Scott Pilgrim vs The World (4½ Stars)

Rather than review the film (which I've done in the past), I'll write about a strange experience that I had with the Blu-ray disc today. As I've pointed out in previous reviews, I find the film's alternate ending much better. It's not really an alternate ending, it was the original ending. It was (supposedly) badly received at test screenings, so it was refilmed.

I need to explain. The film begins with Scott dating a Chinese schoolgirl called Knives Chau. He dumps her when he meets a girl called Ramona Flowers. To be with Ramona he needs to defeat her seven ex-lovers in battle. Knives still has feelings for Scott, so she assists him in his fights.

Now to the endings. In the original ending Ramona tells Scott that Knives is better for him, so Scott returns to her. In the ending used in the film, Knives accepts that Ramona is better for him, and he walks off with Ramona.

I can see the point. The test audience was confused by Scott fighting for a girl, then deciding he didn't want her. I see it differently. Knives was perfect for Scott from the beginning, and she loved him so selflessly that she even helped him get his new girlfriend.

I own video editing software, so after watching the film I wanted to put the old ending back into the film. I never want to watch the new ending again. But then something weird happened. The alternate ending isn't on the Blu-ray. It's a film that I originally bought on DVD, so I compared the two discs. The alternate ending is listed as an extra on the DVD, but not on the Blu-ray.

But that's not the end of the story. I analysed the Blu-ray on my computer, and I found the alternate ending. It's on the disc, but there's no link to it. It's a mastering error. So I can create a personal version with the original ending after all.

Or maybe it's an Easter Egg? Some Blu-ray discs have hidden menus that can only be accessed by clicking on invisible buttons. I have a British Blu-ray. Is the American version also missing the alternate ending? I'm curious.

Success Rate:  - 1.8

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Trolls Band Together (4 Stars)

The five trolls Floyd, John Dory, Spruce, Clay and Baby Branch are in a highly successful boy band called Brozone. They disband after a concert that goes wrong. It's not just the band that splits up. The five brothers go their different ways.

15 years later Branch is no longer a baby. He's in a steady relationship with Queen Poppy. He hears that Floyd has been kidnapped by giant trolls, referred to as bergens. Floyd is trapped inside a diamond that channels his singing ability into the wearer. The only thing that can break the diamond open is perfect family harmony, so he goes on a quest to find his brothers and sing a song to free Floyd.

As you can tell from my brief description, it's a whimsical tale, but it has an overwhelming charm, especially for children. My grandson Oliver loved it, but the biggest reaction was from a girl two seats away. She was leaning forward on her seat for most of the film, and she couldn't stop laughing. I didn't laugh out loud, but I still found the film amusing.

The songs were sung by Justin Timberlake and various boy bands. That's not my sort of music. Normally I would have turned away, but in the context of the film it was perfect. Heavy metal wouldn't have been suitable.

It's a film I want to see again.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (4½ Stars)

I can't believe this film was a box office flop. What's wrong with people? It's brilliant! It's a classic. It deserves to have been one of the biggest hits of 2010. Okay, I haven't given it a full five star rating. I have a reason for deducting half a star that I won't mention here. All I'll say is that it's been six years since I last watched it, and that's too long. Sometimes I realise with horror how long it's been since I watched a truly great film, and I compare it with all the average quality films that I've watched in the meantime. What a waste of my short, short life!

I don't know much about Canadian culture, so I have a question. Is it really so horrific that a 22-year-old man should date a 17-year-old girl? When I was 22 I was dating older girls, but I might have dated a 17-year-old, if I'd met the right person. I know that when I was 18 I had a 15-year-old girlfriend. I had my first girlfriend when I was 16, and she was 13. When I was 26 I married a 22-year-old woman. Throughout my teens and early 20's my girlfriends were always three or four years younger than me. That seemed natural. So why not five years younger? It would hardly have made any difference.

Success Rate:  - 1.8

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I bought the film on Blu-ray, but I realised today that the film is now only available on DVD in England. That's sad. The American release has shot up in price, indicating that not many copies are left. What can we do to increase the interest in this incredible film?

The Voices (4 Stars)

"There are moments of inspiration and beauty when all the world makes sense and the elegant secret mechanics of man and God are revealed in their many dimensions, and the universe is laid out before my eyes, and it is a blessed place".

