"They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?"

Rating: *½

Review by Justin Smith

November 30, 2009

Although I was not a fan of Twilight (2008), it was tolerable. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, however, is not. With the exception of a few moments, the film is one long scene full of sappy dialogue, amateur acting, and more slow-push-in-close-ups than I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s difficult to know where to pin the blame. Granted, the actors can only do so much with terrible dialogue, so does that put the blame on the screenwriter? But then again, a screenwriter can only do so much with poor source material. So this takes us back to the original writer of the novels, Stephenie Meyer. But that’s only half the problem. The acting and effects are poor as well (if you thought the CGI in New Moon was good, watch J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) then get back with me). Although many of the actors in New Moon are not as skilled as we’d like to think, this is only part of the problem. The poor acting combined with the lackluster CGI and many poor choices in cinematography and editing, lead me to blame the director (Chris Weitz).

The plot is simple, in an effort to keep Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) safe from other vampires, Edward (Robert Pattinson), and the rest of the Cullen family, move to Europe, of course this doesn’t work, because Bella rebels, due to feeling abandoned, and starts to hang around with Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) and his pack. As Jacob learns more about his true self, Bella finds that she’s once again abandoned and gets into more trouble. It’s one of those ‘wash, rinse, repeat’ stories. This same idea recycles itself endlessly for over two hours.

The acting is worse this time around, which is another reason I point blame toward the director. Instead of feeling more comfortable in their characters they seem more distant and awkward. Even Taylor Lautner, who has a large amount of screen time in New Moon, is nothing more than a muscle-bound buffoon. I almost laughed out loud when I heard the line, “Do not get me upset. Things are gonna get very ugly!” Yeah, thanks for the late warning, things had already gotten ugly long before this line of cinema gold was uttered. At this point I was expecting Jacob to turn green and rip his shirt. No such luck though. The dialogue throughout is laughable and novice, just think of the cheesiest sappiest line you could come up with and write something even worse than that and there’s your script.

I don’t blame the cinematographer, or the editor for that matter, for the visual flaws in New Moon. There are actually a few good scenes, the best of which takes place in the woods, while  Harry Clearwater (Graham Greene) and Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) are tracking the wolves while the wolves are tracking Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), a vampire determined to ending Bella. Everything in this scene works, right to the end (which I won’t spoil here). The other scenes which work well are with the Volturi in Rome, which is where we finally see Dakota Fanning as Jane. Also, Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) looks dynamite while speeding down the Italian countryside in her 1960s throw-back look.

There are good concepts in New Moon, vampires vs. werewolves, meeting with the Voturi, strange happenings in the town of Forks, but with poor direction it falls flat. The further we go and the more we retread the same tired ground, the flatter it gets. Lets hope the director of Hard Candy (David Slade) can work some magic of his own, and save The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) from succumbing to the fate of New Moon.

Director: Chris Weitz

Writer: Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay), Stephenie Meyer (novel)

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence and action.

Runtime: 130 minutes

Year of Release: 2009

SOURCE

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• Policy misprescription: Switzerland has voted to ban construction of minarets. No good can come of this. In terms of confusing symptom with illness, it’s sort of like a doctor voting to ban coughing. And the Swiss are going to catch it both from the civil-libertarian community and from Muslims and their friends. There’s a real and growing problem here, but this ain’t the way you fix it.
• I’ve got your stigma right here, pal: The National Review’s John J. Miller may be the world’s stupidest person with a keyboard.
• Kinda hard to blame the guy who wasn’t in the room: I’m eagerly awaiting an explanation of how Dubai’s economic problems are the liberals’ fault.
• Born in the ’50s: Somebody’s got a blacklist.
• Economics 101: Some deficits are worse than others.
• Memo to Obama: Keep on screwing your base over and see how you like Congressional Republicans with subpoena power.
• Screwing the pooch: Gen. Tommy Franks and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld let Osama bin Laden get away at Tora Bora in 2001, a Senate report says. I think this is news only insofar as Franks has been claiming he didn’t even know whether bin Laden was at Tora Bora, but facts matter.
• Not that it will make a lot of difference to the fact-averse, but MIT economists say Obama’s health-care plan actually will save money. Memo to Mitch McConnell: Bite me.
• Memo to pundits: Having a clear position on issues does not automatically equate to having a beneficial position on those issues. WashPost’s David Broder and now Newsweek’s Jon Meacham somehow achieved their exalted status without having learned this.
• Shocker: Lobbyists are lobbying to be able to keep on lobbying.
• Shorter Devin’s Advocate: The movie version of Stephenie Meyer’s “Breaking Dawn” must be directed by David Cronenburg. (I heartily concur.) (NSFW) (h/t: Mel)

Crepúsculo: libros y filmes generan nueva tendencia en adolescentes

La mayoría son mujeres que tienen entre 14 y 24 años y han leído los cuatro libros. Son las mismas que han repletado las salas de cine y que crean comunidades en internet, que juntas suman cerca de ocho mil adherentes.

