In an effort not to go a week without posting, I thought I would update everyone on what’s going on for the Holidays.  Being 900 miles away from family makes it harder, but not impossible, to get together for the holidays.

On Wednesday, we will load up in the family CRV and drive about 8 hours to Gulf Shores, AL.  We will be meeting Kristen’s parents, and her sister and brother in law for Thanksgiving there.  We will stay there till Saturday, and then return home for services on Sunday at church, and a day of rest before the week starts again.

While I’m not looking forward to a an 8 hour drive with an 18 month old child in the back, I am looking forward to getting away from the big city and having a day or so to enjoy time with my wife and baby girl at the beach.

So at this time of Thanksgiving, I give thanks for another year with Josie and Kristen, a good job with a great church family, and so many other things I can’t list because I just don’t have the time.  I will get back to the final few chapters of the book review soon.  Until then, Happy Thanksgiving, be careful on Black Friday,  and I look forward to Cyber Monday, where the real deals can be had.  God bless us all.

Entre dos mundos

• FOTOGRAMAS estuvo en Vancouver, en el set de la segunda entrega de la saga Crepúsculo, y sacia la sed de sangre de sus lectores al hablar con el director, el productor y la nueva pareja de la película, Kristen Stewart y Taylor Lautner.

Vineri, 27.11.2009, va avea loc lansarea in premiera in Romania a noului film din seria Twilight, New Moon. Robert Pattison, Kristen Stewart si Taylor Lautner vor fi acolo. Din pacate, pentru acei fani tru, nu ati fost pe faza. Filmul ruleaza pe diferite ecrane imense din cinematografele romanesti inca din data de 20.11.2009. Asa ca nu iti anunta colega de banca sua de camera, fugi singura la cinema, intarzie, ca sa nu te vada nimeni ca ai venit singura, aseaza-te pe ultimul rand (desi te sfatuiesc sa incerci alt rand pentru ca vor mai fi si altele la fel de disperate ca si tine) si enjoy the movie.

Daca totusi faci parte din elita fanilor Twilight si ai bani de premiera, atunci pe data de 27.11.2009 iti vei lua cea mai lunga si eleganta rochie, pantofii de la care te dor cel mai rau picioarele, geanta asortata, fa o programare la coafor cu 3 zile inainte, machiaza-te excesiv si vino pe covorul rosu alaturi de alte celebritati ale asfaltului Bucurestean la CinemaPro. Vei fi vazuta, remarcata si poate chiar chemata la un interviu.

Pentru muritorii de rand, fara bani si chef de iesit la cinema, va sugerez sa intrati aici, de unde va puteti alege cea mai buna alegere de film-share si il vei vedea, intr-adevar la o calitate mult mai proasta, dar acasa, in pijamaua cea mai confortabila, cu imensul bol de floricele si pachetul/pachetele de servetele langa tine. De asemenea, poti sa mai chemi cateva prietene, sa opriti filmul oricand, sa dati inapoi si inainte.

Pana atunci, va pun la dispozitie primele 2 carti in format pdf.

Twilight

New Moon

Llegaron por la tarde y se fueron en vehículos separados como exige el protocolo —

Lo hicieron desde la cuenta de Twitter de Summit..el debate se abre sobre si eran ellos o no; de Kristen ( por el último Twitter hay convencimiento) pero no de Rob

Peneliti Vatikan kembali menghidupkan perdebatan kuno menyangkut Shroud of Turin dengan menyebut tulisan samar di kafan itu membuktikan bahwa asli dari penguburan Yesus.

Barbara Frale, seorang peneliti di arsip Vatikan mengatakan dalam sebuah buku barunya ia menggunakan foto yang sudah disempurnakan melalui komputer menyangkut kafan itu, untuk memecahkan tulisan samar dalam bahasa Yunani, Latin dan Aram yang tersebar di seluruh kain.

