"BREAKING DAWN, PART II" (2012) Review

 

"BREAKING DAWN, PART II" (2012) Review

Years ago, Warner Brothers had made the decision to split the movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyers' last "Twilight Saga" novel - "Breaking Dawn" - into two films; following its example of the two adaptations for the last "Harry Potter" novel. The first film, "BREAKING DAWN, PART I", was released a year ago. Instead of waiting six months, the studio decided to wait a year for the second half of the tale, 2012's "BREAKING DAWN, PART II".

"BREAKING DAWN, PART II" picked up where the latter film left off - with Bella Swann's transformation into a vampire, following the difficult birth of her and Edward Cullen's daughter. The movie's first ten to fifteen minutes focused on Bella becoming acquainted with her new state and abilities. She eventually learns that her best friend and wolf shapeshifter, Jacob Black has "imprinted" on hers and Edward's new daughter, Renesmee Carlie Cullen. In other words, Jacob has found his soulmate in Bella's daughter - whether he proves to be her protector, a lover, or an older sibling. At the moment, Jacob seemed to be serving as Renesmee's protector and much older friend. Bella first reacted with hostility at the idea of Jacob imprinting on her daughter, but she eventually resolved herself to the situation. But a more important situation has developed with Renesmee. The Cullen/Swan offspring has begun aging rapidly. Even worse, a fellow vampire named Irina Denali spots Renesmee playing in the woods with Bella and Jacob and comes to the conclusion that the young girl might be an immortal - a vampire sired from a child. She reports her assumptions to the Volturi, who become determined to destroy Renesmee. Creating child vampires goes against their law, due to the former's unpredictable nature. Aro, leader of the Volturi, also longs to destroy the Cullens; due to their large size and the psychic abilities that many of them possess. Bella, Edward and the Cullens are forced to seek allies from other vampire covens around the world to help them protect Renesmee from the Volturi. And Jacob recruits his fellow wolf shapeshifters from the La Push pack to assist in the Cullens' battle.

A part of me was astounded that the film franchise for the "Twilight" Saga had finally came to an end with this film. Another part of me was relieved. To be honest, I have never been a die-hard fan of the series. And of the five movies, I have managed to like at least two of them - "ECLIPSE" and surprisingly, "BREAKING DAWN, PART II". You heard it first. I actually liked "BREAKING DAWN, PART II". I did not love it. And I was not initially thrilled by Bella's initial transformation into a vampire. But for some reason, her transformation and the birth of her daughter attained a few achievements in the franchise. One, Bella's character transformed from a passive and love-obsessed teenager to a self-assured and mature young woman (or vampire), who proved she could be ruthless when protecting her daughter. For the first time in the series, the Bella/Edward romance actually became bearable. I believe this was due to the change in Edward's nature, as well. He stopped being a brooding and controlling boyfriend and began treating Bella as an equal partner in their relationship. And the tiresome love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob finally came to an end, due to Renesmee's birth. Jacob came to accept Bella and Edward's romance and began focusing his attention upon their daughter. Thankfully, Jacob's feelings for Renesmee did not produce any "ick factor" within me. I believe this is due to Jacob's attitude toward her as some kind of goddaughter or younger sister. Renesmee seemed to regard him as some kind of loving big brother. And even more ironically, both Taylor Lautner and child actress Mackenzie Foy managed to click on-screen.

Before one accuses me of loving this film, I assure you that I do not. Yes, I liked it. But it had problems that prevented it from becoming a favorite of mine. Being part of the "Twilight" Saga did not help. I found the scene featuring Bella arm wrestling with Emmett Cullen rather childish and a waste of time. In Stephanie Meyers' novel, Charlie Swan learned about Jacob's status as a wolf shape shifter and suspected that Bella and the Cullens are not quite human, but he was never informed that she had transformed into a vampire. However, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg made matters slightly worse by not even conveying Charlie's suspicions of the recent inhuman nature of his daughter. I found that rather sloppy. Also, there were moments when I found the Cullens and Jacob's interactions with their vampire allies resembling a "happening" from the Age of Aquarius. I had this fear that sooner or later, they would form a circle by holding hands and sing "Kumbaya". Those moments were most nauseating. Hell, I enjoyed the Bella/Edward sex scene more than those moments.

