Edward v. Jacob

“New Moon,” the second movie in the Twilight series, is now in theaters.
So Unleashed couldn’t help but wonder: Who’s the better man — the man/werewolf or the man/vampire?
Here’s a quick survey on the big question.

Team Edward
I chose Edward because:
• “Jacob annoys me in the books.”
Justine Repp-Faith, 19, freshman at Perry Technical Institute

• “He’s the perfect definition of the perfect boyfriend.”
Keely Hausken, 15, sophomore at West Valley High School

Team Jacob
I chose Jacob because:

• “I like Taylor Lautner without his shirt!”
Mariah Wildgen, 15, sophomore at West Valley High School

• “Taylor Lautner is HOT!”
Athena Belcher, 18, freshman at Central Washington University

— Hannah Souers, West Valley High School

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.

Twilight fans on the road to Forks

FORKS, Wash. — My friend Alex and I had been talking about taking a trip to Forks since before school ended last spring.
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if we actually went there?” she would say all the time. And I would get excited about the idea and agree.
Alex is the biggest Twilight fan I have ever met.
When I started reading the four-book series last year, she didn’t understand what was so good about it. Then I convinced her to buy the first book. And she was hooked.
We would talk about the characters and the storyline, and argue about the boys. She was an Edward fan. And I was rooting for Jacob.
When the first movie came out on DVD, we rented it. And we agreed: we liked the books better than the movie. But we still liked the movie. And she was still an Edward fan, and I was still rooting for Jacob.
Last summer, when she texted me an invite me to go to Forks — the rainiest city in the continental United States, logging capital of the world and setting of the Twilight series — I was shocked. And I immediately began planning the trip in my head.
It was awkward asking my parents because they didn’t really know what Twilight was. They’d heard of it. They knew it was about vampires. But they didn’t know it was also about werewolves, forbidden love and immortality.
I had to explain these things. And they still let me go in the end.

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series is a major phenomenon in today’s literature, entertainment and pop culture. The series has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. And it has been translated into 38 different languages.
When it comes to the books, I enjoy all of them. But between the first two books, I like “New Moon” more than “Twilight.”
In “Twilight,” you know the couple, Bella and her vampire boyfriend Edward, are going to stay together and live happily ever after. But in “New Moon,” that becomes less certain, leaving readers like me wanting to know more.
Overall, I like the entire series very much. The storyline is great, and Meyer’s wording is so clever. As you read her books, all the little details start to tie together and you wonder, “How would anyone think of that?”
Each of the books is written in first-person — from Bella’s point of view — and I think that is better. It’s more interesting when you know what the main character is thinking.
“Twilight” was made into a movie that was released last November. The movie based on “New Moon” opens Friday. And I can’t wait. It sounds like it’s going to have more drama, more action and more new faces.
It’s even more interesting when you’ve visited the real place.

When we left Yakima, the sun was shining brightly — as it usually does in mid-July — and my adrenaline started to kick in as we pulled out of town.
It was me, Alex Parsley and Alex’s mom, Amy Parsley. And we brought the Twilight books with us. We talked about what to expect in Forks, the upcoming movie and, of course, the boys in the books.
Alex and I have known each other since third grade. We’ve been close friends since eighth grade. We’re both 15 and sophomores at Riverside Christian School.
She was excited to see the Twilight shops. And I was excited to see the forests of the Olympic Peninsula, the Pacific Ocean and — most of all — experience the rain.
The rain is my absolute favorite. I love rain. It rarely rains in Yakima and when it does I’m thrilled.
The drive to Forks — about 300 miles from Yakima — seemed like the longest drive ever. But after a stop in downtown Seattle for some shopping, a ferry ride across Puget Sound, then another three-hour drive, we finally made it.
We spent the night in Sequim, hitting the road again early the next morning and arriving in Forks under an enormous cover of clouds and rain.

When we reached our destination, a sign declared: “The City of Forks Welcomes You.” A billboard said: “Welcome to the Twilight Zone.”
I had never seen so much green in my life.