Dia menegaskan, kata-kata itu termasuk tulisan “(J) ESU (s) Nazarene” – atau Yesus dari Nazaret – dalam bahasa Yunani. Itu, katanya, membuktikan teks bukan berasal dari abad pertengahan karena tidak ada Kristen pada waktu itu, bahkan pemalsu akan menyebut Yesus tanpa merujuk kepada keilahian.

“Bahkan seseorang yang berniat memalsu sebuah peninggalan akan memiliki semua alasan untuk menempatkan tanda-tanda keilahian pada obyek ini, “kata Frale.

“Seandainya kami menemukan ‘Kristus’ atau ‘Anak Allah’ maka kami akan menganggapnya sebagai pemalsuan, atau sebagai prasasti tanda berbakti. ”

Di kain kafan itu membekas sosok seorang pria yang disalibkan, lengkap dengan darah merembes dari tangan dan kaki, dan yang percaya citra Kristus menempel di kain linen itu pada saat kebangkitan-Nya.

Artefak yang rapuh dan dimiliki oleh Vatikan itu terkunci dalam ruang pelindung di katedral Turin dan jarang ditampilkan. Dengan ukuran panjang 13 kaki dan lebar tiga kaki, kain kafan ini pernah mengalami kerusakan parah termasuk dari api.

Gereja Katolik tidak membuat pernyataan tentang keaslian kain itu, tetapi mengatakan kain itu sebagai simbol penderitaan Kristus. Perdebatan telah panjang di komunitas ilmiah.

Yang skeptis mengatakan tes penanggalan radiokarbon pada tahun 1988 menunjukkan kain kafan itu dibuat dari abad 13 atau 14. Tapi Raymond Rogers dari Los Alamos National Laboratory mengatakan pada tahun 2005 bahwa yang diuji adalah benang tambalan yang digunakan untuk memperbaiki kain kafan itu setelah terjadi kebakaran.

Rogers, yang meninggal tak lama setelah menerbitkan temuannya, menghitung kain itu berasal dari 1.300 sampai 3.000 tahun lalu yang merupakan era Yesus. Studi yang lain, oleh Universitas Ibrani, menyimpulkan bahwa serbuk sari dan tanaman Di gambar kain kafan menunjukkan berasal dari daerah sekitar Yerusalem kira-kira sebelum abad kedelapan.

Sementara surat samar tersebar di seluruh wajah pada kain kafan tidak diperhatikan peneliti karena hasil penanggalan tes radiokarbon. Frale mengatakan memperjelas kata-kata dari foto-foto yang disempurnakan dari kain kafan itu dan menunjukkan ke para ahli, mereka setuju gaya penulisan khas Timur Tengah pada abad pertama yang merupakan era Yesus.

Dia percaya teks ini ditulis di sebuah dokumen oleh petugas dan terpaku pada kain kafan di bagian wajah sehingga tubuh dapat diidentifikasi oleh kerabat dan dikuburkan dengan benar.

Después de meses agotadores de promoción de Luna Nueva, el reparto de Twilight ha encontrado un tiempo para relajarse en Nueva York. Todo ello mientras su película  domina la taquilla.

El viernes por la noche, Robert Pattinson y Kristen Stewart saltearon el  afterparty de Luna Nueva y optaron por una fiesta más privada,  en el  Avenida en Nueva York, incluso mostrando algunas PDA PG.

La pareja también supuestamente ha salido anoche.

Rob fue fotografiado dejando el restaurante de moda Megu en Tribeca, pero Kristen no estaba en ninguna parte al menos a la vista de los paparazzi .

¿Cómo es posible que siga acudiendo a todos estos lugares sin conseguir fotografiarlos juntos?

Se ha confirmado que Stewart se unió a Rob y sus amigos a cenar a Megu anoche.  Mientras  “Bella” ordenó  sashimi platter y the king crab,  “Edward the vamp ” tomó comida esta vez pidiendo Kobe beef skewers y esparragos.