I can't help feeling that this film, more than any other, recommended Ryan Reynolds for the title role in "Deadpool". No other film in his career puts his madness on display to such an extent. He plays Jeremy Hickfang, a manual labourer who hears voices. They aren't voices floating in the air all around him, they have sources. His dog Bosco talks to him, and his cat Mr. Whiskers talks to him. They argue with one another, and they argue with Jeremy. Bosco is a voice of reason who tells him to do good, while Mr. Whiskers tells him to give in to his dark side. Why does he choose to listen to Mr. Whiskers?

Jeremy kills Fiona, the woman he loves, and he keeps her head so that he has someone to talk to. She talks back, of course. She tells him that he should kill another woman, so that she'll have another head to talk to when Jeremy is at work. That means the dog is outvoted 2:1 by the other voices.

Fiona justifies Jeremy's homicidal urges with philosophical arguments:

"Is a serial killer something that you are, like being brown-eyed or right-handed? Or is it something that you choose, like being an accountant?"

This is a twisted, irreverent film. Most of the time I don't know whether to laugh or gasp in horror. That's why I like it so much. It's crossed the line between good and bad taste, but it's impossible not to like Ryan Reynolds as a schizophrenic serial killer.

Success Rate:  - 24.8

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Twilight (4 Stars)

It's not often I watch a film at random. Almost never, in fact. I like to plan my viewing. This is one of my rare exceptions. This weekend I'm visiting my son in Obersontheim. Today I was in the bathroom taking a shower. As I was drying myself off I heard a woman's voice. I thought it was someone visiting, so I got dressed as quickly as I could. "Twilight" was running on television. It had only just started, and the woman I had heard was Annina Braunmiller doing the German language voice-over for Kristen Stewart in the opening scenes. I'd only missed the first five minutes, so I couldn't resist watching the rest of the film.

This was the first film that Annina had ever dubbed into English, a big responsibility for a young beginner, but I was amazed at the quality of her speaking. Due to the success she's been Kristen Stewart's voice in every film she's made since 2008, apart from which she's dubbed another 50 films by lesser known actresses. The two main characters in the film were dubbed by more experienced German speakers, Johannes Raspe as Robert Pattinson and Max Felder as Taylor Lautner. German dubbing always has high quality, but "Twilight" sounded so perfect that it could have been a German film.

From left to right: Max Felder as Jacob, Annina Braunmiller as Bella, Johannes Raspe as Edward Cullen. In Germany the people responsible for the dubbing aren't anonymous, they're stars in their own right. If only foreign films could be dubbed into English so professionally. Then dubbing wouldn't be despised the way it is.

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The Voices (4 Stars)

This is an underappreciated 2014 film starring Ryan Reynolds as Jerry Hickfang, a man who works packing goods in a factory in a small American town. The town is called Milton, but you won't be able to locate it in America by identifying landmarks, because it was filmed entirely in Germany. That's how the international film market works.

Jerry is a man who is mentally unhinged after killing his mother as a child. His mother wanted to commit suicide, so he helped her by cutting her head off. I suppose he meant well. Now that he's in his mid thirties he lives in a closed down bowling alley that used to belong to his parents. He lives with his dog and his cat, that he calls Bosco and Mr. Whiskers. Jerry's problem is that he hears voices. Bosco and Mr. Whiskers talk to him. They give contradictory viewpoints. Bosco tells him to do good, Mr. Whiskers tells him to do evil. This confuses Jerry, so he keeps to a middle path.

Jerry is socially awkward, but at least he has good lucks, so the girls in his factory want to date him. His first date with Fiona (Gemma Arterton) turns out badly. He accidentally kills her after his car breaks down. He's afraid that he'll be arrested for murder, so he asks his pets for advice. Mr. Whiskers suggests a cover up, so he chops Fiona's body into small pieces which he puts into plastic containers. Perfect dog food! He keeps Fiona's head in his fridge, because he likes the way she looks.

Things don't stop there. Fiona talks to him and says she's lonely by herself in the fridge, so she asks him to kill someone else to get her a companion. And the bodies start piling up.....

The film is a comedy, in case you couldn't guess. The viewer is invited to have sympathy with Jerry. After all, he isn't a bad person, he's only killing because the voices make him do it. Even Jesus forgives him.

I can't help feeling that Ryan Reynolds will one day be recognised as a successor to Robin Williams. As well as being a skilled comedic actor, he can do voices that are both realistic and amusing, which was one of Robin Williams' greatest skills. In the film Ryan does the voices for both of his pets, which is somehow appropriate.

