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New Moon: Better Than Twilight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0800

Let's be honest: for most of you, it doesn't matter what I - or any critics for that matter - have to say about New Moon, the incredibly anticipated sequel to last year's Twilight. The film started breaking box office records before it was even released, and audiences will flock to the theaters for weeks to come. On the plus side, a ticket to New Moon is a win even if you're not a Twihard - provided that you know what you're getting into.

New Moon is not incredibly acted, and it doesn't boast impressive dialogue or larger-than-life special effects. But it's not trying to be the Best Picture of the Year, so I can only critique it for what it is: a fantasy movie about a love triangle between a werewolf, a vampire, and a teenage girl. To see what I mean, just read more.

The movie picks up a few months after where Twilight left off. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is blissfully in love but she can't fight her insecurities about growing older than her perpetually seventeen vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). All Bella wants for her eighteenth birthday is for Edward to change her into a bloodsucker, but a close call with his brother drives Edward to break up with Bella and leave town instead.

The drama following Bella's abandonment is everything we remember from high school heartbreak, from Bella's night terrors to the glazed over look in her eye. The anguish and pain are easily seen on Stewart's face, and her innermost thoughts are revealed to the audience through letters to Edward's sister Alice that will never be sent. After months of moping, Bella finally starts to open up to Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a family friend. As Bella struggles to find hope in a life without Edward, her friendship is complicated by Jacob's romantic feelings for Bella and made worse when Jacob discovers that he's a werewolf (and an enemy to all vampires).

The surprise of the movie is Lautner's performance. We've seen and heard about those muscles countless times before, but he also packs enough charm and charisma into his Jacob that you truly see him as more than just Bella's unrelenting admirer / best friend. He presents himself as a viable suitor for Bella's heart, and it's hard not to root for him against Robert Pattinson's wooden (albeit handsome) Edward. Stewart and Pattinson have chemistry to spare in Twilight, but in New Moon, Bella's relationship with Jacob seems hopeful and comfortable while her scenes with Edward are mostly awkward and frankly not as much fun to watch.

The movie belongs to Stewart and Lautner, but their melodrama is balanced out by the characters who pad out the cast. Yes, we meet the wolf pack and the Volturi, but for the most part the Forks residents and beyond make for some much-needed comic relief. The downside is that while it's funnier than what you'd expect, not all of the laughs are intentional (a scene where Jacob's temper rivals that of The Incredible Hulk comes to mind).

It doesn't take more than a grain of salt to appreciate New Moon for what it is - a film that stays true to its origin and delivers the necessary elements to ensure that you'll be back when the next installment of the franchise comes our way.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Box Office: New Moon Overshadows the Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:45:30 -0800

New Moon madness translated to big bucks for the Twilight sequel: After it set new records for midnight ticket sales and single-day ticket sales, it was obvious it would rule the weekend box office at number one. And how: the movie pulled in $140.7 million, clocking it at the third biggest opening weekend ever, behind The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3.

What trailed New Moon? I was pleasantly surprised to see heartwarming drama The Blind Side in second, earning a respectable $34.5 million and beating last week's box office ruler, 2012, which was No. 3 with $26.5 million. At No. 4 was animated adventure Planet 51 with $12.6 million, followed by A Christmas Carol with $12.2 million.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Twilight Takes Over The 2009 MTV Movie Awards!

PopSugarUK — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:45:55 -0700

The MTV Movie Awards took place in LA last night, hosted by American comedian Andy Samberg, with the Twilight cast stealing the show for many reasons! Robert Pattinson chose to skip the red carpet, going straight into the venue, while his castmates posed for photos and signed autographs. Then inside they won five awards for the movie, including Breakthrough Male for Robert Pattinson, Best Kiss and Best Movie, while Kristen Stewart dropped her Best Female Performance award while accepting it. Sacha Baron Cohen attended in character as Bruno, flying from the ceiling with wings on his back, and ending up in Eminem's lap. Eminem left the venue shortly afterwards... oops! High School Musical 3 was another big winner, taking three awards, and star Zac Efron presented the MTV Generation award to Ben Stiller!

Don't forget to check out all our Sugar Network coverage on the MTV Movie Awards, and to see a list of all the winners, as well as a huge gallery of photos from inside and outside the ceremony, just read more.

BEST MOVIE
Twilight

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Kristen Stewart - Twilight

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Zac Efron - High School Musical 3: Senior Year

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE FEMALE
Ashley Tisdale - High School Musical 3: Senior Year

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE MALE
Robert Pattinson - Twilight

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Jim Carrey - Yes Man

BEST VILLAIN
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

BEST FIGHT
Robert Pattinson vs. Cam Gigandet - Twilight

BEST KISS
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson - Twilight

BEST WTF MOMENT
Amy Poehler - Baby Mama, Peeing in the Sink

BEST SONG FROM A MOVIE
"The Climb" - Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie

MTV GENERATION AWARD
Ben Stiller

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Images include: Miranda Cosgrove, Audrina Patridge, Megan Fox, Miley Cyrus, Danny McBride, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Monique Coleman, Vanessa Hudgens, Leighton Meester, Hayden Panettiere, Cam Gigandet, Andy Samberg, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Bell, Zachary Quinto, Kings Of Leon, Robert Pattinson, Leanne Rimes, Paris Hilton, Ashley Tisdale, Anna Faris, Chris Pine, Sacha Baron Cohen, Eminem, Sandra Bullock, Zac Efron, Shia LeBeouf, Bruno, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, JC Chasez, Bradley Cooper, Tyrese Gibson, Soulja Boy, Brody Jenner, Ed Helms, Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, Kiefer Sutherland, Lil Wayne, Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Ryan Reynolds, Whitney Port, Lauren Conrad, Sienna Miller.