“Ellos no eran excesivamente cariñoso”, dice un espía restaurante, “pero todo el mundo sabe ahora [Rob y Kristen] están juntos. Todos reían y parecían estar pasándolo muy bien. En realidad parecía relajado”.

Los neoyorquinos podían ser inmunes a esta locura Twilight?

“La gente prácticamente los dejo ser”, nuestra fuente dice que en el restaurante. Es chocante pero es verdad que los neoyorquinos parecen preocuparse menos sobre celebridades fuera y alrededor en su ciudad.

Pero no creo que Robsten este demasiado cómodo.

Para salir Rob ofreció su cara sexy a la multitud de paparazzi esperando en el frente, mientras que Kristen fue capaz de escapar por la parte trasera bastante desapercibida (o más bien, no fotografiada).

Manera de ser caballeroso, Rob!

Donde estarán para Acción de Gracias ?, algo nos dice que podrían  ver a R. Pattz en un vuelo de regreso a Los Ángeles pronto.

Fuente E! on line y Entertainment and Showbiz

]]> http://nininicole.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/saiu-na-veja-lua-nova-e-o-melhor-publico-ever/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:28:17 +0000 Nicole Cabral http://nininicole.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/saiu-na-veja-lua-nova-e-o-melhor-publico-ever/

“Foi arrasadora a estreia de Lua Nova nos cinemas brasileiros – acima inclusive da expectativa dos seus distribuidores. Entre sexta-feira e ontem, o segundo filme da saga Crepúsculo faturou cerca de 12 milhões de reais e levou 1, 340 milhão de espectadores às salas de exibição. Isso significa que cerca de 65% dos brasileiros que foram aos cinemas no fim de semana viram o filme, o mais visto do país no fim de semana. Mais: Lua Nova teve a melhor média de público por cinema entre todas as estréias de 2009.” – Veja, Nov./ 2009

Uauu não ? Humilhou o coitado do Harry Potter. Maaas, vamos logo comentar a Premiere de Lua Nova que agitou Los Angeles na noite do dia 16. Quem estava nas grades do tapete vermelho chorou, gritou, pegou autógrafo e tirou muita foto. Quem acompanhava a transmissão ao vivo através dos feeds de vídeo do MySpace também choravam, mas porque não estavam lá. haha…eu acompanhei pelo canal E! e foi tudo liindo!

O elenco todo, incluindo lobos, vampiros e humanos, apareceu para saudar os fãs. As bandas que participaram da trilha sonora também marcaram presença. Os primeiros a chegar foram Nikki Reed (Rosalie), Elizabeth Reeser (Esmee), Michael Welch(Mike), Justin Chon (Erick), Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) e Boo Boo Stewart (Seth). Mais tarde, Ashley Greene (Alice) desfilou no tapete com um vestidão vermelho lindo e Kellan Lutz (Emmett) e Jackson Rathbone (Jasper) também causaram gritaria.

Dakota Fanning também arrasou no pep-toe (ATOORO!) e o vestido ‘glamour’ rendado! Mas foi ele, Robert Pattinson, chegar para a gritaria começar pra valer. O ator, entusiasmado, saiu do carro e foi direto para a galera, autografar livros, pôsteres e tirar fotos com as fãs. Os seguranças tiveram que trabalhar muuuito e quanto segurança tinha hein ? Uauu..mal dava pra ver o coitado do Pattison no meio de tanto guarda-costas. As fãs estavam enlouquecidas!

