New Moon Movie Review

OMG. Where do I begin? I love it. ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY LOVED IT. There is so much to say about this film, I'll need to see it a few more times before I'll remember it all. First thing that comes to mind: THE EFFECTS. Absolutely BRILLS!!! My favorite scene (as of this second) was Victoria in the woods, flying all over the place while Charlie and Harry Clearwater (GOD OF ALL THINGS NATIVE AMERICAN) were hunting the wolves. It was truly a work of art. And speaking of a work of art: THE WOLVES! They were SO GOOD! The CGI was TREMENDOUS!!! For some reason, I thought Jacob - the red one - was a little less true-looking than the rest. Must have something to do with his coloring, vs a grey or black and white wolf? Either way - they were so good and - thank you JESUS - they were HUGE!!! HUGE!!!

Italy? Holy god - beautiful - although, unfortch, we saw WAY TOO MUCH of it on the internet (um, sorry) and the TV over the last few months.

I almost want to look at NOTHING from Eclipse - and I am THRILLED David Slade kept such a closed set because it really sucked that I had seen so much from New Moon before today. OK moving right along... don't want to get stuck in the negativity since I'm all about the lurve for New Moon right now...

The "breakup" scene - NOT Edward and Bella - but JACOB and Bella - was very good. Kristen was very good in that scene, while Taylor was very good in pretty much EVERY scene. It really made you feel for Bella - that here she was, finally coming out of her depression, and then BAM! She gets "dumped" again. Really, really good. As for "the breakup scene" with Edward and Bella - good - but not as gut-wrenching as I was expecting. Rob hit the mark. You were truly pained for Edward. Kristen could have shown a little more emotion with her eyes - but I suppose she was trying to emote "shock".

The wolf pack. Hmmmm. Not as much wolf pack as I was hoping to see.  Sam is great. VERY believable as the alpha. Paul doesn't have enough of a role. I was shocked to see how many lined Embry actually had. And I was thrilled that they left in the scene where Embry and Quill come strolling along while Jacob and Bella are in the garage with the bikes. Very sweet little scene that doesn't mean much but is just so real. They all brought it to this scene.

The cliff diving scene - omgomgomg - fangirling all over the place - BEAUTIFULLY done. SO heartbreaking. Although we all agreed it was a little anticlimactic when Bella came around. No spewing water out of her mouth or coughing... just a little drooling and staring... I dunno...I'd like to know how much of it is these actors' own influence vs how much they "do what they're told".

Teeny things that THRILLED ME:

Rosalie. Holy god. Dear Nikki - you are my new HERO of thespians. Love, Carol.  Nikki Reed KICKED ASS in this movie - and she only had a few lines. But WOW they were powerful. She has a little speech toward the end where she apologizes to Edward and Bella and votes "no" when asked if Bella should be turned... and says she wishes she had someone to vote "no" for her. She truly made me C-R-Y.  She delivered the lines beautifully and I actually felt sorry for Rosalie. Hell I wasn't even able to do that in the BOOKS! AND - if that weren't enough - Rosalie is GORGEOUS in New Moon. I thought I'd hate the wig; I didn't. I thought her coloring would be weird; it wasn't. She looks magical. Like she's SUPPOSED to look. Wow I cannot gush enough. GO TEAM NIKKI!!

Next on the list of small things that had a big impact (on me). GRAHAM GREENE! GRAHAM GREENE! GRAHAM GREENE! I'm sorry but you CANNOT have a movie with such a large Native American influence and NOT have Graham Greene! I love the man! And every time they showed his face I (annoyingly) said "I LOVE HIM!" right out loud.

What else? As I surmised, little to no Carlisle, which was a tough pill to swallow. Is it me or is he way more calming than Jasper? Poor Jackson Rathbone. TALK ABOUT UNDERUTILIZED. I suppose he'll have his due in Eclipse in June. But it's so funny how they make him stare into space and it's supposed to convey his calming nature. But all it does is make him look like Cindy Brady (Baton Rouge Cindy! Baton Rouge! You KNOW this one!) They literally had to make Bella say "Jasper stop doing that!" so you'd say to yourself "ooooh he's exerting his calming influence... THAT'S why he looks so freaky right now!) And lord - he's so gorgeous... WHY do they insist on making his hair look like Carol Brady: The Early Years??????

Ugh - so much more. So, SO much more. As usual, I am not happy with Edward Cullen being a sullen, sulking pathetic-looking dude all the time. EDWARD CULLEN WAS A FUNNY GUY! Am I the only one who remembers this??? For the love of god, somebody PLEASE tell me you agree!

I didn't know whether I was going to say it. But I'm going to say it.  I think they let the lead actors have way more input than the should in both Twilight and New Moon. They've changed the characters to the point where it interfered with my ability to truly enjoy the movie in spots. Let's review:

Bella is amusing. Let's let her laugh once in a while, shall we? When she's with EDWARD, that is. She doesn't have a problem looking happy with Jacob. So shouldn't she look friggin ECSTATIC with Edward???

Edward is endearing. Let's let him laugh once in a while, too. (Instead of looking like he's about to shit his pants all the time.)  I suppose he did more than Bella - so that was a nice change. We saw his teeth a little more in this movie.

Ummm... those are really the only two who I keep reading are giving a lot of input, changing lines, portraying their characters like this or like that.... instead of the way HERSELF - Stephenie Meyer - intended them to be.

Final review:  Robert Pattinson - pat on the back - solid performance. Kristen Stewart - hmmm...I suppose she merits a "solid performance" but I wish it included way more smiling and way less loud breathing. Damn girl. Bella's not socially inept for god's sake! Ease up!

And the total surprise of the movie? ASHLEY GREENE - ie Alice Cullen. HOLY MOTHR OF GOD ON HIGH!!! She. Was. AWESOME. Totally carried certain scenes - ie Alice visiting Bella... Alice arguing with Jacob... Alice and Bella in the Porshe. I CALLED THIS months ago. We were all worried about the way she sounded and I believe I said "These are trailers - let's wait for the movie to come out" and boy was I right. She knocked my socks off.

Oh and one more thing. Emmett is just adorable. Kellen Lutz is just a constant. You always know what to expect from the man - and he always delivers.