Cursed "Moon"

I recently watched the most recent installment in the “Twilight” series – “New Moon.” Though I cannot deny the charm of the series, I was once again frustrated by its very awkward performances. I was excited when I discovered Chris Weitz would be directing “New Moon” because his movies consistently showcase strong performances, and I don’t believe by coincidence. You may not agree with “American Pie’s” crude style, but you cannot deny its charm. “About a Boy” featured some of the most engaging dialogue and character interaction of the decade. And the only thing that Weitz didn’t handle well with the difficult “Golden Compass” material was its battle scene. Weitz is not the savviest action director, but has proved highly effective in manifesting the magic of relationships - making him the perfect candidate to right the Twilight ship.

Alas, the interactions in New Moon were once again laughable. I hesitate to blame the actors because not even Michael Sheen – a proven performer- is believable in his role. The script is far from perfect, but I don’t think it’s at fault either. Melissa Rosenberg's (the writer of both "Twilight" scripts)"Step Up" script was pretty weak, but director Anne Fletcher was able to conjure and interesting relationship between her stars in “Step Up” despite lacking great actors. I honestly wasn’t even sure what kinds of emotions the characters were trying to portray during certain scenes of “New Moon.” Thus I am led to only one logical explanation: the series is cursed. If the series has failed to entertain you so far, skip the final two movies. It won’t get any better. But if it has continued to entertain you – even if not intentionally- the rest of the series should follow suit. So enjoy.