Não deu tempo nem de respirar direito e lá estava outro ator que faz a gente suspirar muito: Taylor Lautner. Lindo, vestido igual gente grande, com o cabelo super bem arrumado e o sorriso mais perfeito do mundo:

A última a chegar foi Kristen Stewart, que havia acabado de participar do programa “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” e correu para a premiere. A atriz também foi para o meio das fãs para dar autógrafos… Aliás, que vestido lindo foi esse? Um Oscar de la Renta ma-ra-vi-lho-so! E segundo ela, que em suas próprias palavras disse que não sabe muito sobre moda e nome de estilistas, relatou ter adorado seu Oscar de la Renta, por ser um estilista que ela realmente conhece e admira. Ela ainda completou dizendo que apenas um Oscar de la Renta serviria para uma noite de gala como aquela, a sua primeira!

Entre os famosos que apareceram na premiere estavam os atores do seriado “Glee” e “Grey’s Anatomy”, a atriz Jennifer Love Hewitt, Emma Roberts, Joan Jett e Emilie De Ravin. (em breve fotos dos convidados) … Xoxo

Obs:. Fotos da Revista Capricho

From: officialashleytisdale

I honestly don’t do team Edward, team Jacob stuff but I still enjoyed this movie. I have 3 reasons for this.

My first reason it was funny, they had jokes along the way and they made me even laugh.

My second reason it wasn’t romantic, I enjoyed how they focused on Jacob’s friendship other than all the mushy Edward stuff. They literally kissed 3 times.

My third I love Dakota Fanning, she is great and i enjoyed seeing the Italian vampires.

I would definitely recommend seeing this movie but if for some reason you are still not sure leave questions below.

-officialashleytisdale-

El fin de la gira promocional de  New Moon no es el fin del romance entre sus co-stars Kristen Stewart ay Robert Pattinson. Ambos han terminado con sus obligaciones mediáticas, pero no han tomado caminos separados y están todavía juntos .

El domingo por la noche, R-Pattz y K.Stew disfrutaron de una cena con amigos en Megu en el chic vecindario de TriBeCa en Manhattan .

Der zweite Teil der Saga wird demnächst in den Deutschen Kinos gezeigt. Es dauert nicht mehr lang und die Fans können es nicht mehr abwarten. Wir haben hier alles aus dem Archiv zu New Moon gekramt, was wir finden konnten und werden euch jetzt ein Preview zu Film bieten, dass euren Durst nach New Moon wachsen lassen sollte.

Worum geht es in New Moon?

Eigentlich könnte man sich diesen Abschnitt sparen. Dennoch wollen wir die Geschichte hier aufführen. In Teil 2 der Saga hat Isabella Swan (Kristen Stewart), die Hauptrolle, Geburtstag. Diesen will sie mit ihrem festen Freund Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) und seiner Familie feiern. Die Familie Cullen besteht aus Vampiren, ernähren sich jedoch nicht von Menschen-, sondern von Tierblut. Auf ihrer Geburtstagsfeier bekommt Bella von der sehr wohlhabenden Familie einige Geschenke. Doch beim Öffnen eines Geschenkes schneidet sie sich an Geschenkpapier.

Jasper, der noch nicht lange “Vegetarier” ist, bekommt durch den Tropfen Blut, der Bella vom Finger gleitet gewaltigen Durst und stürzt sich auf sie. Edward stoßt seine Freundin Bella zur Seite und rettet sie vor dem durstigem Vampir. Dieses Ereigniss beschäftigt Edward noch eine kurze Weile, bis er sich von Bella trennt.

Die Trennung ist eine wichtige Schlüsselszene und baut auf die Nachfolgende Handlung auf, deswegen wollen wir nicht mehr spoilern. Nur so viel sei gesagt, die Geschichte wurde vom Regisseur so umgesetzt, dass sie einen immer “auf den nächsten Level pushen” soll. Schon im Buch zum Film leidet man sehr mit Bella mit und wird von Punkt zu Punkt hin und hergerissen.

Trailer:

Ganz wichtig, wenn man sich einen Film anschauen will, ist der Trailer. Diesmal ist dieser auch sehr gelungen. Man bekommt einen richtig guten Eindruck darüber, wie der Film so in etwa sein wird. Wer jetzt noch sagt, die Twilight Saga wäre kitschig, der ist entweder altmodisch, oder kennt sich nicht mit Filmen aus.

