SECOND HELPINGS: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

I’m going to come right out and say it- I was a little too harsh on this film the first time I rated it. New Moon is still just as chock-full of problems as its predecessor but it also shows a few signs of improvement. Where Twilight was laughably bad at times, New Moon comes across as just puzzling in its most awkward moments. While my opinion of this film has improved slightly, many of my original arguments stand firm.

In many ways, New Moon follows a similar framework as Twilight. Much of the first half of the film is slow and moody with a little bit of mystery mixed in. Then there is a little bit of tension building before a break-neck pace takes over the final quarter of the film. The big mid-film reveal (this time it’s that Jacob and his tribemates are werewolves) is, once again, a total anticlimax due to the marketing of the film, word of mouth, and obvious foreshadowing from the first film.

This time around, Bella isn’t alone in making sudden, nonsensical decisions. Edward breaks off their romance and cuts off all communication early on in the film when Jasper shows difficulty controlling himself when Bella gets a paper cut. Late in the film, Edward shows no common sense when Jacob tells him over the phone that Bella is dead. Instead of verifying this shocking news with his psychic-powered sister or even calling someone else back in Forks for confirmation, Edward decides to go off the deep end and expose himself to humans so he can be killed by the Volturi, a fascinating group of characters that are woefully underutilized. This would-be dramatic turn stands out as a sign that the author wasn’t paying attention while she was writing. Instead of building toward this event all along, it comes suddenly, out of nowhere and via a ridiculous spur-of-the-moment coincidence.

One of my biggest beefs with the story of New Moon is the inclusion of Victoria. In Twilight, her hunter vampire boyfriend was killed by the Cullens, leaving the vampiress thirsty for revenge. Instead of a firm revenge plot taking sail, Victoria simply stalks Bella from a great distance. It’s just enough for Bella to need a bodyguard detail in the form of her new werewolf friends. The problem is that Victoria never becomes a legitimate threat; she just lurks in the shadows to provide filler before Edward breaks out the Jump-To-Conclusions Mat. Maybe I’m going a little too Chekov’s Gun here but don’t bother teasing us with the possibility of Victoria seeking revenge if you’re not going to bring her back in full and finish that story arc. It’s lazy writing and strings the audience along.

The visual effects are better this time around but they are still a mixed bag. The budget for New Moon was 35% higher than that of Twilight. While it seems evident that some of that increase went to the visual effects, not quite enough of it did. The color palette is warmer this time, unlike Twilight’s terrible digital grading to sap most of the color out of everything. Had the filmmakers made this decision because Jacob and his werewolf brethren are hot to the touch as opposed to vampires being stone cold, I might have given the film some style points. Alas, it wasn’t as intentional as that. The director simply wanted to emulate the color palette of the Italian artwork he likes.

The visual effects for the wolves that Jacob and his friends turn into, however, fail to impress. Part of it may be due to the unnaturally large size of wolves they turn into. Their proportions are correct but their size registers in your brain as wrong. They also don’t look like they occupy the same space as the flesh-and-blood actors on screen with them or the real environments they are inserted into. That’s how it looks on my TV screen. Perhaps it looked better on the big screen, as many visual effects often do.

One of the few things that New Moon has going for it is a little bit of character development. Unlike the relationship between Bella and Edward, watching Bella and Jacob grow in their friendship is believable. Maybe it helps that their starting point is a place of friendship instead of mystery and bloodlust. Mystery is added to the mix after they’ve grown close and Jacob shuts her out of his life for a while. Their interactions and the chemistry between the actors feel natural and right, which is the complete opposite of how Bella and Edward felt in the first film.

I originally trashed this movie and gave it a lower rating than Twilight. After taking a second look at New Moon, I actually think it is a better film on the whole than its predecessor. Some of the technical aspects that were unwelcome in Twilight have been done away with. Sadly, New Moon is just as guilty for not rebuking Bella for her irrational behavior to the point of learning an actual lesson. By not having the heroine change and mature, the film legitimizes at least some of Bella’s moody, hormonal, teenage thought processes and actions in the eyes of some in the audience. Along with this, there are enough flaws to hold this film at the same level as Twilight but I think I would easily watch this one again over the first installment if given the choice.

