"Twilight" - movie review

This weekend filmgoers flocked to see "Twilight," the movie based on the first book in the mega-popular vampire series and made it a huge hit.

For those not already familiar with the story of "Twilight," here's a primer: Quiet teenager Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves from Arizona to dreary small town Forks, WA to live with her estranged father.  Shortly after arriving, she becomes intrigued by the mysterious Cullen family, especially Edward (Robert Pattinson), an attractive but strange boy.  After talking to a number of people, including her friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) and Edward himself, Bella comes to realize that he and his family are actually a coven of vampires who live in secrecy and have chosen not to prey on humans.  Oh, and she falls in love with him too.

"Twilight" is one of the most faithful book-to-film adaptations that I have ever seen.  I'm not just talking about sticking to the story, the film also does an excellent job at evoking the tone of the novel.  It's so successful that at some point I stopped being aware I was watching a movie and instead got the same feeling that I did when I read the novel... I felt like I had been pulled into the world of the story.  That's a pretty rare thing; I can't remember the last time a movie was able to do that to me.

While the movie is still centered around the burgeoning love between Edward and Bella, the filmmakers have (thankfully) compacted much of that aspect down, which means that it now comes off a little more realistically (this also helps by making Edward and Bella less whiny than the way they sometimes come off in the book).  At the same time, the action in the story has been greatly expanded; there are even new scenes that introduce us to the evil vampire clan of James, Victoria and Laurent as they carve a bloodstained path towards the Cullens.   It's pretty obvious that the filmmakers were looking to expand the attraction of the story beyond the already existing, and largely female fan-base.  The fact that they managed to successfully pull this off while still remaining so faithful to the original story is commendable.  I predict a lot of guys getting dragged along by their sisters and girlfriends will be surprised at just how much they like the film too.

The movie does have a few flaws.  The biggest problem I had with it is that I wanted to see more of the Cullen family, as the majority of their scenes with Bella and most of their backstories have been cut for time.  Alice in particular feels a bit underused; most of her scenes seem to have been left on the cutting room floor, which makes me sad because she's my favorite character in the series (and in the novel she has a great backstory that connects her to James, so it's a pity they didn't use that).  Also, the special effects are sometimes  a little unconvincing; you can tell the movie was made on a lower budget.  But no movie is ever perfect, and the complaints that I have are honestly very minor compared with how much the movie gets right.  Besides, now that they are planning to film the rest of the series, we should get to spend much more time with the Cullen family in future installments.

As someone who is already deeply into the "Twilight" series, it's hard for me to predict exactly what non-Twilighters will think of the movie.  I'm pretty confident that most people will like it, but this is definitely a movie meant to please the the fans first and foremost.  And in that they have succeeded.  If you already love "Twilight" then you should love the movie.  If you're not yet familiar with or have adamantly refused to get into the series up to now, I still strongly recommend that you give the film a chance.  You may be surprised.  "Twilight" gets a 5 out of 5.

What's new in theaters this week - 11/21/08

We've got two pretty big releases this week, along with a cadre of smaller films as well.  Looks like everyone should be able to find something they like.  Oh, and from now on I'll be linking to the trailers for every movie each week... so just click on the movie title on you'll see the trailer.

Opening in Wide release:

• Bolt - The canine star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to the very real world of New York City.  This is the newest non-Pixar Disney film, and it actually looks pretty good.  Looks perfect to take the kids to.  Rated PG.
• Twilight - Bella, the new girl in town, is swept up in a passionate and dangerous romance with Edward, a mysterious teen vampire.  Based on the first book in the mega-popular series, of which I am an admitted fan.  While the film should please the large (mostly female) audience of already existing Twilight fans, it looks like the filmmakers have toned down the romantic aspects a bit and cranked up the action in an attempt to get more guys to see it.  Will it be successful?  I'll let you know after I see it this weekend.  Rated PG-13.

