Movie/Book Review: New Moon (Twilight)

On the weekend I saw New Moon with a couple of girl friends. We were in gold class, and it was just us and 2 other random guys. We found it really strange because its either; they're there together to watch New Moon... or they've come by themselves to watch New Moon. Either way... it seems pretty weird to me lol.

Anyway, the Twilight books has been the latest big seller since Harry Potter. It is a love story between a vampire (Edward Cullen) and a high school girl (Bella Swan). I have actually read the books, which some guys might find surprising... but I usually look into stories that are supposed to be good, as I love a good storyline. The first book (Twilight) really enticed me into the series... but the second book (New Moon) was really disappointing. So I wasn't actually expecting much from the movie... but I wanted to see it anyway, because I wanted to see how it would turn out in a movie format.

Surprisingly, this is probably the first time I've actually thought the movie was better than the book... but this is mainly because I found the second book to be the worst out of the series. The main thing about the book that I hated was that it is told from Bella's point of view... and her thoughts are both really emo and also overly lovey dovey. So the good thing about the movie, is that you don't really have to hear all that kind of stuff. I also enjoyed the fight scenes between the vampires as I think it's pretty cool when they fight with their insanely high speed and strength.

The main problem I have with the movie though, is some of the acting. Some of the acting was pretty appauling, and I'm generally quite lenient. But some of the acting just gave me the shits... for example when Bella is supposed to be in a state of shock or utter disbelief, she has this weird expression and stutters a lot while seeming to have some sort of attitude. That's probably the best way I can describe it... you'll have to see for yourself to know what I mean.

The basic plot of this movie is that firstly, Bella becomes afraid of aging... as we mortals do. So she fears that one day she'll become an old grandma, and that Edward will no longer want her. Thus she wants to become a vampire a live among the Cullens. After a particular incident, it becomes apparent to the Cullens that they are a danger to Bella, so they leave town and erase traces that they had been there so that hopefully Bella would move on. When this happens, Bella becomes really depressed and emo... and the rest takes off from there.

Rating - 5/10. The Twilight series in general is more suited for girls than guys, but there are some good fighting scenes in there as well... just maybe not enough to offset having to go through all the lovey dovey stuff. The next movie should actually have a lot more fighting... as it's probably the book that has the potential to provide the most action scenes for the movie version. So if you do watch the movie for the fight scenes, then you should watch New Moon so you know what's going on... as whats revealed is pretty important to the storyline. If you have absolutely no interest in the books or if you didn't like the first movie... then you probably won't enjoy this movie.


Below is a picture of Christian Serratos, who plays Angela Weber. Angela Weber is a high school girl, and a friend of Bella. She has a very minor role in the movies, but she's a bit more prominent in the book (but not by that much more). I posted her pic because I think she's pretty good looking... this pic doesn't do her justice imo, but it's the only one I could find of her in New Moon.

Movie and Book Review: Angels and Demons

Back again... was sick last week, so didn't have the energy to write anything here. But during that time I was able to find some time to watch the Angels and Demons movie. I liked the Da Vinci Code book (same main character, and written by Dan Brown), and the movie was ok. So it was interesting to see how Angels and Demons would be converted to a movie.

The Angels and Demons book was a great read. I don't know how accurate the historical stuff that the book mentions is... but it made for a good storyline, and its good to get some background information about various pieces of art. Normally I'm not a fan of these type of things... but various pieces of art sparked some interest in me, so I looked them up to get a better idea of them.

Anyway as for the storyline... the main character is Robert Langdon. He is professor of religious iconography and symbiology, and he teaches at a university. He is contacted by CERN, which is a real organisation based in Switzerland that researches particle physics. A researcher at CERN was murdered and branded with the Illuminati symbol. The Illuminati are an ancient cult, comprising of 'enlightened' beings. They are an anti-Christian secret society... and judging by the branding of the researcher (who was a devout Catholic), are plotting something to bring down the Vatican. They had stolen 'anti-matter', which threatens to cause a massive explosion on the scale of an atomic bomb, which could wipe out Vatican city, and possibly all of Rome. I researched anti-matter after reading the book, and apparently anti-matter can not explode on that scale, especially with such a small specimen. However... it does make for a good storyline, but having said that... I wasn't so sure on the validity of the historical references that the book makes.

The movie for me... was actually quite disappointing. It leaves out important characters, and even the actual storyline deviates greatly to the book. An example is the character known as the 'Hassassin'. As you might guess... hes an assassin (gasp), and he is meant to be of middle eastern origin. He is also very sadistic, and his thirst for killing is only equalled by his lust for women... and he tends to like combining his interests. Anyway, he's one of the most important characters in the book... yet he is completely different in the movie, and has absolutely no character development whatsoever. Another thing which is more for me personally... is that the female lead playing Vittoria Vetra wasn't as good looking as I had imagined... she's too old. The actress is 40 years old... and Vittoria is meant to be in her 20's.

I'd give the book a 8/10 rating, and the movie I'd give 4/10. The movie's rating is mainly bad because I read the book first. If I had watched the movie by itself, then it would be closer to a 7. Personally I'd recommend reading the book first. If you don't watch the movie... you're not really missing out that much, but the book is definitely well worth the read.