Twilight Saga: New moon

Jon Starr

Jon Starr

Veteran
Okay, so I went to see it with my GF. She didn't have to twist my arm. I saw the previous one and it was pretty bad, but parts of it were so-so. With a new director I was hoping it might be a bit better... but I was wrong.

Apparently it followed the source material pretty well, if that's the case I have to really question the source material. Now I can tell it was directed a lot better, and that certain things that bugged me about the first one (like the crazy jumping and running) worked ten times better in this one.

But, to be honest, I wanted to kill myself throughout most of the movie. It was the same convoluted dribble the whole way through. Not only was Bella depressed throughout 90% of the movie (to the point where I was surprised she just didn't kill herself), but the rest of it was filled with two guys constantly taking off their shirts and saying two things "I'll always protect you" and "I'll be with you forever" at least 100 times each in various different ways... and that was pretty much the story...

It's like the author just doesn't know what conflict is, or how to make something fresh and interesting. It's playing with depressing emotions and dragging it through the entire story, hoping girls will follow along, and they do. Then there's the characters... like Edward, who I just didn't get. He was such a mystery, he did things throughout the entire film and I didn't get WHY. It was just an excuse for the author to create conflict. He had no reason to leave or to not grant her request for immortality... but they made something up, or it just wasn't clear why, and it kind of made me confused and unsure of what was going on and why things were happening. Then the ending came and Edwards motives just flipped 180. Awful writing...

This is obviously a story for 12 year old girls, but it concerns me. It's basically telling them "it's okay to revolve your entire life around 1 guy and do everything for him." He's her life, and it's kind of scary...

*sigh*
 
The "saga" won't last beyond the third film. I have never even seen the original, but from what I have read and heard continuously, I'm not missing much...and apparently missing even less from the sequel.

On a personal note, Pattison looks the beginning of the Downs Evolution.

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I've always said he looks like a gopher.

It'll go well past the third film... unfortunately I've heard many young girls explain twilight as being "OMG it's the most amazing movie ever! Rob Pattison is sooo hot!!" These are the same girls I'm concerned about.

Lukily my GF doesn't think he's hot... yet she still wants to see the sequels on opening day. Even filmmaker friends (grown women), they say the books and movies are aweful, but something still draws them to it.
 
Jon Starr said:
Even filmmaker friends (grown women), they say the books and movies are aweful, but something still draws them to it.
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The Twilight books are basically romance novels, and romance novels succeed because they tell immature girls and women what they want to hear, they they are special, and some day someone will come along and recognize their specialness and sweep them away to protect them from the cruel harsh world. It makes for bad fiction and movies because they are often centered around passive heroines who are controlled by external events instead of being proactive. The best of them, like say a Titanic, have a heroine who is both controlled by powerful external events, yet has to make her own emotinal and physical choices inside that context.
 
Not really sure what you guys are talking about, this movie is awesome!

I thought the character development was sincere, the acting believable and Kristen Stewat, meeow. I can only hope they keep the momentum going for the other two sequels.

What more is that, just kidding, this movie is jackass. made ya look!
 
Jon Starr said:
...
Apparently it followed the source material pretty well, if that's the case I have to really question the source material. Now I can tell it was directed a lot better, and that certain things that bugged me about the first one (like the crazy jumping and running) worked ten times better in this one.

But, to be honest, I wanted to kill myself throughout most of the movie. It was the same convoluted dribble the whole way through. Not only was Bella depressed throughout 90% of the movie (to the point where I was surprised she just didn't kill herself), but the rest of it was filled with two guys constantly taking off their shirts and saying two things "I'll always protect you" and "I'll be with you forever" at least 100 times each in various different ways... and that was pretty much the story...

It's like the author just doesn't know what conflict is, or how to make something fresh and interesting. It's playing with depressing emotions and dragging it through the entire story, hoping girls will follow along, and they do. ...
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Stephen King agrees with your assessment of the source material:

"Both J.K. Rowling and Meyer, they're speaking directly to young people... The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good."

And the reason it's popular:

"People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual."

"A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that's a shorthand for all the feelings that they're not ready to deal with yet."

article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29001524
 
I miss the old 'Lost Boys'... Twighlight is a money making machine!

Cheers to the man that wanted to build up Summit for a personal favor to his friend! That's how fast a $1 Billion dollar franchise happens in hollywood.
 
Sorry, just trying to hit 2,500 posts.

Twighlight $135M weekend... LOL :)
 
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Jon Starr said:
... unfortunately I've heard many young girls explain twilight as being "OMG it's the most amazing movie ever! Rob Pattison is sooo hot!!" These are the same girls I'm concerned about.
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What's more disturbing, by far, are the throngs of middle-aged women who do this.
 
I'm not a huge Twilight fan, or anything, but I did find this, about the backlash against it, which I found pretty interesting. From Nightmarebrunette on Tumblr:

We are used to seeing straight men’s goofy, unrealistic sexual fantasies. They are everywhere, all the time. Beer commercials, magazines, Michael Bay movies, porn obviously. We’re used to having female characters flattened out, falsified, emptied out and filled up again with a boundless desire to satisfy men’s needs for no apparent reason. We’re used to the fact that straight male sexual fantasy scenarios (or, at least, sexual fantasies marketed to straight men: and, hey, a lot of dudes are buying them) are cartoonish, in poor taste, unsophisticated, weird.

