Walking Out on the Walking Dead…

Okay I have finally decided I am more or less out on Walking Dead. First they lost me, then they sort of won my back and just when I gave them some props, they go and lose me again. Seriously, this show is a directionless as the Cain’s presidential campaign. Here is a summary of the season.

"So dramatic...especially Andrea on the right"

(No Spoilers- because there isn’t anything to spoil)

Episode 1: Little girl Sophia gets lost.

Episode 2: Search for Sophia

Episode 3: Search for Sophia

Episode 4: Search for Sophia

Episode 5: Search for Sophia

Episode 6: Search for Sophia

Episode 7: Search for Sophia

Epiosde 8-8.5: Search for Sophia.

Okay, was it six episodes or 8? I don’t even care enough to look it up. If it was 6 and I accidentally added 2, then I promise you the plot wouldn’t have changed, they would still be looking for Sophia.

Seriously, a little girl gets lost and they spend the whole freaking season looking for her! Could you possibly think of more contrived plot? With all the apocalyptic, zombie, end-of-the- world stuff and all they can do is waste 8 episodes looking for a girl? There are so many more epic plots they could have pick come up with.

Oh to be sure, there is some lame interpersonal stuff thrown in as well. Carl, the boy,  gets shot but sadly doesn’t die and Rick refuses to grow a pair. And what’s up with Carl anyway? Whenever they show him he just sort of has this retarded dazed grin on his face. Seriously, he looks like has special needs.

Ironically, the real zombies are the shows viewers who must be brain dead after watching this offal. Let’s see. It has the makings of a great show, it’s only missing one thing. A PLOT! Man, if only there was a vast volume of engaging, prewritten material the show’s writers could pull from. Oh wait! There is! It’s called 8 books worth of composed graphic novels by Robert Kirkman. They have 80+ comic books worth or material and they STILL can’t find a decent plot. AMC must stand for Aimlessly Mindless Content.

Okay I have ranted enough I suppose. The thing is I really want this show to be good, but the more I think of it from anarrative standpoint the more it makes me mad. The last 10 minutes of the last episode are pretty tasty and they do some heavy zombie brain blasting, but you probably won’t see it because you have already blown your own brains out watching it.

Another Reason to Love The Muppets

Okay, every since I was a little kid I have loved the Muppets. Soon after I was born my parents gave me a stuffed Kermit that I slept with. It is older then I am, and I would like to think that Kermit had a role in developing my love of off beat humor and late night TV shows hosts. Regardless I am super excited for the new Muppet movie being released. Here is one more reason to love them.

Green with...angst?

At least Rowlf has fur when showing no shirt.

The pods must be crazy…

"Blair art thou?"

So two weeks your very own Babblers Tony Kim and I went to a live Podcast at Meltdown comics up in L.A. Meltdown is pretty well known in the L.A. community and hosts multiple events with various writers, actors, directors etc.  In the back they have the Nerdist Theatre, where they do different podcasts and events. It is connected (I would assume) to the Nerdist comedy podcast.

This particular podcast was Fandom Planet with the Idiot Box from Craveonline.com.  Hosted by comedians Tim Powers and SAX Carr (why is SAX always capitalized?) who seem to have their hands in many various initiatives. This particular podcast was The Good, The Blair and The Ugly and featured the talented and funny Blair Butler and Blair Herter, both from G4 and Blair Marnell, also from Craveonline.com.  Also Steve Niles (from IDW’s 30 Days of Night.) was a last minute, but excellent addition.

Okay, my initial thought on this is that it was really fun. The guests really knew their stuff and were both funny and insightful. Discussion topics included the much anticipated DC reboot, the disaster of the Green Lantern movie, various TV shows and the state of the comic industry as a whole.

An interesting discussion involving digital comics took place, with Blair Herter coming out very much in favor of them. Blair Butler also talked a bit about her new comic that she is writing, whose name and title is completely lost on me now but will be a MMA work.

"Sparklers beware..these vamps are real!"

Steve was really interesting as well, just talking about writing as insider in the comic industry. If you may or may not recall, it was IDW that was doing the genius promo at Comic Con that if you brought a copy of a Twilight novel to their booth, you could trade it for a free 30 Days of Night graphic novel. We had always wondered what happened to those novels and I got to ask him about it afterwards.

He told me they donated them to libraries and literacy groups to help encourage reading. I responded that I wasn’t sure distributing Twilight out into the public really helped encourage reading. He laughed.  I had hoped they would have burned them, or made them into toilet paper.

SAX Carr moderated and kept things moving. Overall he did a really good job and piped in with some good jokes every now and then. At one point, I thought he took over a little too much and was a tad overbearing, but he soon reigned it in and let the guest do the talking.

