Thursday, June 17, 2010

On DVD: New Moon

When this is posted many of my male readers (all four of you) will ask for my man card, but I have a few things to say to you:
  • I'm married. My wife is a Twilight-nerd and wanted me to watch it
  • The movie has vampires and werewolves
  • Who's to say I didn't lose my man card the day I uttered the phrase, "I think I really like 'Sleepless in Seattle.'"

So, take your shots, you mocking horde. I will go on with my movie review.

What worked
It's almost impossible for me to not compare this to the first Twilight movie, which I reviewed last year. So I'm breaking it down, and saying why this was better in this movie:

  • Better special effects. The effects were very cheesy in the first one. And though they weren't top notch in this one, they weren't distracting.
  • Vampires fight werewolves. The first film suffered from having too little action. This one still didn't have enough, but it ramped it up.
  • Less Edward. Robert Pattinson stinks. He plays Edward as this pouty, whiny, annoying guy, that I hope gets his head ripped off. Unfortunately he survives.
  • The story works for the most part. It's not a great story, but it's interesting enough.

What didn't work
Still too much cheese and teen love angst for my taste. I would have also liked more action, more chasing vampires by werewolves, and more backstory about what the werewolves and vampires can and can't do. My wife said it's in the book, and maybe they left it out because all the Twilight nerds would already know. But I wanted to know more about the fantasy behind the world.

Who would like this
I'm guessing most Twilight fans or people who enjoyed the first movie would like it, though I don't know how far they strayed from the book (because I haven't read it). Also, if you like romantic action movies (a small genre to be sure), this fits.

Who wouldn't like this
If you hated the first one, this one might be worth a rental, but probably not. Also, if you loved the book and you're the type where movies ruin your favorite books, I'd stay away. It's also dark fantasy with vampires and werewolves, and some might be creeped out by that.

Closing Credits
It was a decent movie that kept me entertained. I'm not likely to watch another Twilight movie in the theater, mainly because I have a tendency to laugh during the extra cheesy sections, which may get me killed by a crazy mob of 14 year-olds and cougars. Still, it's not a bad movie, and I like fantasy, I like vampires and werewolves, and I was emotionally invested in the outcome. That's sufficient for me.

3 comments:

  1. I'm impressed! Sam wouldn't watch it with me, so I had to watch it alone, which was kind of dumb, but whatever. Maybe you can have a talk with him at reunion about watching girly movies with his wife.
    I am not obsessed with Twilight. I think it's entertaining, but not very high quality. I enjoyed reading the books, and I think the movies are fairly good adaptations. I totally agree with your assessments. The teenage love angst always makes me laugh out loud, and I wish they went deeper into the story and the action. Other than that, it's just kind of a fun story.

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  2. As a film guy, Sam should watch it. It's an adaptation of one of the most popular novels in the world. Even if he doesn't like the context, the complexities of bringing this to teh big screen should intrigue him enough to watch. Tell him to stop being such a snob.

    Also, he should watch chick flics with his wife. Big pansy.

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  3. Let's get the record straight. I'm not a Twilight-nerd. I don't own any paraphanalia, I've only read the once. I only own the first one b/c my husband got it for me, but I didn't ask for it. I don't dream of Jacob, although I am on his team. Really Adam.

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