But despite these unpleasant moments in the film, I still enjoyed "BREAKING DAWN, PART II". Dear God, I cannot believe I said that. But I liked it. Aside from the more positive portrayals of Bella and Edward's characters and Jacob's relationship with Renesmee, there were other aspects of the movie I liked. Michael Sheen was deliciously over-the-top as the Voltari's leader, Aro. Billy Burke's portrayal of Charlie Swan was entertaining as ever. Due to the improvement over Bella and Edward's personalities, I was able to enjoy Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison's performances a lot more than I did in the previous movies. Taylor Lautner was great, as always. Maggie Grace was very effective as Irina Denali, the embittered vampire who had erroneously assumed that Renesmee was an under aged vampire. Both Lee Pace and Rami Malek provided a great deal of the movie's humor as two of the vampires who become among the Cullens' vampiric allies.

The movie's pièce de résistance proved to be the final battle between the Cullens' army of vampires and wolf shapeshifters and the Voltari's army. I have to hand it to director Bill Condon. He really outdid himself in this sequence. I found it even more impressive than director David Slade's handling of the protagonists' battle with Victoria's army of newborn vampires in 2010's "ECLIPSE". This sequence was enhanced by the plot twist that marked the end of the battle. It was a twist that struck me as well handled by both Condon and Rosenberg. In fact, I believe they did a better job of this sequence than Stephanie Meyer did in her novel.

Like I said . . . a part of me ended up happy that the "Twilight" film franchise had finally ended. I no longer have to face being coerced by my relatives in viewing any of these movies at the theater. However, another part of me is also relieved that franchise ended on a positive note. To my utter surprise, I found "BREAKING DAWN, PART II" to be rather entertaining, despite its flaws. More importantly, the movie featured an improvement on the characterizations of the two leading characters - Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. And the movie ended with a well written and well shot action sequence that provided a surprisingly effective plot twist. All I can say is . . . good job.

"BREAKING DAWN, PART I" (2011) Review

 

"BREAKING DAWN, PART I" (2011) Review

Over a decade ago, Warner Brothers Studios had decided to split its adaptation of J.K. Rowling's last HARRY POTTER novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" into two movie adaptations. The first was released in the fall of 2010 and the second half, during the summer of 2011. Apparently, the studio had decided to do the same with Stephanie Meyer's last TWILIGHT novel, "Breaking Dawn".

I had discovered that Meyer wrote the 2008 novel in three sections. The first section dealt with Bella Swan's marriage to vampire Edward Cullen and their honeymoon in Brazil. There, she discovers that she is pregnant and that her unborn child's growth is accelerating at a rapid pace. The second section dealt with shape-shifter Jacob Black's efforts to save Bella and her unborn child from the Quileute wolf pack, who believe that the child is a monster and poses a threat to the community. The child's birth nearly kills Bella and leads Jacob to "imprint" (or sense his "soul mate") upon her. And Edward saves Bella by turning her into a vampire. The final section dealt with Bella's transformation into a vampire; and the Cullens and Jacob's efforts to save the new baby named Renesmee from the Volturi, who sees her as a threat. This third section was adapted for "BREAKING DAWN, PART II". Melissa Rosenberg based the screenplay for "BREAKING DAWN, PART I" on the novel's first two sections.

How did I feel about "BREAKING DAWN, PART I"? I might as well be frank. It sucked. There. I said it. All right. There were a few aspects of the movie that I found entertaining. Billy Burke was funny as ever as Bella's sardonic father, Charlie Swan. However, not all of the humor came from him. I have to admit that the entire sequence featuring Bella and Edward's wedding struck me as rather funny. Taylor Lautner, as usual, made some sequences from the movie rather bearable. I realize that I am going to be slapped down for this, but his screen presence has grown rather considerably since he first appeared in 2008's "TWILIGHT". Both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison gave decent performances. But I was really impressed by Lautner. The final action sequence in which the Cullens, Jacob, Leah Clearwater and Seth Clearwater fought to protect Bella and her child from the Quileute wolf pack struck me as pretty exciting. However, the birth of Bella and Edward's child turned out to be one of the most tense and excruciating birth scenes I have ever seen on film. I never want to experience such a thing again. The only reason I had listed it as a virtue was because I thought it was well shot by director Bill Condon.

Despite the virtues I had listed in the previous paragraph, I still believe that "BREAKING DAWN, PART I" sucked. And I cannot decide whether it was the worst or second worst movie in the franchise. The movie had its share of overwrought dialogue and one-dimensional characterization that has marred the franchise since the beginning. Melissa Rosenberg has a lot to answer for. Since the adaptation of this last novel was divided into two films, moviegoers (who were not squeeing fangirls of the franchise) were forced to endure Edward and Bella's excruciating honeymoon in Brazil. God, what a torment that turned out to be! I realize that the honeymoon sequence was important to the story, considering that it featured Renesmee's conception and Bella's discovery of her unusual pregnancy. But was it really necessary to inflict a long and agonizing montage of the newly married couple cavorting on a private Brazilian island?

