The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Even after having seen New Moon three times in theatres, there is still that same excitement sitting down to watch the DVD. When you're so attached to a story like the Twilight series, you can't help but expect the film adaptations to be everything you've imagined. What director Chris Weitz has done with New Moon is exceed those expectations. The sequel to Twilight begins with heroine Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart) dreaded 18th birthday, as she ages another year while her vampire soul mate, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), remains an untouched 17. When Edward and his family throw her a birthday party, a paper cut incident causes Edward's brother Jasper to loose control. Edward decides his vampire existence is too much of a risk to Bella's life; he ends their relationship and the Cullens move away, leaving Bella heartbroken and in a downward spiral of depression. She soon realizes that she can experience visions of Edward via reckless behaviour, leading her to take increasingly bigger risks. All the while a relationship is developing between Bella and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a member of the Quileute tribe, who becomes part of a vampire-killing pack of supernatural wolves. When some miscommunication leads Edward to believe Bella is dead, he goes to Italy to provoke royal vampires the Volturi into killing him, resulting in Bella having to face the Volturi in an attempt to save her love. What makes the film great is its faithfulness to the book ― other than a few minor changes, the plot and characters are loyal to author Stephenie Meyer's vision. Watching the film multiple times allows more of an opportunity to appreciate the special effects work that went into making New Moon. The CGI makes for some fantastic scenes, including Bella's cliff dive, where she jumps off the precipice into icy waters below. Also, the effects used to show the Quileute boys transforming into terrifyingly gigantic wolves arguably provide for some of the most exciting scenes in the movie, offering a nice balance of action with the story's emotional baggage. New Moon is a must-have for fans of the Twilight saga, as Weitz is able to capture the essence of the book visually, satisfying "twihearts," and is entertaining for those unfamiliar with the story. The two-disc special edition includes an audio commentary with Weitz and editor Peter Lambert, an hour-long, six-part documentary on the making of the film, band rehearsal footage with Muse and music videos from Death Cab for Cutie, Anya Marina and Mutemath.