Two Households, Alike in Dignity

I got back from seeing New Moon at around midnight. I immediately sat down to blog about it and found myself unable to string together any sentence more coherent than, "It was awesome!" Now that I've had a night to sleep on it, I'll try to do more than that.

First of all, I have to say it is a huge step up from the first film, it's funny, fairly well paced and well shot. The performances are stronger, particularly Kristin Stewart's. I was right in what I said about a year ago, Weitz's experience with teen sex comedies definitely made for some of the best scenes. The awkward trip to the movies where Bella finds she's on a date with Jacob and Mike at the same time, both unintentionally reads better and funnier than anything in Twilight. The decision to have the narration this time around be a result of emails that Bella is sending to Alice (always bounced back, but she uses them as a kind of journal) was brilliant and more engaging than just being in Bella's head.

I was impressed by the performances this time around. While I still find myself struggling with the Robert Pattinson/Ed Westwick method of hiding the English accent (I'm going to whisper whenever I start to slip!) Over all Pattinson's performance was more relaxed in this one than in the first. He seemed more at ease. Maybe it was just his lack of screen time that did it.

Like I said, Kristin Stewart really stepped up her game. She looks hollow and ghostlike during her depression, she is immediately at ease when she starts spending time with Jacob, and she's actually angry from time to time, even engaging. I have to admit I had my doubts about her being able to do anything but the awkwardness she played one note in the first film but she pulled it off. The "voting" scene, where Bella asks the Cullens their opinion on her becoming a vampire, she's downright assertive, a side of Bella that I didn't think she got across in Twilight, and one of my favorite aspects of the character. Once again, I no longer despair Breaking Dawn, I mean, I do, because I don't love it as much as the others, but I know that she'll be able to pull off Bella's changes. I wasn't sure before.

Taylor Lautner was unbelievable. As has been said by the cast in several interviews, he takes this movie and runs with it. From the moment he walked on screen he commands every scene. For one thing he comes on the scene much earlier, showing up at Forks High to give Bella a birthday present. When he hugs her and shoots Edward a dirty look over her shoulder, like a child playing with another kids toy without permission, it's wonderful. When Bella starts hanging out with him, he's giddy about it, just wanting to be with the girl who he's clearly been crushing on since childhood. The negotiations of their relative "ages" is one of my favorite parts of the book series and it's done beautifully here. The first time Bella sees Jacob after his transformation is heartbreaking. You see him fighting with everything he has to keep himself under control. The chemistry between Lautner and Stewart is wonderful, way better than the chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson.

OK, on to my favorite part, of both Twilight, and now New Moon. The smaller roles, and how good they were.

Billy Burke again steals all his scenes as Charlie Swann. He balances quiet intensity and goofy young dad-ness perfectly. When Bella disappears and Sam finds her the tenderness when he takes her from him is amazing.

Big points once again go to Anna Kendrick and Michael Welch, who execute Mike and Jessica with humor and heart. Kendrick is about to burst into her own with Up in The Air but her performance here is once again scene stealing, as she and Bella walk out of a movie theater together and she rambles about "What's wrong with consumerism? I like shopping!" I couldn't help laughing very very hard, not quite as hard as I do at this but still:

Anyway, she was great. Welch was also great, particularly in the movie scene that I described earlier.

The Wolf Pack was great, if underused. I understand people are there for the love triangle, but the depth of the minor characters is what I think takes the saga above what it should be. And I was also annoyed because The Volturi and the Cullens get that depth and the wolves don't.

Which brings us to the Volturi. The scenes in Volterra were captivating, Dakota Fanning was terrfying and Michael Sheen did an excellent impression of Tom Cruise in Interview With A Vampire. The scene was amazing, particularly a special effect when Felix cracked Edwards head against the marble floor. I can't even begin to explain it.

The final confrontation between Bella, Jacob and Edward was cutting. And ending it exactly as Edward proposed rather than showing the argument between the pair was a brilliant way to bring excitement from Eclipse. Which is coming June 20. Seven months. There was already a teaser poster in the lobby of the theater. I'm excited, to say the least.

So overall, though it has it's problems, New Moon is a better put together and cleaner film than Twilight. The action got stepped up and I have high hopes for Eclipse, it's my favorite book in the series, so I'm prepped for disappointment.