There is another aspect of "BREAKING DAWN, PART I" that really disturbs me. Why on earth did Charlie Swan's closest friend and Jacob's father, Billy Black, never warned Charlie about Edward's true identity? Now, I realize that such a revelation would have forced him to tell Charlie the truth about his family and tribe. But one would think that Bella's safety was more important. He kept his mouth shut when Edward and Bella first dated. And continued to remain silent when the young couple finally married. I hate to say this, but Billy Black's silence on the identity of the Cullen family continues to astound me to this day. One can only wonder how Charlie will react to Bella's transformation into a vampire.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed "BREAKING DAWN, PART I", but . . . who am I fooling? I disliked the film. Hell, I dislike the franchise. And no action sequence or tortuous childbirth scene could save this movie for me.

"BREAKING DAWN, PART I" (2011) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "BREAKING DAWN - PART I", the 2011 adaptation of the first half of Stephanie Meyers' 2008 novel. Directed by Bill Condon, the film starred Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner:

"BREAKING DAWN - PART I" (2011) Photo Gallery

"NEW MOON" (2009) Review

  

"NEW MOON" (2009) Review

The sequel to the 2008 box office hit, "TWILIGHT" was released in theaters, the following year. Based upon Stephanie Meyer’s 2006 novel and directed by Chris Weitz 2007’s "THE GOLDEN COMPASS"), ”NEW MOON” continued the story of Isabella "Bella" Swan, the Washington State teenager and her love for vampire Edward Cullen.

”NEW MOON” began several months after the 2008 film, with Bella celebrating her birthday. However, her life underwent a drastic change when she cut her finger during a birthday party held for her by her vampire boyfriend Edward and his family, the Cullens. Her blood attracted the attention of Edward’s brother, Jasper Hale, and he attacked Bella. Not long after Jasper’s attack, Edward informed Bella that he and the rest of the Cullen clan plan to leave Forks. Following his departure, Bella succumbed to depression for several months, until she renewed her friendship with Jacob Black, the son of her father’s Quileute friend. Unfortunately, Bella’s relationship with Jacob threatened to fall apart, when he fell in love with her despite her feelings for Edward and when he began to manifest into a werewolf – a natural enemy of vampires.

I had not been particularly kind in my review of "TWILIGHT". And in ”NEW MOON”, I noticed that some of the aspects I had disliked in the 2008 film were also apparent in this second film. The dialogue – especially between Bella and Edward – seemed as atrocious as ever. I found the movie’s 130-minute running time to be unnecessarily long. Bella and Edward’s relationship not only brought back bad memories of the romance between Buffy Summers and the vampire Angel during the first three seasons of Joss Whedon’s ”BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”, it also made me realize that William Shakespeare’s play, "ROMEO AND JULIET" might be overrated.

But what can one expect from adolescent love in fiction? If it caused young individuals to behave in the most ridiculous manner, then I can deal without it on my television screen or on a movie screen. And just to show how ridiculous adolescent angst was portrayed in this film, all I have to do is point out Edward and especially Bella’s behavior in ”NEW MOON”. For example, Bella sank into a depression for at least four to six months following Edward’s departure from Forks. Excessive much? She also risked her life with stupid acts that included accepting a ride from a group of bikers that reminded her of the bunch that nearly accosted her in ”TWILIGHT”, riding a motorcycle before Jacob could teach her, and engaging in bungee jumping without any elastic cord whatsoever. Why? Because Bella had discovered that thrill-seeking activities granted her visions of Edward. My God! What an infatuated moron! After Alice Cullen had a vision of Bella’s cliff jumping stunt, Edward assumed that his human ex-girlfriend had committed suicide and decided to kill himself by provoking the Volturi, a powerful coven of vampires, into killing him in Italy. What an idiot . . . you know what? Who wrote this shit?

And there were other aspects of the movie that bothered me. I never understood why Jacob and the rest of the werewolves in his pack found it necessary to walk around bare-chested, while in human form. If they were afraid of ruining their clothes, while transforming into werewolves, then they should have done without the shorts and tennis shoes as well. It would have made more sense. And I found the movie’s finale in Volterra, Italy to be a bore. Not only did I found Edward’s suicide attempt a waste of time, I also found his and Bella’s confrontation with the Voluturi vampire coven had seriously dragged the movie’s last half hour. Which also made me view this use of Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning in this sequence as a waste of their talents.

