Main Menu
Terrifying, if you can stay awake
One effective plot point does not a great horror movie make, as proven by the fourth Twilight movie
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part One
2 stars
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part One
Entertainment One
Available now
There was hope that the fourth entry in the ubiquitous Twilight franchise might actually be interesting when Academy Award-nominated Bill Condon signed on as director. Not only was his Gods and Monsters brilliant, but his background in the horror genre (Strange Behavior and Candyman 2) seemed tailor-made for the story of a vampire birth. Oh, spoiler alert if you don’t already know that Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) finally get it on, and the result is a freaky pregnancy during which the monstrous fetus tries to eat its mother alive.
The horror-movie aspects are actually quite well done, it just takes so long to get to them. There is a full hour of wedding/honeymoon sappiness that only Twihards will be able to sit through before Bella’s vampire baby puts her life in danger. Through prosthetics and digital manipulation, Stewart’s character drops 40 pounds before a terrifying birth sequence that works even with a PG-13 rating. Unfortunately, one effective plot point isn’t amazing enough to attract new fans, especially when the digital werewolves crash the third act.
A second disc of bonus features is for fans only and, during the audio commentary, Condon hints that a four-hour cut of the entire Breaking Dawn story may be in the works.
5 stars
On the Bowery: The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1
Milestone
Available Feb. 21
Filmmaker Lionel Rogosin was determined to show the dark side of post-First World War society and found the perfect subject in the inhabitants of New York’s skid row. Even though the film was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary in 1956, On The Bowery is a mix of real footage of flop houses and bar fights, and a loosely scripted plot of a railroad worker struggling to find work.
It remains an amazing piece of work, and its influence on John Cassavetes — the bar scenes of Husbands couldn’t exist without it — caused him to champion Rogosin as one of the best documentarians of all time. Martin Scorsese is also a fan, and provides an onscreen introduction for this release, which has been fully restored in this two-disc DVD collection.
Included in the set are 1964’s Good Times, Wonderful Times, a 69-minute film which juxtaposes images of war and a cocktail party to haunting effect, and 1957’s Out, originally made for the United Nations. The collection is filled out with featurettes on the Bowery and making-of docs created by Rogosin’s son, Michael.
Upcoming Releases
Feb. 28 — Hugo; Johnny English Reborn; Our Day Will Come; I Melt With You
Amanda Stefaniuk is a freelance writer who literally grew up in a video store.
0 Comments
You can comment on most stories on uptownmag.com. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.