The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2 out of 5 Stars




First there was Twilight. Then there was New Moon. Now welcome back to the teenage melodrama with Eclipse. This time around, Bella faces her inner turmoil as she wrestles with the reality that she loves Edward and Jacob. At the same time Victoria is still after her for Edward killing her mate and an army of newborn vampires is created that could wipe everyone out if they aren't taken care of or the infamous Volturi step in.

Truly, Eclipse is the best in the series so far. Sadly, that says very little. Twilight was alright. New Moon was terrible. Eclipse is still pretty bad. These stories are basically the closest thing you could get to a big budget soap opera. And where they went wrong has (at least I believe) nothing to do with the filmmakers. The score was quite excellent. The cinematography absolutely wonderful and I think the best of the three. The acting even improved (though not by a lot). And there was even more action (but only slightly). The different take on the story helped a bit and I think the director must have worked a little on less awkward characters but that doesn't save them from their ridiculous scenarios and dialogue.

Eclipse further exemplifies that Stephanie Meyers books just make horrendous films, especially when realizing how faithful they are to the source material. The books might be enjoyable, at least possibly the first time around, but the reality is that some books should never be movies. This series is a good example. Although Eclipse is the closest they have come to bringing a good film to the screen in this franchise, if they stay true to the books closely there is no possible way to succeed after this. In fact, if so the next film will most definitely be worse. Basically, there is not much of any redemption for this series when it comes to quality. And when it comes to "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" I realize I start to side with "Team Bella's Father." And that's just because he adds a desperately needed small dose of humor to this laughable film.

Twilight made vampires "cool." Well, vampires were never meant to be cool. For good reason. And then it gave young girls a false reality. To say that this series is like teenie bopper softcore porn doesn't seem to far off the map it seems. Especially if you start comparing it to the idea of romance novels. Now in the midst of it's shortcomings it at least turns on the grounds of modern cinema and advocates abstinence. Unfortunately that can't save this sad storytelling from being so laughable. This is a generational film series and one that has a very influential impact on society but one that falls far short of such series of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. At least those series have some quality. Here, we just have young girls ogling muscular guys with their shirts off.

Remember Me

3 1/2 out of 5 Stars



In the opening sequences of the film we fall witnesses to Ali's mother being shot on a subway ramp in front of her daughter and discover her father is a police officer. Fast forwarding years later we meet Tyler who is an emotional wreck with a dysfunctional family including a father who works too much and a younger sister who is picked on at school and looks for affirmation from her father and receives none. We soon discover that his brother, Matthew, committed suiced years earlier. Tyler soon gets into trouble with the authorities with his best friend Aidon and encounters Ali's father. Soon after through a stroke of fate Tyler meets Ali and a relationship blooms.

Remember Me is a romance drama set in New York. It really is have drama and half romance and part comedy. From the beginning to the end we are faced with gritty reality and it never really pulls back. The characters pasts are tragic and the families are dysfunctional. Tyler's dad is always working with never enough time for his family. His younger sister is a child prodegy when it comes to art and Tyler is a complete emotional wreck. Then there is Ali's family. She has done well considering witnessing her mother's death but her father goes to extremes if anything with his daughter is out of place. There are a lot of characters but they all fit well in the story and bring to the screen a depiction of life that we often don't wish to see ... the one that's really there.

If anything, amidst the angst and chaos Remember Me is a character piece. Each character is unique and brought to the screen with emotional depth. It has been considered a romance drama but I found there to be more drama than romance throughout the film. It became necessary for characters to finally deal with past events in their life and mend broken relationships with their family. Most often we can understand where these characters are coming from and emphathize with them, feeling strong emotions to what we want to happen, often at which times do.

Ultimately this film was a surprise. With Robert Pattinson in the leading role and the recent phenomenon of Twilight, no one really seems to think he can act anymore. On top of this, Remember Me has been marketed more as a romance than anything, a poor move in my opinion that will bring in far too many angsty tweens and possibly leaving them dissapointed to find he isn't playing the brooding and lover obsessed Edward Cullen. It's a fresh break for Pattinson from tween angst to prove he might actually have some acting chops.

Remember Me is a film that will leave you intrigued by the characters and drawn into it's world all while leading up to the unexpected ending. It's a pleasant surprise from the film many people thought would just be another Robert Pattinson romance film.