to sweep each other off their feet in this film it is made much more realistic and watchable do to tighter writing and better performances.  Stewart and Pattinson have a great chemistry in the film and Taylor Lautner shows signs of growth as an actor, even if he is still the film’s weakest link.  The average romance dialogue is one of the few weak points you will find on this film and maybe a few scenes linger a minute or two too long.  Other than those issues though, I can’t really find a lot to complain about.

The films pacing is mostly solid, always moving forward and never stopping to really spell things out.  David Slade’s direction lays its confidence in its audience that it will be able to follow along and this film never tries to pander too the uninitiated.  And even when the film does slow down a bit, these are some of the best moments of the film as slow spots in Eclipse usually give us more background on the Cullens as we flash back into a couple of the family members early days as a vampire.  The action scenes are also superior to everything else in the series and the final fight is easily a contender for one of the best action beats of the year so far.  The brutality on display is also quite surprising at times as vampires are beheaded and dismembered left in right in the end.

The films look and effects are also the best the series has seen and Slade really shot a very attractive picture here.  The film just looks like it should for the amount of money it has made and it seems that Summit has spared no expense and it really has paid off.  Slade’s “darker” resume helped the picture mature and be much more accessible beyond the target audience and this could have reached a very broad viewer ship if it was an original property and didn’t have the first two films in the series keeping most anyone but fans away.  The first film was a solid origin and base for a series that sadly pandered too much to its target audience.  The second film was a step back from the first, mostly because the most interesting aspects of the series, the vampires, were non-existent.  Here, the Cullens are front and center, the mythology is greatly opened up (and I hope they flash back even more in Breaking Dawn), and the action is really given a fair shake; lets just hope these themes carry over into the finale.

The cast continues to do fine work here, Stewart shows a lot more life and energy in Bella and this is her best turn yet in the role.  Pattinson continues to be the best of the young bunch and doesn’t deter at all here.  Lautner gets better but there is still room to grow and Niki Reed and Jackson Rathbone both take full advantage of their much greater roles in this film.  Lastly, Billy Burke continues to provide a great real world rock for us to connect with and gets that he is supposed to remind us that we are ultimately watching a silly fantasy film.

In the end, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a gigantic step forward for the series and blows the other two films out of the water.  If this wasn’t a Twilight film it would have a lot of people excited that will never touch this sometimes great entry into the fantasy adventure genre.  Eclipse is a fast, fun, and action filled romance that obviously is never going to appeal to everyone, but I think this film really could if it was ever given the chance by the non-Twilight audience.  Eclipse is about as good as a Twilight film its fans, and non-fans, could hope for and  is a summer blockbuster that does just about everything right.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a B+ or A-; I can’t decide.

Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways is a dark, messed up, and insane dive into the depravity and pitfalls of fame destruction of age film that yields three very good performances from, Michael Shannon, Kristen Stewart, and Dakota Fanning.

Before the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll  the members of The Runaways were just young girls that loved, praised, and aspired to be the next gods of rock in a male dominated industry.  Joan Jett wanted to be a punk guitar goddess while Cherie Currie wanted to be David Bowie but they would together be a part of something the rock n’ roll  community had never seen.  When Jett catches the ear of Kim Fowley, who proclaims himself to be a music producing genius, the duo set out to form the first all girl rock band.  Filling out their band with ample musicians, Lita Ford, Sandy West, and Robin (a fictional character to avoid the drama surrounding a revolving door of bassists) Fowley needs one final piece before he takes this show on the road; a blonde bombshell to sell the sex side of the band.  Enter Currie, a fifteen year old with jail bait sex appeal to spare that is learning the vocal side of things as she goes to become the lead singer and lead icon of the band.  From here the group begins cutting their chops and working up the ladder before breaking out in a huge way.

The film is a rather standard and straight forward biopic content wise.  Linear and focusing on Jett and Currie pre and post band the story is more Cherie’s than anyone.  The film is based off Currie’s book, Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, she is given the film’s focus in the destructive third act but outside this the focus is split fairly evenly between Jett and Currie.  The films style is no where near as conventional as the structure of the picture and is almost disorienting to an extent as it throws you head first into these girls lives and creates an experience that makes you feel like you are living the whirlwind, drug and boozed filled lives of these teenage stars.  The film skims the surface level of these girls experiences, getting glimpses of them fooling around, sexing it up, doing drugs, and drinking heavily and while it might get into why they acted this way the fact that they did and could is all very overwhelming.  Seeing these young girls, Currie being the youngest at 15/16, dive into a life of such outrageous depravity is almost too insane to believe and the film perfectly captures the insanity of these times.

