The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

The End of An Era

★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee or DVD

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Rated: PG-13 - Sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality, and partial nudity

Release Date: November 16, 2012

Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes

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Director: Bill Condon
Writers: David O. Russell, based on the novel by Matthew Quick
Cast:  Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Billy Burke, Mackenzie Foy, Maggie Grace, Jamie Campbell Bower, Christopher Heyerdahl

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SYNOPSIS:  After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

REVIEW: Dream Girls and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 director Bill Condon returns to put the final stake in the coffin for the franchise with the final installment to the Stephanie Meyer series of supernatural young adult books. Melissa Rosenberg, writer of all but the original film, returns to scribe the film that will have to say goodbye to Bella, Edward, and Jacob. 

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, Snow White and the Huntsman) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis) come back from the brink as Bella gives birth to their half-vampire/half-human daughter Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1). Bella is then turned into a newborn vampire by Edward in order to save her life. Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner, Abduction), as part of his werewolf nature, becomes imprinted to Renesmee and pledges to protect her at all costs.  While Bella becomes more familiar with her new powers and needs, Renesmee grows at an astonishing rate. When Cullen cousin Irina (Maggie Grace, Taken 2) witnesses the child exhibiting vampire powers, she flees to Europe to report to the Volturi leaders Caius (Jamie Campbell Bower, Anonymous), Marcus (Chistopher Heyerdahl, Hell on Wheels), and Aro (Michael Sheen, Midnight in Paris) that the Cullen coven has broken the laws by creating a child vampire - an immortal - who must be destroyed. In order to avert a bloody battle, Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli, Loosies), Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reasers, Young Adult) and the rest of the clan decides to persuade their friends to become witnesses to the miracle that Renesmee is - and to prove that she is not something to be feared or killed.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 brings the saga of Edward, Jacob, and Bella to a spectacular close. For fans of the film series, this final installment will delight and not disappoint. For the fans of the Stephanie Meyers book series, I am sure that the classic words will still be spoke ... "The book is better.". For the uninitiated, this is not the movie to jump on board with. If you were not a 'twi-hard', Breaking Dawn will not turn you into a sudden blood thirsty or rabid fan. But the film has its moments of coolness, levity, and fierceness.

The cast of characters is vast. Like the Harry Potter series, Breaking Dawn builds each story on the back of its predecessor. You care for the characters because you have become quite attached to them over the course of several films. Now, as the eve of the final battle against the Volturi approaches, familiar and new vampires come to the aid of both sides. Soothsayer Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene, The Apparition) and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone, The Last Airbender) disappear through the middle of the story, even though Alice is a prize that Aro covets. Strongman Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz, Immortals) and others from the clan, including Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed, Catch .44), look to defend their family, and the newest hybrid addition. Carlisle recruits powerful vampires from around the globe, ranging from elemental master Benjamin (Rami Malek, Larry Crowne) to war veteran Garrett (Lee Pace, Lincoln) to sideliner Alistar (Joe Anderson, The Grey).

As Bella settles into her new cold, undead skin, she and Edward are faced with married life together, a child like no other, and the rising threat from the Volturi, the story plods along until the final stand-off. Fans get their share of bare abs and intimate moments during the quiet first act. When Alice foresees that the Volturi are heading to the wet West Coast to claim the child and purge the Cullen clan, the story becomes somewhat more interesting as the Cullen family head to different parts of the planet to recruit others to their aide. Bringing together such a varied and eclectic group of blood suckers changes the family dynamic and offers cool visuals, but the story finally reaches its destination as the Cullens and their witnesses face off against the Volturi and their guards on a field of freshly fallen snow. The vampires and the werewolves show their powers and fighting skills in the final battle against the ancient power-hungry self-appointed monarchs. The white backdrop remains uncharacteristically pristine as opposing sides rend limb from limb, ripping heads from the sinewy connections to necks and shoulders. For the characters you have grown to love, be prepared to lose some of the them to the wings of war.

I was never a huge fan of The Twilight Saga, neither in book nor film format. Put off in the earlier films by the adolescent love triangle and Stewart's lip-biting, brooding, wishy-washy Bella, I had started coming around to liking Bella's character at the end of Breaking Dawn - Part 1 when she delivered Renesmee and started her blood-letting journey as a glistening vampire. But although more strong-willed and ready for battle, Bella still doesn't command the respect that she needs in order to carry this final chapter to a close. The gathering of the Cullen witnesses is interesting in both locale and variety of  vampires, their powers, and their personalities.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 closes the book on vampire/werewolf/human girl love triangles. While the concept of vampires versus werewolves is not new - see Underworld or the Universal Monsters - Stephanie Meyer's version of glamoured skinned blood suckers and tribe packs of wolves enthralled a generation of young adult movie goers. Whether you're on Team Jacob, team Edward, or a general Twi-Hard fan, you will like this last installment. For the rest of us, The Twilight Saga may have been just a huge suck of time.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

Whose the Fairest?