Gemma Arterton dazzles as Fiona, whether she's a complete person or only a talking head. She's one of England's best actresses.

Pitch Perfect 2 (4 Stars)

Well, this was certainly a surprise. It's a sequel that's far better than the original film.The situations are similar and many of the jokes are repeated, but that's what the audience expects. The difference is that the jokes are more frequent, and the girls are more believable as characters. I couldn't remember most of the names from the first film, but it wasn't necessary to re-introduce them. I recognised their faces and their attitudes. That was enough.

At the end of the first film the Barden Bellas became America's university a cappella champions. The second film shows the team disgracing themselves in a performance before an audience that includes Barak Obama. After this they have to claw their way back to the top, and their journey culminates in the world a cappella championships in Copenhagen.

The biggest improvement over the first film is that the music is better. My foot was tapping throughout the film. This can be attributed to the contributions of two men: Mark Mothersbaugh, ex-Devo, who had overall control of the music, and Flula Borg, the German DJ who arranged Das Sound Machine's songs and also appeared as a member of the group. I'm tempted to buy the soundtrack album, that's how good it is.

The cinema audience certainly loved it. The room was almost full, apart from the front few rows. With today's screen sizes nobody ever sits in the first four rows unless they're desperate. It was a very female audience. I'd estimate that more than 90% of the audience were female. I arrived early, so I could observe the people coming in. There were a few men here and there who were obviously accompanying their girlfriends, but mostly it was groups of women. And then there was me. Whatever the critics say, this will be an enormous hit.

P. S. Don't walk out of the cinema too soon. The story continues almost all the way through the credits, including more music and jokes.

Pitch Perfect (3 Stars)

Becca is a teenage girl who goes to college to please her father. What she really wants to do is go to Los Angeles to become a disc jockey. She finds college life boring, but her father tells her that she would enjoy it if she gave it a chance. He says that she should join a college club, and if she still doesn't enjoy college at the end of the first year he will agree to her dropping out, and he will give her money to start a new life in Los Angeles. That's a fair deal, so she joins the Barden Bellas, an all-girl a cappella group.

The film was an enormous success, making a profit of $100 million at the box office. I find it difficult to understand why. I don't find the film particularly funny, and the musical elements are of a lesser quality than the TV series "Glee". The supporting characters aren't well developed. While watching it I got to know Becca, but the rest of the girls in the group were like strangers. Just pretty faces that I couldn't relate to.

Into the Woods (3 Stars)

Right and wrong don't matter in the woods.

This is a weird film. It's a musical fairy tale mash-up swingers party. The central characters are a baker and his wife who have been cursed to remain childless. A witch promises to lift the curse if they give her four magical items: Cinderella's slipper, Rapunzel's hair, Red Riding Hood's cape, and the cow belonging to Jack, the boy in the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" This brings them into contact with the characters from the four fairy tales, since their stories are all taking place concurrently in the woods.

A lot of the fairy tale action occurs off screen. For instance, we don't see Cinderella at the ball, we just see her leaving and being pursued by the prince. That's just as well. It would have added an extra 60 minutes to a film that already lasts two hours. All four fairy tales are resolved with their respective happy endings, but the story of the baker and the witch continues. Then the film takes a weird turn. The prince, already married to Cinderella at this point, meets the baker's wife in the woods and has an affair with her. We only see them kissing, but obviously more happens. As a result Cinderella leaves the prince and goes to live with the baker. It's all so unsettling to see the fairy tales that children love twisted into immorality. Welcome to the 21st Century!

Johnny Depp is the film's biggest actor, but only has a small role as the wolf. That's a shame, because he's the best singer in the musical. Only Meryl Streep (the witch) comes close. On the other hand, the "wolf" is such a creepy character. Rather than a murderous predator he seems to be a leering paedophile when he meets Red Riding Hood. It made me feel very uncomfortable.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (3 Stars)

As the poster above says, this is the finale that will last forever. Too true. It was unnecessarily stretched over two films to keep it going. This film has more going on than the first part, but it should still have been compressed. I estimate that the story from this second part could have been told in 60 minutes. Add that to the 40 minutes from the first part plus five minutes for the final credits, and we have 105 minutes, a reasonably sized film, instead of the four hour colossus that the studios forced on us. But even the final credits were stretched out to 12 minutes 28 seconds by listing actors who only took part in the first three films of the series. It's all so tiresome.