The look of the film is dark and psychotropic at times and the girls playing the rock stars do a great job at capturing the crazy actions of The Runaways both on the stage and off.  These girls turned into some bad mother f***ers who took shit from nobody and learned to exist in a world where they were disrespected and unwanted.  It is an impressive path that they blazed, taking abuse from every angle, with some of them slowly losing the lives they once knew and the people that were apart of them.  Sigismondi also puts together a hell of a soundtrack for her picture that keeps the film up beat and exciting through the music.

The actors in the film also do some fine work starting with Dakota Fanning as Currie.  Fanning, like Currie, was fifteen when she did this movie and she shows no fear diving head first in the role.  From smoking, drinking, snorting, f***ing, getting it on with a girl, posing scantily clad for photo shoot, and gyrating on stage in a corset and her underwear she does it all and deserves a lot of credit for going all out at such a young age.  She also brings a vulnerability to Currie and her desire to be with her family and does a great job of coming innocent and wide eyed to nearly broken and destroyed fallen star.  Kristen Stewart has a far less dark path to go down but still does a great job at capturing the spirit and bad ass nature of Jett as she says FU to anyone that tries and gets in her way.  Both girls also do a solid job of singing duties and both have a hell of a stage presence in the live performance scenes.  The other standout of the cast is Michael Shannon as the insane and crazy producer/manager Fowley and while he might be one note he is relentless, abusive, and hilarious as he whips these girls into shape rock n’ roll shape.  The rest of the cast is adequate and does solid enough work, Alia Shawkat is wasted with nary a line or two, Scout Taylor-Compton is angry as Lita Ford, and Stella Maeve is a lot of fun and adventurous as Sandy West.  The group does a great job of bringing the Runaways to life and capturing the unlikely and crazy rise to fame.

In the end, The Runaways is a solid rock bio-pic that is more focused on the excess of the individuals then what made them tic.  The film doesn’t dive into the lives of the band, except Currie but even then it doesn’t go that deep, but it successfully captures the insane lifestyle and journey these girls took in their rise to stardom.  The three leads deliver some great work, Kristen Stewart shows everyone she is more than Bella swan if that is all you had seen her in and Dakota Fanning is basically telling the world that she is all grown up and ready for anything.  An obscure band’s rise serves as a great cautionary tale of fame and excess and is a showcase for two of the next generations leading ladies.  Too bad a lot of fans of Fanning and Stewart are too young for this very R-rated affair.

The Runaways is a B

*Spoiler alert*

I’m personally a fan of the books, and I have high hopes for this film. This trailer however, is crappy just as I expected it to be. They decide to focus on the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob instead of anything else. There were no shots of Victoria’s new vampire mate, her vampire army, or the wolf pack. And did anyone notice the cast change for the role of Victoria? Despite her fake red hair, I thought Rachelle Lefevre was perfect for the role of Victoria. Now they’ve replaced her with someone I find far too ugly to be a vampire.

There can only be one reason why they focused on the love triangle in the trailer, more viewers. Personally, I think it’s a very stupid marketing strategy. People who are already Twilight fans will see this movie no matter what. They should spin Eclipse as an vampire action movie to broaden the audience spectrum. Anyone with any common sense should know Bella is going to end up with Edward. Twilight is a book series about vampires, NOT werewolves. I guess we’ll have to wait until June 30 to find out how good this movie turns out.

Even with director Catherine Hardwicke’s take on bringing the first book of this series to screen, Chris Weitz fails to do little more than use her vision as a guidebook on how to direct The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and therefore, recreates a lot of the problems that plagued the first film while simply trying to appease the salivating masses of obsessed fans.

If you have read the books of this series, then you know exactly what happens in this ridiculously faithful adaptation. For those of you who haven’t, New Moon begins with Bella’s 18^th birthday, which proves to be just as traumatic as she believed it would be.  While at a party the Cullen family chooses to throw her, Bella (Kristen Stewart) gets a paper cut of epic proportions, sending one vamp into a blood hungry state of mind. Brooding over the opinion that this is all his fault, Edward (Robert Pattinson) chooses to take his family and run away from Forks, promising to never interfere with Bella’s life again. Falling into a pit of lonely despair, Bella eventually resurfaces, only to attach herself to Jacob (Taylor Lautner), who just so happens to be a werewolf.