¿Por qué gustan tanto los vampiros?

Desplazando a fenómenos como Jonas Brothers y High School Music, los chupasangre se toman carteleras y librerías. ¿Qué los hace tan atractivos?

Aquellas pálidas y aterradoras criaturas que dormían en ataúdes y vivían encerradas en sus castillos, hoy son el amor imposible de miles de jóvenes.  Si en Chile en su primer día de exhibición ”Luna Nueva” reunió a 37 mil personas frente a la pantalla, en Estados Unidos se convirtió, en un fin de semana, en la tercera película más vista de la historia del cine norteamericano. La gran mayoría de los asistentes fueron, qué duda cabe, adolescentes.

Una de las razones de esta fascinación juvenil es que los vampiros  abandonaron las antiguas y terroríficas características y nunca habían sido tan atractivos como ahora. Las nuevas generaciones de chupasangre rompieron con el clásico mito de la monstruosidad, pasando a ser elegantes, hermosos, humanizados, vegetarianos y modelo de príncipe azul para la mayoría de las niñas.

Para Emily Anderson, profesora de la Universidad de California, lo que llama la atención de los vampiros es el misterio. Sumado a ello, la sensualidad y el potencial peligro que representan hace que sean tan atractivos para las mujeres.

Un estudio, realizado por Donald Dutton y Arthur Aron, demostró que estos personajes despiertan emociones asociadas al miedo, como el aumento de palpitaciones del corazón y  de la respiración. Debido a que los actores que interpretan estos personajes son atractivos, estas respuestas sensoriales se confunden con pasión y atracción.

Otra de las razones por las que se han transformado en ídolos son sus características sobrenaturales. Una encuesta realizada en Estados Unidos a miles de fanáticos preguntó cuál era el poder de los vampiros que más les gustaría tener. La mayoría prefirió la capacidad de hipnotizar con los ojos. Según la sicóloga Helen Fisher, es muy probable que los adolescentes hayan elegido esto por la complejidad que enfrentan en sus primeras citas. “Al ser capaz de hipnotizar a tu acompañante, disminuye la presión del primer encuentro y se elimina la necesidad del período de cortejo”. Aún así, el hecho de que alguna vez hayan sido humanos y ya no tengan las limitaciones de la raza, puedan vivir eternamente, tirar autos por los aires, trepar árboles y derrotar a sus enemigos hace que los jóvenes admiren a estos fantásticos personajes.

La ciencia tampoco se queda atrás a la hora de explicar este fenómeno. Según los científicos, debido a que los vampiros son criaturas desconocidas  y peligrosas, el cerebro activa un sistema de recompensa  ante lo nuevo e impredecible. Así, la dopamina y los sentimientos de euforia aumentan. El proceso es el mismo que cuando un padre le impide a su hija ver a la persona que ama. Para la sicóloga Fisher, esto es la atracción de frustración: “Cuando no se puede tener lo deseado el sistema de dopamina sigue activo, otorgando un enfoque y la motivación para seguir intentándolo”.

Tal como explica el doctor Steven Schlozman, asistente de siquiatría en la Escuela de Medicina en la Universidad de Harvard, la atracción de los adolescentes por los vampiros también se relaciona con la angustia que se vive a esa edad. En su artículo Vampires and Those Who Slay Them explica que muchos de los cambios, problemas y otras características propias del período de la adolescencia se ven reflejados en estas historias.

Otra explicación apunta a la tesis de que en un mundo que rinde culto a la juventud por sobre todas las cosas, no es de extrañar que los vampiros sean el nuevo ícono. Al convertirse en inmortales no se enferman, no envejecen. Y tampoco se preocupan por la seguridad social. Según Emily Anderson, profesora de la Universidad de California, es un fenómeno que puede ser comparado con Peter Pan, ya que una vez que has sido inmortalizado te quedas para siempre en esa edad,viviendo el momento entre la infancia y la adultez, disfrutando eternamente la emoción y experiencia de ser adolescente.

