Monika’s Pensieve

{FILM SPOTTING}

Every year, my January is busy and every year Polish film distributors sadistically release loads of movies I really want to see during this time ;-P Hope I get to see at least some of these *sigh*

Hunger (2008, UK/Ireland)

Release Date (Poland): 8th January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 15th May 2008
Runtime: 96′
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Michael Fassbender
Production House: Blast! Films, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, Film4, Northern Ireland Screen, Wales Creative IP Fund
Plot: (from imdb)

The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
I’m not into political movies and the trailer doesn’t do much for me…

The excited part of me thinks that…
I’m definitely into prison movies and this one has been getting great reviews. It’s had a lot of attention at international film festivals (amongst its awards is the Golden Camera in Cannes).

Daybreakers (2009, Australia/USA)

Release Date (Poland): 8th January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 11th September 2009
Runtime: 98′
Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill
Production House: Lionsgate, Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC), Pictures in Paradise, Pacific Film and Television Commission, Furst Films
Plot: (from imdb)

In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
This could be so corny ;)

The excited part of me thinks that…
It’s such an absurd plot. And the best thing is that the main character is called Edward, which makes me think they might be making fun of Twilight a little.

Harry Brown (2009, UK)

Release Date (Poland): 15th January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 12th September 2009
Runtime: 103′
Director: Daniel Barber
Cast: Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Liam Cunningham, David Bradley
Production House: Marv Films, Prescience Film Fund, UK Film Council
Plot: (from imdb)

An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend’s murder by doling out his own form of justice.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
This could be your typical revenge movie and I’m not fond of those.

The excited part of me thinks that…
I seem to remember hearing ages back that this is one of the biggest budgets ever in British cinema, but I can’t find anything to confirm this at present. I might have confused something. Clearly though, in British standards this sounds like a big film and what interests me is that it’s about a real problem. I’ve read news stories on BBC about teenagers in the UK bullying elder people, whole families etc. and the police not reacting. There was even a huge story when a mother killed herself and her children to avoid any further bullying cause it was too much. This film seems to be opening a discussion about this.

Nine (2009, USA/Italy)

Release Date (Poland): 22nd January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 3rd December 2009
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren
Production House: Weinstein Company, The, Relativity Media, Marc Platt Productions, Lucamar Productions, Cattleya
Plot: (from imdb)

Famous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother.

Trailer
See it here.

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
The reviews aren’t all that good.

The excited part of me thinks that…
I like musicals and this one has a fantastic cast - I’m loving the idea of all these actresses in one film. The song on the trailer is really catchy as well *grin*

Okuribito (2008, Japan)

Release Date (Poland): 22nd January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 23rd August 2008
Runtime: 130′
Director: Yôjirô Takita
Production House: Amuse Soft Entertainment, Asahi Shimbunsha, Dentsu, Mainichi Hoso, Sedic, Shochiku Company, Shogakukan, Tokyo Broadcasting System
Plot: (from imdb)

A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
I’m not particularly sceptical… It seems like a cute film to watch. It’s just that I’m hoping it’ll be a little more than just cute and I’m not sure…

The excited part of me thinks that…
It’s been recommended to me by Kin, who I trust :) and it’s done very well in terms of awards (it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film).

Un proph?te (2009, France/Italy)

Release Date (Poland): 22nd January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 16th May 2009
Runtime: 155′
Director: Jacques Audiard
Production House: Why Not Productions, Chic Films, Page 114, France 2 Cinéma, BIM Distribuzione, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC), Celluloid Dreams, Sofica UGC 1, France 2 (FR2), Sofica Soficinéma 4, Canal+, Soficinéma 5, CinéCinéma, Région Ile-de-France, Conseil Régional de Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
Plot: (from imdb)

A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
This might be really pretentious…

The excited part of me thinks that…
It’s yet another prison film that has been very successful on the festival circuit (amongst the awards it’s won is the Grand Prix in Cannes). It also seems to have a bit of an Arab/Muslim sort of theme, which is an extra interest factor for me.

