It’s about time that we face up to a few facts about Twilight. First, critics of the series can’t use the excuse that they “just don’t get it”, anymore. By the third film, we’ve gotten all there is to get: Bella, Edward and Jacob aren’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Also, if anything is to be said about the construction of the Twilight Saga, it’s that the changes in directors- similar to the Harry Potter director changes- have only improved the movies as they’ve gone on. David Slade’s Eclipse is, hands down, the best Twilight yet.

We pick up from that annoying cliffhanger ending, where Edward (Robert Pattinson) asks Bella (Kristen Stewart) to marry him. Now, reluctant to make her decision, Bella has to consider what she’s willing to compromise in order to be changed into the vampiress she wants to be. The decision is a tough one, as she finds out, especially when her werewolf best friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) wants so badly to fight for her love.

With that battle happening internally, Bella and her vampires face another looming battle- an army of newborn vampires wreaking havoc in Seattle, with their sights set on taking on the Cullen clan. The Cullens must figure out who’s behind the creation of the wild ones, prepare for a fight against them, and do it all before the Volturi vampire guard figure out that Bella is still a human.

Director David Slade (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) is no stranger to the thriller scene, and brought his know-how to the fights that must ensue in Eclipse. Appropriately dark when necessary,  the fast-paced fighting- though seemingly not enough- carries the film farther than that of New Moon. Not his fault though,  Stephenie Meyer put more action into Eclipse than she did New Moon, and thus the addition of more story makes this film more entertaining than the last.

We’ve also got to give it to the cast. What started as awkward and forced  interaction has become evident comfort between Stewart (Into The Wild, Adventureland) and Pattinson (HP: Goblet of Fire, Remember Me), Stewart and Lautner (Cheaper By The Dozen 2, Valentine’s Day), and surprisingly- Pattinson and Lautner. The tent scene when we finally get to see tame interaction between their two characters might be the highlight of the film, as far as dialogue is concerned.

The screenplays by Melissa Rosenberg are improving in dynamic, but it’s the perfect mesh of cast members that make the dialogues bearable. Take, for example, the incredible introductions of  new Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Riley (Xavier Samuels). Though their characters reach the end of their journeys, Howard and Samuels are terrifying, and make great villains.  The primary criticism is that neither the casting nor the screenplay pays much attention to the Wolf Pack. We meet a new wolf, and we must accept him (or her) without really getting to know them. Meyer’s development of Leah and Seth Clearwater (played by Julia Jones and BooBoo Stewart) definitely trumps the movie’s.

For what it is- a supernatural adventure, an exploration of adolescent morality, a good story with relatable characters, or merely a movie adaptation of a book- Eclipse is a win. Embracing the campy, culty nature of the films’ franchise, I’m certain no true Twilight fanatic will be disappointed by this installment.

Rating: 4.3/5

(+) a step up in chemistry, dialogue, conflict & entertainment

(-) lacks some character development

It’s easy to blame certain things on fate- like casually bumping into an extremely handsome man at the airport and striking up a conversation. But fate can sometimes deal cards we don’t even know what to do with, like in Knight & Day, where the handsome man might just be a psycho with a lot of guns.

When June (Cameron Diaz) bumps into Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) and winds up on the next plane with him, she quickly learns that believing whatever Roy tells her will keep her from being killed. On the run as a rogue agent of the CIA, Roy is on a mission to keep a valuable new invention out of the wrong hands while trying to keep the young inventor safe.  Now, June is a part of the equation, and not knowing who to believe becomes her biggest threat.

The chemistry is evident between Cruise and Diaz in this action adventure from director James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma), and serves as the most entertaining aspect of the whole film. A cohesive cast including Viola Davis and Peter Sarsgaard add nothing more than big names to the film, but we’ll take it. A hayride complete with rooftop jumping, motorcycle shooting, and of course- beach bodies.

Rating: 3.5/5

(+) Lots of funny, clean action, chemistry & well cast

(-) Story gets muddy, lack of character development, slightly cheesy ending

Summer is officially upon us- now that the sun is high in the sky and sweltering, and the movies are just as hot and sweaty as the weather. My birthday month is here, and we’re full speed into the summer blockbuster line-up. This July, we can look forward to a plethora of films that have been in constant conversation…

For example, coming out of June 30th’s Eclipse opening, July 1st gives us M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender. Twilight fans can get a double dose of Jackson Rathbone, as he’s in both of these movies. Equally sure to set the box office frenzy off.

Then another Wednesday opening: July 7th we get another Adrien Brody Sci-Fi experience in Predators. Also starring Alice Braga- a thriller about a group of warriors brought together on an alien planet as prey.