Pero si sicólogos y científicos intentan escrudriñar desde sus áreas las razones de esta nueva idolatría juvenil, la autora de la saga  Crepúsculo, Stephenie Meyer, esboza una explicación más simple y antigua: estas historias son cuentos de romance con carácter clásico, de valores masculinos y hombres que pueden parecer perfectos, pero que en realidad son inaccesibles. A ello se le suma que la historia de amor entre el  vampiro inmortal y la joven humana representa los amores y miedos que todo adolescente siente. ¿Simple, no?

Gobble! Gobble!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Man, do these guys have a lot to be thankful for….

Following its record-breaking first weekend, first-place finisher New Moon brought in $42.5 million over the three-day (Friday through Sunday) weekend, driving its cume to a fantastic $230.7 — the sixth highest of the year, just below Star Trek ($257.7 million). Not far behind, The Blind Side came in at number two with $40.1 million by appealing to audiences who would rather watch a movie about football than stay home for a game on TV. With a $100.3 total so far, the pigskin pic is Sandra Bullock’s second $100 million hit of the year after this summer’s The Proposal ($164 million).

Source.

After wadding through the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer with the insistent prompting of a friend, I was a little more than reluctant to start The Host. I imagined the same language geared toward pre-teen girls and the same creepy, inventive plotline.

Much to my surprise and delight, The Host exceeded all of my expectations. A sign of a truly well written, exciting novel keeps me up into the wee hours of the night as I pour through its pages. The Host did just that.

The story starts with Wanderer, a soul who travels the universe occupying various hosts (from bears to plants) and is implanted into the body of the human, Melanie. Melanie was one of the few human resisters of the souls occupation on Earth. This resilient girl will absolutely not give up the right to her body and becomes and integral part of Wanderer’s brain. They share thoughts (except ones they hide from one another) and experiences as Wanderer experiences the world. Most of the humans whose bodies were taken away do not stay in their mind like Melanie, therefore, most of the human population is lost to the souls.

The small resistance is constantly tracked by Seekers, souls whose job it is to catch wild humans so they may be implanted with souls. Wanderer is put in Melanie with the hope that she can help the Seekers find the rest of the human resistance and extinguish them for good.

Melanie is drawn to go to her brother, Jamie, and her love, Jared, and through the sharing of experiences with Wanderer, the soul eventually begins to love them, too. They then start the journey in the deserts of Southern United states to find Jared and Jamie using a crude map from Melanie’s uncle. By going on this journey, Wanderer is leaving the perfect soul civilization for good.

The rest of the novel (which I will not give away) deals with how the pocket of human resistance, including Jamie and Jared, deals with the infiltration and assimilation of the enemy into their society. The Host is jam-packed with adventure, suspense, love, friendship, and most of all the big question: what makes us human?

4.5 out of 5 hearts

buy this book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Host/Stephenie-Meyer/e/9780316068048/

image url: http://www.talentjug.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/thehost.jpg

It’s official, Hollywood doesn’t value literary authors enough. It took a once smaller independent film studio to pick up Stephenie Meyer’s books. What a score! The Twilight Saga from Summit Entertainment continues to have Hollywood Studios shaking in their boots, as New Moon has just set a new box office record over Thanksgiving weekend. Film franchises being made from top selling books are the only way to go people!

New Moon took in $66 million over Thanksgiving’s five day weekend. The total so far for Summit Entertainment’s takings over two weekends is $230.7 million.

Worldwide New Moon has taken $473.7 million.

Insanely good storytelling for the screen. Summit Entertainment introduces a less ego-driven way of making films in Hollywood in the mode of Peter Jackson of New Zealand and the Lord of The Rings Trilogy.

If people have brought books of good story series and a filmmaker has enough humility to listen to people, and serve a film of their favorite stories into the world. The films will sell. People matter not Hollywood egos. Let’s all listen to the people some more. That’s why I love blogging because the people tell you each day, what they want. Love it. Go Summit!

And of course, congratulations to Stephenie Meyer for creating the books, these characters and for Taylor Lautner and Alex Meraz and the Native American Indian cast of New Moon, for making New Moon so special at the box office and such an American tale of creativity.

Let’s value book authors more Hollywood. Good talent should be getting through a lot quicker than it currently is in Hollywood, even if the world’s best filmic storytellers are authors. Hollywood studios need to smarten up and executive studio producers need to just talk directly to authors and their lawyers.

This will save years of dross films for Hollywood, Los Angeles, America and the world. If Hollywood doesn’t, the movie-making ball will shift to film production companies that will. Congrats Twilight Saga peeps and Team New Moon.