Wem dieser Eindruck noch nicht reicht, der kann sich auch die folgenden zwei Ausschnitte aus New Moon ansehen. Die sind leider auf englisch, sollten aber jeden überzeugen, sich doch ins Kino zu setzen.

Letze Anmerkung:

The Twilight Saga-New Moon sollte auch dieses Jahr einer der besten Jugendfilme werden. Die Mischung aus Dramatik, Liebe und einer recht gelungenen Vampir / Wolf Kulisse runden die Geschichte gut ab, die wachsende Zuneigung zu Jackob wird offensichtlich gut dargestellt. Auch ist die Vampir Familie jetzt mehr dem Buch entsprechend gekleidet. Tendenz: sehr hoch!

Ok, so to all my readers out there who are twihards, or even those who are just sightly interested in the series, this post is for you.

As I might have mentioned in a previous post, I have only been introduced to the series for about 3-4 weeks. In that time frame, I have read all the books, watched Twilight, and then went to see New Moon at the midnight showing. All that is to say, that I might be slightly obsessed and a huge fan.

So, me and 5 other friends got tickets for the midnight showing of New Moon, and eagerly counted down the days until Thursday night 11/19. (I even downloaded a app for my ipod that was a New Moon countdown) We decided that we wee going to leave around 9:30 to get good seats for the movie that started at 12:01. It was a good decision since by the time we got thee around 10, there was a line to get into the theater, and there was not 6 seats together to be found anywhere. We ended up having to sit 3 and 3 which wasn’t that bad. So, for the next two hours, we hung out, ogled over some posters that were in the lobby, and stood in line for popcorn and pop for 20 minutes.

Finally it got to where we had twenty minutes left. We decided ahead of time that we were going to play the final countdown song as soon as it got to the last 6 minutes left, and then verbally countdown the last 30 seconds.

Finally the movie started..

What can I say about it as a general statement?

Epic!!!!!

So you want to to know more details? Well here is what I liked and didn’t like in the movie. I might choose to pass over things that other people might make a huge deal about, but hey, this is my opinion right?

Likes:

Opening scene-this scene totally shows that Chris has read the book and totally understands what it is about. The first thing you see following the Summit icon, is a full golden moon. then you see the moon startig to wane and as it does, the new moon title appears in the blackness left behind by the disappearing moon. What you end up seeing is the gold colored New Moon title.

Minor changes to characters- Alright, there are a lot of things in this category. First thing in my mind is that Rob Pattinson has totally nailed Edward’s iconic smirk. The wigs are soo much better than in Twilight. They look alot more natural and are just better in general. Also on the topic of hair, Rob’s hair is so much better because he doesn’t have a wig, but uses his usual hair. But if you have been watching any of the interviews with him, then you already know this.

Volturi- ok one word to say about these guys…AMAZING!!!!!!! They are exactly as I pictured them, and each of the actors, when they are on screen or delivering lines totally owns the shot. Oh yeah, and to get more specific, Michael Sheen as Aro…! Yeah I am still in shock of amazement over what he did with that character. He totally played up on the fact that Aro, at least used to be a gentleman, but no has this evil nature that he attempts to cover. All I know for sure is that whenever he came on screen, the red eyes, the black cape, and the way he talked gave me chills down my spine.

Flashback to Carlisles past: Ok, so if you have read the book, you know that Edward shows Bella the different pictures in Carlisle’s office. Well to portray it in the movie, this is what they did. You cut to a scene where you see Bella and Edward in front of a painting that looks like it is from the 17th century. As you hear Edward telling Bella about the painting, the camera zooms toward it, and you get sucked into it. Inside the painting, you get a little bit of a back story of the Volturi, and a little bit of Carlisle’s background with the Volturi.

