Don’t be hatin’ on sparkling vampire movies (among other things)
I’m sure that the majority of the population has heard of something called The Twilight Saga. You know, that series of novels about sparkling forest vampires? Anyway, if you haven’t, I pity you, or maybe not.
Next Friday will see the premiere of the film adaptation of the second book of the series, New Moon, and my oh my, have i heard a ton of backlash about it. But what surprises me is that a majority of said backlash comes from people who haven’t read the book nor seen the movie. That’s right, Twilight as it appears, was pre-programmed for disdain. And as we all know, vampire fanboys generally frown upon vampires of the sparkly kind and thus have subsequently deemed the movie to be cringe-worthy. This is exactly what drove me to see the first film. YES, i have seen Twilight and i will not deny that fact. I was unfortunate (or stupid) enough to see Edward Cullen sparkle in the forest more like a fairy than a vampire.
And now you will share my pain.
But I gave it a chance. Like some of the movies i have seen, i went into it knowing absolutely nothing and the sparkling aspect was actually quite a shock to me. But i stood my ground like Thomas Baker and regrettably saw two hours of my life wasted on pale skinned thunder-baseball players. Yes, that’s actually comparable to my body getting sprayed with bullets. And as if it wasn’t painfully obvious to you, the reader, I did not like the film and watching it was a risk i took. But knowing that some of my cinematic risks have payed off well (The Boondock Saints, Ed Wood and Adventureland to name a few) i still took it. Sadly enough, Twilight is not one of them.
For me, Twilight is a timely example of a movie that get’s more hatred than it deserves. True that it’s not that good of a film, but let’s be honest, people have been writing it off not because of how bad it actually is, but by how bad they want it to be.Because every so often we get those kinds of movies, i.e. Titanic.
But what if it’s actually good? What if New Moon is this year’s Definitely Maybe? Ok, that’s an exaggeration, my point being that I myself, wrote off Definitely Maybe because i am not a big fan of romantic films. But when i saw it, i loved it. And that is the great thing about cinema, movies are accessible to everyone and everyone will find something they love. Now granted, Twilight isn’t one of mine, but that doesn’t mean that i will have a predisposition to hate New Moon. I definitely will have some doubts and apprehension about it but I WILL WATCH IT (and hopefully not regret it, that’s still two hours i wont ever get back).
I’ll probably be watching it on DVD though.
But still, I never know what i may find in that film when i do get the chance to see it. Maybe the vampire fan in me will finally accept that some of them can sparkle? No one knows for sure what sort of treasure could be found in New Moon, for there will always be something good in a movie (unless it’s called Meet the Spartans). And if it’s actually good, there will be no shame in liking this glisten-in-the-sun vampire movie. Some fanboys may cry foul on that, but remember, vampires were NOT originally vulnerable to sunlight until Nosferatu came along.
And as for guys, Summit Entertainment knows that you will avoid this film at all cost. They’re sure of it. That’s why they came up with a brilliant marketing move, and that is to release it on a Friday, a DATE NIGHT, when boyfriends will be dragged by their girlfriends to watch the movie. That is a surefire way to ensure huge opening day ticket sales and the number one spot at the weekend box office. So like it or not, if you have a girlfriend or at least need to get laid, you are definitely going to see this movie.