Opening in Select release:

• The Betrayal - A filmmaker portrays his family's struggle to survive the impact of U.S. foreign policy in Laos and his father's involvement in the war.  Appears to be a combination of documentary and filmed footage.  This looks like an amazing and powerful film.  See it!  Not rated; doesn't appear to contain anything objectionable.
• I Can't Think Straight - A traditional Middle Eastern woman's encounter with a young British Indian woman begins a journey of self-awareness for her.  Is it just me or does there seem to suddenly be an influx of young-lesbian-girls-discovering-and-coming-to-terms-with-their-sexuality movies?  It feels like they've been releasing at least one every week these days... which is fine by me as long as they're good.  But this does not appear to be one of the better ones.  Rated PG-13.
• Lake City - When a man gets into trouble with a local drug dealer, he heads to the last place on earth he wants to go--his childhood home.  Stars Sissy Spacek, Rebecca Romijn and Dave Matthews.  Looks like kind of a standard thriller... but how many other chances are you going to get to see the lead singer of the Dave Matthews Band as a violent drug dealer?  Rated R.
• Special - A man participating in a drug study becomes convinced he is developing special powers and finds his calling as a superhero.  This is a truly strange looking movie.  It seems to focus on the question of whether this guy actually has super powers or if he's just going crazy.  At times it resembles an episode of "Heroes" that's intentionally trying to be funny.  I'd suggest giving it a shot.  Rated R.

"Breaking Dawn" review (WARNING: SPOILERS)

Hey everybody. Well, as the title of this posting will probably clue you into, I recently finished "Breaking Dawn," the last book in the Twilight Saga. You may have heard that there's been a huge backlash against this book: many Twilight fans are very unhappy with how things play out. In particular, a large number of fans thought that it went into really strange directions, and that the overall vibe of the story didn't quite gel with the previous three books in the series.

Well, personally, I liked "Breaking Dawn." I don't think it's perfect by any means, but I felt like most of what happened made sense when compared to what happens in the other books. It's true that many different plot elements in the story didn't go in the directions I was expecting them to, but I like it when stories do that (which also explains why I'm one of the few people who actually liked the last two Pirates movies).

Unlike some people, however, I wasn't surprised at all that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee; in fact I was expecting it as soon as they hinted the baby might be a girl. And speaking of Jacob, I also really enjoyed his storyline: how he became prepared to kill the Cullens only to find himself eventually defending them...I thought that part of the story was very well done. I liked how Stephenie Meyer switched perspectives between Bella and Jacob during the story, although it also made me wish she would have gone even farther with it and told more of the story from multiple viewpoints (for example, I would have really liked to read Alice's description of the journey she and Jasper took, and maybe an epilogue done from Renesmee's perspective). And while we're on it, I thought Renesmee's name was kind of stupid too...until everybody started calling her Nessie and subsequently pissing Bella off; I thought that was pretty funny.

However, I did have some major issues with Bella's lack of problems becoming a vampire. I didn't really mind at the time, but thinking about it afterward I would have liked to see her have to deal with that a lot more; it felt like it was done to save time more than anything else. I also thought that the whole revelation that the "werewolves" weren't actually werewolves was dumb and unnecessary. And more really should have been done with the Volturi...that was a storyline that just never got finished (in fact I really hope someday Meyer writes another book where they're challenged by someone; it kind of needs to happen).

And it's true that the whole thing kind of turned into an underwhelming Harry Potter at the end, but...well, I don't know...I still liked it. I think it's mainly because I've always felt that the characters themselves were the strongest aspect of the stories (to be honest, I've never really felt the plots of any of the books have been much of anything. Stephenie Meyer definitely prefers to have the drama in her stories happen internally rather than externally), and I still liked them all. So yeah, not perfect, but I still enjoyed it.

My "Twilight" cast

Hey everybody. I just finished reading "Breaking Dawn," and on Monday I'll post my thoughts on the novel and on the backlash that it has birthed. Until then, here's a just-for-fun list of my picks for who I would've cast in the "Twilight" movie adaptation.


Edward: Shawn Ashmore - Known primarily as Iceman from the "X-Men" movies. I don't really know why, but this is exactly how I pictured Edward everytime I read.





