On Friday July 9th, Despicable Me opens, with the voice talents of funny group Steve Carrell, Jason Segel, Kristin Wiig, Will Arnett and Russell Brand, among others. Also opening to limited theaters is the festival favorite: The Kids Are All Right, a dramedy starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Annette Bening- about a same-sex couple raising a family and meeting their sperm donor.

And our third Wednesday opening of the month, Bastille Day (July 14th) gives way to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a bewitching adventure starring Jay Baruchel and Nicholas Cage.

Friday, July 16th we get the Leonardo DiCaprio flick generating lots of buzz- Inception opens, directed by Christopher Nolan. Also starring Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard, DiCaprio follows in suit of Shutter Island with another psycho drama from within the architecture of the mind. In the Indie circuit, John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener and Jonah Hill star in Cyrus, a comedy opening to limited theaters, about a divorcee looking to love again, dealing with his new girlfriend’s clingy son.

On Friday, July 23rd Selena Gomez stars in the family friendly Ramona and Beezus, a film based on the ever popular Beverly Clearly books. A fun filled adventure about a witty girl with an annoying older sister, who can’t seem to keep herself out of trouble.

Also opening this weekend, Angelina Jolie stars in Salt-  A decorated CIA agent  accused of being a Russian Spy, now on the run for her life. Salt also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Liev Schreiber.

Finally, July 30th is a packed opening day. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore opens for the kids and pet lovers, while Dinner for Schmucks opens for the Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd lovers. Or, if you’d prefer a more dramatic story, go see Charlie St. Cloud- starring Zac Efron in a role far from the HSM franchise, about a young man able to communicate with his younger brother, whose death he felt was his own fault.

Happy Fourth, Happy Bastille, and Happy Birthday to me!

C.A.M.

It’s more than just a showcase of the liberties of biological science, the psyches of the humans it details, and a commentary on the values of marriage and parenting… Splice goes above and beyond.

When a scientist couple and their biomedical team invent new organisms, eager Elsa (Sarah Polley) and Clive (Adrien Brody) are curious enough to take the experiment farther- testing the splicing technologies on human meet animal DNA- against legal and ethical company constrictions. What they think will be a simple study of the outcome, turns into a longer study of the human/animal hybrid they make and call Dren (Abigail Chu, Délphine Chaneac).

Now, with the new organism growing quickly and more out of control, the two scientists must keep Dren a secret from the rest of the company, while attempting to understand what exactly she is. What they don’t expect is the personal connection they make to the science experiment, and what they don’t understand is how uncertain and unstable Dren’s inner workings actually are.

From director and writer Vincenzo Natali (Cypher, Paris, je t’aime) comes a twisted, often horrifying look at the lab world. A well written film, complacent enough to be a scientific mystery, yet suspenseful enough to be a thriller/horror film. The two main actors Brody (The Pianist, The Village) and Polley (Dawn of the Dead) are a match made in the lab. Both convincing enough to portray normal “nerds”, and both able to explore a range of emotions throughout the film. What initially appears to be a normal couple unfolds into a distant relationship, showing just how “fucked up” they really are.

It’s quickly apparent that Splice is not your average science-experiment-gone-wrong adventure. At times it’s questionable who the monster actually is, and at other times it gives you a queasy feeling- asking what is morally sound and what just crosses the line.

It’s twisted, grotesquely erotic, and complex enough to appeal to the Sci-Fi audiences, as well as the thriller/horror-loving moviegoer.

Rating: 4/5

(+) Great story with twists and turns, science mixes well with adventure/thriller, well cast/acted.

(-) Very long, moments that drag on

I recently watched the documentary Don’t You Forget About Me, a film by four young filmmakers on their journey to find the late great John Hughes- the mastermind behind capturing the teenage experience in the 80s.  Hughes is famous for the films Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Some Kind of Wonderful and Sixteen Candles; an amazing writer, producer and director.

Well watching these movies and this documentary got me thinking: what movies will go down in the history of my generation? The MTV Generation, The Digital (or iPod) Generation…as people like to call it.  I grew up with the 90s and 2000s, and though (being the movie buff that I am) my favorite films come from a melange of the decades, people my age need some sort of compilation of films that we can all agree represented- or completely didn’t represent- our teen years. So speculating led to investigating, and asking friends and strangers in their late teens and early twenties about the movies that made high school bearable. This is what I came up with:

Some Housekeeping

1. These films are in order of the year they came out, from 1990 and on. They are NOT ranked by preference.

2. I do not include films that are parodies of other films: i.e- Scary Movie, Not Another Teen Movie, Date Movie, etc…instead I considered the films that they parody.