Darbareye Elly (2009, Iran)

Release Date (Poland): 22nd January 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 7th February 2009
Runtime: 119′
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Production House: Dreamlab
Plot: (from imdb)

It’s a story about three Iranian families who are traveling to North of Iran in order that they can introduce the teacher of one of these families daughters to one of their divorced friends who’s coming from Germany to Iran but everything changes when the young teacher (Elly) disappears and no one knows if she’s still alive or not? the judgments of these people about Elly forms the whole story of the film.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
I usually find Iranian films a bit too slow.

The excited part of me thinks that…
This is yet another film that has done very well at festivals (it won the Silver Bear in Berlin for Best Director). All the reviews seem to say the ending leaves you speechless (though I have no idea what it is *grin*) and it’s interesting that for once there’s the opportunity to see an Iranian film which portrays the middle class rather than the poor.

{FILM DIARY}

L.I.E. (2001, USA)

Seen: Monday, 28th December 2009 (VHS, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 97′
Director: Michael Cuesta
Cast: Paul Dano, Billy Kay, Brian Cox
Production House: Alter Ego Entertainment, Belladonna Productions
Plot: Howie is 15 and is going wild. Breaking into houses becomes one of Howie’s pastimes. One day, Howie ends up robbing the house of a man, who happens to have a thing for teenage boys…

Trailer

Impressions In Short
I remember being fairly impressed with this upon first viewing, though I think it’s mainly because of the unusual way the relationship between Howie and the older man plays out. Otherwise I don’t think it has that much going for it. It’s ok - that’s about it.

More About the Film
The main thing that interests me about this movie is Big John, the paedophile. Showing a character who is into sex with underage boys and yet does not use force is very unusual. Although Big John does some very morally questionable things, he has some scruples also. There is a bit of manipulation and trickery in what he does, but for the most part his lovers have a choice (and I’ll add that all of them are in their teens, at an age when they can make a relatively informed choice). Whether he will get into Howie’s pants or not is sort of the suspense of the movie.
I have doubts about how taboo the relationship between Howie and Big John really is (the trailer suggests the film is very daring). Howie is 15, going on 16. In some countries he’d be past the age of consent or just entering it.
Other than that I think this film is just your average independent movie. I thought the ending was dreadful though.

Recommended?
Not really… Though you can watch it for the relationship between Big John and Howie - it is nicely written.

{FILM DIARY}

Mysterious Skin (2004, USA/Netherlands)

Seen: Sunday, 27th December 2009
Runtime: 105′
Director: Gregg Araki
Cast: Chase Ellison, Elisabeth Shue, Bill Sage, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Brady Corbet, Jeffrey Licon
Production House: Desperate Pictures, Antidote Films, Fortissimo Film Sales
Plot: The parallel stories of two teenagers. One sleeps with men for money, the other is obsessed with alien abductions.

Trailer

If you want to see more then here’s an amusing clip from the film :)

Impressions In Short
It’s hilarious watching this back to back with (500) days of summer. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is so warm, fuzzy and romantic in the latter that watching him in this as a teenage degenerate is very satisfying somehow ;) I actually had seen Mysterious Skin before, but my memory of it was very hazy and he’s so different in it that I never made the connection.