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New Moon - See It or Skip It?

PopSugarUK — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:57:49 -0700

Here it is, the first trailer for new Twilight movie New Moon starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Kellan Lutz, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, and the rest of the crew. There's some glimpses at the chemistry between Kristen and Robert - something we've seen plenty of as they filmed the movie in Italy last week! I want to know whether you'll go and see New Moon when it's released in the UK on November 27, so check out the trailer below and tell me if you'll see it or skip it!

Rushing Robert Arrives In New York After Leaving LA

PopSugarUK — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:17:24 -0700

Following Twilight's huge success in Sunday night's MTV Movie Awards, Robert Pattinson flew from LAX to JFK to continue the hectic schedule that has seen him promoting the series of films in Cannes and filming New Moon in Italy with Kristen Stewart over the past couple of weeks. While talking about winning the Best Fight trophy alongside his costar Cam Gigandet, he said: "It made me feel really tough, really hard. I don't think I've ever won a fight in my life. It was cool." It looks like he didn't have a lot of time to take in his victories though, as he rushes off to his next engagement!

To see lots more lovely photos of Robert at LAX and JFK, just read more.

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Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

New Moon: Love Triangle and New Additions Live Up to Hype

PopSugarUK — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

The wait is almost over, as New Moon hits our cinemas on Friday! The huge anticipation for the second installment of the Twilight saga puts a great amount of pressure on it, but I'm pleased to report it lives up to the hype. The story starts with Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart) 18th birthday, and the rivalry between Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is set up from the outset. The three leads all bring intensity and passion to their roles once again, and there are several stand-out performances from the supporting cast.

To find out more about the movie, and see tons of stills from the film, just read more.

An incident at Bella's party leads Edward and the Cullens to leave Forks and a heartbroken and hunted Bella behind. Jacob and Bella's friendship deepens as she becomes an adrenaline junkie and Jacob undergoes his own major changes. The ancient battle between vampires and werewolves is reignited, and we learn more about the hierarchy as the action moves to the Volturi in Italy. The film benefits from the change in location, and the additional characters raise the excitement levels and keep the saga moving forward.

The addition of the Wolf Pack and the Volturi bring depth and context to the battles between individuals. Jacob and his boys spend most of the second half of the movie shirtless, but it's not all bare torsos, as the back story of Sam (Chaske Spencer) adds another dimension to the dangers Bella faces. Dakota Fanning shines in her small part as subtly sinister Volturi guard Jane, and Michael Sheen is impressive as Aro. Michael Welch also deserves special mention for bringing some much need humour to the film as Mike, another of Bella's suitors who frankly doesn't stand a chance when faced with Edward and Jacob as competition.

New Moon definitely puts Jacob in the spotlight, and the lack of Cullens airtime will disappoint Team Edward fans. I found the first half of Twilight dragged a bit and the sequel follows the same formula of a slower beginning, but it has more action than the original and the running time of 130 minutes doesn't feel quite as long as the first film (although it could do with being tightened up). The deeper storyline of the love triangle and the new characters ensures the second film in the saga goes further than the first, and fans will find plenty to adore.

Get yourself in the mood for New Moon by checking out the first, second and third trailers, and by reading my interviews with the cast. Are you planning on seeing it on Friday?

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Is New Moon Better Than Twilight?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:30:17 -0800

Now that New Moon's record-breaking opening weekend is over, it's time to dish on the film. I already gave you my review, pointing out that I think the sequel is better than the original. In my opinion, the film's special effects and acting are far superior than what we see in Twilight, though Edward and Bella's whirlwind romance is better showcased in the first film. Now I'm curious about what you all thought - is New Moon bigger and better than Twilight?

Robert Pattinson's Next Leading Lady Is Uma Thurman

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:25:01 -0800

New Moon hits the theaters today, and with it comes even more news about the future of Robert Pattinson's career: Uma Thurman has signed on to star opposite the heartthrob in the upcoming Bel Ami. Pattinson is George Duroy, a poor journalist who sleeps his way to the top in Paris, and Thurman will play the woman who eventually becomes his wife. Kristin Scott Thomas has also just signed on for the film.

Nicole Kidman's name was originally attached to the project, and I have to admit that I would have preferred to see her playing opposite Pattinson. Still, it should be interesting (to say the least) to see him in the arms of an older woman. Many of you aren't digging Pattinson's Remember Me costar Emilie de Ravin (check out the trailer here), but are you more intrigued to see him alongside one of Hollywood's seasoned veterans?

Movie Preview: Robert Pattinson in Remember Me

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:41:10 -0800

A little Robert Pattinson overload never hurt anyone, but here's a break from all of his vampire stuff - the official trailer for Remember Me! Yesterday we took a peek at the first stills from the film, but here we get a much better taste for Pattinson's chemistry with Emilie de Ravin in the upcoming drama/romance. Pattinson plays Tyler, a broody but romantic college student who falls for the daughter of a cop (de Ravin). Pierce Brosnan also stars as Tyler's dad, while Chris Cooper plays the police officer who has an issue with Tyler's bad boy antics.

I was a bit skeptical about Pattinson's next film, but I have to admit that the movie looks intriguing despite a few cliches and a bit of cheesiness. It's nice to see Pattinson playing it straight in a more grownup role than the perpetual teenage vampire, and he and de Ravin have a fair amount of sweetness. It's enough to keep his fan base happy, that's for sure.

To see the trailer for yourself and tell me what you think, just read more.