~Posted by Horiwoood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 11.29.09~

“We went for a walk—and he was telling me some old legends—trying to scare me, I think. He told me one…About vampires.”
“And you immediately thought of me?” Still calm. “What did you do then?”
“Some research on the internet.”
“And did that convince you?” His voice sounded barely interested. But his hands were clamped hard onto the steering wheel.
“No. Nothing fit. Most of it was kind of silly. And then…” I stopped.
“What?”
“I decided it didn’t matter,” I whispered.
“It didn’t matter?” His tone made me look up—I had finally broken through his carefully composed mask. His face was incredulous, with just a hint of the anger I’d feared.
“No,” I said softly. “It doesn’t matter to me what you are.”
A hard, mocking edge entered his voice. “You don’t care if I’m a monster? If I’m not human?”
“No.”
“You haven’t asked me the most important question yet….You aren’t concerned about my diet?”
“Don’t you want to know if I drink blood?”
“Jacob said you didn’t…hunt people. He said your family wasn’t supposed to be dangerous because you only hunted animals.”
“We try,” he explained slowly. “We’re usually very good at what we do. Sometimes we make mistakes. Me, for example, allowing myself to be alone with you….this is a very dangerous mistake.”
“Tell me why you hunt animals instead of people,” I suggested, my voice still tinged with desperation. I realized my eyes were wet, and I fought against the grief that was trying to overpower me.
“I don’t want to be a monster…”
Twilight Chapter 9

Edward is well acquainted with his faults. However, he’s spent so much time obsessing over them (approximately 85-90 years), without the benefit of “sleeping it over” and has been mentally poisoned by his own idealism.
As the passage illustrates, he is obviously concerned for Bella’s safety (or lack thereof) by her being so close to him, he’s petrified that he will kill her. The upside is that Edward has an excellent level of self-awareness, but a very poor level of self-trust.

It’s important to know yourself, but you must know what good you are capable of, not only the evil. Truth be told, throughout the series, Edward is constantly having to reassure Bella of his undying affection for her (she sees herself as an awkward, average, ugly-duckling of a human, whilst beholding his “inhumanly beautiful” grace and beauty), but she must constantly reiterate her faith in his soul, of his internal beauty which he no longer believes in.

This is indicative of our relationship with God in two ways: to Bella, Edward is the supernatural lover of her soul. He loves her in her frail humanity, but holds the promise of everlasting life. To Edward, Bella represents so much more than a chance at love. She is his chance for redemption, grace, a chance to reclaim his lost humanity, Bella is Edward’s supposedly “lost” soul. In Genesis terms, she is the fruit of the tree of life, able to undo the internal damage wrought by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (symbolically speaking, of course).
How do we know that Edward is not beyond this redemption? In his own words, he “doesn’t want to be a monster.”
We are all Bella and we are all Edward. We all battle sin, condemnation, and self-judgment. The important thing to realize is the reason behind what we do: we don’t want to be monsters. We want to be saved from ourselves, and that is possible.

Şi uite că a trecut şi Gaudeamus 2009. Acum am în prim plan mai multe cărţi pe care le-am luat de la târg. Toate sunt grozave şi mi-a fost greu să aleg cu care să încep. Până la urmă am început cu TUNELE 3- ÎN CĂDERE LIBERĂ, şi nu sunt deloc dezamăgit. Deja am citit un sfert din carte şi este…super!

Ce mi-a plăcut a fost că am găsit la târg Monster Madness (sau Monster Revenge în UK) şi Monster War, continuările seriei Academia Coşmarurilor, de Dean Lorey. Sunt în engleză, dar nu are nicio importanţă!

Am luat şi Gazda, de Stephenie Meyer, la traducerea căreia a contribuit mult şi Shauki! Să nu uit de Ucenicul din Araluen: Ordinul Haraminilor, de John Flanagan şi Darren Shan: Tunelele Sângelui, ambele apărute la Corint Junior.

Abia aştept vacanţa de iarnă! Mai jos aveţi nişte poze cu cărţile…

De vreo doi-trei ani, cele două edituri care publică constant cărţi pentru copii şi tineri, Rao şi Corint Junior, îşi încarcă planul editorial pentru Bookfest, în vară, şi pentru Gaudeamus, în toamnă. Sute de cărţi, autori americani, britanici, francezi, germani îşi fac apariţia, în traduceri, şi la noi în ţară. Bookfest-ul şi Gaudeamus-ul sunt, probabil, cele mai frumoase perioade din an când vine vorba de noutăţi în materie de cărţi – ai de unde alege.