Surprisingly, ”NEW MOON” was not a complete exercise in torture for me. It had its moments. I have to give kudos to director Chris Weitz for the original way he had depicted Bella’s depression by revolving a camera around actress Kristen Stewart, as she sat in front of window, revealing views of the passage of time during a four-to-six-month period. Javier Aguirresarobe’s photography of the Pacific Northwest was just as impressive as Elliot Davis’ in the first film . . . and just as atmospheric. I can also say the same about his photography of Siena, Italy that served as the town of Volterra. Many of the interactions between Bella and Jacob seemed like a breath of fresh air, following the overwrought angst fest between her and Edward. With Jacob, she seemed so . . . normal. Relaxed. Until Jacob manifested into a werewolf and declared his love for her. Still . . . Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner had a natural screen chemistry that made me wish that Bella had chosen Jacob, instead of Edward.

I had been somewhat tolerant of Stewart’s screen chemistry with Robert Pattison in the first film. But after viewing ”NEW MOON”, my tolerance went by the way of the Dodo bird. I just found it so difficult to endure Bella and Edward’s moments together. Without Pattison around and during Bella’s saner moments, Kirsten Stewart gave a natural and competent performance. And she also did a good job in carrying the film on her shoulders. Graham Greene gave a subtle performance as Harry Clearwater, a Quileute tribal elder and friend of Bella's father, Charlie. I also found Billy Burke’s portrayal of Bella’s father, Charlie Swan, a little more impressive in this film – especially in a scene in which Charlie pleaded for Bella to break out of her depression. Dakota Fanning was impressively sinister as Volturi vampire Jane. And Michael Sheen gave an entertaining performance as Aro, the leader of the Volturi coven, even if I found his appearance, like that of Fanning, a waste of time. However, the performance that really impressed me came from Taylor Lautner, who portrayed Bella’s friend and newly manifested werewolf, Jacob Black. If I have to be honest, Lautner struck me as the movie’s true bright spot in an otherwise unimpressive film. He seemed like a natural and very relaxed actor. It seems a pity that his career has not gone any further since the "TWILIGHT" franchise ended. I also thought that he brought out the best in Stewart, allowing her to be more natural, relaxed and a lot less constipated.

When I first saw "NEW MOON" in the theater, my eyes had spotted a poster for the "TWILIGHT" saga's third film, ”ECLIPSE”, as I left. I must admit that I had not been looking forward to seeing it. But my sister (a fan of the movie, who is also familiar with Stephanie Meyer’s novels), informed me that the Jacob Black role was even bigger in this next film. After a re-watch, I will see if "ECLIPSE" proved to be a continuation of the mediocrity and annoying angst fest I had found in "TWILIGHT" and "NEW MOON".

"NEW MOON" (2009) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "NEW MOON", the 2009 adaptation of Stephanie Meyers' 2006 novel. Directed by Chris Weitz, the film starred Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner:




"NEW MOON" (2009) Photo Gallery

Top Five Favorite "HELL ON WHEELS" Season Two (2012) Episodes

Below is a list of my top five favorite Season Two episodes from the AMC series "HELL ON WHEELS". Created by Joe and Tony Gayton, the series stars Anson Mount, Colm Meany, Common and Dominique McElligott: 


TOP FIVE FAVORITE "HELL ON WHEELS" Season Two (2012) Episodes



1. (2.06) "Purged Away With Blood" - Thor Gundersen (aka "The Swede") and the Reverend Nathaniel Cole aid the Lakota in their war against the railroad with the hijacking of a Chicago-bound train.





2. (2.02) "Durant, Nebraska" - Businessman and investor Thomas "Doc" Durant discover that the Lakota had ransacked a town named after him and declared war on his railroad construction. Meanwhile, Cullen Bohannon is freed from an U.S. Army prison by an unlikely ally, following his brief stint as a robber.





3. (2.09) "Blood Moon" - While being interrogated by an Army officer, Cullen reveals the string of incidents that led to an attack on the Hell on Wheels by the Lakota. Matters come to a head between Elam Ferguson, former prostitute Eva and her new husband, Gregory Toole.





4. "Scabs" (2.04) - Following the torture of a railroad worker by the Lakota, the rail crews go on strike. Meanwhile, Eva announces her pregnancy to both Elam and Toole.





5. "The White Spirit" (2.07) - Gundersen returns to Hell on Wheels to help the widowed Lily Bell with the railroad's accounts - against Cullen's wishes, who wants to arrest him for the attack led by Reverend Cole.