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Rated: PG-13  Intense sequences of action, brief sensuality and intense sequences of violence
Release Date: June 1, 2012
Runtime:  2 hrs 7 mins

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Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini
Cast:  Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson

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SYNOPSIS: When the Huntsman is ordered by the Evil Queen to assassinate Snow White in the Dark Forest, he winds up becoming her protector and mentor in an attempt to defeat the powerful Queen.

REVIEW: DGA Award nominated commercial director Rupert Sanders moves up in class as he takes on the role of helmsman of a fairy tale that has been immortalized by Disney and many others in lesser degree. This more fierce incarnation of the raven haired and ruby lipped damsel is put to paper by Rusty Forkblades writer/director Evan Daugherty, The Blind Side writer/director John Lee Hancock, and the 2011 Drive writer Hossein Amini. With both fresh eyes and veteran experience, audiences may find that they have never seen Snow White quite like this.

When the queen finds a rose blooming in the middle of a glossy snowy garden, its thorns prick her finger and sends three drops of blood into the snow. She wishes for a daughter with raven hair, lips as red as the blood, skin as white as the snow, and a strength within her as strong as the rose in the winter garden. Months later, she has a baby girl and names her Snow White (Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1). Snow becomes beloved by the kingdom as she grows up, the apple of her parent's eyes. When the queen falls ill and dies, the king falls into sorrow. When a dark army threatens his lands, the king rides into battle and rescues a golden haired prisoner named Ravenna (Charlize Theron, Young Adult). Happy for the first time in a long time, the king makes Ravenna his wife. Queen Ravenna quickly betrays her king and takes over the kingdom. She lets her own armies onto the grounds with her brother Finn (Sam Spruell, The Hurt Locker). Ravenna locks Snow in the North tower of the castle until she comes of age and the Queen's magic mirror warns the Queen that Snow could be a grave threat or grant her eternal youth and beauty. Snow escapes to the Dark Forest. Enraged, Ravenna employs the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, The Avengers) to track her down and bring her to the throne. A change of heart leads the Huntsman to find and protect Snow White, leading them deeper into the Dark Forest to encounter other magical creatures, reunite with old friend William (Sam Claflin, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), and making new acquaintances in the form of dwarfs named Beith (Ian McShane, Deadwood), Muir (Bob Hoskins, Doomsday), Gort (Ray Winstone, Hugo), Nion (Nick Frost, Hot Fuzz), Duir (Eddie Marsan, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Coll (Toby James, The Hunger Games), Quert (Johnny Harris, Atonement), and Gus (Brian Gleeson, The Eagle).

As with many movies that are churned out by the big studios, there are many times a race to see what version of a property is released first and to more acclaim. 1998 had its looming meteoric threats with the action-packed Armageddon versus the deeper thinking Deep Impact. 2006 had the magic, illusions and a peek behind the mystical veil of both Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale's The Prestige versus Edward Norton's The Illusionist. And in early 1997, audiences felt the heat with both Dante's Peak and Volcano. I could go on. Here we are in 2012 with two stories of Snow White. Relativity Media distributed earlier this year with Julia Roberts and her more whimsical take of the Grimm's evil queen and the princess-turned-warrior. Now Universal Pictures and Roth Films bring forth an epic and stylistic version of the same tale with Snow White and the Huntsman. Which quest will succeed?

Director Rupert Sanders creates a world of dark enchantment with Snow White and the Huntsman. Both dark and beautiful, Sanders takes the sensibilities of the Lord of the Ring trilogy while still honoring earlier cartoon works of Walt Disney. Once Queen Ravenna wrests control of the kingdom from the fallen king the land falls into rotting ruins, the maintenance of her beauty reflected in the muddy spartan countryside that surrounds her castle. Her wardrobe is filled with sharp iron and flowing malice. Farther away from the center of Ravenna's reign the Dark Forest simmers and roils with menace, largely due to hallucinogenic spores that turn every rock into a spectral nightmare. Once past the borders of the forest, the lands turn lush again as one enters the lands of the fairies. With genteel animals and lazily floating nature, one can see in live action what Disney's Snow White portrayed in its colorful version. Throughout, numerous aerial pans show various craggy and rolling hills similar to LOTR.