Bella: Kristen Stewart - My only pick who is actually appearing in the movie. I've been following her career for a while, and I just think she's extremely talented. She's very good at portraying characters who are lonely, shy and emotionally conflicted. The roles she's played in "Into The Wild," "The Messengers" and "In The Land Of Women" really aren't that different from Bella.








Alice: Nikki Boyer - Nikki Boyer is a host on the TV Guide Channel. Not only does she look exactly how I pictured Alice in the books, but she's got the same spunky, fun personality that defines her.










Jasper: Hayden Christensen - Christensen got a lot of unfair flack for his work in the "Star Wars" prequels...I've seen him in other movies and the guy can act. I think he's got the perfect balance of seriousness and reassurance that Jasper has.












Rosalie: Evan Rachel Wood ("Across The Universe," "Thirteen.") Ironically, Nikki Reed (her friend and "Thirteen" co-star) is playing Rosalie in the movie (the movie is also being directed by "Thirteen" director Catherine Hardwicke).















Emmett: Heath Ledger ("A Knight's Tale"- era.)



















Carlisle: Ewan McGregor ("Star Wars" prequels, "Stay," "Trainspotting.")



















Esme: Naomi Watts ("King Kong," "The Ring," "Mulholland Drive.")

















Jacob: Simon Baker ("Into The West.")

Charlie: Enrico Colantoni. He already played a cop (well, an ex-cop) on "Veronica Mars," the best show on television before it was cancelled. Throw some hair on his head and give him a mustache, and I think's he's got it.

"A Week of Twilight": More vampire stories

The "Twilight" series have quickly become some of the most successful vampire stories of all time, and the upcoming film should only add to that. But they are far from the first. Here's a list of some of the other best vampire-related stories I've come across:

• Interview With The Vampire (novel and film) - Before Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice was the original queen of the damned. Her "Vampire Chronicles" series set the bar for future vampire stories, and "Interview..." is the most famous of them all. The confessional story style and the treatment of vampirism as an unwanted curse to the infected, along with viewing the vampire as a sympathetic/romantic character rather than just a villian, changed the way vampires were viewed in popular culture and laid the groundwork for series like "Twilight." And Lestat, the vampire anti-hero of the series (played by Tom Cruise in the film), could be an ancient ancestor to Edward Cullen, though Lestat can be a little/lot more wicked at times. The novel is excellent and, in my opinion, the film is still the best vampire movie currently in existence.
• 13 Bullets (novel) - In this novel by David Wellington, Pennsylvania State Trooper Laura Caxton is recruited by FBI Special Deputy Jameson Arkeley to help him thwart a series of recent vampire attacks. Despite a few flaws (including a cliffhanger ending that actually made me angry when I read it), this story has a strong plot, very engaging characters, and a cinematic style that I think could easily translate into a good film. This is a different world than that of "Twilight" and "The Vampire Chronicles" in two major ways: 1) the world is aware of the existence of vampires, and 2) the vampires in this story are all evil, bloodthirsty and very, very ugly. "13 Bullets" is the first of a planned trilogy, so now is a good time to get into what is shaping up to be a great series. I still hate the ending though.
• Blood + (manga and anime series) - This series concerns Saya, a high school student who can't remember her past. One day she is confronted by a man named Hagi, who gives her a sword and tells her the truth about her past: she is the last true vampire, and is charged with defending humanity against an evil race called the Chiropterans. The animation in both versions are excellent (the manga in particular is beautiful to behold), and the story is an intriguing one that is carried out very well. A lot of blood is spilled in this series, but it's a vampire story, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. It's also a good place to start if you're thinking about getting into anime and/or manga.
• I Am Legend (novel) - If you've seen the most recent film version of this story that starred Will Smith, you might not be aware that the creatures in Richard Matheson's original novel were actually vampires, not zombies. Robert Neville is the last man on Earth who is somehow immune to a virus that has turned everyone else into bloodthirsty vampires. Holed up in Los Angeles (not New York, another change in the movie), he spends his days looking for a cure to the disease and his nights trying to survive against the creatures. While I did like the film, reading the book makes you wonder why they didn't just film the original version (and hopefully someone will someday).
• 30 Days Of Night (graphic novel) - A story about a group of vampires who travel to Barrow, Alaska, where the sun sets and doesn't rise for thirty days and wreak havoc on the town. The story is interesting, but the artwork makes it worth checking out; it's very dark and nightmarish (think "Silent Hill"). This series was made into a somewhat lackluster film last year, but whether you've seen it or not you should definitely check out the graphic novel.
• Here's a few more quick recommendations: Salem's Lot (novel) by Stephen King, Vampyr (film), Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (anime), Nosferatu (film) and Shadow Of The Vampire (film), and, of course, the original Bram Stoker's Dracula (novel and a vast number of films of varying quality).