More About the Film
I first watched this over 4 years ago at the most perverse edition ever of the Era Nowe Horyzonty film festival. Mysterious Skin was scheduled about half way through it, by which time everyone was so desensitized by the amount of brutality and sexual perversion spouted at us, that me and my friend Beata actually felt Mysterious Skin was a really easygoing and sweet film despite the paedophilia theme. Having watched it again, I’m not entirely sure how we arrived at that conclusion, but I guess that’s testament to just how perverse that particular festival was ;)
My memory did not retain the information that one of the main characters, Neil (played by Gordon-Levitt) prostituted himself and that they show him in about 5 explicit gay sex scenes (one of the many reasons this film received an NC-17 certificate in the USA). Even more weirdly, I did not remember the very brutal rape scene - judging by imdb that’s the one scene that stays with everyone (it’s even being compared to Irreversible).
Mainly what seemed to stay with me was the alien abduction theme and that the child abuse scenes are done very delicately (this I remembered accurately ;)).
The biggest strength of the film is most definitely the story and characters. I think partly what gave me and my friend the idea that this film was “sweet” was that even though it’s disturbing, it’s not just out there to shock you - it is trying to do some proper character and story development as well. And it actually does have its fair share of lighter (and even sweet) moments.
The paedophilia theme has quite an unusual and bold approach. The 8 year old Neil is:
a) already somewhat conscious of his sexuality before being abused (he knows he’s gay and he’s already masturbating)
b) he is infatuated with the baseball coach that deals out the abuse
This is not to say that the film condones paedophilia in any way. Neil has been seriously screwed up by the events (one could even argue he’s been screwed up more than any of the other boys the coach molested precisely because he had those extra factors in place). But it certainly adds a bit of a twist.
The other unusual thing about the paedophilia is how the coach plays it out. I’ve very rarely seen films that have portrayed paedophiles as anything other than violent predators. The idea that they might actually attempt to woo and trick kids into sex rather than use physical force is almost unheard of in cinema, even though in life it probably often plays out like that.
The sex scenes involving the kids are very sensitively done - they’re disturbing because of what is implied and said rather than what is shown. The ones between adults are somewhat more graphic, but if you really break them down, they don’t show that much either. The first of Neil’s paid sex encounters is basically a long shot of Neil’s face while a man pushes fingers into his mouth - that’s it. Yet it felt pretty disturbing and “dirty”. Some of the scenes show a bit more (there is a little nudity), but they’re basically all in that vein. The point of them is what they reveal about Neil. I actually think this makes them more disturbing and memorable than if the purpose was purely to shock.
The cast is really good too. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has in some ways the flashiest part, so I suppose he’s the one who leaves the biggest dent in one’s memory. The way he plays it, the character basically tries to seduce anyone he meets. It gets pretty creepy at times. There’s a bizarre scene with him watching TV with his mother, where the vibe is pretty weird. There’s another scene like that which is being discussed on imdb. It’s between the teenage Neil and a little boy. Nothing particular happens in it, but the feeling it gives out is a bit disturbing…

Recommended?
Yes, but you might want to stay away if you’re not into graphic stuff. This is (or at least feels ;)) graphic as long as you’ve not recently been on a film marathon of brutality and sexual perversion as I was the first time I watched this ;)
Also, obviously the regular “this is an art house film” warning applies. It’s not a very difficult film in terms of style, the action is perfectly easy to follow and all that, but it’s definitely the kind of film that you mull over a bit afterwards.

{FILM DIARY}

(500) Days of Summer (2009, USA)

Seen: Friday, 25th December 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 95′
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Production House: Sneak Preview Entertainment, Watermark
Plot: Summer wants a casual relationship. Tom can’t help, but want more.

Trailer

For anyone who wants a laugh, this is a promotional clip in which they do a Sid and Nancy sketch ;) Her accent is hilarious.
Also, here’s a scene from the film.

Impressions In Short
I enjoyed it. It’s pretty clever.

