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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1
2011, Summit Entertainment, PG-13, $31; Blu-ray, $34

In the fourth film based on Stephenie Meyer’s romantic fantasy novels, newlyweds Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) consummate their marriage, and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is none to happy. Bella’s difficult pregnancy and even more traumatic delivery of daughter Renesmee has dramatic consequences for everyone. Breaking Dawn — Part 2 is due to hit theaters in November.

USA TODAY’s Scott Bowles says: * * * out of four. “It is in many respects the best installment of the franchise as its stars go from sullen kids to sullen young adults, where their expressions look more natural.”

On a commentary track included on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ Blu-ray (Summit Entertainment, $34; also on DVD, $30; in stores Saturday), director Bill Condon addresses the disproportionate hatred the series seems to inspire in critics. “This series is about things women care about and has a woman at the center,” he says. “So there are people who just stay outside of it and mock it.”

And boy, do they mock it. A quick scan of reviews on rottentomatoes.com offers the following tidbits: “Director Bill Condon, prostituting himself, flirts with teen porn.” “A freak show of bodily trauma, with a great gooey gob of pedophilia slapped on the end.” “A freakish hybrid: Part medical horror, part cheesy Victoria’s Catalogue shoot.” “It’s like ‘Roadhouse’ for women.”

There is a supplicant tone coursing through a lot of these reviews – “Please don’t go see this movie!” – and there is bafflement and frustration, too, over what “Twilight” fans could possibly love about these films. Condon’s informative commentary provides some answers. He talks a lot, for example, about the great pressure he felt to get Bella and Edward’s wedding just right, so as to not disappoint readers of Stephenie Meyer’s novels. Helicopters buzzed the set during the filming of that scene, paparazzi hoping to snap a photo of Bella’s wedding dress, which had been kept under tight wraps. When Condon points out the specific shots that show off the gown in detail, they will seem like a revelation to many viewers, especially men: The first time I watched the movie, I had absolutely no idea I was supposed to be paying attention to that dress.

This is typical of the great divide between audiences and critics regarding “Twilight” movies. Even though “Breaking Dawn” earned the most scathing reviews of all the films in the franchise, it still grossed more than $700 million worldwide (“Twilight”-mania cuts across cultural and language barriers). Those numbers indicate there is obviously something at work in “Twilight” that goes far beyond Team Jacob and Team Edward mania. And a lot of men just don’t get it or are unwilling to put any effort into understanding it, opting instead to wonder how is it biologically possible for a vampire to impregnate a woman (news flash: vampires aren’t real!) or take more potshots at the hidden messages Meyer snuck into her books, subtexts that simply aren’t present in the movies.

Tellingly, some of “Breaking Dawn’s” strongest supporters – The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Carrie Rickey, Movieline’s Stephanie Zacharek, The New York Daily News’ Elizabeth Weitzman – were women. I don’t mean to suggest that all female critics liked the movie (Dana Stevens’ excellent takedown of the film on Slate.com is a must-read). But the most eloquent defenses of “Breaking Dawn” were written by women, because the movie is an all-too-rare breed of international blockbuster: A big-budget extravaganza, replete with monsters and special effects (1,400 of them, according to Condon), told exclusively through a female gaze. Whatever you may think of the final product (I hated “New Moon” and “Eclipse”), these films deserve a more thoughtful reception than they are being given.

Condon’s commentary highlights aspects of “Breaking Dawn” you might not have noticed, such as the way he uses Carter Burwell’s score to emphasize the emotions of the characters instead of the action transpiring onscreen (the music during the bloody birth sequence is not the sort most movies would use during such a horrific moment). The director shares bits of meaningless but amusing trivia (Kristin Stewart could play dead without blinking her eyes or taking a breath for 90 seconds at a time), talks about how he sneaked certain things past the ratings board (I didn’t realize Bella’s back snaps in half as she’s going into labor until Condon pointed out the shot), explains why a scene that was highlighted in the trailers didn’t make the final cut and talks about the trims that were made to the sex scene in order to secure an R.

