I just saw New Moon.
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*SQUEAL*

(Review contains movie spoilers in the last part)

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4 out of 5 stars, because it doesn't deserve a 3.5 review. I am not going to say anything about the plot.

First of all, SO. MUCH. SHIRTLESSNESS. Allergic to shirts, eh?

The wolf CGI effects were simply amazing. The fight scene between Jake and Paul was exceptionally well-choreographed; I hope they paid the crew on that a LOT of money. They deserve it. My only gripe point with the wolves was that the legs were a little bit long for the anatomy, though as most of the legs you saw were Jacob's, it may have been due to the fact that he is a young werewolf.

Next point: acting. It actually improved quite a lot from the first movie. Kristen finally showed some emotion on her face, and the screaming-in-the-night parts almost made you believe it was real. Robert improved as well, though he still gave a bit of the whiney aspect to Edward. Dakota Fanning was simply spectacular for the three lines she had. Michael Sheen was an awesome Aro as well, and he obviously has the personality down pat.

Third point: character adherence. Demetri and Felix look NOTHING like they were described, or how I pictured them. Demetri is about 4' 11", and has pixie-like hair. Jane was blond, which only bugged me a bit, but her hair is described as being light brown. Oh and..... well, I'll get to the several gripes about Alice's hair later on.

The plot of the movie stayed very close to the book, and the only scenes they added or changed helped the storyline.

Pacing. Ahem. It was well-paced up until the point when Alice comes back and has the vision about Edward. Which is the best part of the whole plot, in my opinion. The whole sequence going to and in Italy felt very rushed. They left out a lot there, and could have built up a lot more backstory.

Volterra was well-thought out. It looked so much like the book description that I felt as though I was inside it.

Now, for the bad points. The scriptwriter needs to give the actors more to work with. I have seen Kristen Stewart in Zathura, and saw a preview with Robert in it. In both, they acted much better then in Twilight or New Moon. Melissa Rosenberg needs to give them more freedom, and more syllables in Bella's answers: more then just "Uh" "Um" "Yeah" or "Edward".

Wolf pack tattoos just make no sense to me. >> 'Nuff said.

Now for the score. Too much of the same tune, and WAY too much violin music. I bought the first score off of iTunes, but wouldn't waste my money on this one just to hear the same 50-second tune over and over. The soundtrack, however, I am totally buying. ^^ The songs fit the mood well.

Alice's hair. I think I've said enough on this point by now. And the HEADSCARF. Tsk tsk.

The scenery was very nice, and the really odd thing is that I RECOGNIZED one shot, since I'm in the city they shot part of it in.

The eyes of each vampire, whether gold or crimson, were so distracting I had trouble focusing on the characters. The Volturi's eyes, especially, looked as though someone took the Brush Tool in Photoshop and painted over the irises. All were far too vivid to look naturally there.

The vampire running effects were much better done than in the first movie. It looked REAL and not lazy. Also, they finally got Victoria's hair right. Red, instead of blond. Too bad that they're recasting for Eclipse.

Little things like Emily's scars and house were well-done. (Giant muffins FTW.)




The following section contains movie spoilers, and laughs on specific lines:
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"It would be nice not to want to kill you all the time." -

CHEESY ENDING. Enough said. DX

Very nice special touch in a flashback while Jacob's talking about Victoria. James' ashes and her expression fit perfectly together.... now I feel more sorry for Victoria.

Ashley Greene must be reading my mind.... she played Alice so peppily.
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Uber-long review over. xD Loved it.