But when girls do the exact same thing – when they prove themselves capable of the exact same sort of objectification, and the exact same goofiness or tackiness or unrealistic fantasy in the name of getting off – well, it freaks people out. It’s weird. Why are they acting like this?
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David Jimerson said:
What's more disturbing, by far, are the throngs of middle-aged women who do this.
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Aw, C'mon. Look at all the middle aged men who talk about silly action films, superhero films, sexist, etc. They make it a hobby and take it VERY seriously. I think that judging the people who are watching this film is very hypocritical. Everyone who does should look back on their post count in the film discussion forum and look at all the comments they have made on some pretty juvenile films over the years.

As much as it pains me to say it, I agree with the comment in the previous post.

I will probably, begrudgingly watch this with my wife, but will not judge her for wanting to see it so badly.
 
It would be hypocritical if I thought it was less disturbing for the men. :)

However, the one difference I would point out is that everyone grew up with Batman (or Spider-Man, or whatever). Twilight was written recently, for teenagers.
 
I was in line for Transformers 2 (Yes, I knew what I was getting into) and I knew for a fact that huge %'ages of the guys there...were only there to see Megan Fox so...it swings both ways.

Just as ridiculous IMO.
 
KyleProhaska said:
I was in line for Transformers 2 (Yes, I knew what I was getting into) and I knew for a fact that huge %'ages of the guys there...were only there to see Megan Fox so...it swings both ways.

Just as ridiculous IMO.
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Unfortunately, I somehow convinced myself to endure both Transformers films. Granted, I at least knew what to expect with the sequel, and had some fun watching the epilepsy-inducing action scenes. Everything else about that film was just ridiculous and a disappointment though. Michael Bay can do so much better (The Rock, Pearl Harbor, The Island).

As for the Twilight films and books, I've neither read nor watched any of it, but I do agree with the notion that it is hypocritical for many of us (dudes) to criticize teenage girls and some women about liking it when many of us like all kinds of over the top superhero and action films (myself included). Granted, with any fanbase, there will always be some out of control wackos like the middle aged women who get a little too worked up about the young stars in these films, but I would wager that most of them keep things under control and just enjoy the books and films.

I will admit though, that if I had to choose between watching either Transformers films again or seeing a Twilight film, I'd choose the latter. At least I could laugh at its silliness if it did indeed live up to its infamous reputation as being bad storytelling and silly wish fulfillment romance pap.
 
Nektonic said:
As for the Twilight films and books, I've neither read nor watched any of it, but I do agree with the notion that it is hypocritical for many of us (dudes) to criticize teenage girls and some women about liking it when many of us like all kinds of over the top superhero and action films (myself included).
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I think the difference is that the tendencies in romance fiction and films are antithetical to good drama. They rely on passive protagonists and deux ex machinas to propel their plots. The stories happen to them, not because of them. Superhero films are fantasies of power. They tell immature boys and men what they want to hear, that they can defeat any foe they meet and screw any woman. But they are usually centered around protagonists who pursue their goals proactively and propel the story forward due to their actions. That's why they tend to make for better movies.
 
David Jimerson said:
What's more disturbing, by far, are the throngs of middle-aged women who do this.
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Yes, but they're simply enjoying it. Young teenagers and pre-teens are enjoying it, but also may (and probably are) influenced by it. Because as much as we, media producers, want to believe we're not influencing minds, we are.

So this is telling girls what? They can revolve their lives around one guy? This is why people have unrealistic notions about what romance and relationships are. This is why people will become overly depressed to the brink of suicide after a break-up, just like Bella in 90% of the movie. She was pretty much willing to die than to be alone, and in the end she didn't find herself or anything. The only thing that happened was the guy came back. And she rejected the other guy that stuck around. And on top of that, at the end she wants to leave her life (and possibly ruin her relationship with her father) just to be with him, and I'm guessing she does... I think my gf says she does...

I mean I get it, I get why they like it. I'm not saying 'hey, why do people like this stuff?", I'm just saying it's poorly written and too influential to young girls. Not because of it's sexual conotations, but because of what it says about relationships.
 
I'm sure plenty of our 'guy' movies provide less than stellar moral guidance. Come on! We can groan when we get dragged to watch it, but we can't say they shouldn't be watching it! I think the quote I posted above nails it...every gender's fantasies are a little strange to the other, but what are we going to do about it? Women have been powerfully affected by tragic romances for ages, and they are stronger and more in control of their lives than they ever were, so if some primal corner of their minds' craves the same sort of fantasy, let them have it!

I figure this sort of attitude gets a few lady friends off my back...they can't gripe about me pursing emotionally shallow relationships with multiple gorgeous latinas, as I'd be more than happy to see them locked in a boring, moping, deadly trio with a vampire and a werewolf if that's what really tickled their fancies!
 
Jon Starr said:
Yes, but they're simply enjoying it. Young teenagers and pre-teens are enjoying it, but also may (and probably are) influenced by it. Because as much as we, media producers, want to believe we're not influencing minds, we are.
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Just talking about the obsessive ones. If there are any middle-aged guys out there standing in line to pick up the latest Transformers, then that's just as bad.

As for the influence on the girls, it's crossed my mind, but it's actually nothing new. When was the rebel, even the stalker-ish rebel, NOT a big thing in popular culture, and when did teenage girls NOT swoon over them?

The same complaint was raised about Titanic, for example.
 
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