More About the Film
I watched it as something pleasant and light without giving it much thought. But I’ve since realized how much in this film is up for interpretation. If one wanted to, one could analyse this for days. The discussions on imdb are really worth a look.
The biggest “WTF?” of the film for me is that the male lead of the film is written like a female character. When this happens (which is quite rare) it’s usually because the character was written by a woman. This film is both written and directed by men.
The female lead, on the other hand, is written with masculine traits (a convention I’m more used to, but which is much more interesting when she’s pitted against a male character with feminine traits).
There’s a big thread on imdb about how writing the characters like this was necessary to tell the story. If Summer had been the romantic who can’t get over splitting up with a guy then she could have easily been labeled “pathetic”. If Tom had been the one looking for a “casual” relationship then he would have been labeled as a typical guy with commitment problems. This way, neither have labels (although I’ve seen an attempt to label Summer as one of the greatest villains in modern cinema, but personally I don’t think she quite fits that mould either ;)).
Another thing I found weird in this movie is how differently it can be read. Depending on what kind of mood you’re watching it in and what kind of experiences you’ve had, you can watch it as an uplifting comedy or a very sad and depressing movie (as demonstrated by this thread *grin*).
The ending in particular is up for a lot of interpretation. I thought it was fairly straightforward initially, but when I started asking myself questions like “why was she there?”, “what did this line mean?” then I suddenly found I could write a huge blog post on just the two final scenes. There’s a long thread on imdb on the “why was she there?” question, but careful - it has major spoilers.
Story aside, this was a film with a lot of style. It has some beautiful cinematography - they found their own unique style for it, loved the lighting. The way it’s narrated - jumping between different scenes was pretty unique. The whole design of it was great too and the two leads were cast exceptionally well - both for looks (they actually suited the design ;)) and for the parts.
Something I really liked about Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s role was the whole architecture subplot (the character did architecture at university and is really passionate about it, but he doesn’t work in the field he loves). Usually, when they do those kinds of subplots, they don’t put much detail into them. Here, both the lines and the way he played it was kind of real. The moment he’s encouraged to talk about architecture, his whole face lights up and he starts talking faster. Weird detail, I know, but I really liked that ;)
And another thing I loved was that his closest confidant was his 11 year old sister - I thought that was brilliant *grin*

Recommended?
Yep, I think this is a fairly safe recommendation for most people.
I’ve seen some comparisons to Juno. They’re very different films (I actually prefer this one), but they’re similar in the sense that they’re both indie comedies, which have done very well on the mainstream circuit thanks to an unusual script.

{FILM DIARY}

Królik po berlinsku (2009, Poland/Germany)

Seen: Tuesday, 15th December 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 52′
Director: Bartosz Konopka
Production House: MS Films, Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion, Telewizja Polska, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), Lichtpunt, Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep (VPRO), Polish Film Institute, Media, Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing
Plot: A documentary about the wild rabbits which used to live between the Berlin Walls and how their reality changed along with the political system.

Featurette

Impressions In Short
A good way to talk about the change of political system that occurred in this part of Europe.

More About the Film
It’s basically a really good documentary to watch if you’re at all interested in communist Europe. Even if you don’t know much about it (which is the case with me for example ;-P) then this film will give you a very good feel for it.
The story itself is very amusing - how the rabbits got used to existing between the two walls. They really found the perfect place for themselves, no predators, lots of grass… The story is so absurd that it doesn’t seem true, but it is.

Recommended?
Yes, it’s definitely a really nice documentary.

Esterhazy (2009, Germany/Poland)

Seen: Tuesday, 15th December 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 25′
Director: Izabela Plucinska
Production House: Donten & Lacroix Films
Plot: An animated film about a rabbit from Vienna that looks for a female partner in Berlin.

Trailer

Impressions In Short
Silly and not particularly funny :]

More About the Film
I didn’t like this one much. The humour didn’t appeal to me at all and it didn’t have much depth. I have no idea what its point was exactly.
And I really don’t have much else to say, so this is my shortest review ever ;)

Recommended?
Nope.

{FILM DIARY}

The Yes Men Fix the World (2009, France/UK/USA)

Seen: Friday, 11th December 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 87′
Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr
Production House: Arte France, Article Z, Renegade Pictures, Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation, Charny/Bachrach Entertainment
Plot: (from imdb)

Troublemaking duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, posing as their industrious alter-egos, expose the people profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal, and other shocking events.

Trailer

Impressions In Short
Fun :)

More About the Film
It’s a funny documentary film about some important problems. And even though they expose some pretty terrible things, on the whole the message is positive - they’re saying it’s possible to change the world if enough people stand behind the right ideas :)
The media tend to attack the Yes Men for giving people false hope (for example that they’ll get money to help eradicate the environmental and health damage that a company has caused). But the people who get fooled by their hoaxes don’t seem to mind at all. Most of them think it’s a brilliant way to bring attention to their problems.

Recommended?
Yes, I think :) It’s a nice, funny documentary with a message.

