The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Plot

New Moon is the sequel to the highly successful 2008 box office smash Twilight.

It centers around the effects of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaving Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) after an incident with his family makes him realise that she may be better off without him.

Bella frequently sees Edward as a ghostly conscious trying to keep her out of harm.

But when Bella realises that Edward shows up when she is in danger, she goes looking for harm in order to see him.

Summary

Having watched the first Twilight film and being surprisingly impressed by it, I was more than willing to give New Moon a chance.

While Bella and Edward were the main driving force behind the success of the first film, I did think this sequel would suffer as Edward is missing for the great majority of the film.

But I feel the character of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) adds an intriguing element to the film.

The whole story of will she get with Jacob or will Edward come back and rekindle his love for Bella was at first interesting, but that is all that seems to push the movie forward.

The storyline continues without any developments and I found it monotonous until the conclusion, when the pace of the film rapidly shifts into top gear.

Overall

If you are a fan of the series you will love this film and I am sure you will look forward to the third part.

But if you are new to the series or watching it casually then I would suggest you watch something else.

I got very bored and the movie struggled to hold my concentration.

Most films usually have a weak second installment and New Moon is no different.

Crunch Rating -

Couples retreat

Plot

Vince Vaughn stars in Couples Retreat which sees four couples go to a tropical island resort. While one of them go to work on their marriage. The other three go for sun, sea and jet ski.

What they discover is that participation in the resorts couple therapy programme is not optional and soon all four couples realise that they all have their equal share of problems.

Summary

I was very interested in seeing this film as it stars Vaughn and Jon Favreau, who were brilliant on screen together in the 1996 cult comedy Swingers.

My high expectations were not achieved.

Couples Retreat seems to be confused about what its target audience actually is.

On the surface it seems a film that is designed for couples, but when actually viewed there are a lot of erection and masturbation jokes that seem like they are more suited for a younger audience comedy like American Pie and Road Trip.

The humour while there in small doses (the yoga scene undoubtedly the best) stops and starts and at just under two hours long the film does seem like it can drag.

While the characters do face hurt and pain the director (Peter Billingsley) never seems to dwell on these moments so that the film stays within the boundaries of a comedy.

Vaughn is on good form again here playing the “know it all” character that he is an expert at, but unlike his other films recently (Wedding crashers and Dodgeball) his character seems to be more muted and less outstanding.

Overall

While the movie wasn't bad, it definitely is something that is forgettable.

The plot of the film is good and the setting of the film in beautiful Bora Bora is breathtaking, but there just are not enough comedy scenes to keep the movie going for its 107 minute length.

I really did expect more from Vaughn and Favreau and was disappointed overall with this effort.

At the end of the day you will have laughs, you will have your your fare share of eye candy and it is not the worst comedy I have seen this year (step forward Disaster movie).

Crunch Rating -

Halloween II (2009)

Plot

The majority of Halloween II is set a year after the events of the first film. Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) is trying to get on with her life, dealing with the horrible events that occurred in the bloody massacre one year ago.

Michael Myers who is presumed dead, returns to Haddonfield and goes in search of Laurie so he can once again be united with his baby sister.

Summary

I came into this film thinking that this would be a remake of the 1981 Halloween II movie but I was wrong.

Director Rob Zombie has made a new version that almost bears no resemblance to the original; this is in fact a sequel to Zombie’s 2007 Halloween film.

This movie goes in a completely different direction with some disturbing scenes of violence, which if you have seen any of Zombie’s other films (House of 1,000 corpses,The Devil’s Rejects) he seems to specialise in.

The brutal killing scenes are well done with the camera lingering on what the audience is witnessing, which instils the emotions that a viewer should feel when watching something as shocking as murder.

Showing Michael Myers has no remorse and is a complete loner who just cannot understand humanity.

Halloween II is a slow burning sequel that plods along with no real developments lacking the tension, suspense and overall grittiness that should have been brought to the film.

Overall

Fans of the Halloween franchise will find this a refreshing take and an ambitious effort to bring something new to the table.

Unfortunately though what Zombie lacks in creating suspense and drama he tries to make up for with being, just plain disturbing.

If you go and see this film expecting to watch a slasher horror you may feel disappointed because although it does have elements of that, the film is slow paced and is much more dark, disturbing and depressing.

Crunch Rating -