3. Again, as with my Best of the Decade list, one woman’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you don’t like my list, feel free to compile your own, or just leave comments with your opinions.

The Top 20 Teen Flicks of the 90s-2000s

Cry-Baby (1990) – Johnny Depp is Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker- a badass from the wrong parts of Baltimore. When he gets involved with a Square, a straight-laced prude chick named Allison, he has to deal with her uppity boyfriend and his group of rich kid friends, while the whole quiet town has to deal with an invasion of Rock-n-Roll behavior in this cult classic. It resonates with teenagers because of the clashing cultures, in a new-age West-Side Story meets Grease kind of way.

Clueless (1995) - Oh come on, who hasn’t seen this movie? Whether you’re a girl who adored Cher’s 90210 lifestyle, or a guy who couldn’t get his eyes off Dionne, everyone loves Clueless. With early roles for Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd and Donald Faison, the movie led to a hit television series. Based on Jane Austen’s “Emma”, the MTV generation’s rendition tells the story of a matchmaker popular girl who can talk and shop her way into and out of everything. Not to mention, everyone knows a Cher Horowitz.

Goodburger (1997)- “Welcome to Goodburger, home of the Goodburger, can I take your order?” The  popular skit in Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy show All That led to a movie starring dynamic duo Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. It’s a movie about two crazy teenagers with a summer job, going on adventures that get them into trouble, just living their lives.

Can’t Hardly Wait (1998) - Well it’s the last big party for the graduating class, so you know it’s gotta be a good one. Everyone’s there- you’ve got the Prom Queen and her ass-hole ex boyfriend, the douche-bag who needs to lose his virginity before college, the nerd that got bullied all through school and tonight’s no exception, and the quiet loner girl who’s secretly a good kisser. It’s a night to remember in this campy classic.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) – Anything based on Shakespeare is gonna be a winner. Like this one, about a girl named Bianca who is forbidden to date unless her man-repelling bitch of a sister dates too. Naturally, it takes a distraction like Heath Ledger to tame this shrew. A breakthrough role for Julia Stiles, with Larisa Oleynik and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

She’s All That (1999) – During the reign of Freddie Prinze Jr. we got tons of teeny-bopper films, but this one took the cake. With Rachael Leigh Cook as the dorky Laney Boggs, school president and jock Zack Siler makes a bet with his friends to turn the nerdy girl into a prom queen. Notable cast includes Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Anna Pacquin, Gabrielle Union, Sarah  Michelle Gellar and even Usher. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion”.

Election (1999)- Reese Witherspoon shines as the overbearing, hilarious Tracy Flick. She has the student council election in the bag, until a teacher suggests and convinces one of the popular football players to run against her. Being the overachiever that she is, Tracy is determined to win at all costs. Also starring Matthew Broderick and Chris Klein.

Varsity Blues (1999) - Dealing with a hard-ass coach and a football obsessed town, Jonathan “Mox” Moxon is a back-up quarterback just trying to get to college. A good kid having a tough time, him and his friends lead their high-school team to victory as he discovers what it means to be a winner.

Drive Me Crazy (1999) – Two childhood friends grow up and grow apart, as high school has them running in different social circles. One’s a popular girl, the other a grungy boy.  Nicole and Chase both get dumped by their significant others, and when she comes up with a plan to take him to the Centennial to make their loves jealous, she realizes that turning him into the man she wants might not be as hard as she thought. We’ve seen the concept many times before, but this one is a witty, well-written and rather believable film.

American Pie (1999) – Four sexually frustrated friends, trying and failing miserably at losing their virginity. Several hilarious quotes, a ton of OMG and WTF moments. Simply put, it’s a classic.

Never Been Kissed (1999) - A journalist that goes undercover to write about the teenage high school life finds herself trying to rewrite her own history. When she falls for her teacher, the story turns into a student-teacher relationship nightmare. Drew Barrymore stars as Josie Geller.

Bring It On (2000) – “That’s alright, that’s ok, you’re gonna pump our gas someday!”  The hilarious, classic cheerleader film- and the only “Bring It On” in this franchise worth watching. Kirsten Dunst is Torrance Shipman, new captain trying to lead her squad to its 6th national title. When she finds out that the old captain had been stealing cheers from an amazing inner-city squad, Torrence has to do what’s right and come up with some new material.  With Gabrielle Union and Eliza Dushku.

Save The Last Dance (2001) - The most intricate look at young interracial relationships to date. Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas star in this film about living your dreams, and learning to love. A small-town dancer bound for Julliard moves to Chicago to live with her stranger of a father and attend an inner-city school, after her mother dies. Though she’d put her ballet shoes away, Sarah meets a boy named Derek who shows her how to dance again. With an all-star cast including Kerry Washington and Fredro Starr, and an equally good soundtrack.