{FILM DIARY}

Spread (2009, USA)

Seen: Wednesday, 9th December 2009
Runtime: 97′
Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva
Production House: Barbarian Films, Katalyst Films, Oceana Media Finance
Plot: Nikki sleeps with older, rich women for a living. For the most part, this life works out very well for him. But one day things go down hill…

Scene From The Film

Impressions In Short
It’s one of those weirdo films that are very hard to categorize…

More About the Film
I always wanted to see Ashton Kutcher in something cause I thought I’d like him (I was right *grin*), but the publicity for the films he chooses tends to scare me off. The publicity for this one almost did as well - it’s marketed as some sort of sex/romantic comedy, which is not quite what the film is. I mean if you need a label then I suppose “romantic comedy” is the closest one, but if you go in expecting a feel good kind of romance you’re probably going to be disappointed.
It’s a simple story. Basically, that kind of lifestyle cannot last. It only works as long as you’re young. After that you have two choices - either you marry the person that is supporting you financially or you find a normal job. Nikki is at the stage where he will need to think about his future and when he meets a girl he really cares for, he is forced to make some life decisions.
I felt the film was interesting, but not great. I really enjoyed Ashton Kutcher though. Physically this movie really shows him in good light, the way they dress (and undress ;)) him is very effective. Acting-wise he was the right man for the job, though I much preferred him in the second half of the film where he goes through his whole breakdown and uncertainty. I think he’s better with that than with the cocky parts. Will definitely want to see more of him - perhaps the publicity for his future movies won’t scare me off quite so easily ;)

Recommended?
Er… I think few people will enjoy this, but such people do exist ;) If the topic matter seems interesting then it might be worth trying.
Keep in mind that it has a very strange balance between commercial and art house. If you want something serious you’re not going to be happy and if you want something laid back you probably won’t be happy either… It’s kind of in between.

{FILM DIARY}

Little Ashes (2008, UK/Spain)

Seen: Friday, 4th December 2009 (DVD)
Runtime: 112′
Director: Paul Morrison
Cast: Javier Beltrán, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell
Production House: APT Films, Aria Films, Factotum Barcelona S.L., Met Film Production, Met Film
Plot: (from imdb)

About the young life and loves of artist Salvador Dalí, filmmaker Luis Bu?uel and writer Federico García Lorca.

Trailer

Impressions In Short
I have to say - Robert Pattinson was right for dissing this ;)

More About the Film
I guess the main attraction of the film for me is seeing Pattinson playing gay - I like that sort of thing as I’m sure most of my readers have fathomed by now ;-P
On most other levels it failed IMO. It felt awfully fake to me. There were lots of questionable choices - like having the film in English and yet reciting Lorca’s poetry in Spanish with an English voiceover.
It also totally failed in engaging me in the characters, which is what matters most to me (you don’t have to engage me in the plot, but if I’m not interested in the characters then I’m definitely not going to like the film much :]). I also found myself wondering how much of the gay twist in the film was true. The way it was written it seemed rather far-fetched (which doesn’t mean it’s not true, mainly I just think the writing was terrible :]). It’s a shame really cause the idea itself isn’t bad.
The acting was ok I suppose. Javier Beltran was good (without him the film would have been much worse :]) and Marina Gatell also. Pattinson had his good moments and his bad moments. McNulty was the weakest link IMO - to me his whole performance felt very fake. Though I suppose the script didn’t help, I think he got the least to work with.

Recommended?
Nope :] Although I suppose you could watch it for the sex scenes and gay romance - watching Pattinson playing gay is IMO kind of fun and Javier Beltran is nice to watch in them too ;) Some of those scenes are also genuinely funny (I loved how Dali kept asking Lorca what he should wear).

{FILM DIARY}

Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009, Austria/Germany/France/Italy)

Seen: Monday, 30th November 2009
Runtime: 144′
Director: Michael Haneke
Cast: Christian Friedel, Leonie Benesch, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Leonard Proxauf
Production House: X-Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film, Les Films du Losange, Lucky Red, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), German Federal Film Board, Mini-Traité Franco-Canadien, Deutsche Filmförderfonds (DFFF), Austrian Film Institute, Vienna Film Financing Fund, Minist?re de la Culture et de la Communication, Eurimages
Plot: (from imdb)

Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years just before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. The abused and suppressed children of the villagers seem to be at the heart of this mystery.

