Movie Review – Twilight and New Moon

Yes you read it right. I am going to write the review of  Twilight – a movie which was released in theaters on November 21, 2008 ..one year ago!! But not in India. It was released in India just few weeks prior to the release of its sequel – New Moon. ..almost an year late. Twilight had grossed US $35.7 million on its opening day; US$ 384,997,808 in worldwide box office and as of December 2009, $175,255,138 in North American DVD sales. So I had to watch it to know what was the hype all about!! Its sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” took in $72.7 million in its first day to break the single-day domestic box office record set by “The Dark Knight”.

Here are my reviews of the two movies :-

The story (TWILIGHT) :- Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) goes to live with her dad after her mom remarries. At the new school she makes new friends. She is also irresistibly drawn towards her classmate Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). She finds out he and his family are vampires but they don’t hurt humans. Thus begins the love story of a girl and her vampire boyfriend Edward in which he and his family strive to keep Bella safe from three hostile vampires.

(NEW MOON) :- Bella cuts her finger at her birthday party hosted by the Cullens. Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen family attacks her. After saving her, Edward and his family realize that in order to protect her they have to leave the place. After months of depression, Bella finds out that she could see Edward when she does something reckless. She starts seeking thrilling activities and also finds comfort in her local Indian friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) till danger surfaces again.

Twilight Trailer

New Moon Trailer

The actors :- Kristen knows no acting beyond biting her lips, keeping her shoulders shrugged, her eyebrows frowned and a permanent constipated look on her face. The chemistry was there but could have been depicted better with better actors. Robert is equally hopeless. Thankfully he has less screen time in New Moon. Taylor has a major role in New Moon and he has acted well. He is more lively and shares better chemistry with Kristen!! Other actors have also played their characters well.

The movie :-  Twilight has been adapted from the first novel in the series by Stephanie Meyer. As I have not read the books I can’t compare them. Cinematography is good. So is the background score. The screenplay has been well developed keeping in mind the sequel. With the storyline and characters in place, you jump straight into the action and feel like you have just carried on where you left off. New Moon has the same appealing cinematographic effects and less of the depressing look. Not to mention shirtless Jacob and Edward to attract the huge number of female fans 🙂 New Moon is definitely a better movie than Twilight.

But the basic story consists of some very silly things.The movies are strictly for those who like fantasy, romantic and mushy stuff .  The “forbidden love” angle is fine by me but the mush was too much to bear. I’ve seen so many cartoons and read so many jokes on Twilight that I was unable to watch it seriously 🙂  No wonder Twilight drew mush-loving teenage girls (who must have dragged their boyfriends along) to it and they made the movie a super-hit!! New Moon fares even better as there is a love triangle!

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# Many people have compared Twilight with Harry Potter. I don’t think they are comparable in the remotest sense. Still Harsh attempts to tell how Rowling is better than Meyer.

# Apparently Robert Pattinson (who played Cedric Diggory in HP 5) said in an interview that he is glad he only signed up for one Harry Potter movie — because any more would have driven him “crazy” and that “I don’t know how those guys have stayed sane doing it for 10 years.” Sour grapes, eh, Robert?

# Must read for LOLs [Spoiler ALERT]- Twilight’s book review by Twisted DNA, “How Twilight Works” by The Oatmeal, and “Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Girls Learn From ‘Twilight’ on BSPCN.

# Apparently Kristen has received reviews like “one of its strongest elements in New Moon is the performance of Stewart” and “Stewart is the heart and soul of the film…. She gives both weight and depth to dialogue” .

Each to his own I guess!! 😀 😀