Friday, December 11, 2009
C2R’s New Moon Review
I wanted to see New Moon…oh 5 or 6 times before I actually wrote a review. If I had written one right after I saw the movie the first time it would have consisted mostly of: OMFG!!! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE, and no one really wants to read multiple paragraphs of that.
Before I saw the movie we gave Chris Weitz the RobstenLove.com endorsement to direct Breaking Dawn based on the trailers & stills we had seen. We also threatened to totally cancel that meaningless sought-after endorsement if he fucked the movie up in some way that wasn’t apparent at the time. We’re happy to report that we’re more than satisfied with New Moon, and in fact give it 16 thumbs up (that’s 2 thumbs for every member of our staff & my husband.) There is a fair amount of Weitz Lust around these parts. Ok, so the lust might be all me; but there is DEFINITELY Weitz Love. We were thinking about making ChrisWeitzLove.com but there really aren’t enough hours in the day. So I guess I’ll have to settle for writing you a really glowing review…
…because it was SO MUCH BETTER THAN TWILIGHT. Don’t misunderstand: of course I liked Twilight. It was the movie that brought this entire phenomenon to my attention. Yet the best thing about Twilight was undoubtedly Rob & Stew. Without going into all the things that were wrong with Twilight: there was a lot more good shit in New Moon than just my favorite duo.
It was as true to the book as a movie adaptation can get. None of the pivotal moments were left-out, and the things they DID add I thought were brilliantly done. For example, the “apparitions” of Edward I thought were a good addition for the movie format. However, it would have been nice had they included an explanation at the end somewhere for why she was hallucinating. People who know nothing about the books are going to be like “Why was he appearing in a cloud of smoke? Did he know what was happening to her? Is that one of his super-powers? Is she insane?” But that is such a minor detail that its barely worth mentioning.
The rotating window scene to the super-fucking depressing song as the months roll by was the PERFECT way to illustrate the catatonic months of the book. I just knew they would use that song for that period. The emails to Alice were a heartbreaking way to narrate Bella’s inner dialogue and anguish. Awesome.
Billy Burke is…the man. Dude’s charisma and magnetism is just ridiculous. Anna Kendrick (Jessica) & Michael Welch (Mike) were both hilarious. But the performance I was most surprised & impressed by was Taylor Lautner’s. Jailbait is actually quite perfect for Jacob. Who knew? Shutup OTW. I was captivated by his acting skillz, and his physical prowess. That scaling the house thing into Bella’s window was epic.
I wasn’t as impressed with the rest of the Wolf Pack. Something hysterical I made note of: you never see Jacob & the rest of the wolves shirtless in the same shot together. The obvious reason being that Taylor Lautner is WAY buffer than the rest of them. Eat your wheaties boys. But the WOLVES themselves, you know the CGI bit, was very impressive. WOW. They weren’t hokey-looking or cheesy at all. Very realistic. When Sam-wolf steps into the clearing and figuratively whips-it-out for Laurent I always get a NICE chill down my spine. Even my husband was excited by the wolves. The fight between Paul & Jacob was a lot of fun to watch; as was watching the wolves pursue Victoria through the forest.
…speaking of Victoria. I’d like to have a moment of silence for Rachelle Lefevre…
I’m not going to be bitchy about Bryce Dallas Howard. I’m sure she’s a lovely actress, and I’m sure she’ll play a lovely Victoria. I liked her in The Village. However, I will admit to being crushed by Rachelle being fired. I really liked Rachelle as Victoria and I thought she was incredible in New Moon even though she didn’t utter a single word. When my husband was watching the movie he was practically squirming in his seat while he watched Rachelle fly through the forest being pursued by the wolves. When he found out she wouldn’t be in Eclipse he almost cried. It just won’t be the same without you Rachelle 
In my soundtrack review I remember calling Thom Yorke a pretentious, formulaic bastard…and that is still true. However, that crappy song was perfect for Victoria’s flight. So congratz, I guess.
It was very exciting to finally get to the Volturi stuff in the series. Michael Sheen is SO WONDERFUL, and even better as Aro than I imagined he would be. Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl) was a bit weird. I wouldn’t have expected him to speak at all. Cameron Bright (Alec) is going to be very, very pretty when he’s, um *coughs* older, and Dakota Fanning was a VERY good choice for Jane.
Kristen Stewart, as usual, is a brilliant actress. I’m so glad she is Bella, and I can’t think of a single actress who could do it better. I thought the love between Bella and Jake was palpable, and yet obviously not as intense as the stuff between her and Edward.