Ce aţi putut găsi la târg şi veţi găsi începând cu săptămâna următoare în librării (bineînţeles, mai sunt şi alte cărţi ce au fost lansate la târg, dar eu vreau neapărat să le citesc pe acestea):

GAZDA (The Host) de Stephenie Meyer – ştiţi deja totul despre ea… Total diferită de Amurg, o poveste de dragoste combinată cu SF – superbă. Eu sper că Meyer va publica şi cele două continuări promise, căci povestea s-a terminat abrupt, evident pentru o continuare, însă personajele îmi plac foarte tare, mi s-au lipit de suflet. Toate. Chiar dacă o urăsc pe Meyer pentru stilul ei care m-a scos din minţi, povestea nu e de evitat. Editura Rao, hardcover cu supracopertă, 700 de pagini, 55 de Ron.

COPILUL APELOR (Flood Child) de Emily Diamand – cartea a fost publicată în Anglia în urma unui concurs de scriere organizat între ziarul The Times şi editura Chicken House; cartea a fost selectată dintr-un număr de 2000 de competitori. Este vorba despre Anglia parţial scufundată (coperta este absolut uimitoare, cu Big Ben-ul, însă a doua carte, APĂ ŞI FOC (Flood and Fire) este şi mai şi, cu Londra incendiată şi London’s Eye în prim-plan). O carte (o serie, de fapt) ce nu trebuie ratată. A apărut la Rao, format de buzunar (din păcate), 320 de pagini, 27 de Ron.

CURDY ŞI CAMERA LORZILOR de Artur Balder – o poveste frumoasă pentru tineret, cu templieri, Anglia, crime ale inchiziţiei, abaţii şi alchimişti. Ah, da, sigur, şi un copil, un ucenic, Idruk Maiflower. Editura Rao, format de buzunar, 32 de Ron.

LIRAEL de Garth Nix – încă nu am citit-o pe prima, SABRIEL, deci nu mă pot pronunţa; dar coperta este senzaţională! Editura Rao, hardcover cu supracopertă, 512 pagini, 50 de Ron.

CÂND MOŞ CRĂCIUN A CĂZUT DIN CER – unica şi irepetabila Cornelia Funke! Şi în sfârşit o carte de Crăciun, cu toate că nu e ceea ce vreau eu, dar fie! (Still, it’s a Christmas story! ) Dar vreau neapărat continuarea INIMII DE CERNEALĂ! Editura Rao, softcover cu clapete (cred), 144 de pagini, 35 de Ron.

CHEIA SPRE RONDO – un fantasy ce porneşte de la muzică şi o autoare cunoscută la noi pentru seria Deltora Quest – Emily Rodda. Editura Corint Junior, hardcover cu supracopertă, 352 de pagini, 55 de Ron.

ORDINUL HARAMINILOR de John Flanagan – în sfârşit a apărut! Şi are copertă nouă, variantele din Australia pentru noile ediţii paperback. Criticii compară seria Ucenicul din Araluen cu seria Cronicile Wardstone. Eu nu ştiu ce să spun, asta rămâne de văzut după ce o citiţi. Editura Corint Junior, softcover cu clapete, 296 de pagini, 40 de Ron.

VRAJA FATALĂ de Cliff McNish – pare drăguţă, nu ştiu încă ce e cu ea, însă coperta este oribilă. Editura Corint Junior, hardcover cu supracopertă, 272 de pagini, 45 de Ron.

MAGICIANUL OASELOR de F. E. Higgins – continuarea (cu toate că e greşit spus continuarea, căci nu are aceleaşi personaje ci e situată în aceeaşi lume) CĂRŢII NEGRE A SECRETELOR – un semi-horror, fantasy şi parţial comic roman ce mi-a plăcut extraordinar de mult. Abia aştept să o citesc. Editura Corint Junior, hardcover cu supracopertă, 320 de pagini, 60 de Ron.

VALENTIN LETENDRE de Gudule – un Tar Duncan, adică Tara Duncan, variantă masculină. Nu ştiu sigur dacă încă a apărut (ba a apărut; am văzut asta într-o poză de pe Metropotam), însă se pare că o să fie la fel de mişto ca Tara Duncan. Editura Corint Junior, softcover, 304 pagini, 40 de Ron.

UPDATE: Cică au apărut şi celelalte două cărţi promise de Corint Junior:
MATURIZAREA LUI AZ GABRIELSON de Jay Amory – o poveste care din descriere pare să fie… inedită. Nu mă pot pronunţa până nu o citesc, însă sinopsisul îmi place. Mai ales sfârşitul lui: Un cuvânt. Rostit încet. Trei silabe. Monstrule. Editura Corint Junior, hardcover cu supracopertă, 416 pagini, 60 de Ron.

