"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"
Movie Monday & Miss M
Miss M spent most of the week sleeping so I thought this picture would be appropriate. She's gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks and except for her play times, she spend a lot of time asleep. If it's like kids, I'm expecting a really big growth spurt.
She's been to outdoor dining at restaurants and has been welcomed into retail stores (carried at this age) wearing her Service Dog in Training bandanna. One task in this first year is to acclimate her to as many out-of-the-house settings as possible.
I, when I act as alpha dog, wind up being "walked" by her from the back lawn to the front lawn. She likes to walk me by grabbing my skirt hem and pulling it as a leash. Oh, I can see Ceasar Millan (the great Dog Whisperer) shaking his head in disapproval.
And now, on to Movie Monday.
Watching State of Play (Crowe, Affleck, Mirren) in the very early hours of Sunday, I thought that would be my review today but I'm going to stay with my first choice: New Moon.
First, as the movie world probably knows, Catherine Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz as director on this second movie in the saga. And, I found out late that Twilight editor, Nancy Richardson, was replaced by Peter Lambert.
Not only did I watch New Moon last week, but the girl and I then found time to sit through the director and editor commentary on movie. You know, when they replay the entire movie with voice-over how-it-was-done comments but no movie dialogue.
Weitz, who directed The Golden Compass, and Lambert seem like OK guys, but did any see Weitz's Golden Compass before hiring him?
Visually, TGC is stunning but its theme is seriously lacking a soul (and no pun intended in that Pullman [the author of the book] is an atheist.) Things happen in TGC but you are never drawn into the angst.
Weitz brings the same failing to New Moon.
When I first encountered Twilight, as I've said, I knew very little about the story yet Hardwicke and Richardson carried me through the plot and made me care about the protagonists.
Weitz and Lambert carry me through the plot (and carry me on and on and on through the plot) but I just don't care, except when.........
Fellows, the story belongs to Edward and Bella. OK, I know that Jacob plays a crucial role in the saga but the fanstsy romance is not his. Yes, I know that Pattinson and Stewart are too young to have the acting chops to carry this fantasy but they seem to have a physical chemistry (hey, guys, don't start on sexual orientation rumors; that's why they call it acting) which makes their presence together riveting.
That's why the beginning and end of New Moon work. Edward and Bella meet only at these sections of the movie; in the middle Bella and Jacob interact and does that middle section drag. (Even the girl, who is Team Jacob, agreed - so using Republican statistics that one person who dislikes Obama is equal to 5 million people who like him, you've got your proof.)
Now, I understand after reading Eclipse and Breaking Dawn that really not much happens in the entire 2000+ page saga. Action-wise, in Twilight you have James stalking Bella; in New Moon, you have Laurent threatening Bella and Edward at the Volturi; in Eclipse, you have the battle with Victoria and the newborns; and in Breaking Dawn, you have Bella's pregnancy (OK, I'm including this because of its oddity) and the non-battle with the Volturi when they come to the US for a visit.
Outside of that, for plot/theme, you have Edward's lips on Bella's and the saga's continual cliff-hanger of: Will she seduce him before she marries him?
I'm not going to go into the logistics of how Bella maintains her virginity through three novels especially since she 's eager to lose it but I think you'll agree that with such a plot/theme you need Edward and Bella together because you need SEXUAL TENSION.
Let me tell you the few things I really liked about New Moon:
1. Edward and Bella together.
2. The room pans to show the months passing after Edward leaves and Bella sits catatonic in her room.
3. The shots of the wolf's eye (really Jacob) after the morphing. First, when Edward is away, you see only the reflection of Bella. In the end, the eye reflects both Bella and Edward. That was a great touch.
4. The Volturi scene. Michael Sheen (with no trace of his David Frost role) ate up the scenery. (Dakota Fanning was adequate; I can't see the praise for such a small role.)
5. The disturbing scene when the tourists are led in for the Volturi's lunch. It reinforced the fact that these vampires were in no way Carlisle's "vegetarian" types. But fellows, there were kids in that happy meal - not funny.
6. Jacob's first morph into a wolf.
7. Jessica. Anna Kendrick is such a natural and a scene-stealer.
8. The Cullens.
And now, what I disliked: the "watching paint dry" middle of the movie when Edward does the noble thing (when doesn't he always knowingly do the noble thing?) and leaves Bella so he won't hurt her except unknown to him this gives her a whooper of a nervous breakdown.
That middle section really needed a good editor. Take a look back at Twilight. Hardwicke/Richardson didn't have an extra scene yet they were able to avoid the tableau-style scene progression; the story flowed. In New Moon, the Jacob/Bella/biker-danger seeking/back to school/werewolf/Laurent/etc. section was soooooooo long.
And that's sad because I really think it only needed a faster pace. As I said, the room pan scene was right-on so the ideas were there but not their execution.
So, in case, you're still confused about my reaction to New Moon - I think I'll only be watching this movie again while using the scene selection feature on the menu.
I'll leave you with some, perhaps, good news: Nancy Richardson is returning as an editor for Eclipse. Chris Weitz has been replaced by David Slade (30 Days of Night) and Howard Shore (LOTR!!!!) is scoring Eclipse.
That's it for the Twilight Saga until Eclipse opens this summer. Though I think I'll tackle Breaking Dawn, the final novel, soon from the angle: How do you present sexual intercourse to pre-teens? Obviously, not in the way you would present it to adults, I think. Though to be sure about that I may have to finally crack the spine on Nora Roberts novel.
