Breaking Dawn DVD - A Guy's View

I am proud to say that I was not one of the people standing at Target during the midnight release of Breaking Dawn Part One. I did however make a special trip to Walmart yesterday in order to get my copy, and yes, I made my husband and daughter watch it. Which leads to the very idea for this post.

First off, I don't consider myself a Twi-hard, although I admit to reading the books and watching the movies multiple times. I don't stalk the internet for info on the actors, and frankly I completely disagree with any idea for Meyer to write another book in the series. When I watch the movies I suspend any expectation of Oscar winning acting, scripts, and special effects. This lets me watch the movie and get exactly what I want - an escape from reality. I had my own issues with the movie (You can check out my post about it) so I wasn't surprised when my husband started making comments.

Now, he has seen the other three movies and has a general idea of the storyline, but he usually keeps his mouth shut. Yesterday was an exception. The first words out of his mouth "Is she a vampire yet?" were repeated continually throughout the movie as he wandered between watching and eating. But my favorite came when he watched the scene with Bella and Jacob dancing privately at the wedding. "That's so gay." He said it in a completely guy way about five times throughout the scene. He didn't get why Edward would let it happen, why Jacob would even be interested in doing it, and why Bella would do that to Edward. I tried to explain about how romantic it was supposed to be, how in a natural world Bella would have been with Jacob, and his response was "That's so gay".

As the movie progressed, he kept up with the "Is she a vampire yet?" and interspersed it with questions like "why would she die?" and "What's wrong with her?"

I usually find his running commentary frustrating when I watch my movies, because he unfailingly manages to take what I find cheesy and sweet and turn it into a glaringly annoying aspect of the movie. This time I tried to actually listen to him. He is right. Four movies in and Bella is still not a vampire. He never did understand why Edward didn't just let Bella turn in Twilight. It is cheesy how Jacob and Bella have these extremely private moments, where they discuss their feelings while in very unfriend like physical contact. He looks at it and sees what girls (and women) don't want to - that the majority of men (I'll take a guess and say 99%) don't dance around in private with a girl they love the day she's married another man and tell her yet again how much he loves her. They wouldn't stick around for that.

Throughout the movie I couldn't help but laugh, because I realized just what he must be thinking when we're watching one of his movies and I just don't get why the actresses have to be half naked.

On a side note, I can't believe they picked such a horrible picture to use as the DVD cover. Kristen Stewart looks completely weird.

Breaking Down - Breaking Dawn Movie Review

I went today to see the Breaking Dawn Part 1 movie and WOW!  Yes that is a wow in all capital letters :)

Now, take that wow with a grain of salt, because it's not an all round one that applies to any great movie I've seen, but as far as the four Twilight movies so far, this is my ultimate favorite.

So, what worked better this time around? Special effects/make up. there were of course the continued use of the CGI wolves, which irritate me, but they fixed a lot of other little things that were driving me nuts. Bella's hair, actually looks real, as does Jasper's. Too bad for Rosalie because yet again her's sucked. The movement of the vampires was good, although I do think the effects in Eclipse were a bit better. Anything of course was a step up from the horrible ones used in the first movie.

For me though, the make was amazing in the deterioration of Bella. I don't remember the books seeming so harsh on her body, except of course for the hunger. But the movie showed such a progression during the pregnancy, and at one point you look at her and see just skin and bones. It was quite sad to think what she was going through, and yes I did cry (I'm just glad the hubby wasn't there it ask me loudly if I was). The effects used on Bella at the very end were even better, and a perfect plug for her Kristen Stewart's new movie Snow White and the Huntsman. Just awesome!

The wedding was really good. knowing how Bella feels about getting married, how she feels about being the center of attention, it was so fascinating to see her start her walk down the aisle. I'm sure people will blast Stewart for her lip biting, half open mouth, but that terrified look on her face is what Bella would have been wearing those first few steps. I loved the change she goes through when she sees Edward waiting for her. The reception was hilarious, awkward, unfunny speeches, which made it all the more funny, each one staying true to the character speaking.