"A Week of Twilight": Meet the Cullens

With all this week being devoted to "Twilight," I suddenly realized that many of you probably are not familiar with the series and its characters. So, since I've already discussed the principle characters Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black, it only makes sense to introduce you to some of the other major characters...namely, Edward's extended family of fellow vampires. Introducing the Cullens...

(note: to make things easier on myself, I used the descriptions listed on the Twilight Wikipedia page, and despite the often questionable reliability of Wikipedia I can assure you that these descriptions are all accurate enough...although you might want to hold off reading these if you want to read the novels, as they contain some spoilers)

The seven of them all live together under the guise as being an adoptive family with some biological connections; in reality, they are related only by their conditions.

• Dr. Carlisle Cullen: The adoptive father of the Cullen children and husband of Esme Cullen. Born in London as the son of a Anglican pastor, he is around 360 years old and works as a doctor in Forks. After becoming a vampire, he spent hundreds of years resisting the smell of blood so that he could become a doctor. He changed Edward, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett into vampires to save their lives.
• Esme Cullen: Carlisle's wife, who was found by Carlisle and changed into a vampire after a failed suicide attempt following the death of her baby. She is the mother figure of the Cullen family, and has a strong ability to love passionately.
• Alice Cullen (real name: Mary Alice Brandon Cullen): One of Edward's adoptive sisters. She is described as "pixie-like", and her movement is noted to be very graceful. Her special ability is seeing the future as soon as someone makes the decision to head down that particular path. This ability is very useful, as it gives the family forewarning to any dangers. However, she cannot see the future if werewolves become involved (they are immune to her power for unknown reasons). She is married to Jasper Hale, who is her soul-mate, and she loves Bella as if she were her own sister.
• Jasper Hale: One of Edward's adoptive brothers, and Alice's husband and soul-mate. He can sense and influence the emotions of people around him. He has the most trouble with the Cullens' "vegetarian" lifestyle, since he and Alice are the newest members of the family, and before joining them he spent almost a century living off human blood. He became a vampire sometime during the American Civil War. He was initially involved in vampire wars, creating new vampires and forming them into armies, until he met Alice and became a part of the Cullen family.
• Rosalie Lillian Hale: Edward's adoptive sister, who is self-absorbed and described as being the most beautiful person in the world. At first, she appears to play an antagonistic role in the story. She became a vampire when Carlisle saved her life after several men, including her fiancé, beat and raped her, leaving her to die. She is the wife and soul-mate of Emmett Cullen. Rosalie dislikes Bella because of Bella's willingness to give up her humanity for an eternal life as a vampire.
• Emmett Cullen: Edward's adoptive brother, and Rosalie's husband and soul-mate. As a human, Emmett went hiking and ran into a large grizzly bear. Provoked, the grizzly attacked and nearly killed him before Rosalie, who was hunting, interceded. She saved him and then carried him 100 miles to Carlisle, in hopes of saving his life by turning him into a vampire. He is extremely muscular, with dark curly hair and dimples.

"A Week of Twilight": Werewolves vs. Vampires!

