I see a bad moon rising

The key to really enjoying a film is to go into it with absolutely no expectations and with a good sense of humour (because ok maybe you have the expectation that it is going to suck, whatever). Last night I saw New Moon with Em and her boyfriend, who was by far more into it than either of us. Really, his enthusiasm is adorable. For those who live under a rock, it is the second film of four based on the immensely popular Twilight novels written by Stephenie Meyer, and is all about vampires and werewolves but without the pesky constraints of horror convention and tradition.

Amazingly enough, I actually enjoyed this movie. In my opinion, it was much better than the first one. This is probably in no small part due to the fact that Cedric is barely in it. Minimal stuttered dialogue and lack of chemistry topped with pained facial expressions mean less eye-rolling for me. Yay! Taylor Lautner, who of course plays Jacob Black, surprised me by out-acting virtually everyone. He is the most natural and most believable of the lot of them. Save perhaps Alice, who is adorable. Jasper has maybe all of two lines and still stands around like he's been caught in headlights, but it's Jasper so who cares - plus I loved his final line. The Laurent scene in the meadow was comic relief, though I doubt that was intended. He said something that sent me into a fit of giggles but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. Nobody else really warrants any attention...oh except that Mike character, man he's annoying. I mean he was annoying in the books, but he's just moron level of annoying now. Oh, I also realised Em and I totally have a thing for Carlisle though. Every time he came on screen (which is not nearly often enough) we'd both just sigh happily.

I know Lizzie for one will disagree with me here, but I actually love the Volturi. They have an edge of creepiness that's generally lacking in this franchise. I thought they captured the vibe I got from them in the books perfectly, with the other two being alternately deathly bored and unamused, while Aro just runs around all gleefully. It's amusing. While he is not a reflection of my mental image of Aro, I think Michael Sheen did a great job with what little he had to work with. Also, Dakota Fanning as Jane is just perfect. I would love to see more of them, especially her "brother" Alec...for no other reason other than he's adorable. So if we could have him, Jasper and Carlisle in the back of every scene, I will stop complaining about how much Cedric is ruining everything.

Seriously, not once while reading the books did I ever think "Man I wish someone would take out Edward." Jake yes, Bella yes, never Edward. But watching the films I catch myself thinking that quite often. That's why I shall forever refer to him as Cedric, for he is not, nor shall he ever be, anything remotely close to the Edward in my head. Ugh why couldn't we have had Tom Sturridge or Gaspard Ulliel or something? I'm sure there's an unknown actor out there that would have done a great job much like Taylor. I am sorry that I keep picking on the guy, really I am. In the back of my head I know that I should give him a break...but I just can't seem to help myself.

But I digress. The point is, I did not loathe this and I may even watch it again when it comes out on DVD - something I certainly never felt like doing with the first one. So yes, by all means go see it and bring your own opinion on the hype. Just don't expect anything and it'll be fine.

Meanwhile, I've started watching The Avengers and I love it way more than I really should. It's on at 1am on Fridays and it just cracks me up.

Music: Resistance - Muse
Mood: Sleepy