The ending, this was what I had wondered about, where would they cut it. And frankly I think the moment director Bill Condin chose was perfect. And better yet was they way he did it. I won't give spoilers, but definitely a more dramatic ending than New Moon or Eclipse (I won't include Twilight, because for me that was suppose to be a gentle, bittersweet ending).

Leah, and Seth. For me the two of them saved the wolf pack. Seth was cute and charming in a boyish way, completely missing Jacob's obvious hints to take a hike and he is easily the most likable character in the series. He has a conscience and  a willingness to do what it takes to do the right thing. With Leah I liked her much more than in the books. There we only ever really learned about her through Jacob's eyes and here we get to see the difficult and devastating position she is in and how she longs for escape. That she will fight with her enemy to do it makes it even more sad. Yes, I cried when she opened up to Jacob about it.

The music was probably the biggest thing for me, because in the previous movies it has been used so well. I loved that here, we didn't just get a whole slew of new music, but we were also given snippets of music form the first movie. Just hearing the music brought back memories of the first, which was obviously the point. There were even times when different pieces sounded blended together, which was even better. So, the music did not disappoint. 


Now on to what didn't work.

The wolves, oh the wolves. As humans they did great, the acting was good and the pretty much had the least cheesy lines of all. But the CGI, and the CGI talking wolves. Absolutely the worst moment of any of the movies. It felt as if I were watching a children's cartoon with the thought voice overs from the pack and even though I know the books have the characters communicating like that I think it would have been a wiser move to have them in human form for the movie version.

The wedding dress. I was so disappointed. It was beautiful, well at least the back was, but didn't suit Bella's character a bit, and Stewart looked uncomfortable in it as well.Alice's dress was pretty hideous, too and even though her hair looked real, I hated the styling. They were obviously paying homage to her characters flapper days human life, but it didn't suit Greene.

Overall, I was so happy with this movie. The cheesy lines were fewer and further between (although not completely gone), and the actors had much better direction. I am now sitting her, feeling the urge to check out the release dates of the DVD and of Part 2.

Breaking Down

Oh, Twilight, how I have missed thee and the eternal turmoil you inflict as I debate how much I love and hate you. I've resisted doing a complete review of the Twilight Saga, simply because it is such a hot point between readers, authors, movie goers and just about anyone who is aware of the series and I am a firm fence rider. But as the title of my post suggests, Breaking Dawn is where I am breaking down, at least in a way since this is more about the movies than the books.

As far as the books go, Breaking Dawn was probably my second favorite book of the series, Twilight being the first. I'm hoping it will be a much better movie. When the first Twilight movie came out, I loved it and I still do, even when I am cringing at the bad special effects, and the cheesy lines. I was watching it while at the gym yesterday and had to change the channel a few times because I was blushing so bad, embarrassed for the actors having to say some of those lines.

With this saga (both in book and film form), I've always been one of those people who walk the line. I can easily see why teenage girls and women are obsessed with it. This is a story of undying love, self-sacrifice, and fierce protectiveness and that can attractive, especially if it's wrapped up in gorgeous packages like Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. That said, I am also a fierce hater. There was a serious need for this series to be edited, and the length of Breaking Dawn in book form is just proof that once you hit it big you can do anything you want. How did not one signal editor chop out 50-60K  off that book?

Sticking with the movies, if the first movie was cheesy and had bad special effects, and much of it has continued through the series, then really I should only expect more of the same in Breaking Dawn. New Moon has been my favorite movie so far. Even with the reduced screen time for Pattinson, I thought it actually had the best direction. Sure there was cheese and plenty of eye rolling moments, but there was just something about it that for me was different. I've thought about it a long time, and essentially I think it's all come down to the music and change in special effects.

The music in the first three films has been perfect. I think I could just listen to the sound tracks of the films and be able to pinpoint moments from the movie (and no, I do not watch them compulsively or even often). This is really where I can see myself loving or hating Breaking Dawn part 1. But what I've heard so far has been beautiful. So my hope for the movie is that it will live up to that one expectation from me. With that I leave you with the first music video from the Break Dawn soundtrack, A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.