Team Taylor

I was torn when I went to see New Moon this weekend. There were some really great improvements in this movie as compared to Twilight but I can't help but come away with an overall disappointed feeling. To make it worse ... I wasn't even expecting it to be all that great. The first movie wasn't great and we all know the movie is never as good as the book but that shouldn't stop the producers from at least trying right?

I could go on and on about this and bore everyone to tears but instead I'm just going to list out what I saw as (to use one of my husband's favorite movies) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly parts of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. (And because he was such a trooper going to the movie with me and suffering through all the girlie squealing from the audience - I'm giving my husband's opinions as well)

The Good:

• Taylor Lautner: Not only is he super cute but also one of the better actors in the central cast.
• They FINALLY got The Meadow right! Making Bella and Edward's meadow dead and brown when Bella goes in search of a way to connect to Edward after he leaves was nicely done - a point that would have been even more appreciated by movie goers if they hadn't completely botched the meadow scene in the first movie.
• The Volturi: Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning were great and I can't wait to see more of them in the next two movies.
• Bella's school friends: Once again these kids were some scene-stealing bitches and I love them for it. They add a much needed sense of light and humor to the movies.
• The 360 shot of Bella: Something that I think Stephenie Meyer did great in this book was the blank pages she added in the middle of the book to portray the emptiness and depression that Bella goes through after Edward left her. I didn't expect this to be included in the movie but when I saw it - at the risk of sounding cheesy - it took my breath away.
• The Soundtrack!
• Jasper attacking Bella at the birthday party (my husband's opinion)
  

The Bad:

• Pretty much every scene with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson together: It's my humble opinion that Kristen Stewart could not act her way out of a paper bag and to make things worse she has dragged Robert Pattinson down with her. The two of them need to get over themselves. Every time either of them was on screen it was just awkward and painful to watch. Ms. Stewart seems to think that the key to good dramatic acting is biting her lip and shaking her head. What I wouldn't give to be able to get in a time machine and stab Catherine Hardwick in the neck before she made that casting decision.
• Not enough wolf-pack! These guys were great and - like the school friends - added some much needed fun. Can't wait to see more of them in the next movies.
• The death scene for Laurent (my husband's opinion)

The Ugly (and I do mean UGLY):

• Did I mention that Kristen's acting is ridiculous? because it is
• Pizza Toss / Wrench grab: During a montage of Bella and Jacob's budding relationship there is a moment where she throws a slice of pizza over her shoulder, seemingly to Jacob, then the camera switches to him and he throws his hand up, seemingly to catch the pizza, but instead he catches a wrench. I don't know how to properly describe this disaster but trust me it was L-A-M-E.
• Jacob taking off his shirt (my husband's opinion - major eye rolling included)

So what do you guys think? Did I miss anything? Do you agree that Kristen Stewart should be working in a Hot Topic somewhere instead of acting or am I being too harsh? Do you love Taylor Lautner as much as me or are you still hanging on to Team Rob. (btw - as far as the book is concerned I'm totally Team Edward - but as far as the actors go I am now fully on board with Team Taylor)

Also - since it truly was my favorite scene in the movie I have included a video here. It is just a fan-made video for the song used in the scene, Possibility by Lykke Li but if you jump to minute 1:43 you'll see a small piece of the 360 scene. Also, totally worth noting, the song choice was unbelievable. Check out the lyrics here too.

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Letting My Geek Flag Fly

Today is the day people! New Moon hit theaters at midnight last night. Although I wasn't one of the people camping out in line to see the first showing I am one of the people that pre-ordered my tickets. I'm going to the first show Saturday morning to try and avoid some of the crazed crowds - wish me luck.



It must be said that this was my least favorite book of the series for obvious reasons. Lack of Edward! At one point while reading it I actually found myself flipping to the back of the book to see if and when the Cullens would be coming back into the story. This might not seem like a big deal to some people but I have never done that kind of thing in my life. I've never been one of those people that reads the last page first or skips to the end when the suspense gets to be too much. NEVER. But Stephenie Meyer got me. I had no control over it; I needed Edward back. And the book did not disappoint.


So yes, I am dragging my husband with me tomorrow to see it and I cannot wait. I'm totally jealous that there are thousands of people watching it today while I'm at work.


I know there are equally as many people that are tired of hearing about it but to them I say - BITE ME. So who else is excited?

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I <3 Geeks

OK I promise this one has nothing to do with Twilight. But it does involve another one of my favorite authors, A.J. Jacobs. If you haven't read any of his books - WTF are you waiting for? His books are absolutely hilarious and educational to boot. I've read them all, "The Two Kings: Jesus and Elvis"and "The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" in which he takes you through his journey of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z, then "The Year Living Biblically" which not so surprisingly is where he literally spends one year of his life attempting to live by the rules of the bible, to his most recent release "The Guinea Pig Diaries" which is a collection of shorter essays on some of the other experiments he lived through in the interest of writing. i have to admit I had a bit of a literary crush on him based on 3 main qualities:

1. He's insanely funny.
2. He reminds me of me - which, now that I think of it, is kind of a creepy reason to have a crush on someone.
3. He's Jewish (I'm not by the way - someday perhaps I will have to explain my love for all things Jewish but now is not the time.)