Trailer

Impressions In Short
Very well-crafted, but sort of cold.

More About the Film
It’s not really a film that has stayed with me… though it’s a very good, very meticulous kind of film. Stylistically, it has an immense sort of precision.
Compared to some of Haneke’s other films, this one was very delicate on the amount of perversion shown ;) But I still walked out feeling there was something very perverse about the film. There were a couple of things that were quite heavy, but the one that seemed to hit me the most was the masturbation thing, which was very light by comparison. The idea that a father could tie up his teenage son every night, so that he wouldn’t masturbate, felt totally perverse to me. That whole conversation between the pastor and his son is a very strong scene.
The ending was very weird, it leaves you pondering who did what and why.
On a final note, I’m a bit confused about how this film relates to Nazism. That’s something that gets mentioned in reviews everywhere. Supposedly there is some sort of link (Hitler had a similar childhood or something like that?), but IMO you can watch the film without analysing the film from that angle at all.

Recommended?
Yes, I think. The usual “Beware, this is an art house film” proviso applies though.

{FILM DIARY}

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (USA, 2009)

Seen: Wednesday, 25th November 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 130′
Director: Chris Weitz
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Michael Sheen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Peter Facinelli, Dakota Fanning
Production House: Imprint Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, Sunswept Entertainment, Temple Hill Entertainment
Plot: Edward decides to leave Bella for her own good. Bella starts hanging out with Jacob instead.

Scene From the Film

Impressions In Short
On the whole, I thought it was absolutely dreadful. It had very few redeeming features - the cast mainly.
The really annoying thing is that even though I hated it, I’ll probably end up buying the DVD anyway because Taylor Lautner was awesome ;)

Book vs. Film
New Moon is my favourite book in the franchise. The great thing about it is that almost nothing happens in it ;) After a very humiliating break-up scene, it’s just page upon page of depression. There’s no proper action in it really, not until the end. And even then it never gets epic. All the other three books have some sort of big battle scene, New Moon doesn’t really. So it’s all just character development, which is what I like best *grin*
The other great thing about it is how she tells a sickeningly sentimental love story in a relatively unsentimental way. Generally speaking, you can’t write a contemporary story about how two people love each other so much that they would literally die if the other ceased to exist, without making it sound incredibly cheesy. Which is why she puts in lots of Romeo and Juliet references - the twist is she’s a little sarcastic about it. So when she finally plays out the whole Romeo and Juliet ending, you don’t find it that cheesy anymore because she’s on your side - she’s already done the “lets vomit cause this is too sentimental” bit for you ;) Even the mushy beginning of the book is sort of forgiveable because she follows it with such a humiliating break-up scene.
Neither of these qualities were preserved in the film though.
The film was definitely not happy with the “nothing happens” approach - it took every opportunity to put in a dynamic action scene. As far as I remember, Edward did not get thrown around by any of the vampires in the book. He did endure pain, yes, but that was from Jane - she does that just by looking at people, so no action scene needed :]
Edward and Jacob do not have a fight scene in the book either. They merely have a tense conversation.
The werewolves do indeed get some action in the book, but most of it happens “off the page”.
At this time I don’t remember either the film or the book well enough to be sure, but if I said the film added about five action scenes which weren’t in the book, I don’t think I’d be exaggerating much.
The sentimentality of the film was impossible to stomach as well. They did put in one or two Romeo and Juliet references, but naturally you don’t get Edward teasing Bella for getting all sentimental about Romeo and Juliet. In the film version he takes it pretty seriously.
The last scene, which has Edward, Jacob and Bella together was particularly sickening. What was that line… “I love you, Jacob, but you’ll always be second best”? In case anyone’s wondering, that scene plays out very differently in the book. Bella and Jacob definitely do not have any “I love you” lines - in fact they have a huge argument.
Another thing that bothered me (though it wasn’t as important as the two things already mentioned) was how heavily they played the jealousy thing. That wasn’t much of a feature in book two - it’s only in book three that the rivalry for Bella really starts. It was as if the director of New Moon felt he needed to spice things up and jealousy was the way to do it.
The weird thing was that despite not preserving the two qualities about the story, which for me were make or break kind of conditions, they would be so literal in how they adapted a lot of the other scenes. There was one scene that particularly comes to mind… When Bella falls into her huge depression and the world stops existing for her, Stephanie Meyer portrays that in a way which I didn’t think could be translated to screen. There’s a title which says “November” and then a blank page. Then another page that says “December” and again a blank page. Then “January” and something like two paragraphs. That’s all that happens in Bella’s life for three months. I thought that way of portraying this was much more effective (and easier to read ;)) than going into huge melodramatic descriptions of how bad Bella feels, so I really liked that. But when they tried to adapt that literally in the film, I found myself wondering if they were insane :] I mean ok, obviously they couldn’t use blank pages, but they sort of tried to do something like that with music and subtitles - it was awful.