In this film Bella makes her first steps as a new-born vampire, while attempting to look after her daughter Renesmee. The Volturi fear what Renesmee might become when she is older, so they come to America to kill her. Carlisle Cullen gathers vampires from around the world to face the Volturi, not to fight against them but to peacefully persuade them that Renesmee will be harmless. In this film not only Jacob but all of the werewolves in his tribe stand at the side of the Cullens.

Obviously the fans loved it. The film made it into the top 50 highest earning films of all time. I suspect that the majority of the viewers were either fans of the books or people who had seen the previous four films and wanted to know how the story would end. It's not worth seeing in its own right.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2½ Stars)

Today was the first time I watched this film, despite having the Blu-ray disc on my shelf since November. I kept putting off  watching it because I thought I might be disappointed. And I was. I don't doubt that the book is worth reading, but the film leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not alone in my criticisms. Film critics have almost unanimously panned the film as the weakest link in the Twilight Saga, and in 2012 it was nominated in eight categories at the Razzie Awards, including Worst Film and Worst Director.

In my opinion the film should never have been made. Why oh why was the book "Breaking Dawn" split into two films? I haven't seen Part 2 yet -- I'll watch it tomorrow -- but it looks like the two parts should have been compressed into one. Part 1 is painfully dragged out over two hours. In the first hour almost nothing happens, apart from the wedding. The first hour could have been squashed into 10 minutes, and the second hour could have been told in 30 minutes, making a good half film. As I see it, the decision was political. At the time the Twilight Saga was competing with the Harry Potter films, which had just finished earlier in the year. The last book of the Harry Potter series had been split into two films, so the film studios behind Twilight said "We can do that too". Total idiocy.

I shouldn't end this review without telling you the film's plot, so here goes:

Edward and Bella marry. They have a baby. The end.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (4 Stars)

This is a film that doesn't really make any sense, but it's great fun anyway. It doesn't get boring however often I watch it. If you don't know it yet, give it a try.

Twilight: Eclipse (3½ Stars)

Today I watched this film again for the first time in two years. Read my old review here. I had forgotten how weak it is. The love story between Edward and Bella has no depth, no passion. I'm sure the books must be better, or they would never have become so popular. I've received criticism of my recent reviews of the first two films in November and December, but I'm sticking to my opinion: I believe Kristen Stewart is adequate for the role of Bella. Her open-mouthed performance is just right for a teenage girl overwhelmed by being confronted with a completely different world, far away from Florida in more ways than one. Robert Pattinson is the weak link. Imagine if Ian Somerhalder had played the part of Edward. He would have been much more believable.

I enjoy Taylor Lautner's performance as Jacob, even though he has the tendency to grin too much. I still think that Bella made the wrong choice who to marry.

Something else I don't like about this film is the transformation of Jasper Hale, played by Jackson Rathbone. In the first two films he walks around looking like a confused teenager, somewhat manic, unable to control his bloodlust. In this film he steps up and becomes the leader in the battle against the vampire army. How did that happen? It lacks credibility. If any of my readers have read the books I would be glad to know if the change is just as brash in the original novels.

I'm also curious whether there's any significance in the film's title, "Eclipse", which was also the name of the book. If the book explains the title it certainly isn't apparent in the film.

Here are two photos from what I consider to be the film's visually most beautiful scene. Once more they show why Bella should have chosen Jacob. She would have got a handsome man and a faithful guard dog all in one.

Twilight: New Moon (3½ Stars)

I promised last month that I would watch all five films of the Twilight pentalogy in quick succession, but things happened. The Brian Farmer murder trial took up half of my time, and my prolonged sickness took up the other half. I still don't know for certain if I was really sick. It might just have been my depression making me feel weak and tired all day.

Anyway, I'm back on track now. This is the second film of the Twilight Saga. If I remember correctly from watching it two years ago, it's the weakest of the films. Considering Edward wasn't there for most of the film we see way too much of him; it's like artificial plot devices are being cast in to excuse appearances to make sure we don't forget him.

The main development in this part is Jacob turning into a werewolf. I had already suspected it after watching the first part, the hints were pretty thick. In fact, we hear that the presence of the Cullens in town is what has provoked the change. Bella begins to have feelings for Jacob, although she affirms at the end of the film that she will always put Edward first. I guess there's no accounting for taste. Why should she pick a moping, brooding vampire who doesn't know what he wants over a big faithful dog who will look after her to the end?

