Early Release

I'm a creature of consistency. Although change is inevitable, I don't appreciate my intelligence being insulted with subpar character changes mid movie franchise. The "Twilight" villain vampire, Victoria, was played by Rachelle Lefevre in the first two installments. I very much enjoyed her portrayal; Lefevre possessed a demeanor that seemed to say that she would ruthlessly rip the heart out of anyone, human or creature alike, who crossed her. It appears that Lefevre was bumped by the studio due to what they called "scheduling conflicts", as she had signed on to work for 10 days on another film beginning production on the same day as "Eclipse." Whew! Summit Entertainment does not play! It seems to have come as a bit of a surprising slap in the face to Lefevre. She was stunned and heartbroken; completely understandable and unfortunate. I guess she missed the memo in her contract that said drop literally *everything* else for "Twilight". Bryce Dallas Howard replaced Lefevre. I love Howard as an actress, especially in "The Village" and "As You Like It". However, I was not impressed with her portrayal of Victoria. Not to give away any spoilers, I felt that Howard wasn't as cold-blooded. You be the judge. "Twilight: Eclipse" is playing in theaters now.

Another case in point: "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." Replacing Rachel Weisz with Mario Bello in the third installment bothered me greatly. Not only was the relationship dynamic between the character's of Rick and Evelyn O'Connell different, but Bello's portrayal lacked a sense of bravery and toughness highlighted in the second movie, when viewers found out the Evy's character was the reincarnation of Nefertiri.

Now, there are a few character changes that don't leave me feeling as sour. In the upcoming "Transformers 3" movie, Megan Fox will not be reprising her role. I'm not necessarily going to miss unnecessary booty shorts shots, endless pouting, and flat dialogue.