I had heard Forks was a small town. And it really was. In fact, Yakima is more than 10 times bigger.
We drove for about 10 minutes, past some familiar scenes in the books — like the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, where Bella’s dad works — and then we were at the end of town. That was probably the most disappointing part.
The coolest part was seeing Forks High School. It looked nothing like it did in the movie, but it was still cool to see the sign that was in the movie. We took many pictures.
We didn’t see Bella’s house or Edward’s house. But that was OK because we had some more shopping to do.
The next stop was all the Twilight shops. The town has three or four stores packed with anything and everything Twilight. There was a ton of Twilight T-shirts, Twilight stickers, Twilight books, Twilight magnets, Twilight posters, Twilight candy, Twilight lotion and lip gloss.
I bought a book, sunglasses and T-shirts. Alex bought T-shirts, magnets and Forks High School sweatpants.

I thought we would be the only people there. But we weren’t. There were a lot of tourists walking around and taking pictures. I kept asking myself: “Do Forks residents ever get tired of all these Twilight fans?”
They seemed used to it, like it was a normal part of life. Everyone was very welcoming. But I don’t know if I — a huge fan of Twilight — would be able to stand so much Twilight in my life.

After a couple of hours in Forks, we headed south for La Push, another setting in the Twilight series. It’s the place where all the werewolves live.
La Push is located on the Quileute Indian Reservation on the coast. And it’s the fictional home of Jacob, my favorite.
As we were driving there, we caught glimpses of the gray beaches hiding behind the forest. I could not believe how beautiful this place was.

We had lunch at a small café, then walked around town taking many pictures before gearing up for our drive back to Sequim, then onto Yakima the next day.
La Push was definitely a highlight of our trip. It was breathtaking. The gray beaches, gray skies and evergreen trees made the perfect picture.
And it was exactly how I had pictured it in the book.

— Hannah Kivi is a sophomore at Riverside Christian 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.

Twilight Time

By JESSICA SERRANO
LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL

“Breaking Dawn,” Stephanie Meyer’s fourth and final book in her forbidden love vampire series, was released early this month.

For those who have yet to enter the “Twilight,” here’s a little background.

First, the story takes place HERE. No, not Yakima, but close enough in Forks, Wash., located on the Olympic Peninsula.

Bella, the heroine, is an awkward, accident-prone girl who’s not quite comfortable in her own skin. Edward, her love interest, is not your typical teenage vampire. He’s pale, gorgeous and Read more

Anticipating Twilight

By LISA GARRIGUES
NACHES VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer has everything you could ask for in a book: action, danger, romance and fantasy, all rolled into one.

So it’s no surprise the books can — and have — pleased a variety of people, including teens. The first three books of the series have sold nearly 8 million copies in the United States so far.

And the fourth book, “Breaking Dawn, is set to be released Saturday. (Aug. 2, 2008)

Like the earlier books, it’s sure to attract a broad range of readers with different interests and book preferences.

To catch readers up to date, here’s a quick recap.

In “Twilight,” the first of the series, Meyer quickly draws readers into Bella’s world and her troubles. The teen has recently moved from sunny Phoenix to the rainy, remote, small town of Forks, Wash., located on the Olympic Peninsula, to live with her lonely dad.

Bella gains immediate friends and popularity, which is a complete change from her outcast status back in Phoenix. But she is confused by Edward Cullen, who tries to avoid her the instant they meet.

Determined to find out why Edward hates her so much, Bella stumbles upon a secret: Edward and his family are vampires.

Eventually Edward and Bella fall in love and are forced to fight the perils of their doomed relationship.

In “Twilight,” Meyer creates interesting characters with an exciting plot. By the time vampires are introduced into the story, it seems perfectly natural for them to be there, almost as if they are a normal story element.

The series starts out on a high note: “Twilight” is a definite page-turner.

The next book is “New Moon.” It starts with the Cullen family moving away, leaving Bella in a heart-broken, zombie-like state. Eventually, she forms a friendship with Jacob, who lives on a nearby Indian reservation in La Push, Wash. He drags her back to the real world, and together they become happy.

But soon Jacob becomes detached and refuses to talk to Bella. This is definitely a moment of déjà vu. Jacob reveals the reason he has withdrawn from Bella: he is actually a werewolf.

The third book is “Eclipse.” This story consists of Bella’s attempts at convincing Edward to turn her into a vampire, Edward and Jacob fighting over her, and Bella once again being attacked by dangerous vampires. The suspense keeps building up.

Will Bella become a vampire? Will she stay with Edward or choose Jacob?

Bella experiences many problems teens can all relate to — and some that they can’t.

How will it turn out?

We’ll all have to wait and see. Just two more days.

— For more information, visit www.stepheniemeyer.com.