Following the lead of most of the characters in this film, or rather, the actors’ interpretations of their characters, this film tends to take itself way too seriously, making it hard to relate to the story and characters more often than not. Let’s start with the most obvious: Bella’s dependence on the males of this series is a little excessive, and I half expected her to end the film early by slitting her wrists. Instead, we just get to witness her complete dedication to teen angst and depression, complete with night after night of screaming into her pillow as she contorts her body in agony. And once she finally decides to return to the land of the living, she continues to mope as she competes with the others over who can be the most melodramatic and brood in the corner with the most intensity.

With that said, because the main characters seem to have little expected of them in their range of acting, this film easily goes to the supporting cast, who often only appear in a couple of scenes. First, there is Jessica (Anna Kendrick), who shines in her hilarious rant about the true meaning of a film Bella forces her to sit through, becoming a much needed burst of fresh air in this overly suffocating film. Harry Clearwater (Graham Greene) follows her lead with more comedic relief, along with Bella’s dad, Charlie (Billy Burke), who proves to be a saint for putting up with that child. And finally, the Volturi coven, the oldest clan of vampires, is fleshed out with a lot of great people, including apathetic Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl), creepily enthusiastic Aro (Michael Sheen), and pain invoking Jane (Dakota Fanning). But lets face it, Dakota Fanning is Dakota Fanning, so no surprise there.

Continuing on this path, the supporting cast is not the sole item in the pro column fighting against the cons. For starters, though a lot of the music and camera work still proved to be over the top at times, there were a few moments when all the elements actually came together beautifully, such as when the wolf pack chases Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) through the woods, showing that Weitz actually may have some talent after all. Speaking of the music, though the orchestral scores were a little much, the soundtrack to the film is full of many strong selections. And finally, though I complain a lot about how melodramatic the film is, this actually proved to be a great source of unintentional hilarity, and made the film more enjoyable than I am letting on.

Overall New Moon fails to expand on what was expected of it following the first film, proving to be a disappointment to me, but still enjoyable in how easily one can make fun of it. And let’s face it, my complaints will more likely than not go unnoticed by the screaming girls this movie is aimed at.

Final Grade: B-

PS – when you have incredibly ripped boys taking their shirts off left and right, at least try to pretend there is a reason for this happening.

The Twilight Saga returns with a new director, a new set of monsters, and a New Moon, but the film feels rather rehashed and far to similar to previous film instead this time it is girl meets wolf; compare to girl meets vampire.
Everything starts off alright, in fact it was making me feel quite positive about everything unfolding. Chris Weitz’s direction is far stronger and more confident than Twilight’s Hardwicke, with the camera doing far more interesting things. The focus seems to be solely on Bella, her father, and Edward and the Cullen’s as it should be and pushing all the unnecessary characters to the background. The actors seem to be doing better; everything seems to be going in the right direction and then the Cullen’s leave. The most, and almost only, interesting thing about these films is taken away for the majority of the film and only return in the final few scenes to save the film from being a fairly bad experience.
The story mirrors Bella’s path in the first film with a weird killer in the woods, a budding romance with a boy with a secret, and a secret group of creatures living secretly right under her town’s nose. The new boy is Jacob, Bella’s old friend from her childhood who lives on the local reservation as he is a Native American. A bit younger than Bella, he has always kind of had a thing for Bella, and now with Edward out of the picture, he makes his move. Bella and Jacob slowly bond, but her desire for Edward can’t fade as they become closer friends and his secret is revealed. While the two have chemistry, we have seen this song and dance before in the previous film. Plus, all of the things Bella does to cut her adrenaline going to “see” Edward gets a bit ridiculous and never lets us really buy into the whole love triangle as Bella really shows no signs of leaving Team Edward.
Besides the romance not really working and Bella’s bitching getting a bit to much to bare, the effects work was a real disappointment. The few set pieces in the film were pretty well crafted, it’s just the effects work was only adequate and not awesome A+ stuff. These films make so much money there is no excuse for a shotty effect shot or blue screen work in this picture and there are a number of nasty takes. The wolves look good, could look better though, but I guess the target audience of this film isn’t that worried about that; though every shot of the cliff was border line horrendous. The film also jumps around quite randomly at times and feels like we are missing huge plot points or they get glossed over with a sentence. The first film had this issue as well and as in the first film as well it stays away till the final act which all of a sudden rushes forward and seems a bit too convenient.
But, there were some things that worked in the film. Everything with Edward, vampires, and the Cullen’s was very good and the best part of the film. The dynamic of Bella and Edward arguing over turning her is also a nice little thread, but the most promising element of this film is the introduction of the Volturi family in Italy who are the sort of deciders of the Vampire race. Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning will provide some solid actors for their future plots and they are as interesting and engaging as Edward, Alice, and Carlisle Cullen. Looking forward to more of them and the high point of the series so far is the encounter with the Volturi.
In the end, New Moon is sadly neither a step up or down for the series but continues to serve as a sampling of intriguing ideas and characters that they can’t flesh out into a fully engaging story. I don’t know how the wolf/vampire dynamic will play out in the last two films, as the wolves seem to be almost useless now even with the half assed attempt to keep the threat alive in the final scene. Though, if they can keep the dynamic alive, lets hope they make it interesting and compelling and same for the rest of the story, focus on the Cullen’s and Volturi and this series good eventually become a good franchise instead of an average one.
Twilight Saga: New Moon is a C+

