Movies must be able to stand on their own two feet; they can't rely on their source material for viewers to understand what's happening onscreen, which is a sin the Twilight series continues to make over and over again. Of course, when millions of females — the overwhelming majority of whom make up its rabid fan base — the world over have read the books, I guess that's less of a concern than it would be otherwise. —-
The cognitive dissonance problem for Twilight book virgins is not as prominent in the film version of Breaking Dawn — Part 1 as it as been in the previous two big-screen entries, but it's still a problem (the films have never sufficiently conveyed to me why Bella has such a strong connection to Jacob, nor have they convinced me that Edward would fall so hard for such an bland, perpetually conflicted paramour). The bigger issue with Part 1 is that what should take no more than an hour of screen time — the marriage of Bella and Edward, their honeymoon and the birth of their spawn — is stretched out over two. (Read tt stern-enzi's like-minded review below.)
But, hey, who am I to get in the way of business — two films instead of one means at least $200 million more in box-office receipts for the Twilight series' studio, Summit Entertainment. For a much more convincing love story, check out Sundance favorite Like Crazy, which opens this week at the Esquire Theatre.
Opening films:
HAPPY FEET TWO — Happy Feet Two is, in its way, utterly distinctive from the great mass of contemporary animated fare, yet it’s also far too frantic and muddled to work as simple storytelling. (Read full review here.) (Opens wide today.) — Scott Renshaw (Rated PG.) Grade: C
LIKE CRAZY — Writer-director Drake Doremus graduates from the micro-niche ranks into indie world with Like Crazy, the Grand Jury Prize winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. (Read full review here.) (Opens today at Esquire Theatre.) — tt stern-enzi (Rated R.) Grade: A
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN — The fourth and penultimate entry in the wildly popular vampire series delivers more melodramatic mayhem. (Read full review here.) (Opens wide today.) — tts (PG-13.) Grade: C-