CĂLĂTORIE ÎN A CINCEA DIMENSIUNE de Madeleine L’Engle – o carte cu multe premii la purtător, din sinopsis pare de copii, dar poate că nu e aşa. Cine ştie? De multe ori m-am înşelat în privinţa unei cărţi din cauza sinopsisului… Mda… Om vedea… Editura Corint Junior, hardcover cu supracopertă, 256 de pagini, 50 de Ron.

Şi datorită lui Vlad am făcut rost şi de nişte poze cu GAZDA (thanks), prima carte tradusă de mine. Mi-e ciudă de mor că nu o am şi eu; traducătorii mereu primesc ultimii cartea, cu toate că ei au muncit cel mai mult la ea. Mă rog…

posted by: pol

He seguido someramente las taquillas de la vampírica New Moon: despampanantes (aparte del fenómeno en su conjunto, que resulta, por lo menos, llamativo). Por otro lado, esta semana me han llegado un par de tráilers para Cirque du Freak -que presagia estar por encima de la media- y DayBreakers -justo lo contrario- que estaban llenos de draculillas y que llegarán a nuestros cines en breve. No olvidemos tampoco el éxito de la serie True Blood… Hace poco, además, se había estrenado el último fascículo de la saga Underworld, y, si nos remontamos un poco más en el tiempo, a todos nos vendrá a la memoria el arrollador éxito cosechado entre crítica y público por Let the Right One In.

El otro día, un tipo comentaba en el omnipresente Facebook, no sin cierta brillantez, algo parecido a lo siguiente: “qué clase de vampiros son estos, que salen por ahí a plena luz del día y que van enamorándose como gente normal”.  Y es que es cierto que el género está experimentando cambios. Compárese a Pattinson con Bela Lugosi… La pregunta gira en torno al porqué -y creo que la respuesta tiene mucho que ver con la patología sensiblera de nuestra sociedad- y al cómo.  No cabe duda que ante un fenómeno de masas como Twilight, es normal que se dispare todo un desfile de historias aledañas.

Pero es que el vampirismo siempre ha tenido mucho interés para el cine y la narrativa en general. Y es normal: el mundo de los muertos causa una fascinación única, aparte de todas las cuestiones estéticas que provienen, sobre todo, del mito de Drácula. La mayoría de las narraciones vampíricas contienen ingredientes dramáticos muy poderosos -algunos forzados por el afán sexualizador de nuestro tiempo-, y es lógico que en estos tiempos de sequía creativa volvamos a historias tradicionales para darles una vuelta de tuerca. Los ejemplos son infinitos. Ahora bien, parece que la tendencia de subvertir las convenciones genéricas se ha pasado de rosca, hasta convertir a los chupasangres aliumfóbicos en criaturas marginadas que anhelan su reinserción en el mundo de los vivos.

El imprevisible Boyero recoge en su sección de crítica de El País la que quizás sea la excepción a toda la regla: Let the Right One In, del sueco Tomas Alfredson. A la pregunta sobre la causa del retorno de los draculillas, el propio realizador responde: “Porque ilustran nuestra parte animal, y tenemos hoy en día una vida demasiado cerebral, encerrados [...] sin salir al exterior. El género del vampirismo recupera el contacto con nuestros instintos primarios”. Un asunto delicado, que me pone los pelos de punta: ¿hasta dónde llevaremos eso de los “instintos primarios”?

Para más consideraciones, léase el artículo “Que vuelva aquel chipasangres”, de Bayona. Una frase resume la cuestión: “El género nació en Europa para pervertirse en Hollywood”. La conclusión es que -salvo la citada excepción- la originalidad de estas alteraciones sobre el género ya se ha perdido. Y se ha perdido mayoritariamente por el incremento de productos de dudosa calidad que no miran más allá de un público de adolescentes y féminas alocadas por el sentimentalismo barato y sensualoide de Stepehenie Meyer y sus cómplices.  Una oportunidad malgastada, como tantas otras.

To be honest, I have no expectations for New Moon, especially after Twilight. I didn’t think Catherine Hardwicke did a fantastic job. Shoot me if you must but it is my opinion.

While New Moon remains my highly anticipated movie of 2009, I wanted to watch it just as a follow through and to catch the impacts of Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen. Despite exciting trailers, my hope remains flat on the ground.

Two hours ten minutes later?

