Sunday, November 22, 2009

NewMoonNewMoonNewMoon

Ladies and... more ladies (seriously, any boy reading this blog should have his head checked), I have finally gotten my butt in gear for an official New Moon Review.

The reason it's taken me this long to put my thoughts down is because I really didn't know how to organize my thoughts.... so I think I am just going to state my "Yay's" and "Nay's". (I realize that I probably shouldn't have apostrophes in Yay and Nay but they look weird otherwise, so let's go with it, shall we?)

Me with the BFFs

I'll start with the negatives so we can end on a positive note.

The Nay's

  • The one-liners. If you haven't read New Moon the book, it's a slow read. In fact, when I convinced one of my BFFs to read the series, she tried to quit during New Moon. It's a slow and painful read. That being said, I think this new (male) director was trying to turn what is basically a teenage romance into some male-centric slapstick flick. I did not wait in line for 1.5 hours to watch The Hangover, or some such boy movie. Thankyouverymuch.
  • Jasper's hair. Or maybe it was just Jasper in general. Either way, his hair was weirdly poufed and his expressions were much more genuine-looking in Twilight. He's downright freakish-looking in this movie.
  • Not enough time with the Volturi. I think that they did a great job with the Italy stuff... I enjoyed every single second. But I would have liked a bit more description and explanation of who the different characters were. Also, in the book is described the Volturi as ancient and fragile looking, which I didn't really see in the short scenes they were in. More Volturi, please!
  • Edward, I missed you. In short, there wasn't enough romance between Edward and Bella - but that's how it appears in the books so I guess I can't complain. I'll just start my countdown to Eclipse.
  • The bright, sunny tone. To me, this movie seemed particularly bright. After the weirdly-dark cinematography on Twilight, I was almost squinting into the brightness of New Moon (that, and the fact that it was past my bedtime...). New Moon the book was particularly dark and bleak, especially in the beginning, so the brightness of the movie was a bit... odd. Mostly, it was just a big difference from Twilight... but I guess that's what happens when you put in a new director (or was it a producer? whatever).
I think that's about all the negatives I saw... obviously I liked the movie.

The Yay's

  • Taylor Lautner. I've said it once and I'll say it again - his acting was phenominal. I was blown away by the depth of his character and just his excellent acting. He seemed like an actor who had been in dozens and dozens of films. His emotion was absolutely perfect. And the romance between he and Bella? WOW. I didn't think I'd ever be interested in that plotline, but in the end I was begining to wish the movie had taken it a bit further. I was hooked by his romance and if I hadn't googled him and found out he was born in freakin 1992 then I'd be all over that.

  • The Vampire Makeup. All of the Cullens looked MUCH more natural in this movie - much less chalky and weird. I still think a couple of them could be improved (Carlisle!), but overall they were much more natural looking.
  • Taylor Lautner's Abs. God bless his fitness coach. He is de-licious. And jailbait.
(Photo Source)
  • The Acting. Kristen Stewart acted SO much better in this movie - she actually brought a lot of interest to Bella, in my opinion. Go Kristen! I've already covered Taylor, but he brought.it. Definitely an award winning performance on his part.
  • Bella and Edward reuniting in Italy. When he said "Heaven?" - I thought I was going to burst into tears. It was seriously the perfect moment. Loved it.
  • The special effects and the digital effects were much better in New Moon than in Twilight. They were just more professional and you could tell New Moon had a bigger budget. Excellent.
  • Kristen Stewart was SO PRETTY. I was not a huge fan of her Twilight performance so I was expecting to be disappointed by her in New Moon, but she definitely improved. The first scene she was on camera I was trying to figure out how they had changed her to make her so pretty... whatever they did, it worked!
Overall, I'm a huge fan of the books so of course I liked the movie. It's fun to see something that I enjoyed reading come to life on the big screen.

That being said, New Moon was the worst of the books, so I'm hoping that the movies continue to improve from here.

I'll give New Moon, the movie, a grade of: B.

Not the best, but defintiely not the worst movie I've ever seen.

Now, there are 219 days until Eclipse... how am I going to pass the time until then?

(Oh yeah, by going and seeing New Moon over and over until it's out of theaters).

So what did you think of New Moon??

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20 Classy Comments:

MLC84 said...

I agree with you that this was the worst book in the series. Hopefully it only gets better from here. Taylor Lautner is definitely JAILBAIT! Yum!! Those abs and arms :-) He'll be 18 soon so it's okay.

Christine said...

Oh I'm so glad you said what you did abotu Kristen! I did not like her acting in the first movie I thought I just had high hopes...but whatever happened she did much better in this movie. And Taylor is gorgeous...I really wanted more to happen with him because now i'm much more partial to him!!