Charlize Theron is both wonderfully complex and evil in her work as the Queen Ravenna, complete with her own childhood back story that makes her evil demeanor just a touch more sympathetic. She exudes an beautifully sculpted icy exterior with an addiction for power and a flawless youth. Chris Hemsworth, darkening his locks, covering his solid frame in a different type of leather, and taking on a more profound Irish accent, works hard and succeeds as the tortured warrior widower desperate to reconnect with his late wife in some small measure. Only a stray 'Hey' and 'Okay' take his dialogue out of the proper century. Kristen Stewart, although not impressive to me in  The Twilight Saga until the last installment, shows heart and growth as the princess-turned-warrior. She still seems a little unsure at times, but her Snow comes through as sympathetic heroine and eventual leader. Sanders uses full-sized actors for the roles of the pint-sized dwarfs, including Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, and Nick Frost. Although the long shots may have substituted little people in, all of the actors in close-up provides a different look and feel to the dwarfs, closer to Peter Jackson's method for LOTR than films like Mirror, Mirror or Time Bandits.

Snow White and the Huntsman runs a long 127 minutes The film could have been tightened up a little bit but Sanders presents every scene like a gorgeous rendering, paying the utmost attentions to every wonderful detail. Every shot could be a still for a frame worthy poster. An early shot of Snow White and a white stallion felt for the briefest of moments like it should have been followed by a title for a perfume ad. Even if the action or story slowed, the visuals, the CGI, or the costumes still held me spellbound.

Snow White and the Huntsman is a visual stunner, filled with enough eye-candy to fill a popcorn bucket. Theron entrances with beauty and skill. Hemsworth, Spruell, and Sam Claflin deliver performances as solid as Thor's muscles. And the raven hair and blood red iips of Kristen Stewart give me hope in her still growing ability as an actress. Sanders offers a version of Snow White filled with intrigue, beauty, and inspiration. Whose the fairest of them all? Snow White and the Huntsman is certainly close!

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WORTH: Matinee or BluRay

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Careful What You Wish For

Director: Bill Condon

Writers: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephanie Meyers
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Sarah Clark, Elizabeth Reaser

SYNOPSIS: Bella and Edward have now bonded in wedded bliss, but their honeymoon is short-lived as Bella becomes pregnant with what may be a fast-maturing vampiric hybrid that may cost Bella her life and give Jacob a reason to finally kill Edward.

REVIEW: The beginning of the end is upon us as the big screen adaption of Stephanie Meyer's fourth book in The Twilight Saga series comes to the silver screen. Worry not Edward and Jacob, the screen is not really silver. Beginning in 2008 with a Catherine Hardwicke directed Twilight, followed up with New Moon directed by Chris Weitz, and continued with the third entry Eclipse helmed by David Slade, Melissa Rosenberg has written the screenplay for all of the Twilight movies. For both parts of the Breaking Dawn films, Gods and Monsters and Chicago director Bill Condon takes a stab at bringing Bella, Edward and Jacob to life.

In the start of Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) finds herself mere hours away from her wedding day with her chosen beau Edward (Robert Pattinson). Everyone is happy for Bella and Edward's union, with only Jacob (Taylor Lautner) concerned for the choices Bella has made. When he finds out that Bella will not be turned immediately after the wedding, Jacob fumes and is led away by his clan. Bella and Edward escape to their own private tropical island for their honeymoon, enjoying each other's company and bodies. Days later, Bella finds herself impossibly pregnant with a fast-gestating human/vampire hybrid. Secretly returning home to the Cullen residence, Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), his mate Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), and the rest of the clan of Emmett (Kellan Lutz), Rosalie (Nikki Reed), Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), and Alice (Ashley Greene) struggle to help Bella survive, with or without the fetus inside her. When the wolf pack discover through their pack link with Jacob that Bella is pregnant, they make the decision to void the treaty with the vampires to destroy the unborn child, including Bella if necessary. With one pack decision made against Bella, Jacob must make his own choice whether to follow the pack alpha or make his own decision concerning Bella's fate.

I will not give more away. If you have read the books, you will have to guess as to where in the story Condon, Meyers and Rosenberg choose to stop the narrative in preparation of the Breaking Dawn closer. How closely does Rosenberg's script keep to the novel? Besides Bella, Edward and Jacob, who else steps out of the shadows gets a sliver of screen time?

As a casual fan of the franchise, I cannot attest to the mass appeal of the love/hate triangle that surrounds Bella. Whether Team Edward or Team Jacob, fans will enjoy the continuation of the story. Now that the courtship dance has ended and Bella has made her choice to be with Edward, we can move past juvenile romantic antics and focus on three events - a forest wedding, a honeymoon with a pregnancy, and a confrontation about what to do about the unborn baby. Harder, more adult choices need to be made this time around.

