In line for ‘New Moon’

By HANNAH SOUERS
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
It takes real commitment to sit outside in a fold-up chair in near-freezing temperatures, especially if the wait extends for more than five hours straight.
But 15-year-old Mariah Wildgen, a sophomore at West Valley High School, recently did just that.
For almost a year, Wildgen and a group of her friends had planned to be first in line on opening night for “New Moon,” the sequel to “Twilight,” the top-selling teenage vampire romance movie released last December.

So Thursday, they dedicated all evening — including several hours of sleep — in order to get a first look Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in the second film in the Twilight series.
Members of the first-in-line party  — including Nicole Schultz, Keely Hausken, Taylor Bobovsky, Rachel Roll and Sarah Joffs, all West Valley sophomores — wore orange tie-dyed shirts announcing their “team.”
Fans sided with the popular “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” and even “Team James” — all based on male characters in the film.
Wildgen wore a “Team James” shirt, despite the fact the character, played by Cam Gigandet, dies in the first movie, and never does return throughout the rest of the series.
“I don’t care,” Wildgen said. “James is still my first choice.”
Not far behind in line the West Valley sophomores was Justine Repp-Faith, a freshman at Perry Technical Institute.

The 19-year-old arrived at the theater at exactly 7:56 p.m. with three friends: Kelsey Berry and Amber Fernald, both 18-year-old freshmen at Yakima Valley Community College, as well as 19-year-old Chelsie Aucutt.
The four friends have visited Forks, Wash., the setting of the Twilight books and movies.
“We’re all die-hard book fans,” Repp-Faith said. “The movie is good, but the books are better.”
Repp-Faith became acquainted with the vampire series when a close friend gave her the first book. Within a week, she had read the final book in the four-book series and owned them all.
Some fans brought their copies of the books to the midnight showing. Other movie-goers managed to keep themselves entertained by playing games. And many came well-equipped with snacks, such as a gallon of Goldfish crackers and assorted Twilight-themed candies.

Wildgen and her friends were playing a game of “Twister” on one side of the cinema. Their group also stood out in the crowd also because they brought cardboard cut-out of Edward to wait with them in line.
Once inside the theater, the atmosphere grew from impatient to ready to race for the best seats in the house. And seeing the screen only managed to increase the excitement. The normal before-movie chatter was all based on a single theme.
“All I heard while we waited for the movie to start was people counting down,” said Makenzie McFeeley, another West Valley sophomore. “Everyone had their phones out, checking the time for the countdown to ‘New Moon’.”
As the lights dimmed and a gigantic orange moon engulfed the screen, several high-pitched screams shot through the audience. This reaction reemerged when Pattinson, who plays Edward, entered the movie for the first time.
Lautner, who plays Jacob, was a different story. His first sight on screen caused a unique-sounding sigh from seemingly every girl in the room. This was soon followed by an outbreak of embarrassed giggles.

And Hausken’s might have been the loudest.
“I was almost worried I was annoying the people around me,” Hausken said after the movie. “I was sure I was the loudest in there during the best scenes.”
Hausken claimed to be on Team Edward, regardless of the handsome werewolves. (The cardboard cut-out of Edward belonged to her.) Still, she couldn’t help but notice them.
“I was the closest I’ve ever been to being a Jacob fan,” she said.
Two more movie installments of the Twilight series remain. And fans are already planning to sit outside in line for hours again next year.
Only it should be warmer.
“Eclipse,” the third installment in the saga, is slated 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.

‘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.

Almost as good as the book: “Twilight” fans give their take on the much anticipated movie

