I caught the sneak preview last Tuesday, courtesy of free tickets from Shaw, that came as part of the door gift for the 987 RSVP party.
Even before I caught the movie, I don't really have any idea what it is about, except that it is about Vampires and that the good guy is called Edward and the bad guy is called James.
Yea. That's about it, considering that the information is available in the form of "root with team Edward" and "root with team James" superpokes.
The book didn't particularly jump out at me, until the two weeks that I spent working at Suntec's Harris. Tagging 150 copies of Twilight, Eclipse and New Moon? You can't go wrong with that.
I was like "oh...I think I heard of this before"...but I wasn't really sure what it was all about.
Then, over at Great World City's Harris, it was featured as part of Children's day promotion.
The sneak preview took place at Shaw@Bugis Junction, and with the extra ticket that I had, I took my sister along. Pei Jun, Khad, Feng Ling and three of her friends, were there to catch it first hand as well.
I will be honest. Their Bugis Junction outlet isn't the most attractive movie theatre out there, but like most Singaporeans would say, why would you complain when the tickets are free?
For the record, I would say Vivo City's GV is one of the best, with their stadium-styled sitting arrangement and lush seats.
Heh...it's been so long since the class got together for a movie hasn't it? I still kind of remember Transformers and Ocean's Thirteen...and the walk to Somerset MRT...kinda surreal reflecting back on it=/
Ahh yes. It's free-sitting and since Pei Jun and Khad reached there slightly later than us, the six of us helped them to reserve the seats.
The movie took a while to start, but I found the lack of commercials and trailers a bit jarring. It was the same for the time when Royston Tan went down to Jurong Point's GV for 12 Lotus...hmmm...
It wasn't long before excited shrieks jolted me out of my mild sleepiness, since I went there straight after school ended...
As the Cullen family made their way one by one into the scene, the rumbling steadily got louder, but it was when Edward appeared that the theatre went up in raptures.
Sure, it might not rival Maria Sharaporva's shriek, but it was still pretty deafening at the same time. The only sound similar that I heard before was of my sister watching her DBSK videos on youtube...
Without spoiling much, I can only conclude that ,with a few laughs here and there, it can still pretty much keep a non-fan like me entertained.
Well, enough to not make me feel like the two hours was a waste.
I have to say though...the pacing was a bit eratic at times and things jumped pretty quickly from one thing to the other
Also, I thought James would have a lot more exposure time than that. It was pretty brief...for a bad guy...if that sums up his appearance in the Twilight series, I would feel pretty bad for the guy who played the bad guy, considering that he had such a cool line, for a bad guy that is.
Jumping from bad to dad, Billy Blurke gains my approval for his portrayal of Bella's dad Charlie Swan. I thought he nailed the hesitant father figure, who had just managed to reunite with his daughter.
He didn't really know how to communicate with her, but through the little actions that he did, I could really feel that he cares for his daughter.
Ok. On to the film. Product placements are rather obvious (Is that an Apple?-Khad), while Chevrolet decided that their main sponsorship of Don't Forget the Lyrics Singapore wasn't enough, and decided to ship a couple of their discontinued models to the Swan family.
If that wasn't balant enough, I don't know what that is. Maybe it's already stated in the novel. I have no idea.
At least it isn't as balant as First Class's debut episode, which had a roly-poly boy offering his classmates (out of a A1 crispy puff plastic bag that he is carrying,) "want a currypuff?"
Aww, doesn't he sound all so innocent and cute. Not.
Even though local shows crave sponsorship, there ought to be a limit somewhere...even En Bloc...they had the Eldest Brother (Darren Lim) working at the company that sponsored them...and I was treated to a full-frontal view of their office building.
Oh joy.
When Ms Michelle Chang was here, I should have asked her why do Channel 5 insist on using Jade Seah, when all she can contribute is nothing but being a vase, getting users to turn off their TVs when it is time for the Beijing Games highlights, or perhaps, her most famous faux pas in which she send viewers gasping and the heart-beats of the censorship board racing by emitting the four letter word.
Ah yes. I have disgressed quite a bit.
I was wondering if the tall trees scene was real, or did they simply do it off a green screen...
and finally...Bella who?
Pot Smoking Bella you mean?
Who cares for her when there's Ashley Greene on the show?
Her character Alice had a pretty dynamic soulmate thing going with her co-star Jackson Rathbone.
They are the two on the right.
Back to my perceptions as a male viewer, there need to be more James. More action. More bad-ass.