Jenn@ The Crazies said...

As Team Cullen here I was thoroughly depressed all 4 times I read the book. I am an avid reader and actually bought and read the first 2 books before they became the phenomena they are now. I adored most of the movie and really FELT the pain that Jacob feels being 2nd to Edward. The last scene in which she has to make it clear to jake that it was always Edward... I felt my heart break where as in the book I had a hard time feeling anything for jake as I was so glad the cullens were back... thanks for your take on it...

Perpetual Prep said...

Thanks for the review :) Hubby and I are going to see it this afternoon (well, I'm MAKING him go see it :)). Have a great day!
sHp

Heather said...

I was definately Team Edward going into the movie, but going out I think I might've converted to Team Jacob. As in the words of my cousin "I could just lick his abs." He was just so smokin' hot in this movie, haha.

Cheerful Homemaker said...

I liked the movie. "Fortunately" I've only been able to get through New Moon twice (I skip from where Edward leaves her in the woods to where Alice shows back up), so I can't remember enough of the book to dislike the differences. I liked the vampire's makeup, but not the lips (which you know). I wish there'd been more Bella/Edward romance in this one. He always looked like he was about to cry or vomit.

allison said...

I think they made Edward seem unappealing because of his old man attire. He was wearing a sport coat and dress pants all the time. I mean really...make me attracted to the man...Who the hell wasn't drooling over Jacob?

KAC said...

I totally agree that the acting and makeup were SO much better than the first and O.M.G about Taylor Lautner (I feel so creepy saying that about a 17 year old haha) Definitely still Team Edward though!

G said...

I'm with you and slightly more on they Nay side. I'm posting my experience on Monday. Following now!!

Mrs.Espo said...

Well....I had a problem with their eyes! Did you notice them? In Twilight they were regular....and now they are....well....yellow/glowy/gross...just saying...HATED the eyes!

Megan said...

LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with all you said.

beckylbranch said...

Look at you girls in your shirts!!! I am not reading your review yet, so I had to hide my eyes!!! I am going to see the movie with Bon Bon on Tuesday so I don't know if you had any spoilers....but I'll come back and read your blog again after...I think this one is going to be my least favorite movie b/c Edward is not in it and I REALLY hope they make Breaking Dawn or I will be so sad!

Erin said...

I completely agree with your movie review! I would also add that some of the music selection wasn't my favorite (Twilight's music hooked me immediately, even if the movie wasn't fabulous), but nonetheless this was a wonderful movie!

rita said...

You're much more eloquent than I am; when asked how I felt about the movie, all I could say is, WOW! I didn't see the first one in the theater, so it was really a treat to see the actors on a big screen.

I, too, thought that New Moon was too bright. It really doesn't capture the tone of the whole movie. It's dark and depressing and sad, and this, without the vampires, was just too sunny/light.

I thought that the new director did a really good job overall. There are some things missing, not enough focus on the Voluri, which was huge in the book, pretty much nothing after they returned from Italy, just jump to "marry me".

Makeup was better, but Jasper just looks constipated and silly. That hair, those lips; not attractive at all. I thought Carlisle looked slightly more lifelike. Edward didn't have red ears this time around!

The eyes? Just how I pictured them. They're amber when they're not hungry, so that didn't bother me.

I came away with a definite appreciation of Taylor's....acting. Let's leave it at that. On the fence now!

All in all, I was very pleased with the experience. I plan to repeat it as soon as possible!

the girl in the red shoes said...

I totally here you on Jasper. He creeped me out! And more Volturi please! They were my favorite part of the movie!

Mrs. Hanson said...

Totally with you on e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!!!!!! :) YAY!!! But I have a truth... I drooled over Edward the WHOLE time. I am so obsessed right now it is sickening. YIKES!

Leslie said...

I agree completely!

A friend asked me how it was and I said "The acting was better, the special effects were better, and Jacob is so HOT!"

PS. I am 28. That kid is definitely jailbait. I am too young to be a cougar!

Andhari said...

1. But I still hate K-Stew. She looks vomituos still! :P

2. YUMMY LAUTNER! I'm so Team Jacob in the movies.

3. Bigger budget makes the movie brighter but so much better, I bet.

CIP said...

Eeeeeks, I haven't seen it yet! What is wrong with me?!?!

Jen said...

Another Team Jacob convert here! I was so impressed with Taylor's portrayal of the character. He captured what the book was unable to. Loved it!

Why can't they get Carlisle's makeup right?! He is always so creepy looking!

Can't wait for Eclipse!!

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