Charlie/Jasper/Emmett’s lines: So, in Twilight these were definitely not prominent characters. They take a bigger role in this movie and totally take over the shot whenever they are on screen. Charlie is amazing in this movie, sorry I am not very good with remembering actor names unless I am totally into them. Jasper in this movie is amazing! He doesn’t have that that many lines, probably only like 3-4 lines in the entirety of the movie, but they way they were delivered, and the lines themselves were very epic. And last but not least, Emmett. Like Jasper, Emmett does not have a lot of lines either, but they are genius

cgi: So since the movie basically centers around shape-shifters, you have to have a good element of cgi elements. I personally think that they did a great job on this aspect. Especially the scene when Jacob Black changes in the air. It is a very amazing affect.

Dislikes:

Car: Ok, so what about stupid shiny Volvo owner do the people at Volvo not understand? Why does Edward have a  black SUV Volvo? I know it does not have a lot of screen time, but still, Edward needs to have his shiny volvo. I mean c’mon, if you have read the books, you know that Edward loves his sports cars, so why would he be driving a SUV?

Alice’s costumes: Isn’t she supposed to be shopping in Paris and not her Grandmother’s closet? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Alice, but her costumes in this movie…..yeah just look at the pictures

Edward’s eyes: So, I thought when the Cullen’s didn’t eat, their eyes turned black…Why are Edward’s eyes still golden when he was in Volterra. If you have read the book, then you know that he was starving himself because he was going to die anyway so his eyes should have been black.

Alice’s vision: Bella as vampire: What to say about this scene. We see this scene in the Volturi’s tower just before Alice, Bella, and Edward leave. Aro touches Alice, and is therefore able to read her thoughts. She chooses to show him a vision of Bella and Edward running through the forest to show him that Bella will eventually be a vampire. My problem with this scene, is the costumes. I don’t see either one of the characters wearing these clothes.

Ending: I am glad that they had the proposal in the movie, but where was Bella’s answer?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I am ll for the dramatic ending, but did it really have to cut to black that fast?! I was honestly hyperventilating when the credits started to roll.

Well that is my review. Feel free to leave comments, they would be appreciated.

For anyone who wants to have a more professional review about the movie, you can go to one or both of these blogs. Some of the point are the same, since we all watched the same movie, but they both bring up different things or flesh out the point I made.

http://www.twilightlexicon.com/2009/11/20/alphies-review-of-new-moon/#more-12525

http://www.twilightlexicon.com/2009/11/19/new-moon-pels-review/#more-12487

I was always taught that if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right. And in my mind, there isn’t a more apt application for such a life theory than in the adaptation of popular novels into films. When you think about these popular literary franchise — many of whom have rabid fan bases — it is hard to imagine making a movie (or in this case, two) out of them that are subpar. As we’ve seen with the Harry Potter franchise, the key is to take the story from the books and build upon it. Find good actors, dazzle the fan base with great special effects and make the film’s accessible enough so that folks outside the fan base will be drawn in, and ultimately drawn into the world of the books as well. It’s a reverse method of getting people to read more — make the movies interesting enough, and folks will go after the rest of the story.

Not so with the Twilight franchise, at least not up to this point. With the release of New Moon, the second in a line of four films to be released by Summit Entertainment, the Twilight franchise has succeeded in doing only one thing: appeasing its built-in fan base. Which is sad, because such a rabid fan base deserves something better — something that will reach out to the rest of the world and invite others to see what they see. Sadly, this is not that case — and while its easy to say that some people just won’t “get” this operatic tale of love seen through the eyes of a teen girl, I would rather blame lazy filmmaking.

New Moon picks up where the first Twilight film left off, with Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) locked in a heated, yet abstinent, love affair. But after a freak accident at Bella’s birthday party puts her life in danger, Edward leaves her in hopes of giving her a chance at a normal life — one that doesn’t involve brooding over a vampire. Left with emptiness in her heart, Bella weeps for Edward for several months, eventually emerging slightly from her depression to forge a new friendship with the constantly shirtless Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a now-meaty friend who is going through a few odd changes himself. As Bella digs deeper into Jacob’s life, she soon finds out that he isn’t all that he seems either.

