Jezebel 
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New York, 2:22 PM
Wed Nov 25
61 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/21/09
11/20/09
So that's the quality of actor we're looking at here!
11/20/09
TEAM CEDWARD.
11/20/09
Were the books simple? Yes, but also strangely engrossing and compelling. The fans of the book DESERVE a good film. They DESERVE a film that does justice to the source material they love so much. They DESERVE good acting, and dialog and costuming and they deserve a director that actually cares about giving them a good movie going experience.
To dismiss the critiques of the film by saying, "Well what did you expect," is to imply that the books, and fans of the books, don't deserve a good film and wouldn't know one if they saw it.
11/20/09
11/20/09
It enrages me when a terrible film not only makes money but is actually championed by the masses. It's like rewarding idiocy.
11/20/09
Personally, having seen the first one, I think the actors did the best they could. All of them are quite capable in other movies, and at least in the first one, did what they could with the source material. They can't make bad writing good, but they did seem sincere. If it's worse this time around, I'm going with blaming the director.
11/20/09
To make a good movie, they'd have to majorly alter the storyline, or create lots of new content. A ten-page description of a depressed girl's view of a forest might be strangely compelling in written word, but once you've put the book down and thought about the storyline -- it sucked. A lot.
11/21/09
It's like rewarding idiocy.
Which we 21st century Americans have elevated to an art form.
11/20/09
11/20/09
And scene.
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
And anyway, if the argument is, he was given the movie because The Golden Compass took $372 million, bear in mind the production budget was $180 million; Twilight cost less than a quarter of that ($37 million) and took more ($385 million) worldwide.
11/20/09
Oh god no the first director was horrible. She has no sense of pacing the acting was laughable at best, it was just awful.
11/20/09
And yeah, Hardwicke is no Jane Campion, but she at least understands narrative structure, can talk to actors (Thirteen, Lords Of Dogtown) and knows decent CGI when she sees it; none of which can be said for Chris Weitz, according to these reviews and his work on The Golden Compass.
11/20/09
11/20/09
wait are you a troll? Cause there is no way you could think that Catherine Hardwicke can do narrative.
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
And I love Will transcendently, so I'm actually somewhat glad it didn't go on to a second film. Because if he'd been cast wrong, or cast right and then dropped in dreck, it would've broken my heart.
11/20/09
11/21/09
God, I love those books. I love Mary Malone! I love Will, I love Lyra, and one day someone will figure out how to make a movie that adequately captures the awesome, but I'll be long dust by then, because it is that good. I guess I'll just have to make do with Will being unbelievably fierce in my head all the time. My affliction's very severe, I can't make an omelet without hearing Pullman's description.
(I cannot wait for the Book of Dust, by the way. Even though it's not remotely done yet.)
11/21/09
You know, I think this level of fangirling deserves a heart.
11/20/09
SO. Why do they care about making men go to this movie? If women movie goers can break records on their own, isn't that good enough? Are women's dollars too pink? A dollar from a woman is still worth 100 pennies, just like from a man, even if woman only get paid 76cents compared to men. Why is an audience somehow more worthy if it is full of penii?
11/20/09
11/20/09
It's the same as "holiday" ads that are aimed at people beyond those celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. They don't actually care about including other religions and the non-religious - they just want to bring in as many customers as possible.
11/20/09
It's science.
11/20/09
However... one question. If you were a hundred years old vampire with supervampire powers, WHY WOULD YOU STAY IN HIGH SCHOOL!?!?!?
11/20/09
11/20/09
Thus I see that as a cosmic sign I should stay far, far away from the theaters on this one.
More seriously, I am sad that Chris Weitz could not save this; I adore "About a Boy", and believe he is a very talented director.
11/20/09
11/20/09
Won't someone please think of the English Majors?!
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
Otherwise I would have to accept the fact that a movie that panders to 14 year old boys and their fathers is bad.
Even though I did see the second Transformers movie, and it did, in fact, suck.
11/20/09
The first Transformers movie sucked, too. It was a great Camaro commercial, though.
11/20/09
11/20/09
I mean, I didn't see GI Joe, because I had to wash my hair, even though I've liked Dennis Quaid since I discovered Remy McSwain on DVD, but ...
Yeah. the fact that "modern cinema" is basically full to the brim of testosteronal-audience-focused clunkers oh so rarely comes up.
11/20/09
"Let's just say it: It's great there's a movie that makes teenage girls scream. Half the movies Hollywood makes are designed to make teenage boys scream, and those boy movies are just as ridiculous and a lot nastier than 'New Moon.'"
I will cheerfully take Twilight and New Moon over Transformers any day of the week.
(Granted, he didn't say that it was actually any good.)
[www.sfgate.com]
11/20/09
Do I like that it's this? No. But, on the flip side, I'm not delusional enough to think quality has anything to do with popularity. And yeah..I HATED the TF movies (racist robots, wtf?) and though this predictable and deribative...it's an original work. Not a toy franchise.
11/20/09
What I'm looking for is a female superhero flick that's faithful to the comics and gets a high-end director like the male ones get :(
11/20/09
I wouldn't hold your breath. The idea that girls don't like superheroes is really firmly entrenched. It's not true, but, they'll insist on it until they die.
11/21/09
Is there any source for this statistic? My boyfriend absolutely refuses to believe this and I want to kick his ass with it
11/21/09
I think people want to believe it's not true because horror is all oogy and stuff. But it also has a lot of "Last girl standing" characters and stories where women get to be the hero in the end. I think that's enormously appealing for women.
11/20/09
When your reviews can't prevent moviegoers from seeing a film... what do you have left? WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
(but seriously, was anyone expecting Oscar-worthy anything?)
11/20/09
This next one, I'm a little nervous watching those underage abs. I mean, Edward doesn't do it for me, so what's left? Abs.
11/20/09
11/20/09
#tips
11/20/09
(IMO, all the really really beautiful men, like Roger, and Rafa, and the French team's senior membership, and Marat, whose retirement I'm mourning, are all over 21, but that's just me.)
11/20/09
11/20/09
Expect an eruption? Is that an entendre? Should I be quivering with anticipation? Is the buildup tense?
11/20/09