The Princess Diaries (2001) - Based on the book series by Meg Cabot; the film about an awkward teenager named Mia Thermopolis, who finds out that she is an heir to the throne of a European country. A charming film from director Garry Marshall, also starring the amazing Julie Andrews.

Thirteen (2003) - If you ever wanted to scare your parents…this is the film to do it with. Very far from Twilight- director Catherine Hardwick and actress Nikki Reed co-wrote this script, based on Reed’s own life at 13 years old.  A good girl Tracy meets a bad girl Evie, who introduces her to sex, drugs, alcohol, and self-mutilation in this controversial but very necessary film.

Mean Girls (2004) - “You Go Glen Coco!” High school never looked more wild than in this film, about teenage girls and their hurtful cliques. A break out role for Lindsay Lohan (and possibly the peak of her career), a hilarious script by Tina Fey, consider it an updated version of the movie Heathers… if this wasn’t the most quoted film of the decade, then I don’t know what is.

High School Musical (2006) - Call it cheesy if you want to, but because of High School Musical, you know exactly who Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are. And, believe me, they have a lot of money because of this musical film. Disney’s most successful original film (and franchise) to date is about a popular basketball player who discovers his love for a new girl in town, in addition to his new love for stage performance.

Superbad (2007) – Judd Apatow kept crankin’ them out…and Superbad was one of his best. Stepping stone film for the careers of Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Stone, and Christopher Mintz- Plasse, and another notch on Seth Rogen’s success belt as a writer. This movie brought the “regular kids” back to films.

Harry Potter Franchise (2001-2011) - Okay, so they don’t go to a real high school….but didn’t you want to go to Hogwarts instead of your school too? Wizards and witches go through the same teen drama, when they’re not fighting off evil dark lords and saving the wizarding world.

Twilight Saga (2008-2011) - Bella is just a regular clumsy high school student, whose boyfriend is a vampire and whose best friend is a werewolf. If you don’t know what “Team Edward or Team Jacob” means, then you’ve been living under a very large and heavy rock.

And…a few Honorable Mentions

Teen Witch (1989) – So it’s not really the 90s…but close enough. Robin Lively stars as the nerdy Louise, a down-trodden girl who learns she’s a witch. Using her powers to become the most popular girl in school, Louise also wins the attention of football star Brad. A precursor to the Sabrina franchise.

Get Over It (2001) - breaking up can be hard in high school, especially for Berke Landers, who lost his girlfriend Allison to a boy band badass named Stryker. With a great cast, starring Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller, Colin Hanks, Shane West, Mila Kunis, Sisqo and Martin Short.

Juno (2007) - Teen pregnancy can happen to anybody, like an average high school girl named Juno. In this coming-of-age story, Juno chooses the perfect adoptive parents for her unborn child. Starring Ellen Page. Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman.

Friday Night Lights (2004) – A gritty look at high school football, based on truth and the book by H.G. Bissinger; Billy Bob Thornton stars as Gary Gaines- a coach guiding his young team to their national championship, facing racial and economic hardships. Also starring Lucas Black, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Garrett Hedlund and Lee Thompson Young.

Havoc (2005)- Anne Hathaway like you’ve never seen her before. A wealthy LA teen and her group of friends try a bit too hard to break out of their suburbia lifestyle and roll with the “gangstas”. It’s not supposed to be funny though, it’s a gritty and real reality check for these bored teenagers when they provoke a Latino gang. Also starring Bijou Phillips and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

And there it is…our own Teenage Wasteland,

C.A.M.

Aldous Snow is back in Get Him To The Greek, and he hasn’t changed a bit.

This time we get to the see raucous rocker up close and personal, as intern Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) has the unfortunate task of reinventing his career, with orders from the stiff record company CEO Sergio Roma (Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs). Aaron has to figure out a way to get the out-of-control Aldous (Russell Brand) on a plane from England to LA, to play in an anniversary concert at the Greek Theatre.

Well, it goes without saying that this film is undoubtedly 2 hours of shit-show comedy, brought to us from funnyman director and writer Nicholas Stoller (Yes Man, Fun With Dick & Jane). We get an in-depth performance from the usually superficial Russell Brand, a surprisingly hilarious performance from P. Diddy, and Jonah Hill couldn’t have been better as the reluctant yet tightly bound intern.

Get Him To The Greek won’t be for everybody, but if you like this type of toilet talk, then you’ll appreciate this film for what it is: ridiculous.

Rating: 4.3/5

(+) Lots of funny, lots of adventure.

(-) Some might not appreciate the “WTF” reaction you’ll get from the story line.