From there, we find out about the true nature of Jacob and his tribe and — spoiler alert — their sweet ancestry of being werewolves. At this point, director Chris Weitz sets in and delivers two of the few shining achievements of New Moon. One is the development of Jacob as a character, aided by a solid performance from Taylor Lautner. After a movie and a third of watching Bella with Edward, it is almost sweet to see her engaging with someone who might have some depth to them, even if he does turn into a giant wolf from time to time. As well, Weitz delivers a wolf-on-wolf action sequence during Bella’s discovery of the wolf pack that is quite awesome, and reminiscent of his crowning achievement in The Golden Compass, the epic polar bear fight scene. It was the only point in the film when New Moon was exciting, and not bogged down with slo-mo action or brooding, hollow shells of romantic archetypes.

newmoon-review2

The rest of the movie is about as moving and engaging as watching a 24-hour golf marathon on television, in French. Sure, there is something there if you’re really interested in it and you speak the language, but to anyone sitting on the outside it is just another surface-level romantic melodrama that is poorly paced. On top of that, the Twilight films (can’t speak for the books) give us two main characters who are increasingly difficult to like, let alone adore (let alone root for). Bella is a whiny, weak-willed character whose sole preoccupation is finding a man through which she can define herself, and Edward is a creepy 109-year old vampire who is trolling the high school halls for young girls.

On top of that, Robert Pattinson’s performance is excruciatingly stale. I get it, he’s playing a vampire who is supposed to be without emotion. But he’s also playing the exception to the rule, the vampire who falls madly in love with this beautiful human girl and will do anything and everything to keep her safe. There should be something beneath the surface, something added to Edward to make him feel like the exception — and in Pattinson’s incredibly hollow performance, we see none of that. The same can be said for Kristen Stewart, who delivers once again a performance that makes Bella feel like a caricature of an overly dramatic, perpetually confused teen. If she is to become an icon for young girls everywhere, then I weep for an entire generation.

Beyond character problems and failure to craft an engaging, purposefully paced narrative, New Moon mostly suffers from an insider baseball complex, in which the only folks who can truly engage in the story are those who have intimate previous knowledge of these characters, whether it’s from the first Twilight film or Stephenie Meyer’s series of books. This fact cripples the film’s ability to reach out beyond its core audience, leaving many an audience member confused, bewildered and downright bored.

But as someone who has seen both films and read enough of the books to know what it going on, I can tell you that the most disheartening thing about this film is that while its fan base will be satisfied with it — especially the hanging ending that feels tacked on — they really aren’t getting their fandom’s worth with these movies. There is a story within Stephenie Meyer’s books that could make for a good movie, and a method by which these movies could be accessible and engaging. It just seems as if Summit and their respective creative teams can’t find it. That said, thanks to the nature of the story (the added action of the werewolves and the rush to find Edward in Italy), director Chris Weitz has lucked out — and in turn he has found himself the director of a movie that, while not good in the least, is at least more engaging than Catherine Hardwicke’s first film. Should this trend continue, the infinitely more capable director David Slade may actually give us something worth watching with the next installment, Eclipse.

The Upside: It plays to the fans, and does have a few action scenes (mostly with the wolves) that are pretty fun to watch.

The Downside: Poorly structured, poorly paced, poorly executed CGI in places and characters that are unlikeable, despite the fact that we should be rooting for them. An inaccessible mess.

On the Side: Each member of the wolf pack had to have papers proving their Native decent. Spencer is Lakota (Sioux), Pelletier is Cree-Metis, Meraz is Purepecha (Tarasco), Gordon is Hualapai, and Houseman, who was discovered at an open casting call, is Cree