Greg Mottola’s follow up to Superbad shares little in common with that previous film, which isn’t a bad thing as this is an honest and sometimes sweet coming of age tale for a fresh college grad.
James has a plan. As his graduation present his parents are supposed to help fund his trip to Europe with friends, where he can finally lose his virginity, and then he will move to New York to attend an Ivy League school for graduate degree and everything will be peachy. Well upon graduation he discovers that his dad has been demoted and his parents can no longer float him along any more and that he must get a summer job. The only place that will hire him is the local dead end amusement park, Adventureland. James is stuck working the game booths for the course of the summer in which he meets a number of interesting individual, the most interesting being a cute fellow twenty something named Em. James and Em click and they begin hanging out quite a bit and eventually fall into a sort of pseudo relationship of sorts. Meanwhile, James bonds with Joel, a dorky fellow games worker and Connell the parks repair man who is also a fairly successful musician on the side, or so they say. As the summer goes on, we get to see the ups and downs of James and Em, James struggles with his affinity to fall in love, the comings and goings of the park, and the challenge of fighting his urge to get laid over his faithfulness to a relationship.
The film is being sold as a comedy, but dramedy is a far more appropriate label for the film. There are plenty of funny scenes throughout, but this film is more of a look into the life of a down and out twenty something who has yet to really mature in the realm of love. We follow James’ trials and tribulations as he tries to figure out not only his love life, but where his life is going in general, with some shenanigans thrown in for good measure. Em also gets a chunk of the story as well, and she is kind of on the same path as James, lost in her pursuit of finding another while trying to find stable ground at home as the household has changed drastically since the death of her mother.
This might all sound like a bit of a downer, but the film remains fairly upbeat, outside of the act two to three “twist” where every film seems to conventionally try and split up our main characters. The film moves along at a nice and easy pace and is never boring, and almost always pretty smart and interesting. A couple members of the cast could have used a bit more fleshing out, and there are a few useless characters that might get a bit to much, but the story is really James’ and a bit too Em. The film also opens a couple doors that had potential to supply a lot of interesting material and intrigue for characters but sadly uses them for the sake of plot. Connell and Lisa P both could have supplied a lot more to the story I feel and it’s a shame we didn’t get more of them. Also, the film tries to make something of Joel, James co-worker buddy, but Mottola never really figures out a way to really get the most out of the character and we are left with a couple of scenes that feel in complete and odd surrounding him; oh well, didn’t destroy the film or anything.
The actors in the film all do a nice job, with Jesse Eisenberg doing some good work as James, though he seems like a bit more grown up and mature version of his character in The Squid and the Whale. Kristen Stewart is successful as a bit of an angst driven, intelligent and laid back girlfriend, but she also doesn’t seem to be doing anything that different then her character in Twilight either; but I still like her in what she has been doing as of late. Martin Starr as Joel supplies a couple of good lines, but like I mentioned his character kind of gets lost, and Starr doesn’t get much else to do in the picture, even though they tried to. Ryan Reynolds is likeable as always as Connell and our stigma about Reynolds usual role helps play to the arc of his character and not seeing a couple things coming with him. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are the stand outs as the park owners though, bring the laughs every time they are on the screen, one only wishes there was more of them in the picture though, as a number of the hijinks on the Adventureland site don’t involve them and it should. Margarita Levieva also nails the, ‘I’m hot shit’ shtick and I think we could have dived into her character more.
In the end, Adventureland is one of the better attempts at a coming of age story in the last couple years. Is it the best of the bunch, no, there are too many little blunders dotted throughout the film that hold it back. But nonetheless, it is an entertaining and engaging dramedy that is a semi-successful character study of a fresh college grad that is lost in the world. Only if Mottola would have been able to pin down exactly what stories he wanted to focus on outside of James’ then parts of the film would have felt a little deeper and less scattershot making the film a more cohesive film, but it still entertains as is so I guess he did alright.
It gets a B-