Monday, February 15, 2010

Twilight (2008)

This teen flick revolving around Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), two teenagers who share a real, albeit chaste, chemistry.

A modern cover picture for Flowers in the Attic When Bella leaves sunny Arizona for wet Forks, Washington, to live with her dad, she undergoes an extremely welcoming and well adjusted high-school-transfer experience. The kids at her new school fawn over her and she quickly endears herself to them. She is intrigued by lab partner Edward, who  can’t seem to stand her. After he saves her from a possibly fatal accident, their connection gets too strong. By then, smarty Bella has put it together—Edward’s pale-to-the-point-of-transparent skin, his ‘Flowers in the Attic’-like siblings, their sudden disappearance on sunny days—she’s like totally in love with a vampire.

Romance blossoms until the bad guys come a sniffin’ for Bella’s irresistible human scent. It’s too much for one vampire, James (Cam Gigandet) who begins stalking her. (I had a hard time buying that this vampire with the ability and strength to have anyone decides he must have Bella.) Now, Bella's family is also in danger. Can the league of benevolent vampires save Edward’s love interest? Will Bella be turned into a vampire and roam the earth with a vampire family? What about her lonely dad?

This is the least bloody vampire movie I’ve ever seen. The trend of the humans falling in love with the undead and their desire to be turned is a big part of the plot (as with True Blood). Edward has the power to turn Bella; then, they can be together forever. Bella wants it, but Edward, having been 17 for a long time, has worked through his impulse-control issues and seems to know better. However, with its open-ended finale, who knows what’s to come with this franchise.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Country: US

Genre: Teen drama

Run time: 155 minutes (this was extended version with 33 more minutes than theater version—felt too long)

Scale: 3

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