Now familiar with the characters in the world of Twilight, Breaking Dawn - Part 1 steps right into the story. The wedding is beautiful, the honeymoon is exotic, erotic, and tragic, and the results of the honeymoon proves the catalyst to force Bella, Edward, and Jacob both together and apart. The landscapes, foreign and domestic, are breathtaking. The settings, interior and exterior, set the perfect tones. My only issues are a couple random inserted shots that are needless, overly artsy, and distracting. Also, the wolves are wonderfully rendered, but sometimes they do not fit into the world and seamlessly as they should. If the film was more fantasy throughout, like for instance the 2011 Red Riding Hood, the wolves would fit in better.

Eclipse had more intrigue for it for my money, but Breaking Dawn - Part 1 does its part to bring its own brand of suspense and good storytelling. Now that Bella has made her choice to be with Edward and gets all that she wanted, the old adage of "Be careful for what you wish for" is more appropriate then ever. Let's see what Breaking Dawn - Part 2 has in store.

WORTH: Matinee and DVD (for the fans)

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Finally Something To Sink Our Teeth Into

[Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner]

Remember when I said that no one should be ashamed or embarrassed when they go to the theater by themselves. Well, I ran into that situation this morning while attending the third outing of the Twilight series (or saga as they are billing it). On the way to the box office, there was a group of 5 girls getting tickets for the 10:30am showing of "Eclipse". I felt like a strange guy going to the same movie. Luckily, I was attending the 10:00am showing. On the way out of the movie after the credits, 3 other girls walked down the corridor laughing and looking back at me. My first reaction was that they were wondering why I, a dude, would go to this movie by myself. Perception is everything, I guess.

SYNOPSIS: Edward, Bella and Jacob continue their uneasy love triangle. And, as always, the treaty between the Cullen clan and the wolves is on shaky ground. But more important matters arise as a shadowy figure raises an army of new born vampires for an unknown purpose.

I really did not want to go to the third "Twilight Saga" movie. I was dreading another CW television teenage drama continue to unfold. But, I was already invested from sitting through the first two films, and thought I owed it to my readers to soldier on. I have not gone as far as reading any of the four books, but I have had my ear to the ground picking up the tidbits from tween girls and their mothers about why the books and first two films are so good.

From the opening fly-through camera shot, Kristen Stewart's voice over narrative was much stronger then the horrible writing done for "The Last Airbender" (see its review). The narrative both relates to the story as it opens and to the poem that Bella is reading to Edward in a flowery field for her English class. This perked my interest. As I was ready to deal with Bella's whiny, wishy-washy personality from the earlier stories, a strange thing happened. Instead of the established character type I was expecting, I instead am presented with a girl that knows what she wants and is driving toward it. Could this be happening? Could I actually enjoy this film? Read on to find out.

Robert Pattinson's Edward is the same cold, sullen stoic vampire I remember, but there was something less gothic about him this time out. Something lighter. It broadened his appeal a little. Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner, is still as head-strong and hot-headed as ever, but more matured as he established his position in the wolf pack. As I had promised in the last review, Jackson Rathbone's Jasper Hale was especially intriguing as I found out more about his warm-blooded life during the Civil War, his turning, and his knowledge of newborn vampire armies. The origins or additional back stories of Alice and Rosalie also added to the depth of the mythos of the Twilight universe.

And, of course, a hero is only as good as the villain faced, so I was happy to see Bryce Dallas Howard return as Victoria. I will not see what her role is in the movie, but readers of the series will already know and moviegoers will find out. Dakota Fanning returns for a couple quick scenes as the ever-menacing Jane. She is definitely adding street cred as a teenage actor, shedding her pigtail image from her preteen roles. Xavier Samuel as the army building Riley keeps tensions high and the story moving. And finally, Billy Burke as Bella's father Charlie Swan could be a teenage girl's villain since he still has his doubts about Edward. But he also adds a couple chuckles as the exasperated father trying to look out for his daughter. If only he knew what she has already been through!

The final act's fight scenes between the newborn army, the Cullen clan and the wolves are cool and viseral, definitely enjoyable for a guy like me. All in all, a better cinematic experience then the first two movies, in my opinion. Of course, there are millions of people who were already entranced by the books and the films before my reviews, but now this reviewer may actually be looking forward to the final film.

Worth: Matinee

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!

out of 5 popcorn buckets