The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2

    So, I not only went ot see this movie the night it came out, but I also sat through almost an entire marathon of the first 4 movies. At one point I thought I was a fan, I have changed my mind. Apparently I am very good at skipping over things I don't like, so when I read the books (yes I will admit to that) I blocked out the utter annoyance that is Bella Swan and focused on the rest of the characters. In the book, they were good and I could do that. The movies are a completely different story. When I first sawa Twilight, I just thought the movie was terrible because of Kristen Stewart and because they messed up a lot of things in the book. However, after watching it again along with all the other movies, I have decided that my first impression was not wrong, but it was not complete either. These movies are crap, this story is crap, and Bella Swan (and Kristen Stewart) is the most annoying, pathetic, whinny character I have put up with.

   That being said, Breaking Dawn, Part 2, was actually pretty decent. Bella was stronger, no longer pathetic, and actually had some feistiness. It also probably helped that she was not the focal point. There are so many new characters added in this segment that you get to forget the annoying original for a little bit. Garrett is super hot, Benjamin is pretty cute too. Getting to see how they put together everyone's powers is pretty cool too. Edward and Jacob finally stop fighting, Bella stops flip flopping and being sad and pathetic, there is a fight scene, a happy ending, and it's finally over (I think). So, there is a win for everyone!!!

   I still hate Kristen Stewart, but Jasper's hair is better, Edward is not so pale, the wolves still prance around shirtless, and there is new eye candy! How they show Bella's sheild is pretty interesting. Martin Sheen is fantastic. There are quite a few humorous moments. All-in-all, I couldn't really complain. Now, if I watch this movie again (which is debatable) outside of the influence of the other Twilight movies, I might not have such good things to say. But, given that caveat, this movie really was pretty enjoyable. It has love, it has action, it has some hints of sex, it has humor, and it has an ENDING! What else could you ask for?

   In the end, I give this movie an 8 out of 10 when compared to the other movies in the series and a 6 out of 10 when taken out of it's element.

Looper

     So, I wasn't quire sure what I thought about this movie when I first saw it some time ago, but now I think I like it. It was not at all what I was expecting when I went to see it. From the previews, I was expecting to watch a some sort of cheesy action film. Bruce Willis was supposed to come back to the past and share some deep dark secret with his young self. This secret was going to lead to them running around in the past together to save the future world. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt were supposed to be joint heros who save the day. It was supposed to be a relatively happy movie. That is not what happened.
    Bruce Willis did have a secret. The secret does lead Bruce Willis, and a little bit of Joseph Gordon Levitt, to run around in the past. But, Bruce Willis is not trying to save the world. He has his own agenda, and Joseph Gordon Levitt doesn't really have any interest in helping his future self out. In fact, the longer the movie goes on, the more Joseph Gordon Levitt disagrees with his future self. Neither one of them, past or future, are really good people. In fact, neither one of them really has any redeeming qualities on the surface, which I think is part of why I couldn't decide if I liked the movie at first.
   Before Bruce Willis shows up, there are some really disturbing scenes of crazy drugs and murders and things. So, I didn't really think the movie was going to be all that different from expecations until I got about half way through it. The disturbing parts were very artistically done, which makes the rating make sense. Speaking of the rating, such a high rotten tomatoes rating, 93%, should have been the give away. With the noted exception of The Avengers, good (cheesy) action films do not get high ratings.
   The story-line was also kind of artsy. It ended up being a pretty big commentary on society and the connectivity of past, present, and future. The title, Looper, is the name given to people in Joseph Gordon Levitt's profession, but it is also representative of the underlying theme to the movie. Life, our actions, cycles. Violence loops into violence, and kindness loops into kindness. In the end, one decision, either right or wrong, will loop into the future, which loops back into the past (with the invention of a time machine, of course). The more I think about it, the more fascinated I get. I will see this movie again, but I'm not sure I'll own it.
   In the end, I give this move a 7 out of 10, though I reserve the right to change that. :)