Movie Marathon Part II


BREAKING DAWN, Part II

Finally, I was able to watch the finale of the Twilight saga --- Breaking Dawn part II, last November 17, Saturday at the cinema. In fairness, the last part of Breaking Dawn is quite interesting, lots of action and vampire things, there was a fair balance of excitement, action, surprises and humor, and for the first time I saw the other side of Kristen Stewart's acting talent (finally she showed some degree of facial expression!), she was a revelation in this last Twilight installment. Surprisingly (hehe) I was not bored with the film unlike the other three series (New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn part I) where I almost fell asleep in the theater.

Michael Sheen who played Aro, the head of the Volturi pack, brought life to the story, as always he lived to high expectations of credible acting skill when it comes to playing Vampire, the same impression I had on him in the movie "Underworld". He knew how to interpret a creepy, ancient character that would really jolt the viewers. His team contributed to the lively finale of the story.

Breaking Dawn Part II's execution was impressive. The fight scene in the snow was entertaining, it felt like I was watching the championship of two teams in the NBA hehehe. I read the book years before but I was not disappointed with the outcome in the films because motion picture is always different from the book, it's a different medium so it should not be compared.  

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Last Night, November 18, while fixing my room, I found this really old file of DVDs in my drawer, and saw the copy of "Message in a Bottle". I haven't seen this film before, so after dinner, I wasted no time and gone through with it. 

The story is based in the book by Nicholas Spark (author of the Notebook, Letters from Juliet) and if not for its subtitles, I would never understand the whole thing since the scenes were not too exciting, very slow pacing and there were lots of narration, it only picked up when Kevin Costner's character, Garret Blake discovered the bottle (with the two letters) in Theresa's drawer (played by Robin Wright).

Message in a Bottle retells the story of a man who was grieving for the death of his wife, whom he could not let go, he refused to move on, he was forever stuck in that emotion, and he simply would not let her memories go. Until someone came, but then due to his refusal to move on, he just let the opportunity slipped away. He realized it in the end but it was too late, time and circumstances intervened and inscribed another fate for them. 

But it was a good film though. It helped that Paul Newman was there (he played Costner's protective and thoughtful father), he infused humor and interest in the film, his dialogue was terrific. Overall, the film punched a heart-warming message, it was self-pondering. Nicholas Spark was known with his poetic and whimsical lines and its richness provided magic to the whole story.  

It was not a formula movie because Garret Blake died in the end, just as he realized he wanted to start a new life with the woman who made him fall in love again, so there was no happy ending, but I love the conclusion because it was not a tailored concept, it was more of a conviction of a tragic love story that should not be dreaded, but something to look back with warm memories.

Robin Wright's character, Theresa, said this in the end:

"If some lives form a perfect circle, others take shape in ways we cannot predict or always understand. Loss has been a part of my journey, but it has also shown me what is precious, so has a love for which I can only be grateful".

After watching the film, I realized that the clinging of the man to his wife's memories was not all about love, but about guilt. In real life, there are people like him, who, after losing someone they thought they could not get over with the loss, they simply refused to move on and accept the reality due to "what ifs", because of some form of guilt, because they are continue savoring the idea that the one they had lost was the perfect one for them. Such a foolish thought. Things happen for a reason.

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