The Quileutes close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses a threat to the Wolf Pack and the towns people of Forks.

Free Lotto Games and Sweepstakes

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Pt.1,” is the first fraction of the potential two-part film, adapted from the fourth and final book of the saga by Stephanie Meyer— with the second part coming out in November of next year. This film serves as a placeholder for the finale, and after seeing the first part of “Breaking Dawn,” I began to wonder: “what more could they possibly have to tell?”

Part one begins with the marriage of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire lover boy, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson); I do have to say the wedding is gorgeous, with its scenic outdoor ceremony. Familiar mortal faces from previous films smile, mingle, and dance, which makes me curious if they realize that the Cullen family are living-dead? Are they too oblivious to take notice of their achromatic complexions and luminous eyes?

After the wedding we land in Brazil for the surprise honeymoon. Yes, finally, the moment fans have been waiting for! The long awaited act of fornication arrives in this pro-abstinence series. But the sad thing is, we don’t get to see it… All that we see is broken bed frames, torn feathered pillows, and some cuts and bruises on Bella. What monstrous act has been committed? All we do know is Bella has a “demon” baby growing inside her— Edward is just that good.

The rest of the movie is spent debating what to do with the baby as it grows at a blistering rate, weakening Bella day by day. Meanwhile, Bella’s best friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) leaves his wolf pack after the pack decides that it is vital for them to rid of Bella and the baby that is growing inside of her. From this point on, everyone just hovers around and waits for the wolves to make an attack. That’s the storyline; I’m not making it up.

I have never read a “Twilight” book, which leaves me to better judge the series as films. I wish I had good news to deliver with this latest installment, but with every new director comes an even less promising feature.

When the first film came out, yeah, it was unsophisticated, but at least it had a somewhat enticing story— or maybe not? Girl loves vampire. Vampire loves girl. Vampire lives for forever. Girl can’t live forever. Girl must become vampire.

Then “New Moon” came along; vampire breaks up with girl.  Girl is sad. Girl goes in woods and cries. Teen wolf saves girl. Girl likes teen wolf. Teen wolf likes girl. Vampire is back in girl’s life. Teen wolf receives a Dear John letter.

Last year, the action-packed “Eclipse” graced us with its presence, providing a little more insight into the love-triangle between Jacob, Edward and Bella. Then a huge war with wolves, good vampires, and bad vampires takes place. I do have to admit, “Eclipse” is the better film of the series, though still far from perfect.

Now, the story in “Breaking Dawn” gets even more preposterous and laughable (just you wait for the animated wolf drama scene where they talk through thoughts). I mean, I get it— I get why this franchise is so heartwarming. Every year, I watch these films and give it a chance, but every year my hopes of a better film are dashed. The script is flat out terrible, with dialogue such as, “If you kill her, you kill me!” That’s page-turning dialogue at its finest. Also the visual effects are disgustingly awful. We live in a new age where we have stunning effects: “Avatar,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and even 1994′s “Jurassic Park” surpasses it. I’m harsh on these films because they are laughably bad; then again, I am not part of the demographic that these movies were made for.

Kristen Stewart proves to have better acting chops here in “Breaking Dawn,” but instead of constantly running her hands through her hair and biting her lip like she did in the first three; she rubs her pregnant belly unceasingly throughout the film’s entirety. Robert Pattinson, who is a very talented young actor, is not bad either but the dullness of the script doesn’t allow him— or anyone, for that matter— to excel. Taylor Lautner, who is barely recognizable with a shirt on, cannot act. The best scene of the movie with Taylor Lautner is when his character looks at Bella’s pregnant belly and then at Edward. He then yells, “You did this!” What a genius Jacob is! Who else did it?

Lastly, this is not a film for kids; it would have been more appropriate for the studio to give it an R-rating. It has the most gruesome and creepy birthing scene for a PG-13 movie ever. An R-rating would have been helpful for the movie in another way: they could have shown us what really happened in that bedroom. Oh well.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Pt. 1” is the worst “Twilight” yet. But the Volturi rule! Just you wait for that scene after the credits.

Charlie Bewley

Red Carpet Crash Interviews- Charlie Bewley from Chance Maggard on Vimeo.

Nikki Reed

Red Carpet Crash Interviews- Nikki Reed from Chance Maggard on Vimeo.

Ashley Greene

Red Carpet Crash Interviews- Ashley Greene from Chance Maggard on Vimeo.

The Highlights of ‘Twilight’: ‘Breaking Dawn’ Q&A Event in Dallas

Red Carpet Crash: ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn’ from Chance Maggard on Vimeo.

The Dallas stop on the tour, at the Palladium Ballroom (Google Map) on Wednesday, November 9, features appearances by Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Hale), Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen), and Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen). The event will also feature a performance by “Breaking Dawn” soundtrack artist Christina Perri.

Here’s the details, verbatim, on how to score tickets to the event. Pay attention!