See you next week.
Miss M spent most of the week sleeping so I thought this picture would be appropriate. She's gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks and except for her play times, she spend a lot of time asleep. If it's like kids, I'm expecting a really big growth spurt.She's been to outdoor dining at restaurants and has been welcomed into retail stores (carried at this age) wearing her Service Dog in Training bandanna. One task in this first year is to acclimate her to as many out-of-the-house settings as possible.
I, when I act as alpha dog, wind up being "walked" by her from the back lawn to the front lawn. She likes to walk me by grabbing my skirt hem and pulling it as a leash. Oh, I can see Ceasar Millan (the great Dog Whisperer) shaking his head in disapproval.
And now, on to Movie Monday.
Watching State of Play (Crowe, Affleck, Mirren) in the very early hours of Sunday, I thought that would be my review today but I'm going to stay with my first choice: New Moon.
First, as the movie world probably knows, Catherine Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz as director on this second movie in the saga. And, I found out late that Twilight editor, Nancy Richardson, was replaced by Peter Lambert.
Not only did I watch New Moon last week, but the girl and I then found time to sit through the director and editor commentary on movie. You know, when they replay the entire movie with voice-over how-it-was-done comments but no movie dialogue.
Weitz, who directed The Golden Compass, and Lambert seem like OK guys, but did any see Weitz's Golden Compass before hiring him?
Visually, TGC is stunning but its theme is seriously lacking a soul (and no pun intended in that Pullman [the author of the book] is an atheist.) Things happen in TGC but you are never drawn into the angst.
Weitz brings the same failing to New Moon.
When I first encountered Twilight, as I've said, I knew very little about the story yet Hardwicke and Richardson carried me through the plot and made me care about the protagonists.
Weitz and Lambert carry me through the plot (and carry me on and on and on through the plot) but I just don't care, except when.........
Fellows, the story belongs to Edward and Bella. OK, I know that Jacob plays a crucial role in the saga but the fanstsy romance is not his. Yes, I know that Pattinson and Stewart are too young to have the acting chops to carry this fantasy but they seem to have a physical chemistry (hey, guys, don't start on sexual orientation rumors; that's why they call it acting) which makes their presence together riveting.
That's why the beginning and end of New Moon work. Edward and Bella meet only at these sections of the movie; in the middle Bella and Jacob interact and does that middle section drag. (Even the girl, who is Team Jacob, agreed - so using Republican statistics that one person who dislikes Obama is equal to 5 million people who like him, you've got your proof.)
Now, I understand after reading Eclipse and Breaking Dawn that really not much happens in the entire 2000+ page saga. Action-wise, in Twilight you have James stalking Bella; in New Moon, you have Laurent threatening Bella and Edward at the Volturi; in Eclipse, you have the battle with Victoria and the newborns; and in Breaking Dawn, you have Bella's pregnancy (OK, I'm including this because of its oddity) and the non-battle with the Volturi when they come to the US for a visit.
Outside of that, for plot/theme, you have Edward's lips on Bella's and the saga's continual cliff-hanger of: Will she seduce him before she marries him?
I'm not going to go into the logistics of how Bella maintains her virginity through three novels especially since she 's eager to lose it but I think you'll agree that with such a plot/theme you need Edward and Bella together because you need SEXUAL TENSION.
Let me tell you the few things I really liked about New Moon:
1. Edward and Bella together.
2. The room pans to show the months passing after Edward leaves and Bella sits catatonic in her room.
3. The shots of the wolf's eye (really Jacob) after the morphing. First, when Edward is away, you see only the reflection of Bella. In the end, the eye reflects both Bella and Edward. That was a great touch.
4. The Volturi scene. Michael Sheen (with no trace of his David Frost role) ate up the scenery. (Dakota Fanning was adequate; I can't see the praise for such a small role.)
5. The disturbing scene when the tourists are led in for the Volturi's lunch. It reinforced the fact that these vampires were in no way Carlisle's "vegetarian" types. But fellows, there were kids in that happy meal - not funny.
6. Jacob's first morph into a wolf.
7. Jessica. Anna Kendrick is such a natural and a scene-stealer.
8. The Cullens.
And now, what I disliked: the "watching paint dry" middle of the movie when Edward does the noble thing (when doesn't he always knowingly do the noble thing?) and leaves Bella so he won't hurt her except unknown to him this gives her a whooper of a nervous breakdown.
That middle section really needed a good editor. Take a look back at Twilight. Hardwicke/Richardson didn't have an extra scene yet they were able to avoid the tableau-style scene progression; the story flowed. In New Moon, the Jacob/Bella/biker-danger seeking/back to school/werewolf/Laurent/etc. section was soooooooo long.
And that's sad because I really think it only needed a faster pace. As I said, the room pan scene was right-on so the ideas were there but not their execution.
So, in case, you're still confused about my reaction to New Moon - I think I'll only be watching this movie again while using the scene selection feature on the menu.
I'll leave you with some, perhaps, good news: Nancy Richardson is returning as an editor for Eclipse. Chris Weitz has been replaced by David Slade (30 Days of Night) and Howard Shore (LOTR!!!!) is scoring Eclipse.
That's it for the Twilight Saga until Eclipse opens this summer. Though I think I'll tackle Breaking Dawn, the final novel, soon from the angle: How do you present sexual intercourse to pre-teens? Obviously, not in the way you would present it to adults, I think. Though to be sure about that I may have to finally crack the spine on Nora Roberts novel.
See you next week.
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