Oh Robward. You were onscreen such a short time yet the way Chris did the movie you felt like such a huge part of it anyway. You broke our hearts in th
e forest, and in the reunion you put us all back together again. The fight sequence between you and Felix (Daniel Cudmore) got me going a little (not in the same way it gets Ever going). I cannot wait to see Fightward in Eclipse when he rips Victoria’s head off. That should be a much more epic battle…considering it was actually written in the story. Holy unnecessary fight sequence batman, but cool none the less.
I thought I’d save the little nitpicks/beefs for the very end, and squish them all into one little paragraph, because this review is supposed to be a love-letter to Chris Weitz. Overall we’re ecstatic with how it turned out, but there were a few things…you know: the movie moved/flowed a little too quickly at times (there was a lot to cover admittedly), Jasper’s Wig, Alice’s matronly wardrobe, the Volvo, Edward & Vamp-Bella in Alice’s vision dressed to party like it’s 1899. See? Just little nit-picks.
Can’t wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray! I will be torturing my husband with repeat viewings…
Oh Cee, love your review! <3
I so agree with you. While Twilight was good, NM just blew it out of the water. It was a beautiful movie all around. After this movie, my husband is a Twidad (oh mah gawd!), we have seen the movie 3 times, and he is in love. He is smitten with Victoria and Team Jacob all the way (whatever).
I absolutely loved the Victoria chasing part. It was brilliant and the song, wowzers…
The window scene gives me goose bumbs every time, it was absolutely heartbreaking.
gah. I need to see this again! NOW. sigh. Loved the Victoria chase montage too. The wolves were awesome, and Rob and Kristen were magnificent and Taylor…yea, everything you said basically, lol. Great review!!
Awesome review Cee! I got goosebumps and a sudden urge to see the movie again after reading this! I thought it touched on every emotion a person can have…and yes, Robward broke my heart in the forest and patched it back up again at the end! I actually gasped at the ending…LOVE LOVE LOVE Chris Weitz!!
Let's hope David Slade doesn't eff up Eclipse!!
…and by the way, Victoria (Rachelle) does speak in Twilight in the baseball scene: "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball"…just saying…
Oh I know she speaks in Twilight. But she doesn't in New Moon
Which is what I referred to in the review. Thanks for your comments bb's <3
Love Chris Weitz! I loved the movie too.. My fist review was something like: "OMG OMG DID YOU SEE THAT? SQUEEEE" LMAO! I'm hoping for that site ladies!
I'm gonna miss Rachelle too, she did it amazing and she didn't say a word.
Great post Cee!
im gonna miss rachelle too! her fight montage was one of my favorite parts, and the music fit perfectly! i agree with u c2r! chris is a god! .. he'd done an amazing job!
and i adore ur review!
also i love the end! it makes me wanna see eclipse even more LMAO
bebe, i fucking know right. can i say that word in here? lol. anyway, i cried at that rotating window thing and the dear Alice shtuffs. but you said it all. <3yooouuu
Great review! I agree the parts I wasn't happy with were far outweighed by the parts that were great! I did think however that Rob was right in the beginning (before they made NM) when he said he thought it would be better if they only used his voice for Bella's hallucinations. The only thing I would add is I wasn't thrilled with some of the acting from the wolf pack. Sam Uley was great but a couple of the others…not so much. I was blown away with Taylor's acting skills! He is seriously talented! And Rob's acting in the Volturi scenes (especially the pain scene) were astounding! Wow!
You said almost exactly what I would have said if I were to write a review. Awesome!
Hi, it's CajunMom
I couldn't agree more! You've pointed out almost every aspect of the movie I loved. One of my faves was the cliff diving scene 
I thought it was beautiful and dreamlike, and so much better than I had imagined it. The whole experience was wonderful, & I only got to see it once *sobs*. I think Chris is a master, and I do hope he wants to take on BD, as well.
Love LOVE your review! in my country the release date for NM was 2 weeks later than the U.S….you can imagine my agony! so naturally i happened to get a few glimpses of other people's comments unintentionally even though i did my best to avoid any reviews. and some of the comments actually got me worried! they are not very nice and full of hate! After seeing the movie i was like: "WTF are these people thinking!? are they blind or dumb or something!? i think it's masterfully made and WAY better than Twilight!(don't get me wrong, still love it, but i always think Twilight would have been a total ruin if not for Robsten)
Love Chris! He did his best under all circumstances. I DO ,too, hope he take on BD!
awesome review cee! and i agree jacob really surprised me in this movie so i gotta give him props where its due..and you're nitpicks are totes spot on but i still love cw!