Movies that make me grumpy...

I was planning to write about Inception today because it makes me so incredibly happy!  BUT, it has been a horrible morning and now I'm cranky...

So, in keeping with that mindset, I am instead going to talk about movies I really don't like!  As you can see from yesterday's post, there are LOTS of them but only a handful that really really bother me.  My friend's list of her favorites also sparked a lot of things in my brain I hadn't thought of yesterday...  Like the American Pie series - how could I have overlooked my hatred for that??

But my number one most disliked movie right now is Twilight.  Pretty much the whole series, but Eclipse was at least better than Twilight and New Moon was slightly better than that.... 

First of all, I read the books - before the movies.  At my daughter's suggestion (we share lots of book series) I read all 4 books.  And liked them.  At least the first three - I thought Breaking Dawn was far too hokey and "perfect" and really began to wonder if Bella had any flaws at all!  I mean, really, from a storytelling point of view, why would you create a  character who not only can do no wrong, but also is spectacular in so many ways?  I can't sympathize or connect with that character - instead I want to punch her in the face. 

That being said, I really did like the first 3 books.  I was full-on Team Edward as I read them too, and felt that she had found her soul mate in him.  But when I watch the movie, I am repulsed by Robert Pattinson's pasty white, scrawny, pre-pubescent body and these looks he gives her that are supposed to be passionate and full of love just come off as obsessive, possessive and creepy.  And I'm pretty sure the book actually had some plot to it - even quite a bit of action.  Yet in the movie, you see very little of that, it's just all love story.  If they profess their undying love for each other one more time, I may throw up.  We get it.  Move on.

Aside from the mediocre efforts of Taylor Lautner, the acting in this movie is just horrible.  Anyone who thinks differently can only do so because they are "all so hot!"  Seriously, I don't know what happened because I've seen Kristen Stewart in other things that were quite good - case in point, check out the movie Speak.  But I can't stand the sappy, weak performance she gives in this film!  Really, Bella was a very strong character, not some simpering stubborn child.  And I can't see Robert Pattinson in anything anymore without reliving his horrible acting in Twilight.  I can't even get behind Cedric Diggory anymore and I'm a huge Harry Potter fan!  By the way, I never even thought he was cute then...

Which brings me to Jacob... okay, I will admit Taylor Lautner is hot.  And I'm pretty sure he knows it too.  Watching the movies, I became full-on Team Jacob - but not just because he's cuter.  And tan.  It was in the portrayal of characters.  Edward became so possessive of Bella and did insane things "for her own good" and Jacob was always the friend she needed.  I know where my loyalties would lie.  Lautner portrays Jacob as such a sweet caring soul and Pattinson portrays Edward as borderline psychotic.  Who would you choose??

I suppose I should lay off the actors because, of course, there are hundreds of minds involved in creating a film.  Maybe it's Catherine Hardwicke's fault for asking for these performances (I pick on her because, as I said, the subsequent movies were a little better)... at the very least it's the director's fault for allowing it to continue.  It is just as much Stephanie Meyer's fault for allowing her story to be portrayed as a teenage soap opera that plays to nothing but a 14-year-old girl's hormones.  That's not the message or feeling her books portray at all.

In the end, I think I could contain my dislike for Twilight if it weren't for the ever-present media frenzy and craziness of the fans!  It's a shame that such a thing would affect my opinion, but it does.  I have come to associate Twilight with young girls in black, who actually appear to be in search of a vampire... Seriously?  You know they're not real, right? 

 And, seriously, no one can come up with an original fantasy story anymore - book or film.  Don't even get me started on the shocking similarities between Twilight and True Blood, in characters, plot AND audience fervor!  (By the way, True Blood would be my top most hated TV show.  It's truly just vampire porn.)  Walk through the "teen" section of a bookstore sometime and count how many books are about vampires these days.  I stopped when I didn't know what came after 999 kajillion...  Granted, the same was true of wizards 10 years ago...  Find your own cash cow, people!

People are so sick of hearing about Twilight and that in itself is ruining the films and these kids' careers.  Remember Leonardo DiCaprio after Titanic?  How many years (and how many amazing performances) did it take for him to be taken seriously again??  I am shocked and pleased that Daniel Radcliffe appears to be holding his own in a post-Harry Potter world and desperately hope he doesn't become trapped by this phenomenon.  It's hard to get an image out of your head when it is pounded in by thousands of insane fans! 

So, there's my soapbox - feel free to step upon it yourself and let me know what you think.

And what's your most-hated film?