How do you review a movie like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight? Aside from the assumption that it is based on a fictional story and is populated with fictional characters, does it succeeds in coming up with a story that is realistic and believable? Are the performances of the leads and the supporting cast credible? How about the directing, script, editing, special effects, soundtrack and all the other aspects that comprise the movie as a whole?
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Of course, a film review might be more interesting and compelling if the critic added “certain personal touches” that keep everyone from reading. Twilight certainly has its share of buzz and hype, and moviegoers – most especially those who have not read the book and are not fans have to endure what Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle has noted on his review:
This material also attracts packs of girls with extremely high-pitched voices, who will scream every time their favorite character comes onscreen. Bring earplugs, or sit at least six rows away from anyone female between the ages of 12 and 15.
Here are some of the most interesting Twilight reviews so far: [read tMF’s selected reviews after the jump]
Over at Get The Big Picture (http://www.getthebigpicture.net/), there was a previous article discussing the early review for John Patrick Shanley's Doubt. With a stellar cast that includes Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis, the story centers on a nun who grows suspicious when a priest begins taking too much interest in the life of a young black student. Streep plays the nun, while Hoffman plays the Priest.
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GTBP's Colin Boyd (http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2008/11/7/early-doubt-review-doubts-streep.html) said and I quote:
Well, Todd McCarthy of Variety (http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938945.html?categoryid=3266 cs=1) has seen Doubt, and he says that the one iffy element is - surprise, surprise - Meryl Streep:
This master screen actor, who applies a slight New Yawk accent to her phrasings, takes the vocal low road here as opposed to the more forceful approach of Cherry Jones in her riveting Broadway turn. By ostensibly underplaying the role’s villainy, however, Streep overdoes the melodrama, thereby turning Sister Aloysius into more of a stock figure than she ultimately seemed onstage. Every little tic, gesture and facial mannerism seems maximized by the effort expended to minimalize them, to diminished returns in the cause of creating a three-dimensional character. While the dramatic scenes still register with notable force, it’s a disconcerting, unsatisfying performance from a thesp who most of the time rings true.
I love Variety's use of half-words like thesp. Anyway, he wasn't bowled over. Now, Todd McCarthy has been wrong before; he liked The Beverly Hillbillies movie, for example. But in his defense, he's actually seen the movie and I have not.
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I don't particularly get it. Should Meryl Streep pattern her acting to the forceful approach of Cherry Jones in her riveting Broadway turn as the Variety critic proposed? It seems to me that he's suggesting Meryl Streep made a mistake in her approach to the role.
If The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter have joined the frenzy surrounding Twilight, then perhaps we're going to expect something big come November 21st. In fact, we don't have to wait for 3 days if the Los Angeles Premiere is an indication of what will happen next. Here's the latest (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iXNWlvMGnxYRVpR5-c7ACCTsHQfAD94H608G0) from AP:
Hundreds of shrieking fans — mostly teenage girls — lined the streets outside the Mann Village and Bruin Theatres on Monday for a chance to peek at the stars attending the Los Angeles premiere of Twilight. Some enthusiasts of the popular vampire literary series-turned-movie camped out overnight, while many arrived at dawn to secure a place in line. More than 600 people were allowed inside special holding areas along both sides of the premiere's red carpet. The self-proclaimed fanpires gawked, squealed and begged for autographs and photos with the stars. Others spilled out beyond the barricades and across the street from the premiere. Many held up handmade signs. Most just wanted face time.
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The Hollywood Reporter has anticipated this and is now putting the spotlight on Twilight's ticket sales. Here's the latest buzz (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ica2035fd8499625c6e1308caceeb1a87) on that front:
Online ticketers Fandango and MovieTickets said Monday that the Summit Entertainment film has sold out hundreds of performances four days before its Friday opening in about 3,400 locations. Fandango has sold out almost 700 shows -- including 500 or so midnight Thursday screenings -- and MovieTickets counted more than 400 sellouts of various showtimes.
Twilight may even surpass Quantum of Solace's record, which stands at $70.4 million for its opening weekend gross. Is that possible? Without actually comparing, Twilight with an estimated budget of $37 million will already make a profit once it exceeded that amount. In other words, an opening weekend gross of $47 million will give Summit $10 million gross profit. Quantum obviously has a bigger budget and would need a bigger box office take to break-even and then earn profit.
It takes a lot more guts to take on religion in our society and our movies, which is why Religious is such a refreshing slap-some-sense-into-us moment. Maybe Bill Maher goes a little easy on the supernaturalist basis for Judaism and could have spent more time parsing Islam, which is either getting very bad press or is the biggest threat to knowledge, freedom and the advance of civilization of any world religion. And no religion, in its literalist, most fundamentalist form, is curing cancer, promoting understanding and generally making the planet a better place. In America, religion is putting a lot of effort into doing the opposite, opposing birth control, stem cell research, tolerance, etc.
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That's from the Orlando Sentinel (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2008/10/religion-pays-w.html), discussing a few of the latest movies that has Religion as its theme- Billy Graham bio-film, Billy: The Early Years, Fireproof, the new hit from the Christian filmmakers who gave us Facing the Giants, and Bill Maher's Jeremiad about the evils of religion, Religulous.
Last year, we saw the emergence of the Westerns as the dominant movie theme, with No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and The Assassination of Jesse James being three of the most prominent. This year with Maher's Religulous and the much-anticipated Doubt, featuring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, it might be the year when Religion is the centerpiece. I might be wrong and it might be the year when comic book characters and contemporary drama take the spotlight.
Be that as it may, tMF compiled a list of movies dealing with Religion and Spirituality - these movies are not selected because they are the most controversial, but because they offer thought-provoking stories that either question your faith or made you realize how important Religion is for you, and perhaps a better appreciation of the way others practice their own.
Many of the fans were expecting him to be this ‘larger than life’ person – someone who makes them cry and scream only because they had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with him. How can any normal person possess that kind of power over others? The power to attract thousands of people – making them wait for days, bracing the rain and freezing temperatures just to get a glimpse of him?
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Should there be a limit on how much people are allowed to obsess over their favourite actor without disrespecting their privacy and making them feel uncomfortable?
The past few weeks, I have been following Robert Pattinson’s ‘Twilight’ promotional tour across the United States. Lately, every time I see a video or read an article about him, I cringe and feel like I want to hide under the table. I don’t know why I feel that way, but as a fan of Robert’s and the Twilight book series, I am embarrassed to be a part of the ‘craziness’ that is happening at the moment.
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I am not affiliated with Robert Pattinson in any way. This is just something I observed after watching endless streams of video interviews and reading articles about him. I’m beginning to notice that the hype surrounding him is starting to wear him out. When some of the Twilight cast members attended the ‘Much Music’ event in Toronto on Saturday the 15th of November, Rob was curled up in a ball during the interview session. He said that it was the only position that made him feel safe – that it was his ‘safety blanket’. Somehow, that really disturbed me. Why should he feel terrified? Why wasn’t he relaxed, sitting upright and smiling like Nikki or Rachelle?
10.00 out of 10 (1 Votes)