New Moon, Finally

Assalamualaikum,

Golden Screen Cinema, Queensbay Mall, Penang.
9.50 pm, C19.
A moment of truth...

I LOVE IT!!!

Oh my... I have so many things to say about New Moon. I'll try to keep it the shortest :D

To Stephanie Meyer for her great writings; to Chris Weitz for sticking to the book, to Melissa Rosenberg for the screenplay, and to the production team of New Moon: Thank you for bringing all my favorite parts into living moments - all are the parts I will read every time. You have done it GREAT.

Oh yes, some people might not agree with me; as some prefer tea over coffee. The world is not perfect and it's okay :p

I know the saga by heart, and I'm not watching New Moon to know the story. I'm watching New Moon to see it in flesh and blood (and abs if I may add), to witness the moments being pictured by different minds and to give credit to the team for their effort in bringing a fiction to real life.

New Moon the movie is just like New Moon the book. Hate the beginning; hate the no-Edward-and-all-Jacob. I've been reading New Moon consistently to get all the depression out of my system, so I could enjoy the work I've been following all this while. And yes, I don't cry - I've cried and depressed the first time I read the book - don't plan to recall that.

There's a lot of improvement in New Moon: better color; better script; better screenplay; better actions; better expressions; better hair and makeup and costumes; better acting from the cast - Kristen have always been great, love her for being sad for New Moon. Rob, he is finally becoming the Edward Cullen - softer, more real, more charming, and forever SWOON! Taylor is the new hot stuff, can't get enough of him. The credit should go to the casting team: they have chosen correct actors/actresses. I was all excited to see the characters and none of them disappoint me.

I understand why there are people who walk out of the cinema all hooked up to Mr. Jacob Black. He was pictured lovely and what-not-to-love in New Moon the movie; and not to mention that Mr. Taylor Lautner himself is sort of beautiful. If I have not read the book and don't have this issue with Jacob Black tried to snatch Bella from Edward, I might just as well fall for him. Luckily, Edward Cullen still hold the heart :D Hahahaha! But yes, I don't hate Jacob in the movie.

I enjoyed every seconds watching New Moon. Most probably I will watch it again, next time with spectacles for better sight :D Below is some critiques and what I like about New Moon.

Until next time.
Wassalam.

P/S: Can’t wait for Eclipse!

Critiques:
I wish every line were turn into movie, exactly as the book. But that would be silly and would be a more than 2 hours movie. Even in speech, we tend to go different from what we've wrote. Happen to movies adapted from novels.

The scenes selected were almost perfectly correct. But I must say that I can't get enough moments to capture the emotion. The movie was too fast. 3 crucial parts that from my POV are the core to New Moon: 1) The depth of Bella and Edward's love, 2) The breakup scene, and 3) the cliff diving scene. It would be better if they spent more time to picture Edward and Bella's relationship deeper as introduction and then slam the audience with the breakup scene.

The breakup scene: Audiences are supposed to feel really, really sad about it. I did when I first read the book. It was a heart-stopping moment; a love, life, meaning... end kind of thing. Cliff diving: Like I mentioned in my previous blog post, this scene shows how Bella misses Edward and can't live without him. That is the final act of an abandoned love.

I am pleased to hear more lines from the book spoken in the movie. But I'm not that fond when some were spoken in different scenes. It was kind of distracting since I have the New Moon played from the book with correct dialogues in my mind. Oh well, at least the lines were spoken :D

The music: I love Alexandre’s Desplat, Anya Marina’s Satellite Heart and Muse’s I Belong to You played in the movie. I recognize another one or two and that’s all. Hmm… Not so convincing and breath taking this time. The soundtrack is a little bit too avant-garde for me.

Apart from that, New Moon is a good production.

Mental note:
# Love the birthday morning scene at school, where Edward was approaching Bella. I was like, Oh My God! *swoon* Alexandre Desplat's was the background music.
# Love Alice Cullen's first appearance, swinging herself down the stairs. And of course, when Jasper said: Happy... Never mind :D
# When Edward was repeating over the Romeo & Juliet's... that was really awesome! I'd like to watch that scene over and over again. He sounded so here and real.
# The breakup scene was pictured vividly. If I was not making New Moon immune to my system, I'd probably cried my heart out. But I wonder why they change Edward's line from "Yes" to "No".
# The passing time: I felt the emptiness and the longing and the missing. A standing ovation over the creativity. It's better than my mental model, with Bella walking lifelessly.
# When Bella was approaching the bikers and saw Edward's image for the first time: My heart said: It's him, the one man I misses so very much. Oh ya, like the hole in my heart was filled in.
# Jacob: Bella arrived with the bikes and Jacob was running towards her. The smile on his face is like the sun - he looks really happy, a sincere happiness. I felt sudden warmth emerging from my heart after all the coldness and sullenness of Bella.
# In cinema: It's hilarious!
# Always my favorite of Bella/Kristen Stewart's: The expression of seeing Edward's image (from the birthday morning scene) fading. Timeless.
# Love the wolf pack! The production has chosen the right actors to play the wolves. The actors were exactly the kind of guys who descend from wolf.
# The wolves' transformation: Great job!
# At Emily's: The muffin is exactly as I'd imagine :D But have to agree with other Twi-fans, the scar doesn't look much like wolf's job.
# The cliff diving: WOW! But I wish they have included the scene where Bella gave up and say: Good bye, I love you. They rearrange it into the meadow part with Laurent. The line would have sounded more effective in the cliff diving scene.
# Edward's reaction believing Bella's death: He looked so sad, so much in pain, especially when he was meeting the Volturri for their decision on his death proposal. Good job, Rob! I must say that Rob's acting skill as Edward has improved.
# The Volterra scene: Awesome! The yellow 911 Turbo was astounding, the red cloak was mesmerizing. It was another perfect scene from the book.
# Jane: Dakota Fanning is the Jane!
# The Volterra fighting scene: What can I say more? There' nothing not to like about it. It was fast, it was smooth. Yes, not in the book but a good add up.
# THE PROPOSAL: The best scene. Love Edward's crooked smile. I actually change my name to Isabella Marie Swan and said YES :p