The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

TITLE: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

SYNOPSIS: 18-year-old human girl, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), wants to be a vampire like the love of her life, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). However, Edward will only change her if she marries him. Bella isn't too comfortable with the idea of marriage, as her parents are divorced. Another thing keeping her from marrying Edward is her best friend, werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Bella must choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob. However, a string of attacks and murders, led by the evil vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her army of newborn vampires, co-led by newborn vampire Riley (Xavier Samuel), may force the vampires and werewolves to come to a ruce for Bella's safety. Edward. Jacob. Who will Bella choose?

FAVORITE QUOTE:

Jacob (holding Bella, talking to Edward): Well, I am hotter than you.

MY VIEWS: NOTE, MANY SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE, OR READ THE BOOK, PLEASE DO *NOT* READ THIS SECTION! This was probably the best of the Twilight movies so far. Then again, I enjoyed the book "Eclipse" the most out of all four books. It was a good movie, especially if you are a fan of the Twilight books. One of the main reasons that I enjoyed it so much was beause it gave some backstory to Jasper and Rosalie. Up until this time, Jasper had just been there in the background, except for the one time that he attacked Bella, and Rosalie had just been a total jerk. We finally realize that Rosalie doesn't hate Bella, she's jealous of her. Rosalie wishes she had the choice of whether or not to be a vampire, the way Bella does. But, she didn't, and she thinks Bella is choosing the wrong choice. Also, we learn that Jasper used to be a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. This helps when the battle against the Newborns comes along. One of the actresses who really steals the few scenes she is in is the young actress who plays newborn vampire Bree (Jodelle Ferland). Bree only appears in about three scenes, but she is a great character. Now, maybe I'm prejudiced because I've read the "Eclipse" tie-in book "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner", but I felt sorry for Bree at the end of "Eclipse". Bree really is just an innocent victim. She's being used by both Victoria and Riley. However, Riley is only using Bree because Victoria told him to. Really, Victoria is using Riley, Bree, and the other newborns. I also thought it was very cruel Jane (Dakota Fanning), the Volturi who can physically harm others by just looking at them, to kill Bree without even giving her a chance to redeem herself. But, as Jane said, "The Volturi don't give second chances". All together, however, this was a good movie.

My Rating: 4 and 3/4 Train Whistles

Iron Man 2

Title: Iron Man 2

Synopsis: Billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has just announced to the world that he is Iron Man. However, things are not going well for Stark. The government wants him to hand over the Iron Man suit, as they classify it as being a weapon. His new assistant, Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) appears to have a secret agenda. His best friend, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, has betrayed him by handing one of the Iron Man suits to Stark's rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). And, a vengeful Russian criminal (Mickey Rourke) has obtained technology similar to, and possibly stronger than, the Iron Man suit. Surely that would be enough. However, Stark has one problem that no amount of armor or technology can fix...

Favorite Quote:

SENATOR STERN: It's funny how annoying a little p***k can be.

My Views: NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE YET, DO NOT READ THIS SECTION AS IT CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!

I enjoyed Iron Man 2 as much, if not more than, the first movie. It was very well done, in my opinion. Robert Downey Jr. did well as the title character, Tony Stark/Iron Man. Don Cheadle did qurite well as Rhodey/War Machine. Scarlett Johansson was fabulous as Natalie Rushman/Natalia Romanoff/Black Widow. Sam Rockwell as funny as Hammer. Mickey Rourke did excellent in the role of Ivan Vanko/Whiplash (though really he's more of a combination of Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo). Gwyneth Paltrow was, as always, good as Pepper Pots. And, I loved seeing Samuel L. Jackson in his few brief appearances as Nick Fury. It looks as though they are setting things up for an Avengers movie. Downey can play Iron Man, Cheadle can play War Machine, Johansson can play Black Widow, and I've heard rumors that they've found someone to play Hulk, Captain America, and Thor in an upcoming Avengers movie. Will have to look forward to seeing that!

My Rating: 4 1/2 Train Whistles