Those scenes are not included on the Blu-ray (although there is a feature-length documentary titled “Love, Death, Birth” about the making of the film, shot in HD, that will be catnip for fans). The deleted footage will no doubt make its way onto a longer “director’s cut” of “Breaking Dawn,” which Condon says will eventually be available. Just because the final chapter in the “Twilight” saga arrives in theaters this November doesn’t mean the series is going to vanish from popular culture.

Deal with it, haters

Robert Pattinson’s raunchy drama Bel Ami will have its World Premiere in Berlin on Friday, February 17. Here’s your chance to be there.

We’re sending one lucky reader and their guest to the German capital for the star-studded event where they’ll walk the red carpet with the film’s stars.

The winners must be available to fly to Berlin next Friday.

The film comes out in the UK on March 9, and stars R-Patz as a struggling outsider who rises to the top of Parisian high society by bedding with a string of wealthy women.

Among the influential movers and shakers he manipulates are Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas.

The film is based on Guy de Maupassant’s classic novel of the same name.

As well as seeing the stars and attending the premiere, this amazing prize package includes return UK flights for two to Berlin and two Berlin WelcomeCards to give you free reign of the city’s transport system.

You’ll spend three nights at the historical Ellington Hotel, a relaxed, elegant, four star design hotel in the heart of the city.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer one simple question. Competition closes at 10am on Tuesday, February 14.

Click here to enter.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1

Recent high school graduate Bella Swan grows up a lot, becoming a bride, a potential mother and perhaps something stranger. Yet the “Twilight Saga” hasn’t matured along with its heroine. In the movie’s bland first half, Bella (Kristen Stewart) prepares for woodland nuptials with pasty vampire dreamboat Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The couple’s long-delayed consummation, supposedly both scary and wonderful, was enough to render Bella pregnant. Edward worried that his lovemaking would be too much for a mere human, but his shattering force pales next to the fetus’s. Jacob Black’s (Taylor Lautner) werewolf clan fears Bella and Edward’s offspring and plans to terminate it. This is the series’ swoon-inducing premise: to be desired by the two hottest boys in town, who compete to be best at protecting you. There’ll be a lot more protecting in “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” scheduled for November. (Available Saturday.) Contains disturbing images, violence, sexuality/partial nudity and some thematic elements. DVD extras: six-part making-of documentary, wedding video, “Jacob’s Destiny” featurette, commentary with director Bill Condon, two fast-forward features for scenes with Edward or Jacob.

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Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1:

Three stars out of five — Like all fine cheeses, The Twilight Saga ripens with age. Once bland and milky-white, the story of Bella Swan’s transformation from innocence to adulthood grows increasingly textured with each new outing. This latest effort is easily the strongest to date, as director Bill Condon finds a way to lighten the melodrama with a little self-winking humour, without eroding the romantic core of the whole franchise. This is the instalment every Twihard was waiting for, as it features the physical consummation of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) love. This symbolic and physical deflowering of Bella is the central hook for this whole episode, and Condon has to take us into the breathless, heart-thumping world of a virgin facing the cliff of experience — and leaping into the abyss. With the help of Stewart’s strongest performance to date, Condon successfully conveys the depth of connection between the two lovers. We believe in their passion, and, once we’re on that page, we can swallow the rest of the plot without choking on the hokum. Special features include six-part behind-the-scenes documentary, Bella and Edward’s wedding video, Jacob’s Destiny, Edward Fast Forward, Jacob Fast Forward, audio commentary and more. (Released Feb. 11).

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Twilight made him a heartthrob … and Robert Pattison is ramping up his sexual adventures in his new film which is previewed at Glasgow Film Festival. He talks to Will Lawrence.

‘There are lots of attractive women in the film,” says Robert Pattinson of his latest screen release, Bel Ami.

“Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman and Kristen Scott Thomas…” He pauses before flashing a smile. “And I sleep with all of them!”

