Part of the Twilight Marathon

*sigh*

This is going to be one long marathon.

There's something weird about this first film, and it goes with Catherine Hardwicke's direction. For a series where the actors have been made fun of for being incredibly dull, the actors here actually seem relatively lively and involved. And yet Hardwicke's direction is just such a strange contrast to both the material and even the film's own tone.

What I'm getting at here is that Hardwicke brings her general indie style to the film, and it feels like a strange low budget paranormal romantic teen independent film, but it's never any of those things all at once, so the tone is constantly changing to the point…

Okay. Where to start...
I'm about to do what I never thought I would; I'll publicly admit that the Twilight series are one of my guilty habits (pleasure is too strong a word). Hell, I'll even admit I actually rush to see these when they come out.
Yes, they are awful. Really, really awful. There actually is no argument to defend them, or none that I can muster. But then, I'm not interested in defending them at all. Because that's WHY I've watched them. I find them so unintentionally funny that I even have a Twilight movie buddy (who shares in my dirty little habit) and we make a day of it. Quietly, of course; we ARE pretty embarrassed about…

I wouldn't go as far as to say I like this but have to concede that it probably is one of, if not the, better of the Twilight films.

Taking aside the "I want to smash my face into a brick wall" stupidity of vampires glowing and sparkling in sunlight and the other (numerous) smaller beats that wreak of teen angst crap, there are things to like about the original Twilight film.

The film is surprisingly economical with its 2 hour run time as the first film in the series, it has the unforgiving task of setting the scene, introducing the characters and trying to cram a narrative story into the mix as well and for the most part Director…

So awful on so many levels. The portrayal of high school students is ridiculous. Same old conventions, stereotypes, and cornball dialogue. Gotta love that politically correct group of friends: half male, half female, a few white kids, one black, one Asian. Couple nerds for good measure. Unfortunately the film lacks the technical merit to balance things out. Even ignoring the annoying teen actors, this is a horrible mess of a movie. Edward's vampire movements - whether the awful wire work, Speedy Gonzales running, or clambering up trees - look clumsy and silly rather than graceful or fierce. Music selections are misplaced at best, mind-numbingly bad at worst. (Think Smallville.)

At its heart, the story involving "good" vampires and forbidden romance…