Saw several movies this weekend, while not new, were new to me...
Twilight
Twilight... well, if you haven't heard about this one, you've been living under a rock on Mars (or you haven't been around a teenage girl in the last year). Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves to a tiny town in Washington to live with her dad. New to school and already an outsider, Bella is immediately attracted to another outsider, the James Dean-like Edward (Robert Pattinson), who is oddly both attracted and repulsed by her. He is pale, cold to the touch and always calls off sick when it's sunny. When Edward saves her from an out of control car (using his bare hands), Bella puts two and two together. He is a vampire. Rather than be scared, she is intrigued. They fall in love. Unfortunately for her, another vampire is attracted to her as well, only as a menu item.
Twilight was great at capturing that sense of isolation in high school. To the director's credit, the film had a simple, straightforward story that did not rely too heavily on special effects but focused on character. The pacing was a bit awkward in places and the transitions between scenes were a bit jumpy (one minute they are in Washington, the next they are in Phoenix). I have not yet read the books so I felt I was missing out on some more subtle story points.
Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens... where to start! A documentary film about a mother and daughter, Big and Little Edie Beale, aunt and cousin to Jackie Onasis Kennedy. Victims of both circumstance and mental illness, they grew up in privilege and were reduced to living in squalor. The film records their lifestyle in a once beautiful 20+ room mansion that is now covered with overgrown shrubbery and filled with garbage, cats and raccoons. The film is appalling and exploitative and hillarious and heartwarming all at once. As crazy as their antics are, you can't help but be charmed by them as they relive fonder moments in their past. Jessica Lang and Drew Barrymore will be starring in an HBO film based on the Beales' life, also titled Grey Gardens. You can view clips of both the original documentary film and a trailer for the new one on Liam's blog. Yes, that is a sweater on her head!
1 comment:
Yeah I just bought Twilight this past weekend to. Watched it with Shaun. He loves it and is now hooked. He has asked to watch it 2other times this weekend. I have read the book already so that helped to know some of the small things that were not said. There were obviously a few differences between the book and movie but not horriably drastic. I have the book if you want to borrow it sometime, just let me know.
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