‘New Moon’ shines

It’s finally here.
The Twilight saga continues with the second movie in the series.
Ever since I saw the first movie, I’ve been following all of the monthly trailers and reading all of the rumors: Who would be in the second movie? What scenes would be left out? And how was Taylor Lautner preparing for his many shirtless scenes?
“New Moon” picks up where “Twilight” left off — with Bella and Edward still in their unique vampire-human relationship, and Bella still very much human.
In this movie, Edward leaves Bella forever, along with the rest of the Cullen clan, and she falls apart inside. (Don’t act surprised: That was all in the main trailer, not to mention the book.)
After months of deep depression, Bella (Kristen Stewart) returns to Jacob (Lautner), the 16-year-old member of the Quileute tribe whom she befriended in the first movie.
Throughout the second movie, Bella struggles with her life without Edward (Robert Pattinson), fighting for any chance to have “visions” of him. The only way these visions happen, though, is if she does something reckless and dangerous. That includes hanging out with Jacob, who is in fact a werewolf. (And a handsome one at that!)
Director Chris Weitz does a remarkable job of drawing in all types of audiences with his variety of shots.
Plus, there are many scenes in which the majority of the male actors were shirtless — and sporting very distinctive six-packs.
On the other hand, there are far more fight scenes in the movie than in the book. My guess is the scenes were created so male audience members felt this was a movie for them as well.
“New Moon” blows “Twilight” out of the water with the special affects, better acting, and more intense moments between Bella and Jacob.
And there’s more comedy in this movie than the first.
Mike Newton (Michael Welch) has several entertaining scenes in which his reactions are the punch line, including one when Jacob calls him a “marshmallow” due to the fact he couldn’t stand a gory movie.
I feel that as long as you have seen the first movie, “New Moon” would be an excellent choice to go and see.
Opening night in Yakima, I saw a wide variety of ages of the viewers — from girls around 10 years old to women in their 50s and 60s.
Now, I’m anxiously waiting for the third installment of the Twilight saga, “Eclipse,” which is expected to hit theaters June 30, 2010

— Hannah Souers is a sophomore at West Valley High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.