Breaking Dawn Part 1

 

I would start off by saying that if you have any respect for the art of acting, do not go and see this movie.  If you have any respect for the art of film as a whole, do not see this movie.  If you read the books (like me) and have no choice but to give in to your own curiosity... well... see this film expecting only the worst.  (which I'm sure most of you do anyway)

Breaking Dawn is the fourth installment of the twilight series.  It revolves around the characters of Bella, Edward and Jacob, as Bella and Edward are preparing for their wedding, honeymoon and impending future together.  However, the honeymoon gets cut short due to her unexpected pregnancy.  The film follows this series of events leading up to the main problem - what exactly is she impregnated with? 

In short, the acting was pretty useless.  Taylor  Lautner, for me, was the absolute worst this time around.  His emotions never come off authentic.  Robert Pattinson wasn't horrible, wasn't great, yet somehow was still less than mediocre.  And Kristen Stewart was awkward - I couldn't care less about her attempts at acting.  At least she wasn't breathing so heavily in this film, like her usual (usually when she doesn't know what to do with her body or her expression in a scene, she exhales heavily every few seconds) - something I noticed in the past three films.  

As a whole - with visual effects, soundtrack, and picture - the film was unoriginal and extremely boring.  The visual effects were not impressive and nothing really stood out to me.  The wolves weren't anything special at all.  The soundtrack was either sappy music to dramatize an already dramatic scene, or music used from the first film, repeated throughout the entire movie.  As for the picture, the set design was impressive and the picture itself was sharp and strong - probably overcompensating.   

The only part I will point out is the birth scene and her pregnancy.  The birth scene was the only scene they made somewhat realistic with the given circumstances.  It may have been unnecessarily gruesome but at least they cared enough to attempt some kind of realistic approach.  I appreciated the attempt as a fan of the book, way back when I read them.  But, like I said, it was the only part worth mentioning.  

Inevitably, I give this film 4/10.  Frankly, without the sharp picture and wonderful set design, this film would have been worth even less.  I think I'm being generous, but there it is.         

Tower Heist

 

It wasn't what I was expecting, but in this case, it was a good thing...

Tower Heist is about a crew of hardworking men who plan to rob their boss for swindling their money away and leaving them all on hard times.  They attempt to take back what is theirs, and in the process, discover exactly what they are capable of.  This film stars Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Looking at the list of actors starring in this film, one would naturally think it's a comedy, right?  It is in fact comedic, however, it also touches on subjects that are unexpected and deeper than first anticipated.  Alan Alda plays the remorseless boss, swindling away the company's money.  He does a wonderful job of portraying a man who charms those around him, while not actually caring about anyone but himself.  He was extremely convincing and realistic when compared to Corporate America right now.  It was also refreshing to see Ben Stiller play a character with a little more depth than usual - though, I did find his face a little lacking in expression.  Other than that, he did a good job in being the caring character that fights for justice. 

The actors meshed well together as a group, but not all of them found their place.  

Casey Affleck, for example, did not create much of an impact for me with his character.  I almost felt as if he was simply a plot device, only meant to further the events along to where they needed to be, rather than taking you in to the world and make you feel for the character itself.  I couldn't care less about his problems or his decisions, and secretly wished he wasn't in the film in the first place.  Apparently, the Afflecks in general don't do it for me... but that's for another review.  I also was disappointed to find that Eddie Murphy wasn't in the film as much as I would have liked.  He brings a certain energy to films, especially comedies, and without him the energy was also lacking.  

Now that I think about it, the characters were not really that connected.  The only time I felt that they were, was when Eddie Murphy was in the scene.  Their humour was individualistic most of the time and you kept gaining and losing that sense of "group".

Because the characters were disconnected from each other, the whole film starts to feel disconnected.  Tea Leoni's character seemed unnecessary to me, and something didn't quite link up with her purpose in getting close to Ben Stiller's character.  I would have also liked the ending to be explained a little more - in the sense that - I don't like to assume how certain events happen, I would like to see them first hand.  The final scene is not as satisfying as it could have been either.  It doesn't feel realistic enough to give the audience full closure.  

I guess what I'm saying is that the film definitely has its weak points.  It isn't amazing and it can be forgotten within, perhaps, a month or so.  But, if you need just a night of some light comedy to help you lighten up, see this film. 

I give this film 6.5/10.  Enjoy!