By JESSICA SERRANO
UNLEASHED STAFF

It was a murky, chilly Thursday night.
As I approached my destination at exactly 10:30 p.m., I saw a massive line wrapped around the perimeter of Yakima Cinema on North Sixteenth Avenue.
The movie — the teen vampire film “Twilight,” based on the book by Stephanie Meyer — wasn’t scheduled to start until 12:05 a.m., technically Friday morning. So I figured I had some time to question some of the anxious Twilighters around me.
Carrie Darrett, 48, and her daughter Lauren, a 17-year-old junior at Selah High School, were waiting for the film to start along with a crowd of other excited fans.
“I just hope that they don’t leave off the important parts, like the meadow scene, because that scene is the pivotal point of the story,” Lauren said.
To her, that’s the point in which Edward decides whether he’s going to convert Bella into a vampire, like him.
Lauren’s mom had bought the book for her daughter to spark some interest in reading. Sure enough, it worked like a charm. Soon, Lauren couldn’t put the book down. Her mom became hooked, too.
“I love all the books and the romance, and I don’t expect the movie to be the same, but I’ll see it with an open mind,” Carrie Darrett said.
The mother-daughter duo waited in line with anticipation for an hour and a half for the film, which opened Nov. 21.
It took in a reported $70.55 million that first weekend. And a sequel is reportedly already in the works: “New Moon,” based on the second book in the series.
Meantime, “Twilight” is a Romeo and Juliet tragic love story with a vampire twist. The two protagonists are Edward Cullen, played wonderfully by the stunning Robert Pattinson, and his love interest, Bella Swan, played by Kristin Stewart.
The cast accurately portrayed the characters from the book; they had the looks and the persona. But they fell short when it came to emotion and feeling. On a scale of one to five, I’d give it a three.
La Salle High School senior Sarah Palacios said she felt a little let down by the film. 
“As for justifying the book, no, I don’t think it did,” she said. “I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love the movie either. I’m going to watch it a couple of more times and make it grow on me because the scenes that were good were really good, and I love anything ‘Twilight’ related.”
But you don’t have to read the book — or the other three in the series — to enjoy the movie. Patrick Smith, a 17-year-old senior at Eisenhower High School, gave the movie an eight out of 10.
Although he said he didn’t read the book, he praised the movie, particularly the scene in which Edward brings Bella, the fragile human, to meet his blood-thirsty family. The scene is humorous and tense.
Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Edward’s adopted father, played by actor Peter Facinelli, was Smith’s favorite.
“My favorite character was the doctor Cullen because his acting really did bring the character to life,” he said.

— Jessica Serrano is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends La Salle High School.

“Twilight” fever

By LISA GARRIGUES
UNLEASHED STAFF

Everyone’s heard of it. Everyone’s talking about it. It’s “Twilight” fever.
The long-anticipated teen vampire movie is finally out in theaters. So how does it stack up to all the hype?
I’d say the director, Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen,” “The Nativity Story,” “Lords of Dogtown”), did a pretty good job. For the most part, I really liked the film.
Sure, there were parts so unbelievable they made me laugh, but that’s a given. After all, it’s about vampires. I think most people will agree that if you’ve read the “Twilight” book by Stephanie Meyer, the movie will leave you slightly disappointed. But for non-book fans, the teen action/romance film proves entertaining.
For the three or four of you that haven’t been sucked into the “Twilight” craze, here’s the gist of the story:
Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves from Phoenix to the small town of Forks, a rainy logging town located on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
Quiet Bella soon meets the student body of Forks High School, becoming friends with Jessica Stanley (Anna Kendrick), Angela Weber (Christian Serratos), Mike Newton (Michael Welch), and Eric Yorkie (Justin Chon).
Bella, however, only has eyes for Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) who seems to despise even looking at Bella, which leaves her mystified. After a chain of events, it’s revealed that Edward and his family are vampires. Edward and Bella fall in love, despite the obvious problem of human-vampire contact.
The movie faithfully followed the book’s plot. The majority of events were included, with very little change in order. Although some details were left out, I found myself not missing them until after I left the theater. For example, there’s the Cullen family’s influence on Bella.
Another element that was missing was the suspense in the final scenes of the movie. The movie seemed to cram into one minute what took at least a chapter in Meyer’s book. Edward and Bella’s romance also progressed much more rapidly in the movie. They went from hating each other to two teens in love in virtually one scene.
The producers had their work cut out for them when it came to special effects. The vampires, which have the ability to move at a speed much faster than humans, have many scenes showing their extreme strength and swiftness. Some of these — when Edward is carrying Bella through the forest on his back, for example — appeared incredibly unreal. This look was achieved by blurring Edward’s legs while leaving the top half of both of their bodies in focus. Edward then proceeded to climb a tree — at super-speed, of course.
In one scene, when Bella is watching the Cullens play baseball, the special effects turned out really well. So well, in fact, that this was my favorite scene in the entire movie. This time, instead of solely focusing on how fast the vampires can run, multiple camera angles made for a really exciting sequence.
The supporting actors — particularly Welch, Chon and Billy Burke, who plays Bella’s dad) — added necessary humor to the film. Kendrick and Serratos made the high school scenes much more believable.
My favorite characters, however, were the Cullens. Ashley Greene played Alice’s personality exactly as it was portrayed in the book, straight down to her never-ending happiness. Jackson Rathbone, who plays Jasper, acts the part of a young vampire getting accustomed to humans brilliantly. Then, there’s Nikki Reed (Rosalie) and Kellan Lutz (Emmet) who give Bella such a cold shoulder it seems real.
Finally, Stewart and Pattinson, the stars of the movie, both have lots of potential for future films.
Overall, “Twilight” was a lot better than most movies converted from books. Was it as good as the book? Of course not, but then again most movies based on books never are. My suggestion: watch the movie in theaters if you’re a true “Twilight” fan. If you’re not, you can always rent it later.

— Lisa Garrigues is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Naches Valley High School.