For today's "Twilight" article I decided to explore the seemingly eternal battle between werewolves and vampires. One of the major plotlines in the series is the conflict between the werewolf and vampire species. According the books, werewolves are the natural enemies of the vampires, and come into being wherever vampires naturally occur as nature's means to balance things out. The idea of vampires and werewolves battling it out is nothing new; the "Underworld" films also tell this type of story (although in a less-brains/more action-oriented way). But where did this idea come from? Has it been around as long as the myths of these creatures have?
Apparently not. The earliest recorded stories actually link vampires and werewolves together; in fact, one of the most common beliefs instructed that werewolves who died would, if their bodies were not properly disposed of, be resurrected as vampires. Other cultures believed that some vampires chose to become werewolves, and some even consider the two beasts to be one and the same.
Believe it or not, the earliest record I could find of vampires and werewolves being enemies is taken from a popular pen-and-paper role playing game series called "Werewolf: The Apocalypse." "Werewolf..." was released by publisher White Wolf, which was born in 1991 (White Wolf also created the popular RPG "Vampire: The Masquerade"). After this came the "Underworld" movie series, which many "WTA" fans argue stole the idea. And then came "Twilight." So there you have it.
Honestly, can't we all just get along?

"A Week of Twilight": Twilighters go crazy at Comic-Con

Hey again everybody. As you probably know by now, I'm writing everything Twilight-related this week. Although I have recently become a fan of the vampire series, for a while I have been doubting just how popular this series really was. Sure, I'd heard the comparisons to the Harry Potter juggernaut, but that could all just be hype. And I really doubted just how hyped people were for the upcoming film. But after hearing about the reaction the film's panel recieved at Comic-Con last Thursday I cannot deny it anymore: Twilight really is shaping up to become a cult phenomenon of Potter proportions.
Simply put, the panel was packed with thousands of fans who treated the cast, director Catherine Hardwicke and author Stephenie Meyer as if they were the Second Coming. There was screaming, crying, and when Robert Pattinson, the relatively unknown actor chosen to play vampire heartthrob Edward took the stage, something akin to rioting. According to interviews the mostly unknowns were surprised and kind of freaked out by it. Indeed, many members of media outlets covering the event claimed the had never seen a reaction like that at any previous Comic-Con.
I guess I'm going to have to re-evaluate my predictions for the film's success now.

"A Week of Twilight": What is Twilight?

Hello everyone; welcome to "A Week of Twilight," my first special edition of this blog. I figured I'd start things off with a quick explanation of what Twilight actually is.

Twilight is a series of young adult books told from the perspective of Isabella ("Bella") Swan, a 17-year-old girl who moves from Phoenix, AZ to the small town of Forks, WA. She comes to know the Cullen family, particulary Edward Cullen, the oldest son who Bella falls in love with. Eventually she discovers that they are actually a coven of vampires who have given up on human blood and are living in secret. The series' primary plot involves the ongoing relationship between Bella and Edward, and whether Edward will eventually agree to change Bella into another vampire (she wants it, he doesn't). She also has to contend with her feelings for her best friend Jacob Black, who undergoes a major change as the storyline develops. Other plot lines involve Bella being hunted by other less-friendly vampires, Edward running afoul of an ancient vampire sect known as the Volturi, and the strained peace between the Cullens and a local pack of werewolves, the natural enemies of vampires.

Three books in the series have been published so far: "Twilight," "New Moon" and "Eclipse." The fourth and final novel, "Breaking Dawn," will be released on Saturday, August 2. In addition, another novel called "Midnight Sun," which tells the events of "Twilight" from Edward Cullen's point of view, will be released in the future.

Okay, that's all I have time to write about now, but I'll post again later today describing Twilight's reception at Comic-Con this past week (hint: there was a lot of screaming).

Be thee warned; A Week of Twilight Approaches...

Yeah, I know that headline is really dumb, but so be it. Before I head off for Ludington this weekend I wanted to let everybody know that, in honor of the release of "Breaking Dawn" (the fourth and final novel in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight Saga") next Saturday, I will be devoting the week leading up to it to news related to the popular vampire series. Tuesday's CD and DVD releases and Friday's New Movies list will still be posted, but I'll also post an extra Twilight-related article on these days as well. This'll all lead up to Friday when I will post my own personal recaps and reviews of "Twilight," "New Moon" and "Eclipse," the first three books in the series. Enjoy the weekend, and get ready for a very pale week...

-Matty G