That's a fight scene? It was kind of a let-down for me.
On a brighter note, watch the spoof trailer that Evil Iguana productions did for the movie. It certainly made me chortle at some points. Props goes to FL for pointing it out on her blog first.
As for the rating, call me a miser, but I would only give it 3 out of 5 stars.
While fangirls will lap it up, the film sorely lacks a little bit of something else for the more neutral viewer.
Will I watch the follow-ups?
That depends...
On whether my sister will drag me to the theatre next time.
A point to note to all devoted fans: keep an eye out for a cameo by author Stephenie Mayer.
I didn't know about it until my sister pointed her out to me.
Although my sister doesn't really think Stephenie's writing is really THAT strong (no haters please), she still enjoy the series none the less.
Will the film do well in the box office?
$37 Million on its opening day itself in the US?
Obviously.
Even if there are not really much neutral viewers, the rabid fangirls will definitely keep the coffers churning.
Oh yea...something that I encountered last week.
My sister and I took the last train home (Train's destination: Last Train To Kranji) and while we waited for the last bus of the night, I noticed a middle-aged woman talking to two malay girls.
At first she was asking them where did they buy some of their accessories, but soon later, I heard one of the malay girls asking where the nearest toilets were.
All was quiet for a while.
Suddenly, the woman burst out in Chinese (note: she spoke in a mixture of Chinese and English),
"Pervert"
I looked up and I was like "wah?"
"Danny from Block 770 is a pervert. So is Kenneth from Block 820."
She rambled off a couple of names and I thought "oooookay...who the hell are they anyway?"
My sister was also startled.
Dropping her voice, she remarked.
"Danny, that no good pervert. He laid his hands on so many young girls and steal their organs. Now young girls in Yishun dying everywhere".
What the?
Stealing organs? Dying? In Yishun? Was there such a thing?
I am beginning that the two Malay Girls used the toilet as an excuse to sneak off.
"The two teenage sisters at block 734. He laid his hands on them. Such a pity. The younger one was so pretty."
Her voice suddenly became more agitated and she went,
"I am prettier than her."
Hey lady, you are sounding a bit delusional there as well.
My sister lean over to me and whispered, "do you think that she think that you are going to do something to me?"
Indeed the thought did cross my mind, and it was a very uncomfortable 9 minutes as she pranced around with her heavenly voice overflowing.
I tried to look around at the night sky and the surroundings, but to borrow a phrase, "like drills digging into my head".
I tried to put my head upon my lap and pretend to sleep. No good. Her voice gets clearer. As a result, I tried singing "Tis' the season to be jolly fa lalalalala la la la la" to myself, but to no avail.
As a last resort, I whipped out my copy of The New Paper and pretended to put it very close to my face.
My sister was also trying to ignore her, but then the lady shouted to my sister asking "Hey Xiao Jie (young lady), ni zhi dao na li you mian fei de lu (add two dots on it) shi ma?", which translates to "hey young lady, do you know where can I find free lawyers?
My imouto looks a bit taken-aback, and gave a abrupt "no" for an answer.
I then motioned to the New paper and pretended to read some of the articles out word by word with her.
"Scolari happy with Chelsea's performance as Anelka..."
Yea. Those are not the exact words but you get my point.
The lady started to mumble to herself and later burst out by saying that policemen do not deserve their bonuses, as they are not doing their job properly.
"They never catch that Ah Qiang."
"He should go to hell. He is a ______. His mother should go and die for giving birth to him."
At this point, I leaned over and whispered, "wanna walk home?"
"His mother's ______ is smelly."
Okay...that is definitely stepping over the line. It's not something I would ever say in polite company, much less to strangers whom I have never met before.
Clearly, this woman had some issues to deal with. Now you are berating about someone and hurling vulgarities at him in front of teens? Grow up already.
Thankfully, the other service (804) soon arrived, and she was gone, but not before my sister went "ewww" and pointed at some spit that the lady spat onto the ground
When I said she have some issues, I suspect them to be more mental in nature.
Quite frankly, I am quite spooked that there is someone like her running about freely. If she got mental problems, which my sister and I agreed wholeheartedly with, she should seek treatment.
Luckily, my sister and I are more tolerant. I wouldn't fancy other parents enjoying some random stranger sprouting vulgarities to their kids. In extreme cases, some might even show her a thing or two. I don't really fancy that to happen.
One question boggles my mind though.
Do I really have such a pervertic face?
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