MY POINT IS ... I heard through a friend last week that A.J. was going to be speaking a Synagogue in D.C. October 1st (I know that sounds weird but this is a super cool synagogue that not only has worship services but also hosts shows like "The Eels" and comedians like Michael Ian Black and movies like "The Big Lebowski" in it's down-time.) I've been psyched to hear A.J. talk and get my books signed for several days now and then tonight to top it off, I happened to be watching The Colbert Report and who was the guest??? A.J. Jacobs, of course. I couldn't have been more excited. I paused the television and yelled for my husband to stop what he was doing and come watch with me. But as soon as A.J. opened his mouth I was stunned.

What's up with the voice A.J. ???

To be fair, I still love him. But it has forced me to realize something about myself. I am a nerd lover - to the bone. There is no denying it now. To my husband: I apologize, I never thought you were that much of a nerd but apparently there is no escaping it.

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Super Smell!

In case you didn't already know, Stephenie Meyer is amazing. I've mentioned before that I am a complete Twi-hard and I am not ashamed (that's a lie - I'm totally ashamed. But I'm trying to get over it. In my experience the people that criticize the Twilight Saga are those that have not read the books so how can they really have an opinion?) Anyway, back to Stephenie. I *heart* her. Not only did she write a great series of books that I can't stop reading over and over again but her taste in music is ridiculously brilliant as well. If you haven't read the books or even if you have and just haven't noticed, she dedicates at least one page in each book to Thank Yous. She doesn't just thank her publisher and her mom either she really gets into it. And in every single book she takes time to thank the musicians that inspire her. Her favorite is the band Muse, ironic right? But seriously she took the time to thank them in all 4 books and used one of their best songs in a very high profile position in the Twilight movie. Other musical artists that she has thanked in her books and on her website include: Travis, The Cranberries, Weezer, Keane, Elbow, Ok-Go, Jack's Mannequin, Motion City Soundtrack and Gomez. The soundtrack for the 2nd movie, New Moon, goes on sale October 20th - a full month before the movie even comes out - and you best believe I will be buying that bitch. The track list includes all original songs which will be exclusive to the soundtrack. Now, most of you will probably look at the following list and be unimpressed but trust me on this one, if you're into this kind of music at all you know this is going to be a great album.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE — MEET ME ON THE EQUINOX
BAND OF SKULLS — FRIENDS
THOM YORKE — HEARING DAMAGE
LYKKE LI — POSSIBILITY
THE KILLERS — A WHITE DEMON LOVE SONG
ANYA MARINA — SATELLITE HEART
MUSE — I BELONG TO YOU (NEW MOON REMIX)
BON IVER & ST. VINCENT — ROSYLN
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB — DONE ALL WRONG
HURRICANE BELLS — MONSTERS
SEA WOLF — THE VIOLET HOUR
OK GO — SHOOTING THE MOON
GRIZZLY BEAR — SLOW LIFE
EDITORS — NO SOUND BUT THE WIND
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT — NEW MOON (THE MEADOW)

Random Thought: One of the ideas in the Twilight Saga is that of Vampires being blessed with special talents/abilities that are really just enhancements of unique talents they had as humans. For example, Edward Cullen as a human was very perceptive and able to "read" people - as a vampire he is able to literally read minds. However Bella is the only person he has ever met who's mind he cannot read. Bella's mind is also immune to the talents of other vampires. SPOILER ALERT: In the 4th book Bella "makes the change" and isn't sure if she has been blessed with a special power at all (not all vampires are) but by the end of the book she discovers her power and realizes that it is the ability to protect her mind. OK - sounds lame but I'm not describing it well or doing it justice at all.

MY POINT IS ... If I were a vampire I think my special talent would be a super sense of smell. I actually never thought much of it until others would comment on my strange ability to compare two completely random smells and yet be dead-on accurate. A few examples: my friend Will's first car in high school was a p.o.s. 1990 Beretta - it was a heep - and it smelled exactly like ranch Frito's, I've also found that the house I lived in during most of high school smelled exactly like lunch-meat, the office I currently work in smelled exactly like ant-killer last week (despite the fact that there had been no visit from an exterminator) and there is a 2-mile long stretch of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway that smells exactly like a dirty fish tank. It's not much but it's all I've got. Would yours be any better?

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Reader's Block

Urban Dictionary ,although bloated with nonsense, has some serious gems. I wanted to share with you one that caught my attention.

