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Annie Stamell

Annie Stamell

Posted: November 18, 2009 03:33 PM

Is the Twilight Saga Heralding the Reincarnation of the B-Movie?

What's Your Reaction?

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I really hope this new Twilight film is just as bad as the first one. Yes, I saw Twilight three times in the theater. And I watch it regularly at home when there's nothing better on. And I've read all the books. Twice. But you know what? Twilight is crap. Seriously. It's bad writing, ridiculous characters, excessive and unrealistic, but most importantly: it's fun. It's a lot of fun. Both the books and the film are so bad they're good. And that's the best kind of fun you can have with a really bad book or film.

I'm nervous, however, that since that the first film was such a success, that New Moon will be significantly better. Better special effects (or maybe not, because I'm pretty sure that "I love boys who sparkle!" was a top-selling sticker at Hot Topic last year), better direction, and definitely better acting (nothing beats Robert Pattinson's Latino sounding "hello" in the biology scene where Edward and Bella have the most pained conversation of small talk ever). In my opinion, this would not be a good thing for the Twilight franchise. Twilight needs to embrace its status as craptastic filmmaking at its finest, and continue to woo the masses with its sparkles and angst and perfectly curated "emo" soundtrack.

I strongly believe that pop culture today is seriously lacking in B movies. I remember being little and hearing about B movies -- from the packed matinees, to the charismatic B actors, to the whole campy and culty scene around them. That always seemed to me like a whole lot of fun. People who don't take themselves too seriously, people making movies just for the hell of telling a ridiculous story. That's what Twilight is. It's camp, it's crap -- it's the 21st century version of the B-movie. And I love it.

So imagine my concern that this next film might be a little too good. The joy of watching Twilight over and over again is laughing at the absurdity of it all. And to marvel at our societies' bizarre, endless fascination with tales of forbidden vampire love. But mostly to look at the pretty Robert Pattinson. And all the other crap.

 

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I really hope this new Twilight film is just as bad as the first one. Yes, I saw Twilight three times in the theater. And I watch it regularly at home when there's nothing better on. And I've read...
I really hope this new Twilight film is just as bad as the first one. Yes, I saw Twilight three times in the theater. And I watch it regularly at home when there's nothing better on. And I've read...
 
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01:21 PM on 11/23/2009
I don't think you can call that a B-movie. It's really an A-movie. Which is not to say it has any merit or quality. If these are the B-movies of today, I just have to ask where the tens or hundreds of millions of production budget go?

Did you mean B-movie as in aimed at a B-crowd or B-movie crowd? Because it certainly isn't produced like one. It's produced like a straight up A-movie, mainstream studio fare.

Actually, it's not even aimed at a B-crowd. It's aimed at the absolute Hollywood A-crowd: adolescent­s.

Upon reflexion, there's nothing about this film that's "B". It's really all "A". Sad, sad.
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Fudgefase
Boldly going nowhere...
04:39 AM on 11/23/2009
I went to see 'New Moon' and it wasn't fun. It was dull, dull and drippy dull. I agree that sex etc doesn't have to be explicit or anything, and I don't think I've ever seen a teen film where the last words were 'marry me' (to much whooping of teen and younger audience) so I don't have a problem with that. BUT the CGI was poor, the plot was pretty weak and there was some spectacula­r wastage of some very fine actors - Michael Sheen and Chris Heyderthal to name but two. Graham Greene is no slouch given half decent lines to say either. Dismal heroine.
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libwingoflibwing
Leftist Christian, Non-Violent Revolutionary
02:56 PM on 11/21/2009
B Movies were a classifica­tion that was not about quality but about expense. A Movies were the films that studios spent a lot of money on and expected a lot of money in return. So they used their best crew members and their "stars," they allowed more time in creating the film and they put more effort into promotion.

B Movies tended to have more "crap" than A Movies, simply because there was less concern about them. But often B Movies were anything but crap. A Movies could often be crap.

Twilight Saga films are NOT B Movies. They are crappy A Movies.
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RedDogBear
02:43 PM on 11/22/2009
Just what I was going to say.
02:22 PM on 11/21/2009
I saw new moon last night. I LOVE Twilight..­.watched the video more times that I've watched any other movie. You are correct...­.it is absurd...b­ut fun. I like buying into the teenage romance, vampire/wo­lf thing. Its pure entertainm­ent.
The think that stuck me about New Moon is that I found myself really laughing in parts of it. I wonder if the director intentiona­lly meant to have some comic relief.
Case in point...wh­en Bella/Edwa­rd/Alice are in the elevator with the Volturi and the elevator music was playing. That was really really funny.
A couple other funny parts...Ja­cob at the movies, Alice in her outfit in Italy driving the car, Edward pleading at Bella's bedside. It was almost kind of campy.....­.LOVED IT.
04:10 PM on 11/18/2009
It's nice to see what I would term a "sane" fan of the series. I can't stand it myself; as you point out, "Twilight is crap. Seriously. It's bad writing, ridiculous characters­, excessive and unrealisti­c." But you enjoy it in the same way I would enjoy The Rocky Horror Picture Show or any other ridiculous cult film or book, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunat­ely, there are far too many hard-core fans out there; witness the venom spewing toward Miley Cyrus for expressing her own distaste for the series. It's insane. I've known fans who are like you--to them, it's a guilty pleasure or a lark. But I've also known fans who claim the books to be the best thing they've ever read...and I shudder.

And on a completely different note, I also agree that a return of B-movies or the 21st century equivalent would be welcome. Tarantino'­s Kill Bill or Death Proof would be the closest I've seen in the last decade.
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Annie Stamell
05:16 PM on 11/18/2009
Why thank you! I like to think of myself as a relatively "sane" fan. These films simply must be taken for what they are, and while they're a phenomenon­, Twilight is by no means a masterpiec­e. But it sure tells us that cult audiences are loud and proud, and if this is the new version of the B-movie, I can handle it.
03:55 PM on 11/18/2009
calling twilight a B-movie is quite an honor.
03:49 PM on 11/18/2009
Twilight and its sequels will never be as wonderfull­y campy as The Princess Bride.