Anyone who knows me or has read my blog knows that I'm a very romantic person. Romantic films make me cry. And yet this film didn't make me shed a single tear. Something's missing. Where's the magic? I can't quite describe what's wrong. Despite my criticism of Kristen Stewart's later films, she's quite adequate for the part of Bella. The problem is probably Robert Pattinson as Edward. He's so incredibly dopey that I can't understand why an intelligent girl like Bella would want him.

Twilight (3½ Stars)

A few days ago I acquired the last two parts of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2. Rather than watch them straight away I've decided to watch the whole pentalogy from the beginning. I watched the first three parts at long intervals, and so I might have forgotten small details of the story if I jump straight into the last two parts. It's Thursday today. I'll try to get through all five films by Sunday. It depends on how much of my time the murder trial will take up.

I watched this film in the cinema when it was first released, probably shortly before Christmas 2008, according to the poster. I later bought the DVD and watched it at least twice, but evidently before September 2010. As I remember, it was one of those films that I absolutely loved on first viewing, but it dropped in my estimation with repeated viewing. For me it was a must-watch from the beginning because it was a vampire film, probably the biggest budget vampire film ever. On the other hand, as fans will be fast to point out, it's not really a vampire film, it's a love story that stars vampires. That's the way to watch the pentalogy. There is action, adventure and blood-sucking, but the central theme of the story is the love between Edward and Bella. In a superficial way they could be described as a modern day Romeo and Juliet, a pair of lovers from opposite worlds, although I admit this analogy can't be taken very far.

I've heard a lot of criticism of Kristen Stewart as an actress. I agree, she's not a very good actress, but in this film she fits in well. She's the dazed, open-mouthed girl from big city Phoenix who is transplanted to small town Forks in the far north. Mountains, woods, native Americans and that horrible stuff called snow. She's fine for the role. My problem is with Robert Pattinson as Edward. Despite being a vampire who has lived for approximately 100 years, he walks around with a dopey look on his face. I blame Joss Whedon. Ever since David Boreanaz played Angel in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" he's become the template for the vampire lover: tall, hair that sticks up, brooding and eyes that stare off into space even while he's talking to someone. Just look at Stefan in "The Vampire Diaries" and you can see that they're all modelled on one another.

On the other hand, the other major characters in this film are well cast. I can't go through Bella's school class, but they're all strong characters, teenagers that you can believe would actually visit school in a remote American town. For me Jacob is the real star of the saga, even though he only plays a small part in the first film. It's a joy to watch him on the screen.

I realise that I've given this film a relatively low rating. I'm not sure I'm being fair to it. I'll give my ratings careful thought as I continue with the other four films.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (4 Stars)

This film is a curiosity. It's difficult to pin it down to any particular genre. On some levels it seems to be a superhero film, but as I pointed out in my last review, it's about a person whose life is a video game. I haven't read the comics on which the film is based. Based on the synopsis on the Scott Pilgrim Wikipedia page it appears to closely follow the plot of the comics. Without reading the comics I don't know whether they also have the video game aspect to them.

My main problem with the film is that I don't understand why Scott would want to leave his girlfriend Knives for Ramona. Knives has such an attractive, bubbly personality, and she seems like a perfect match for Scott. Ramona, on the other hand, is quiet and broody. That's why I prefer the alternate ending that's included on the DVD. The official film ending follows the comics; Scott and Ramona live happily ever after. Sigh..... In the alternate ending Scott returns to Knives, with Ramona's blessing.

I'm very impressed with the artistic quality of all the films I've seen that were directed by Edgar Wright. Other examples are "Shaun of the Dead" and "World's End". He's already begun work on the new Marvel film, "Ant-Man". I expect great things from him in the coming years.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 [Guest Writer] (3½ Stars)

I felt it was about time that I put in another review to satisfy Mike's nagging although I haven't been online for him to do it lately. Ha! I recently went to go see this movie in theaters. It was the only movie that was out that I really wanted to see although I did debate between this and the movie with Denzel Washington, which I still intend to see sometime soon, but this won out. And what is with all of the pornos lately? o.O

Bella (Kristen Stewart) is enjoying her new life and new powers, after the birth of their daughter, Renesmee (played by Mackenzie Foy). Soon, however, their family bliss is threatened again, by a new menace. Vampire Irina (Maggie Grace) comes to visit and sees Renesmee performing a fantastical feat and comes to the conclusion that the Cullens have transformed a child into an immortal. This is a huge faux paux and a death sentence for the entire family so Irina goes to the Volturi with the issue and that sets the Cullens on a mission to find allies to witness that Nessie is not what is claimed. 