I am planning another round of New Moon

Truly Chris Weitz got it spot on! New Moon was clearly made for the fans and despite the ‘I could not care less errors’, it soared. It stayed true to the book. Fighting scenes were smooth. Cinematography and songs sequence was well done. I am still amazed by how Chris continued the saga. It was like reading the book. The way I would have visualised it. I vote him for Breaking Dawn.

The acting improved by miles. Robert Pattinson, as gorgeous as always, just proved he is Edward Cullen material. While the fight scenes put him down, brooding scenes was heart felt. Taylor Lautner is Jacob Black. Period. He is just as warmth and just as fun. Looking forward to see him in Eclipse. Kristen Stewart, with most screen time was the best of the three. Her emotions was believeable. While I didn’t feel her pain (as I only feel for Jacob, yes I’m bias), I thought she executed Bella’s heartache and love for Edward really well. Her concern for Jacob was as painful and her slap on Paul remains one of my favourite scenes. Ashley Greene is perfection as Alice Cullen. When she gets her screen time, she stood out.

Meanwhile I still have Jasper and Rosalie issues. Yeah, I’ll try get over it. Jackson was just okay for except for his hair.  Nikki is a gorgeous miscasted brunette. She plays Rosalie well. I liked her no emotion vote scene but I just don’t see her Rosalie beauty the way it was described in the book. The rest of the Cullens definitely had their presence felt. Nonetheless, the master of presence goes to non other than Dakota Fanning. It was an awesome five minutes with her. She brought Jane to life. Another Volturi worth mentioning is Michael Sheen. Had it been Johnny Depp, he would have stolen the show from everyone. No offence to Michael Sheen as he made a tremendous Aro especially playing around with emotions. The fight scene between Daniel Cudmore’s Felix and Robert Pattinson’s Edward was just as exciting.

The wolves were fun to watch too especially eating muffin scene. I thought it was light hearted. My favourite human is still Chief Swan. Billy Burke definitely pulled it off as daddy in distressed.

In a nutshell, while I have always love vampires (think Louis aka Brad Pitt in Interview With The Vampire), I’m team Jacob all the way for this one and proud of it. Leni, my partner and good friend remains Team Edward and president Robsessed :p

As a fan and an audience, I give New Moon 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you, Chris Weitz for making it for the fans. Your effort is deeply appreciated. Here’s to you returning for Breaking Dawn.

Cover novel Newmoon

Tiada apa-apa yang dapat saya ulas tentang filem ini, melainkan sekadar mengabulkan hasrat seorang teman untuk mengetahui filem ini dari sudut bebola mata saya. Siri pertama sekuel filem ini saya tidak tonton. Namun saya percaya, filem pop komersial bukan drama bersiri.

Saya terus membuka ensiklopedia web, wikipedia untuk mendapatkan maklumat detil.

Stephenie Meyer adalah individu yang paling diraikan atas kejayaan filem ini. Selaku penulis novel asal, beliau dinamakan selepas (atau sebaris) J.K Rowling yang sukses dengan siri Harry Potter nya.

Setiap siri Twilight diinspirasikan oleh novel-novel yang di baca oleh Meyer. Dalam catatan Wiki, beliau menyatakan Newmoon banyak dipengaruhi oleh Romeo dan Juliet oleh Shakespeare. Begitu juga dengan siri-siri yang lain dengan karya-karya besar agung yang lain.

Beliau juga merupakan peminat fanatik karya Jane Austin. Bahkan Twilight pertama dipengaruhi oleh Pride dan Prejudice.

Rebiu saya

Sekali lagi, tiada apa-apa yang istimewa. Ramuan pop komersialnya sangat stereotaip. Kisah cinta  romantis tragik + seram ‘pontianak’ + aksi ’serigala jadian’. Ini ramuan utama filem-filem komersial.

Dibarisi pelakon-pelakon yang muda remaja dan ’sedap mata memandang’ (walaupun saya tertanya-tanya, apalah sangat dengan Edward… langsung tak macho!).

Imejan-imejan diambil dengan cantik. Pontianak yang cantik-cantik (kan selalu hantu huduh dan bengis!), pemandangan yang indah (subhanallah), dan babak lawan, luka dan bunuh juga menarik. Seolah-olah pembunuhan dan kekejaman juga satu bentu keindahan.

Satu yang saya suka

Ialah muzik latar dan ‘klip video’ yang dimainkan. Ia. Babak-babak yang memuat lagu-lagu dibuat seperti klip video. Yang tergambar pada saya ialah lagu-lagu dan klip video Coldplay. Perkara ini sebenarnya sebahagian dari pengaruh Meyer. Beliau menyebut antara pemuzik yang beliau minati termasuk Coldplay, Muse dan Linkin Park.