After five years cocooned in a teenage Twilight world of angst, anger, vampires and werewolves (in which sleeping with people is a complicated process), the 25-year-old Englishman clearly enjoyed this romp through 19th-century Paris.

Perhaps the best known of the six novels by French short story writer Guy de Maupassant, Bel Ami is certainly his most subversive, savage and ironic piece, charting the tale of Georges Duroy, a young man who travels through 1890s’ Paris, from cockroach-plagued garrets to magnificent salons, employing his wits and beauty as he bids to rise from poverty to fame.

The story comes to the big screen in March — previewed by early screenings at the Glasgow Film Festival later this month — courtesy of theatre directors Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, who have put together a piece that resonates strongly today, regardless of its period setting.

“This character uses sex and women’s huge attraction for him to get to the top of the pile,” says Donnellan of Duroy. “It’s an unremitting world and, in the end, he gets the lot. There are no consequences for him. People think it’s very modern, somebody getting to the top with very little talent. Duroy has an enormous desire to get to the top, and that is his talent. It’s about incredibly modern themes. That’s one of the thrills of doing this story. It is set in 1890s’ Paris but it would almost be too near to the bone to do it now.”

To bring the laconic and lovely-looking Duroy to life, the directors turned to Twilight star Pattinson, one of the most desired men on the planet, whose real-life journey, while not quite mirroring the lothario lifestyle of his character, has certainly benefited from his exquisite good looks.

“My Bel Ami guy doesn’t have a conscience,” explains Pattinson. “Most fictional characters are driven by some target, but he is like a reverse character. He’s so content to do nothing and thinks everything should just be given to him. But if someone slights him, or directs any insult at him, the most overwhelming energy grabs him and he turns into this absolute devil who will do anything.”

An attack on the invidious French society of the time, the Maupassant story is dark and rather disturbing in places, but few could argue with its no-holds-barred candour.

“It’s like in Giant,” Pattinson continues, referring to the 1956 George Stevens picture starring James Dean, “when he builds the entire empire to say ‘f*** you’. Duroy is exactly like that but without any of the redeeming characteristics. The whole story is about these people trying to beat him down into remorse, and just as he’s about to touch it, something good happens to him again.

“And then he has another run of luck, right at the end, until eventually he stabs everyone in the back and then wins the lottery. It’s a happy ending for him and no-one else.”

Given the contrast between the caddish Duroy and Pattinson’s chivalrous Twilight character, Edward Cullen, it’s tempting to think that the actor has selected Bel Ami as a conscious bid to show his range, to prove that there’s more to his make-up than a fiendish pout and excellent hair.

“Doing something like Twilight opens doors and it closes others. You can say, ‘Oh if I was still unknown, then no-one would judge me,’ but at the same time, nobody would give a s*** either.” He laughs. “It’s a weird little balance. And, most of the time, you are just completely guessing what people do, so I suppose doing scripts that you think are good is the way to go. And that’s what I thought about Bel Ami.

‘With Bel Ami, though, I guess there is something quite fun about going from Edward Cullen to playing a guy who pretty much abuses women to get money out of them.

“Edward so wouldn’t approve! So, yes, I thought that was a funny irony. But the story, independently, is great, and I only thought about the irony afterwards. The thing that stands out in the story in Bel Ami is just his behaviour —the women that he manages to screw over are all attracted to him to begin with and so he starts having affairs with them and destroys their lives afterwards. That’s kind of nuts. But, to answer your question, I don’t think about doing things just because they are different from Twilight, no. Honestly, Bel Ami was just such an intriguing film.”

Thank you to @Aliz_25 for the scan!

Thank you to Diario Twilight for the tip!

Eng summary: The article from today’s La Stampa newspaper, describes the movies and the stars that will hit the Berlinale Red Carpet.Between this stars there is a mention for Rob described this way:”Robert Pattinson charming vampire in Twilight, that (plays) in
the film adaptation of the classic Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant in which Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci also play”.

Thank you to Fiammy from Robert Pattinson Mom’s for the scan and translation!