Okay so this is the epic conclusion. This is what everyone was waiting for and in a way they did deliver. I'm not a Twilight fan and I never claimed to be. I didn't like the first one, second one, or fourth one. The third one was slightly better than the rest but that's not saying too much in my opinion. I only enjoyed it for the blood and mayhem - all 20 (?) minutes of it in the movie. The breaking dawn part 1 pushed me past my absolute limit of endurance and got on my last nerve. So don't expect me to do a review on those any time soon. You'd see nothing but a bunch of ranting from me. Now this is probably my favorite out of all of them. I won't say that it was a home run hit out of the ballpark but it didn't suck to the point that I wanted to carve my eyeballs out with a dull rusty spoon either. The things I enjoyed about this film was the fact that Bella's character finally grew a damn backbone. Most of this series she's seen as some victim that needs to be protected and it took her till the end to finally be able to play with the big boys and hold her own.

I could've cared less about the lovemaking scene between Bella and Edward. Honestly, considering some teens and preteens watch that movie I would've said it was inappropriately highlighted in the movie. Another thing that I didn't like or understand was the fact that they felt the need to CGI the child. What was the point of that? They were too cheap to get a real baby? It wouldn't have been all that difficult. It was wholly distracting during the first part of the movie and I could've done without it. I've also heard some complaints about the wolves in the movie and the CGI used for them but I didn't see anything wrong with the effects concerning that portion of things. The introduction to new characters made things interesting and opened a few more doors to us into their world outside the Cullen clan. I will say there was one or two side notes that seemed....unexplored and unexplained. For instance the man - I forget his name - that was against battling against the Volturi and was the biggest loner out of all of them. When we first meet him he seemed like he could add something interesting to the storyline. They even showed him again a few times throughout observing and making up his mind about whether he would stand with the clan or not. The director made it seem as if his opinion was truly opinion either way and yet we didn't see what that opinion was - or at least it wasn't highlighted or addressed in the movie. I was expecting him to make some grand entrance at the end of the movie during the battle and show off some amazing feat that saves an ally or two. But I got nothing from him. What was the point?? I did enjoy the ability to see the world of vampirism through Bella's eyes and experiences along with seeing all the other vampire abilities out there along with her new abilities. The child that played Renesmee was fine. It felt like she was often more a moving and living prop than anything else with no other purpose but to be proof of her humanity. If you're looking to this movie for a lot of action, don't. It has one big battle scene at the end of the movie and that was it. I will say I enjoyed the ending the most out of the entire film.

I thought I would be generous with this film and give it a three and a half stars instead of the three that some say it deserves. It wasn't knock my socks off. It was more of a good way to while away the time. I also wouldn't suggest paying to see this in theaters, not worth the movie ticket in my opinion.

Twilight: Eclipse (3½ Stars)

Not having read the books, I have to judge this film, the third in the Twilight saga, on its own merits. It compares unfavorably to the first two parts. Poorly paced, it spends a long time building up the suspense of a battle against an army of vampires, which is over within minutes. As a love story the Bella-Edward-Jacob triangle is lacking in feeling, because Kristen Stewart is unconvincing as a woman torn between two men. See "Pearl Harbor" for a more gripping story of a love triangle. The books might be good, but they don't translate well to the big screen.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (4½ Stars)

On the surface this seems like a comedy. It's advertised as coming from the director of "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun Of The Dead", which would place it squarely in the comedy genre. And yet it isn't a comedy. Not just a comedy, anyway. It's about life within a video game, and by extension is a parody of arcade type video games in general.

Scott Pilgrim is the bass player in a rock band called Sex Bob-Omb. He falls in love with a girl, but in order for her to accept him he must battle her seven evil exes to the death. He at first assumes they are all ex-boyfriends, but then has to battle with a former lesbian lover. As he defeats each ex he wins points an advances a level.

Without intending to give a spoiler, I strongly recommend that anyone who has the DVD watches the alternative ending. This ending is far better than the one used in the film. It makes better sense, and it's emotionally more moving.

Twilight: New Moon (3½ Stars)

The second film in the Twilight saga. To me it isn't as enthralling as the first film. The ghostly appearances of Edward seem unnatural, but I assume that it's what happens in the book. A good film, but not great.