Evergreen!

Namun saya tidak fikir karya ini akan dapat bertahan lama, kerana sifatnya yang kontemporari.

Bella kahwin Edward!

Satu catatan mengenai perkahwinan bangsa pontianak (spesis jin) dan manusia, menurut Islam.

Blog Bin Sahak

Fatwa Mohd Solleh Uthaimin berkenaan jin.

TOME 3

ça y est j’ai lu le tome 3 de la saga Twilight !!! PASSIONNANT !!

Je ne vais évidemment pas vous révéler le tome3… juste quelques indications pour vous donner envie de lire le livre…

Bella est toujours en danger…

Elle a sa famille “vampire” unie autour d’elle pour la protéger, mais elle a aussi un groupe de “loup garous” prêt à la défendre à n’importe quel prix.

Dans tout ça  Bella se retrouve avec une vie pour le moins étrange, le danger qui plane au dessus d’elle, les deux hommes de sa vie, qui s’écorchent à chaque rencontre, que rien ne peut réunir.

Quel est donc ce grand danger qui guette Bella ? Sa famille, ses amis, cette fois seront-ils assez fort, assez nombreux pour lutter contre cet enfer ?

L’animosité entre les “loup garous” et les “vampires” peut-elle s’amoindrir, peut-elle ne plus exister  ??

TOME 3

ça y est j’ai lu le tome 3 de la saga Twilight !!! PASSIONNANT !!

Je ne vais évidemment pas vous révéler le tome3… juste quelques indications pour vous donner envie de lire le livre…

Bella est toujours en danger…

Elle a sa famille “vampire” unie autour d’elle pour la protéger, mais elle a aussi un groupe de “loup garous” prêt à la défendre à n’importe quel prix.

Dans tout ça  Bella se retrouve avec une vie pour le moins étrange, le danger qui plane au dessus d’elle, les deux hommes de sa vie, qui s’écorchent à chaque rencontre, que rien ne peut réunir.

Quel est donc ce grand danger qui guette Bella ? Sa famille, ses amis, cette fois seront-ils assez fort, assez nombreux pour lutter contre cet enfer ?

L’animosité entre les “loup garous” et les “vampires” peut-elle s’amoindrir, peut-elle ne plus exister  ??

A.C.

Hey there, everybody!

Remember when I told you about the Twilight scam that was going around?  Well, there’s another one.  Yep, indeed another one.

This time, it’s apparently promising you the chance to watch the in-theatres-now Twilight Saga: New Moon online.  Just as it is in life, you can’t believe everything you hear, kids.

PC Tools’ Malware Research Center is warning web users of another online scam that hopes to piggyback on hype surrounding the new Twilight New Moon film.

The security software developer says the latest trick tempts movie fans by promising them they can watch the film for free, before installing malware on their computer.

PC Tools said fans are baited with the text websites, chat rooms and blogs that read: “Watch New Moon Full Movie.”

 

Source.

Let’s not be gulliable, “be safe“! :O)

I nipped into my local Borders this morning.  Everything’s at least 20% off (they’ve gone into administration), so thought I’d see what I could get.  Paul wanted a copy of Flashforward so the visit was justified whether I got anything or not.  I got myself the Twilight Journals and a magnet set.  Not much I know but it makes me happy.  I was also looking for Touched by a Vampire but couldn’t find it so had to wait till I got home so I could check it out online.  Whilst browsing other Twilight goodies, I couldn’t believe how many other people have made money off the back of the Saga.  There are books for the films, books about the books, books about Stephenie Meyer, parody books, authorised books, unauthorised books, quiz books, books about the actors, Twilight and Philosophy, the Twilight Gospel (The Spiritual Roots of Stephenie Meyer’s Vampire Saga), the Saga in different languages, different covers, collectors/special editions…you get the idea.  So, for something that many people pass off as trash, why is it so popular?  Why has it made others want to make money on the back of it.  The Twilight and Philosophy and Twilight Gospel books just made my jaw drop.   It’s entertainment with no hidden meaning..it’s fun, it’s an escape from the drudgery of life.  Why does it have to be qualified in such books?  Yes, I know I’ve bought a book about ‘hidden meanings in Twilight’.  I’m just curious as to what these may be?   I’ll write a review when I’ve read it.

As for being too old for all this Twilight stuff?  Here’s what Stephenie Meyer herself said:

“Because I wrote Twilight for my twenty-nine-year-old self and not for a future YA audience, it always made sense to me that women my age would get it the same way I did. Are you ever too old to remember falling in love for the first time”?