"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn"
Richard's Review: 3 stars
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" packs a lot into its first half hour. There's Taylor Lautner's abs (twenty seconds in), teen brooding, a vampiric confession, an overprotective werewolf and the most anticipated teen wedding of the decade. Well, she's eighteen, he's over one hundred years old but looks like a youngin'. It's the next-to-last in the popular series and takes Twihards to the bedroom and beyond.
In case you don't know, this is the episode in which the passionate but chaste relationship between vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) becomes official and sexual. Everyone is pleased with the pairing except werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner), the lobo who is loco for Bella. He doesn't approve, but when Bella gets pregnant with her dead lover's baby and a tribe of werewolves vows to kill her, Jacob chooses to follow his heart, not his heritage.
Like the most successful of recent teen movie franchises "Twilight" treats its characters with respect. Their trip from page to stage has been an easy journey, with most of traits that endeared author Stephanie Meyers's creations to readers intact. The movies value the integrity of the characters and I think that is what has kept audiences coming back for more.
It's not because they're great movies. They've gotten better, and this episode directed by Condon is one of the best of the bunch -- although he pads out the almost two-hour running time with so many music montages I lost count after the deflowering montage -- but it misses greatness because of its slavish loyalty to the book.
The story readers expect is there -- family values intact, even if they are more Addams Family than Family Ties -- with traditional morays celebrated. But the presentation of Bella's pregnancy misses an opportunity to explore the darker side of this vampire story. What could have been a cool, Cronenberg-style play on body horror becomes a melodrama with a pro-life twist.
"Twilight" has as much to do with horror as Pauley Shore does to comedy, so I shouldn't expect real scares. But stranger than any supernatural element in the story is its attitude toward the physical relationship between Bella and Edward. Despite containing a tasteful sex scene the movie seems afraid of sex.
What message does it send to the young audience when Bella can declare how happy she is, while her body is covered in bruises after a night of wild vampire sex? And don't even contemplate the horrors of pregnancy, it seems to say.
If it was a horror film the odd messages could be taken for what they are -- plot devices -- but in this context they read more like unnecessary cautionary tales about the dangers of sex between consenting adults.
"Breaking Dawn" isn't likely to recruit many new Twilight fans, but despite some odd messaging should please fans of the series.
"Happy Feet Two"
Richard's Review: 4 stars
Five years ago I wrote, "Penguins are the new dogs. Not since the heyday of dog movies like Benji and Lassie has one species won over the hearts of so many." Penguins were all the rage, appearing in movies as diverse as "March of the Penguins," the R-rated parody of that movie, "Farce of the Penguins," family flicks like "Madagascar," even something called "Penguins Behind Bars" and, of course the Oscar-winning dancing penguin movie, "Happy Feet." You couldn't swing a haddock without hitting a flock of movie penguins, but that was in 2006. The question today is will people still want to watch waist-coaters do the soft shoe?
"Happy Feet Two" is a series of stories set against a similar theme. Eric (Elizabeth Daily), the son of Mumble (Elijah Wood) and Gloria (Pink) doesn't have the natural grace of his dad, and like all kids is slightly embarrassed of his old man. Meanwhile, Bill and Will (Matt Damon and Brad Pitt) leave the krill swarm. They have grown up and try to make a life for themselves in the outside world. The Mighty Swen (Hank Azaria), an odd looking penguin, impresses Eric with his ability to fly. When a catastrophic natural disaster threatens the very existence of the penguin population, however, Eric, the krill and Swen learn what it really means to be a part of something large than yourself.
The original "Happy Feet" and its sequel don't look or feel like other movies for kids. Director George "Mad Max" Miller is a maximalist director who opens up the usual kid flick palette with swooping cameras, wide-open vistas and beautifully effective 3D. Featuring a cast of thousands -- animated penguins as far as the eye can see and "krillions" of krill -- the movie is made on a scale that would make Cecil B. DeMille proud.
Story wise, the movie also takes a different approach. It's a blend of musical theatre -- many of the story points are introduced or at least supported by epic tunes -- inspired by the Emperor penguins who use heart songs to attract mates. It is also inspired by some traditional family themes -- father and son conflict, the importance of family. But Miller digs a little deeper and really examines why people form families.
Mix in a "free to be me and you" subplot about the consequences of conformity and a subtle environmental message and you have a movie that dispenses with the easy morality of most animated films. Who else but Miller would create Bill and Will, two new bug-eyed characters who can only be described as existential shrimps? Actually they are krill, a tiny marine crustacean, but just because they are small doesn't mean they don't have aspirations -- and most of the movie's best lines. They banter back and forth like Ionesco and Beckett discussing the vagaries of their limited lives. "I fear the worst," says Will, "because fearing the best is a waste of time!" Small but mighty, they are a highlight of the film.
"Happy Feet Two" is a step above most kid's movies. It is joyful and beautiful to look at. It also has more to say about life, love and the pursuit of happiness than most movies aimed at adults.
Go for the penguins, stay for the krill!
