The Twilight movie held a greater interest for me compared to the book solely due to the collaborative efforts of talented, inspired and professional artists and actors. It was a pretty movie telling a decent story, despite the insipid source material. I can't say the same for New Moon. Without the delightful newness of lovely if popcorn imagery, I must cast a more critical eye on the film making itself. While still a visually satisfying canvas, the performances by the cast felt ingenuous, stilted and lethargic, as if everyone DMX'd like eight graders before hitting their marks. I've decided the arduous pauses and poor blocking are the result of the teen-movie money shots; Edward's hair and Jacob's abs. Any scene lacking those elements doesn't suck so poorly.
Sex plays just an awkward a role. While the slicked up werewolf boys flex around like wayward Abercrombie & Fitch models, Bella and every other female character, even the dangerous Victoria, angst about swathed head to foot in layers of department store fall fashions, (come see the appropriate side of Sears!) While this is preferable to the early sexualization of American girls, the lack of balance invites a hairy eyeball at the double-standard of female sexuality. Unless she's diving off a cliff or fleeing across the globe to save her ex, Bella's choices are made for her. She's not allowed to claim anything for herself; not her body, her sexuality, her boyfriend, her mortality or her marriage.
God love the Mormons and their Bible fan fiction religion, I can't stand these themes in literature and I despise seeing them on screen.
The pop-movie generator churns on, assembling all the pieces that make a successful box office and throwing them together. The soundtrack rocks, the special effects are getting better, (though I am always going to be picky about my sympathetic monster effects. And by picky, I mean snobbishly unsatisfied,) and the color palette of Forks vs. Volterra is gorgeously contrasted. But the formula is starting to show and no amount of geometry is going to justify its continued use if movie is the only thing sucking in a vampire story.
