Twilight: New Moon: Summit Entertainment Two Disc Special Edition
Review by JAM
One of the most anticipated of the year has finally made its way to the shelves of your local stores on DVD and Blu-ray as Twilight: New Moon has finally been released. The fantasy/romance epic continues with the second chapter of the continuing relationship between Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), the immortal vampire.
New Moon starts with a sullen Bella fearing growing older, having just reached her eighteenth birthday and having dreamt of her old wrinkled future next to an eternally young Edward. Edward attempts to reassure her and dissuade her from her addictive need to join his family through his bite, and even leaves her life seemingly forever in order to save her from himself, herself, and their enemies. The problem is, as in most teen dramas, the emotional decisions we make often come back to bite us, no pun intended. Victoria (Rachelle Lafevre), Edward’s nemesis, is keeping tabs on the love of his life in order to destroy him emotionally, and Edward’s idea of staying away to protect Bella actually plays completely into her hands. Thank goodness for Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner who got completely ripped for this role) who slides into the role as her protector with Edward gone, not knowing that big surprises are in store for all of them in the near future.
Those big surprises lead to a hairy predicament as Jacob reaches his potential as a giant hairy werewolf member of his tribe, who are the sworn enemies of the vampires. With the Cullen family gone, there are no major issues as the werewolves work on hunting the rogue vamps Victoria and Laurent, even ripping Laurent to pieces when Bella is threatened. Victoria is still a problem as she is still hunting the townspeople, even causing a heart attack to one of the elders as she tracks Bella down. Luckily Jacob is there to save Bella from herself once again as her attempt to call Edward back to her backfires and nearly causes her death by either the ocean or Victoria. Jacob pulls her out, saves her from the possible attack from Victoria, and resuscitates her.
Feeling the closeness growing between herself and Jacob, Bella is surprised to find that at least one of the Cullen’s has returned. It’s Alice (Ashley Greene), Edward’s sister having returned following one of her visions. After some harsh words between the “wet dog” Jacob and the bloodsucker Alice, Jacob answers a call for Bella from the long gone Edward, telling him that Charlie (Billy Burke), Bella’s father is busy planning a funeral. Edward of course thinks that Bella is gone and prepares to find a way to end his own existence. As Bella and Alice race to save Edward, the Volturi put the impromptu family through the paces of various vampiric powers, all of which Bella seems immune from. After a promise from Alice that she has seen Bella turned in the future, the Volturi let them go and they return to Forks together. Bella convinces the family that she deserves and desires the chance to join their family, but Edward is still reluctant. During a confrontation with Jacob, we find out why as Jacob reminds him that any bite of a human will break the treaty and open war between them. The movie ends with Edward promising the change, but only if Bella marries him first.
Thoughts on New Moon
Throughout the movie, this malaise seems to infect Bella as she seems lost and adrift even before Edward leaves in order to keep her safe (or so he thinks). It is interesting to see the dichotomy of relationships between Bella and the loves of her life, Jacob and Edward. It seems Edward ruins her life in so many ways, yet he holds her heart in his hands. Jacob on the other hand seems to be her knight in furry armor that is the constant she needs, but not in the hot-blooded romantic way. Having not read the books, I am looking forward to seeing what happens between Bella and Jacob still. Taylor Lautner brought an amazing intensity to his role, especially having heard that he almost lost the role as the skinny young boy he was. Well, he listened to the critics and buffed himself up for this second movie and brought some teeth to the role.
Another plot point that seems to be heading to a boil is the tenuous treaty between the wolves and the vampires. Once again, not knowing what coming is making me interested in what is to come. The special effects that were in use in New Moon were amazing whether during wolf/vampire fights or vampire actions, and I’m looking forward to what is to come in the next.
Can I just say that seeing Dakota Fanning as an evil vampire was interesting. To me, she will always be the little girl from movie roles from long ago and now she is an evil vampire who thrives on dealing psychic pain to others as evidenced by her attack on Edward. Oddly enough, Bella is immune to her vampiric charms, which probably will mean something in the next movie, which of course I can’t wait to see. It will be interesting on how I view Dakota after that movie as well.
Twilight: New Moon from Summit Entertainment Two Disc Special Edition is a fantastic blend of romance and action packed horror and comes Highly Recommended from JAMMovieReviews and HollywoodTeenZine.
Extras
The DVD includes an amazing amount of extra power packed into just three categories. First is the audio commentary that is connected to the movie. Director Chris Weitz and Editor Peter Lambert combine to reveal insights into the movie in this section. The second disc imports an awesome documentary collection called The Journey Continues which has six parts documenting the transitions into the new film, changes in lives post-Twilight, and production shoots. Each of these sections will be discussed a little below. Also included are four music videos for Death Cab for Cutie, Anya Marina, Mutemath, and rehearsal footage of Muse.
Bonus Features include:
Audio Commentary with Director Chris Weitz and Editor Peter Lambert
The Journey Continues – 6 part documentary
Part One – Life After Twilight – shows insight into the phenomenon that Twilight had become for these actors, who all seem very excited to share this with each other. I loved the fact that the majority of this section seemed to be shot at the San Diego Comic Con, a haven for the sci-fi/fantasy lovers like myself. Actually I’m a comic book geek, I can admit it, but now it has become trendy due to movies like Twilight and Iron Man which have caught the attention of the masses. It was interesting to hear how things have changed for the young adults involved in this picture.
Part Two – Chris Weitz Takes the Helm – insight into the director of the New Moon. I remember some issues after the first movie with director changes and things behind the scene, but they found the right person for the job this time. Chris showed his enthusiasm throughout this section, especially when the topic of a secret letter that was given to the cast members is discussed. It sounds like he took the time to thank and write about his excitement and enjoyment of working with this cast.
Part Three – The Subtle Details – a discussion on costuming and production design.
Part Four – A Look at Production – the meat and potatoes of the extras, this is a discussion of multiple scenes from the movie, full of various issues they faced during filming, how they set up shots, mother nature controlling their timing, and a variety of insights into the actual filming of this project. Scenes include motorcycle scenes involving the unloading and riding, cliff diving scenes, fight scenes, and transformation scenes for Jacob. Oh yeah, Chris Weitz even directs the cliff diving scene in a wetsuit! Definitely worth the time to check out.
Part Five – It’s Not Magic – a look at the special effects that made this movie pop on-screen from vampire speed to the building of the wolves.
Part Six – Ready for the World – editing, score, and sound. A true insight into the final transformation of the movie.
Music Videos
Death Cab for Cutie – “Meet Me on the Equinox”
Anya Marina – “Satellite Heart”
Mutemath – “Spotlight”
Rehearsal footage for Muse – “I Belong to You”
Twilight: New Moon from Summit Entertainment Two Disc Special Edition sneaks onto shelves on March 23, 2010. Grab your copy, but keep the lights on! The vamps are out tonight!
Remember check out this review and more from JAM at http://www.hollywoodteenzine.com/ for teens and tweens, and at http://www.jammoviereviews.blogspot.com/ for movies of all genres and ages.
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