ORIGINAL RATING: 2 out of 5

NEW RATING: 2.5 out of 5

Gravity* (2013)

It takes a lot for me to see a film in 3D. To date, this is only the second film I have watched in the 3D format. For most films, 3D is little more than a gimmick and does nothing to enhance the story being told. As with Avatar, this film was made specifically with a 3D presentation in mind. Few films truly merit 3D presentation but Gravity is certainly one of them. I think the film could be just as powerful in 2D but seeing it in 3D provided an even more immersive experience.

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a biomedical engineer on a space shuttle mission to make upgrades to some of the Hubble Space Telescope’s delicate instruments. During her spacewalk, a debris field caused by an exploded satellite overtakes Stone, her crew, and their shuttle. Stranded in orbit, Stone and Lt. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) form a desperate plan to survive.

Some people complain about a lack of plot and I can see why they might think so but I think this may be because they do not share my understanding of what constitutes plot and story. As a story, Gravity is a powerhouse sequence of events. Precious little time is spent on wind-up. In your typical disaster blockbuster, probably a good thirty minutes would be spent introducing us to the characters. Here, we get maybe five minutes before things go haywire. Only after the spectacular opening sequence do we get to know the two surviving characters. Even then, we only learn about the shell-shocked Ryan because Kowalski knows he needs to distract her from the high probability that they are going to die.

But these forced conversations open us up to Ryan’s emotional journey, which I consider the film’s plot. She goes from being terrified and helpless, to mustering the courage to fight for her life, to finding the will to live. She clings to some things as she lets go of others. As in real life, people tend to find out who they are and what they’re made of during times of hardship. In 91 minutes, we witness one woman’s gut-wrenching transformation amidst the most extreme conditions. We get to know Ryan Stone at her worst and at her best and it is so, so powerful to experience.

Sandra Bullock carries this film on her shoulders and makes it look effortless. In reality, she was rigged to a wire harness in a box covered with LED lights. While you might think this film was shot in space or like on a parabolic flight like in Apollo 13, Bullock actually spent almost all of her time as if she were a marionette puppet, with the filmmakers controlling her every move. To be able to give up control of your body while delivering such a frenzied performance is astounding and, for me, this beats even her Oscar-winning performance in The Blind Side.

This movie looks like it was filmed in space. What is most astonishing is that all of the exterior spacewalk sequences are 100% digitally created, save for the actor’s superimposed faces inside the suits. Seeing pictures of the crew filming interior scenes is amazing because you realize just how much detail was added digitally. The end result is gorgeous and marks an enormous leap forward in visual effects. There are a few places where you can spot something that looks a little fake but at least 99% of this film looks real.

Not only does director Alfonso Cuarón create a nearly seamless visual extravaganza, he also employs the 3D format in a way that adds weight to the story being told. I don’t think 3D is essential to telling this story but the added depth of 3D really hammers home just how distant and isolated Stone and Kowalski are from Earth and anyone who can save them. It also enhances a few of the scenes where Stone is fumbling along the outside of a space station or spacecraft trying to achieve her goals. Cuarón likes to put long takes into his films and have the camera follow one character or drift between cameras for minutes on end without cutting. These sequences where the camera follows stone as she maneuvers around and along things are also heightened by 3D.

For a film firmly rooted in science and the here-and-now, Gravity has a moment that is open to debate. Late in the film there is a scene that can be interpreted two ways. It can either be scenes as a biological/physiological phenomenon or it can be interpreted in a spiritual way. I can’t say any more than I already have without spoiling things and I strongly encourage you to see this movie. I appreciated this scene and interpreted it the way my own way. Some may complain that this moment is something of a deus ex machine but I find it beautiful and touching. Without it, Stone’s journey is not complete.

Much like the Lord of the Rings movies did a decade before, Gravity sets a new standard by which to judge visual effects in films. It is also a hair-raising nail-biter that blasts your body with multiple adrenaline rushes. It took me at least an hour to recover from watching this film. All praise is due to Alfonso Cuarón for creating the technology necessary to will his vision onto the big screen. The fact that this film was a technical, critical, and box office triumph shows that Hollywood hasn’t completely run out of ideas yet. I can’t wait to see what Cuarón’s got in store for us next.

RATING: 4.25 out of 5