The first of several threatened sequels to 2008's dim Twilight, the dark New Moon's title may refer to the potential fresh blood entering Bella's (Kristen Stewart) heart in the form of her Native American buddy, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), who turns out to be a werewolf. Just as the vampires in this fantasy world don't follow traditional supernatural rules (instead of hibernating in coffins during the day, they attend high school), the werewolves can transform anytime at will rather than waiting for a full moon, which is very handy for rumbles with wayward vamps. As if plot details even matter... Bella's undead love-of-her-life, Edward (Robert Pattinson), dumps her and leaves town claiming she'll be hurt if he stays. Suffering the mother of all heartaches, Bella eventually warms up to Jacob, in part to help her do some risky things which each time cause Edward to appear by astral projection for a scolding session (seemingly clueless that he thus enables her recklessness). The rickety dilemmas and rusty ironies don't stop there, but they and other narrative tools are craftily wielded to make Lautner and Pattinson get shirtless for the target audience. Despite the film being good-looking and gamely acted, the three main characters basically end up where they started in the love triangle, literally leaving the viewer hanging in the middle of a conversation that portends some actual conflict resolution - a story element that will just have to wait for the next installment of this slow-moving saga. Trivial Tidbit: When Bella needs to hurry to Italy, she inexplicably flies Virgin America, which actually only goes to San Francisco or L.A. from Seattle. The quickest way to Italy is in the other direction, over the Arctic Circle.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
The first of several threatened sequels to 2008's dim Twilight, the dark New Moon's title may refer to the potential fresh blood entering Bella's (Kristen Stewart) heart in the form of her Native American buddy, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), who turns out to be a werewolf. Just as the vampires in this fantasy world don't follow traditional supernatural rules (instead of hibernating in coffins during the day, they attend high school), the werewolves can transform anytime at will rather than waiting for a full moon, which is very handy for rumbles with wayward vamps. As if plot details even matter... Bella's undead love-of-her-life, Edward (Robert Pattinson), dumps her and leaves town claiming she'll be hurt if he stays. Suffering the mother of all heartaches, Bella eventually warms up to Jacob, in part to help her do some risky things which each time cause Edward to appear by astral projection for a scolding session (seemingly clueless that he thus enables her recklessness). The rickety dilemmas and rusty ironies don't stop there, but they and other narrative tools are craftily wielded to make Lautner and Pattinson get shirtless for the target audience. Despite the film being good-looking and gamely acted, the three main characters basically end up where they started in the love triangle, literally leaving the viewer hanging in the middle of a conversation that portends some actual conflict resolution - a story element that will just have to wait for the next installment of this slow-moving saga. Trivial Tidbit: When Bella needs to hurry to Italy, she inexplicably flies Virgin America, which actually only goes to San Francisco or L.A. from Seattle. The quickest way to Italy is in the other direction, over the Arctic Circle.
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