The style
Stylistically, this was very different from Twilight. Twilight looks like some quirky independent film. New Moon is much more in the epic Hollywood sort of vein.
The reason I responded to the first film so strongly was largely its style. My favourite thing about it and a very major reason why it made my favourite film list are the awkward silences. Hollywood doesn’t like silences and awkward pauses. In fact most of the world’s commercial cinema doesn’t (I think Bollywood is freaked out by the idea even more).
All that awkwardness was very much part of the style of the first film. It made the romance and a lot of the relationships (for example between Bella and her dad) very awkward, which I loved. Not having them at all in New Moon hurt… a lot… :]
The music in New Moon was very different to Twilight as well. I love Carter Burwell, so Twilight’s soundtrack appealed to me a lot. New Moon’s is very generic and often increased the cheesy feel of the over-sentimental scenes :]
And then there’s how much more masculine this film felt. The focus of the story went to completely different facets and ironically, I’ve come to the conclusion that masculine sentimentality is more difficult to stomach for me than feminine sentimentality :]
The one thing I do love about this film though is that finally, we have a big Hollywood movie which totally objectifies men! *grin* I don’t mind when women get objectified, but I hate the double standards, so I’m very glad to finally see a film which breaks out of this.

The cast and characters
I liked Pattinson and Stewart better in the first film. But I don’t think the reason for this is entirely in their performances. The fun thing about them as actors is the restraint. They often express more by not saying and not doing something than by being in your face about it. Twilight really played into this. It uses relatively long shots in most of the dialogue scenes and really milks those silences. This helps actors like Pattinson and Stewart. New Moon played against them in that respect - the editing was much more dynamic (the editor was male, Twilight’s was female in case anyone’s wondering).
Taylor Lautner did very well though. His brand of acting is a bit different and I think less effected by this sort of editing. I would still have preferred to see his performance edited in the Twilight vein though. He’s good with awkwardness and awkwardness is something that works much better in slower editing styles (I really needed the shot of his face after he said “hey” in the the clip I embedded to be longer ;)), but he was awesome anyway - I really enjoyed him. He’s the leading man in this one, so he got a lot more to work with. And he’s really well cast - he makes a great contrast to the much more aloof screen presences of Pattinson and Stewart.
Billy Burke (Bella’s dad) was great too - he had some great lines and really delivered on them.
A nice surprise was that they actually made more effort to flesh out the Cullens. In the first film only Edward and Dr Cullen really came through. The rest of the Cullens were very generic. This time they put in a lot more effort into them. I don’t think they had any more screen time than in the first film, but the few lines they had, gave you just enough of an idea of their personalities (you can see some of that in this scene). Jasper Cullen still came out a bit bland (he is in some ways very difficult to get “right”), but I was positively surprised to hear him speaking with a Southern accent (I don’t think that was the case in the previous film).
Also, the vampire make-up was kind of more in line with the books this time round. But I think they overdid it a bit (in Twilight it was over the top too though).

Recommended?
Er no, not really :] If you must, then see it for Taylor Lautner (I thought he was absolutely fab). The book is so much better.