"Twilight" - no comment on it whatsoever

Please note that I am reviewing this from a DVD. I did not and probably will not be able to see it on the big screen.

Twilight (2008) is a romantic fantasy film based on the Stephanie Meyer novel of the same name. It is part of a series of novels known as "The Twilight Saga". Seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan (Kristin Stewart) moves from Phoenix, Arizona to the town of Forks, Washington to be with her single dad Police Chief Charlie Swan (Billy Burke), as her mother Renee (Sarah Clarke) is remarrying and going on the road. There, Bella is introduced and welcomed by the students at the new school, and she learns about the mysterious Cullen family, namely Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who is 108 years old but looks 17. This is because he is really a vampire - he is stuck at the age that he transformed at. Edward is attracted to Bella by the scent of her blood, as well as her resistance to his ability to read minds. However, these vampires only drink animal blood. Despite Edward's warnings to stay away from him, Bella does not listen, causing her to be targeted by James the tracker vampire (Cam Gigadent) and the other two members of his "trio", Victoria (Rachelle Lefèvre) and Laurent (Edi Gathegi), who do drink human blood.

Of note is also Edward's family, all of whom are vampires: his father Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), his mother Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reaser), his adopted sisters Alice Brandon Cullen (Ashley Greene) and Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed) as well as the latter's husband Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), and their newest addition, his adopted brother Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone). Taylor Lautner plays Jacob Black, Bella's childhood friend.

So... did anyone else understand that? I haven't read the books, so that may be part of the reason still sorta seems confusing to me, but I don't have many plans to read them. So... why did I watch this film, and why am I reviewing it? Well, I didn't know what Twilight was until late 2008 when this film was released. I never actually bothered to watch it, but I'd heard everyone talk about it, to the point where it was the new Harry Potter. However, I wasn't really interested in it because all I had heard about it was "it's about sparkling vampires", which sounded preposterous to me - however, it turns out that the Cullens sparkle when exposed to sunlight, and Edward did sparkle, but for no more than two minutes (to reveal his secret to Bella). However, I saw Adventureland in April of this year, which starred Kristin Stewart (turns out she actually did this film prior to the filming to Twilight), and got slightly interested in it. However, I was sort of afraid of it, partially due to vampire stories being associated with "emo" people (still not quite sure what that means) and hearing about a girl who nearly drowned a fifth grader to death because she insulted the books. However, after seeing the trailer for the next film in the series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (coming November 20), I was somewhat interested in it. The final nail in the coffin was when I heard the original Twilight was coming back to the big screen November 19 at 9:00 PM for a discounted price ($5.00, three hours before the midnight premiere of The Twilight Saga: New Moon), and since I did review Toy Story and Toy Story 2 when they were re-released, I decided to review this too. Now, I was dreading it as I was watching it, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It's nothing I'd pay big bucks for, and unfortunately I probably won't be able to catch the big screen showing of it (I have a class at that time, and it will probably sell out), but I was glad I saw it. Now I understand what all the hub-ub is all about... oh wait, no I don't! It sorta seemed like a pilot episode, waiting for the sequel... which I am now semi-excited about.

The film got a PG-13 rating, but I'm sure you already know of the kind of violence that can occur in a vampire-themed film. As well, a truck almost hits Bella, and Edward stops the truck with his bare hand. There is a large action scene on the end with chasing and James bites Bella, and you later see her in a hospital bed, but for spoiler purposes I won't explain any more. A vampire drinks a deer's blood in one scene. Several prom dresses show cleavage, and when two girls try on such dresses, one of them says something like "Does this make my boobs look good?". One of the minds Edward reads is about "sex". Renee asks Bella on the phone if she met a boy and if she's "safe" (you figure it out). There is a moderate amount of drinking, but no teen drinking. However, Edward says that Bella's blood is like "a brand of heroin".

This whole review was probably irrelevant to you, and you probably already know if you want to see it or not. However, I think the re-release is a good way to get new people into it - seeing it on the big screen may be enticing, and for a discounted ticket price it's a good deal. Of course, even if you already own the DVD, you may just want to relive seeing it on the big screen again for half price, so you could see it then. The film is two hours long, so that gives you an hour to prepare for the midnight showing of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, if it leaves you thirsty for more. My question is... why didn't Disney think of this with the Toy Story re-release? Why did they re-release it so early? They could have waited two weeks before Toy Story 3 comes out and re-released it then! Then there would have been more hype! (I heard some places have already sold out of this Twilight re-release in advance, but on the other hand, it's just one chance.)

(Pssst... Disney... pay attention and learn something from this! Re-release Cars in 3-D one or two weeks before Cars 2 comes out in 2011. It will make lots of money. )