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Now in our eleventh calendar year!
PCR #536 (Vol. 11, No. 27). This edition is for the week of June 28--July 4, 2010.

This Week's PCR
Movie Review
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Movie review by:
Phillip Smith

Movies are rated 0 to 4 stars

theater seats


MOVIE REVIEW
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"  by Phillip Smith
RETRORAMA
Happy Anniversary Video Watchdog!  by ED Tucker
THE AUDIO PHILES
June Album of the Month: Alejandro Escovedo-Street Songs Of Love  by Terence Nuzum
FANGRRL
Book Review: The Flamingo Rising by Larry Baker  by Lisa Scherer
THE ASIAN APERTURE
Kamikaze Girls (2005)  by Jason Fetters
MIKE'S RANT
Staring Down "the Last Airbender" .... Passing On .... Another Thing I Hate .... .... .... .... .... .... Mike's Record Shelf  by Mike Smith

Summit Entertainment     
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Directed by: David Slade
Rated: PG 13
Running Time: 2 hours 4 mins


Alright all you lovely ladies and Twi-hards out there, “Twilight” is back with its third installment: “Eclipse.” We catch up with Bella (Stewart) nearing her high school graduation and while most seniors are trying to figure out what they will be when they grow up she is facing more difficult questions: When can she change into an immortal soul and be with Edward (Pattinson)…and what about Jacob (Lautner)? But she really has no time to think about those questions as the build to the climax starts quick. As the film opens a young man is changed from mortal to vampire and every time we see him he continues this trend (call it paying it forward) by changing teens from human to vampire. Than we find out why. The evil red-headed vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) is back and she is on the same mission: kill Bella, Edward's chosen mate, just as he had killed hers. But this time Victoria is playing to win by building a vampire army. For everyone that chooses teams, Team Edward vs. Team Jacob, “Eclipse” puts an end to the choosing of sides. For there is only one team in this movie: Team Bella. With both Bella’s love interests vying for her heart, Jacob and Edward argue and testosterone flares for a good part of the movie. The two battle so much that during one such argument Bella utters “I’m Switzerland, consider me neutral.” Which brings both men to the conclusion that, if they don’t join each other in this fight, they may have not have Bella to fight over anymore. But, will a supernatural team of vampires and werewolves be enough to stop a vampire army? And can Edward and Jacob end their bitter dispute and hatred for one another to fight on the same side?

This time the filmmakers got it right. “Eclipse” offers some back stories that were missing in the first two and we learn the legend of Jacob’s tribe and why and how they can turn into werewolves. We also get a feeling for who Edward is. Not the cold pale vampire we’re familiar with but who he was before he was turned. At one point in the movie he tells Bella that if they were in his time he would court her on chaperoned dates and drink tea on the porch and steal a kiss, only after he has asked her father’s permission. The first two films in the series were geared towards females of all ages who yearned to drag their significant others to see a Nicholas Sparks love story. Albeit a Nicholas Sparks love story with century-old vampires and very little action. “ Eclipse” will not only hold the boys’ interest but actually have them anticipating nearly every scene of the movie...a movie that climaxes in an incredible BATTLE ROYAL. The movie is entertaining and features some strong performances, among them vampires Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) and Riley (Xavier Samuel), who add a likability factor to the movie.

With all the hype it has generated over the past several months you might expect the final product to be a let-down. But happily, “Eclipse” not only delivers to its waiting fans but should reel in the first-timers.

On a scale of zero to four stars, I give “The Twilight Sage: Eclipse”  


This week's movie review of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" is ©2010 by Phillip Smith.  All graphics this page are creations of Nolan B. Canova, ©2010, all rights reserved. All contents of "Nolan's Pop Culture Review" are ©2010 by Nolan B. Canova.