Tickets are free and will be available beginning at 10:00 am local time on Saturday, November 5th at each event location. Tickets are limited to two per person and are non-transferable. Names must be provided for the pair of tickets upon pick up. Photo ID must be shown upon arrival at the event (school ID is acceptable) and guests must arrive at the event with the individual who picked up the tickets. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis, until venue capacity is reached.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1)” opens in theaters November 16.

So, in true blue-balls fashion, they’re doling out tiny, tiny dollops to tease… the tease. Have a look (because that’s all you get):

Hosted by Jason Sudeikis, the 2011 MTV Movie Awards air Sunday, June 5 at 8:00 pm CT.

For your first taste of the movie the teaser trailer will debut on the MTV Movie Awards Sunday, June 5 and online immediately after the show. The Stephanie Meyer epic begins it’s countdown to the end with ‘Breaking Dawn part 1′ this fall, November 18th.

“Water For Elephants”

Rated PG-13 • 122 minutes
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Written By: Richard LaGravenese
RCC Rating: Worth Watching On DVD

Christoph Waltz and circus lore make for odd bedfellows in “Water for Elephants,” a romance that sinks contentedly into a deep bath of nostalgic melodrama. 

Waltz, you’ll recall, played the Nazi you loved to hate in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” a performance that earned him a well-deserved Academy Award. He’s set up in a similar villainous role here as August, the autocratic ruler of the fictional Benzini Brothers traveling circus in 1931. 

August is crafty and charming, strong-willed and iron-fisted, with a mean, violent streak that flares up whenever he gets angry – or drunk. His wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon) is a star performer, a vision of light who does graceful gymnastics on and off a troupe of horses. It’s a stormy May-December type of romance, all too stereotypical in August’s arrogant demeanor and Marlena’s meek acquiescence.

Over the course of the story, however, August’s surface anger is peeled away. He’s the owner of a circus employing dozens of outcasts and non-conformists, and he’s under incredible pressure. It’s the Great Depression, and ordinary folks don’t have two nickels to rub together. It takes something truly spectacular to move anyone to spend even one of those nickels on a circus, which was probably seen as increasingly old-fashioned (though the movie doesn’t touch on the idea that motion pictures might have been stealing away the business). 

Adding to his business pressures, August is incredibly jealous about his beautiful wife. There’s some indication that they’ve been together for a number of years, and as those years go by, August realizes that his much younger wife may find him less attractive and/or become interested in younger men, even though she protests that she loves and is devoted to him.

Into this hothouse atmosphere comes Jacob (Robert Pattinson), a recent graduate of Cornell’s school of veterinary medicine. Well, not quite a graduate; Jacob was taking his final exam when his loving parents were killed in an automobile accident. His father had mortgaged their house and his business (as a doctor) in order to pay for Jacob’s tuition, something Jacob only learns about when the bank repossesses them, leaving him a penniless orphan in the Great Depression.

The movie begins with Jacob, but not Jacob in 1931; instead we start with Old Jacob in the present day, played by Hal Holbrook. Holbrook is a magnificent actor, but framing the film with Old Jacob at a circus, with a younger employee (Paul Schneider) asking him to tell the story of the Benzini Brothers and one of “the greatest disasters in circus history,” plunges the movie immediately into earthen-toned nostalgia.

It’s a steep dive into sentimentality, and the movie is not able to recover entirely. Because we know a disaster of some kind of coming up at the end, every sequence is tinged with unearned sadness. Frankly, however, the inevitable romance between Jacob and Marlene never sparks. Pattinson and Witherspoon are both very attractive, but they don’t have much chemistry together. We can buy them as friends, but not as (potential) lovers. Obviously, that’s deadly for a romantic drama. 

Francis Lawrence, who directed, previously made “I Am Legend” and “Constantin,” and so you can rest assure that the visuals – period details and the look and feel of the circus itself – are extraordinary. Perhaps the fault lies with the source material, a novel by Sara Gruen, or the screenplay, credited to veteran Richard LaGravenese. More than likely, it’s something in the dynamic between Pattinson and Witherspoon that Lawrence was not able to overcome. Without the romantic spark needed to fire up the movie, entire scenes fall flat. It’s only when Waltz appears that the action becomes dynamic and involving. 

Beyond the scenes with Waltz, “Water for Elephants” feels like you’re looking at old photographs in a stranger’s album. It’s a polite but strained experience.

‘Breaking Dawn’ hits theaters this November.

We’ve snagged two autographed posters from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” and you have a chance to steal them away from us… as long as you can articulate your affection.

Sure, we could set up a contest form, like we do for our standard contests for movie passes or DVDs, but that wouldn’t be very fair to these killer collectibles. One of the two posters are signed by Dakota Fanning, Xavier Samuel and Bryce Dallas Howard, with the other autographed by Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz and Julia Jones.

Therefore, we want to know, simply, why you’re a fan of the “Twilight” movies and/or books. Feel free to go into detail as to how you found out about the series, your level of devotion to the films, your “team affiliation” (if you really must).

Entries will be accepted through 5:00 pm on Monday, July 19. Get crackin’.