Twilight

This week I watched the movie Twilight on DVD, and it was OK. I used to like vampire-themed stories a lot, and this one didn't disappoint, even though it took a fairly superficial look at what life is like for a superhuman centenarian trapped in the body of a 17-year-old.

I didn't like the performance of the lead actress, Kristen Stewart. I'd previously seen her in In The Land Of Women, where she also played a clueless, spoiled teenager. Hopefully she is not the kind of person who only knows how to play one character. If "Uh!" was actually in the script then the writers deserve some of the blame.

I remain unconvinced that it's ok for an adult to masquerade as a teenager and seduce innocent young girls (though if Edward's moral code formed circa World War 1 Bella can probably teach him a thing or two.)

The "Wise Indian" parts were stupid. The Indians know that the Cullens are vampires but don't seem to be impressed by the miniscule death toll. The books tell us that some of the Indians are werewolves; do vampires and werewolves naturally dislike each other? The movie doesn't say.

The next vampire flick in my netflix queue is Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Can an Underworld movie without guns succeed? We shall see!

Vampire Romance

I'm watching Let The Right One In, a Swedish movie from 2008 about those awkward years where the kids at school bully you and your first crush drinks blood to survive. It's slow moving and subtitled, but there are lots of interesting cultural differences--haircuts, clothing, music, behavior. In an American movie, the locals in the bar wouldn't have been friendly to the new guy in town. Eli shows regret after a kill. There isn't much gore. It's like a movie made 20 years ago.

Wikipedia says that there's going to be an American version in 2010. Get ready for a flood of vampire-themed coming of age movies.

The bully doesn't seem very intimidating to me, but it's been a long time since I was 12.

I've never seen a bunch of cats win a fight against a vampire before. I wonder how they filmed that. I wonder what will happen when someone who has just been turned goes to the national health care system. "Take a number and have a seat..." I wonder how the two bite marks in the neck stop gushing blood long enough to scab over. Maybe a working NHCS is part of suspension of disbelief. It does make the scabbed bite marks seem less unlikely.

It makes sense for vampires to live someplace with long winters.

Some of these humans seem to have never seen a vampire movie before.

I'd expect a vampire who goes for long periods of time between feedings to be more careful not to waste blood getting it on other peoples' clothes.

Apparently this eternal 12-year-old isn't able to think long-term about things like investing in a blood bank.

I like how the violence is downplayed. The pool scene in particular is good. I'm not sure that "kill all the bullies" is the best long-term survival strategy, but it has its advantages.

I wonder if Eli's first "helper" was recruited at age 12 too. Kids are so dumb. I guess that's why we call them "kids".