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Reader's Block: "this is when you cannot, for the life of you, pick up a book and read it. Sure, you may be able to read a paragraph or two, or maybe even a page, but you don't retain anything of what you just read or have the attention span and/or will to go on. This is common for those who have ADD, are in possession of garbage literature, or are just so exhausted from having to read so many books during school/college that reading anything else, even for pleasure, has become impossible. To those who love to read, this is worse than heart disease and cancer combined."

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Haven't we all been there? Especially in school when you were reading things, whether they be novels or text books, that you really had no interest in. You get through a sentence, a paragraph, a page or even an entire chapter and have no idea what you just read. In my case, it's usually because my mind was wondering on other topics like:

Hmm, what the hell am I going to wear to work tomorrow? I don't have any clean pants but I haven't shaved my legs in like a fortnight so I can't wear a skirt. OK then what's worse...
1) Wearing dirty pants
2) Doing laundry
3) Shaving my legs
Maybe I'll compromise -- just shave up to the knee and wear capris.

Meanwhile my eyes were looking at the words on the page but not taking any of it in. I would go a step further and add an alternate definition to Reader's Block as well. Like when you are an avid reader but just cannot find a good book. I currently have 5 books on my bedside table and I am in the middle of reading each of them. None of them have grabbed my attention enough to commit but I won't give up on them either.

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Shutter Island

I recently came across a trailer for a new movie called "Shutter Island" on this blog. It's based on a novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane who also wrote Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and several episodes of The Wire. I have to add, that I have never seen a single episode of The Wire even though it is a complete sacrilege for any one that lives in the Baltimore-Metro area. I'm waiting to borrow it on DVD - it will happen some day I swear. But everyone I know has seen the entire show and constantly raves about it and how true to Baltimore life it is. Also, Mystic River, I totally fell asleep on. SORRY! I know that its against the law to say such a thing but its true so get over it. As far as Gone Baby Gone is concerned I've heard that it too is a fantastic film but I have never seen it. Somehow though, the fact that David Lehane had a hand in all of these great projects (that I never saw) makes me want to actually see this one. But more than that even, I feel the need to read the book before the movie comes out this October. I was wondering if any of you have read the book and if so, what you though of it. I almost feel like the trailer gave too much away and maybe the book would no longer be as enjoyable or suspenseful. What do you think? Anyone else out there want to read the book, or at least see the movie?

I've added the trailer to the right side bar if you'd like to check it out - be warned though it might contain spoilers.

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UPDATE: I went to the bookstore today to buy something else and thought - what the hell! I went to the Fiction ... found the L's ... found David Lehane and about 3 other books of his, but no "Shutter Island." I thought maybe they had them on an end-cap or table somewhere because the movie is coming out but couldn't find it. So I caved and went to the counter to ask an employee. He walked right over to the shelf with the other David Lehan books where I had already checked - this was a little annoying but I maintained composure and only let out a few heavy sighs. He was as surprised as I had been that there were no copies of the book, then said "We've had a lot of people asking for that one. Is there a movie coming out or something?" Guess that answers the question.

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That's Mr. LaForge to You

I know this might seem like a bit much to some of you but at the risk of alienating some of my readers all I can say is ... sometimes the truth hurts.

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Confession

I have to admit I have been keeping a skeleton in my closet. Most of you don't realize that I have a secret obsession ... one that I am a bit embarassed about. But I can't keep it in any longer.

If you're squeemish you should just turn away, actually maybe everyone should just close their eyes for this next part ... (go ahead - I'll tell you when it's safe to open them again) ...

If the term "Team Edward" means nothing to you .... then I'm even more embarassed (and also slightly relieved.) What it means is that I am completely hooked on all things Twilight.

~~~Don't judge me people~~~

Well that was a bit like ripping off a band-aid; quick and painful but I'm so glad it's over. I feel so close to you all now! Maybe we should have a sleep-over or something ... we can paint each others toe nails and talk about The Jo-Bros!! No? Too much?

Anyway, what I really wanted to share was how excited I am about the next movie that's coming out later this year. Michael Sheen (who you may remember from Underworld or Frost/Nixon) will be joining the cast to play Aro. I like to refer to the character of Aro as the Godfather of the Vampire Mafia. Okay have I gone too far again? Fine! Sorry! I'll try to keep it under wraps. Ugh.

He recently did an interview with Empire and said "I'm all done on it; I had a great time. It was nice to go in and not be playing the main part, just go in for a few days and play this really really extraordinary character. I remember I was thinking, 'Oh, there's a bit of a Child Catcher here [from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]; bit of the Blue Meanie from The Yellow Submarine; bit of Olivier from Richard III. There was a bit of all kinds of stuff." Anyman that can combine Twilight with Blue Meanies is cool in my book. Am I alone here?

Please give me some Twilight love ... or at least some Michael Sheen love. Look - at least I spared you from the typical Twilight fan post. Consider yourself lucky, it could have been much worse...

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