I have to confess, Powers didn’t add a whole lot. He was funny at times, and I have heard him since and he can be good, but it seemed me he was having an off night. He had some good lines but overall didn’t contribute a whole lot. Blair Marnell did not add much either. He knew his stuff, and had some good industry insights but was kind of quiet for most of it as well.

I think the main problem wasn’t Powers or Marnell themselves, but just that there were too many cooks and not enough broth. Six people for a podcast felt crowded, and with the cult of personalities up there, it was inevitable a couple got lost in the crowd.

Over all thought, it was fun and interesting and I would love to go to some more. It even gave me pause to consider moving to L.A.

If you are in the L.A. area and need something fun and cheap to do sometime, check out Meltdown, they have all sorts of fun nerd programming.

Oh and for you B5’s out there, it gave us inspiration to look into seriously doing our own Podcast as well.

 

Fright Night is Gore-iously Fun

"Do you see me sparkling?"

by Staff Writer Aileen Cacayorin (@A1L33N)

Team Edward? Team Jacob? Try Team Jerry.

It’s unfortunately unavoidable for a modern day vampire flick to have a Twilight reference, but thankfully, the similarities between Fright Night and the Twilight Saga stop there. Instead, the old school vampire triumphantly bites back, sinister and blood thirsty, in this update of the 1985 original.

Anton Yelchin plays Charley Brewster, newly popular high school student trying to keep his former nerd life from his new friends and new girlfriend, Amy (played by Imogen Poots). That includes geeky ex-best friend Eddie (played by perpetually typecast Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who insists that Charley’s new neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. It doesn’t take long for Charley to get a clue and that’s where the fun begins.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been surrounded by Twilight mania for the past few years, but Fright Night is a pint  of fresh blood for vampire movies. No offense to Angel or Spike, but it’s refreshing to have a vampire that isn’t brooding or conflicted and Colin Farrell is delightfully menacing as Jerry. It’s clear that Farrell is having a good time balancing between sexy, creepy, and sinister. He might as well have said “This is how a real vampire acts.” Jerry isn’t full of angst or guilt ridden (really, who needs more of that in a vampire?), he enjoys being a badass and delights in playing with his food first. It’s not long before he has (rather creatively) chased Charlie, Amy, and his Mom (Toni Collette) out of their home and has them fleeing their isolated neighborhood for the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Marti Noxon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no less) also play around with the idea of a modern vampire as well, having a bit of self-aware fun. Jerry doesn’t live in a crypt nor sleep in a coffin. He’s hundreds of years old, but he isn’t refined, elegant, or rich. He lives in the suburbs, drives a truck, drinks beer, and watches Real Housewives of New Jersey marathons. And his name is Jerry.

Fright Night is never truly scary, nor is it meant to be. It’s not a psychological thriller nor excessively gory, though there is plenty of blood. There are legitimately creepy and tense scenes, as well as a few jolts and jumps. One scene involving a 6-pack of beer and a well-known vampire convention is particularly tense and it’s a great example of how you don’t need to shed a drop of blood in a horror flick to get your blood pumping.

Loyal Doctor Who fans are in for a treat as former Doctor, David Tennant, takes a turn as Peter Vincent, a goth Criss Angel wannabe Vegas act. With a bottle of Midori liquor always in hand, Tennant’s portrayal is a funny, snarkier, less ridiculous version of a Russell Brand character.

My only complaint about the film would be its use of 3D. It’s not very creative and is pretty much limited to spurts of blood, shards of glass, and the occasional object thrown in your face. It comes off as gimmicky and doesn’t really add much to the film.

What I love most about Fright Night is that it’s an updated throwback to old school creature feature horror films. It strikes the right balance between horror and satire, carnage and fun, and most importantly of all, NOTHING SPARKLES.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 Babbles.

@A1L33N is on the same sleeping schedule as a vampire.

Comic Con Quickies…Random Thoughts and jokes

There is so much to do at SDCC and I have so many thoughts about it that I decided it was easier to just write some quick hits. So for your pleasure, here they are!

- I was really disappointed to find that the Castle panel had nothing to do with actual castles…apparently it is a TV show.

-Whenever people go up to panels to ask questions they say things like, “Hey Nathan Fillion, I loved you in Firefly etc..” Everybody loves the stars in their best work, but what about their not so great work? I am going to start complementing shows they did that weren’t good. I was inspired to do this during the Ringer panel with Sarah Michelle Geller, everybody kept saying they loved her in Buffy. I wanted to tell her…”Hey Sarah, I loved you in Scooby Doo, your best work to date.”

-My other option is to say I loved them in a movie/show they weren’t in. “Hey Sarah Michelle Geller, I loved you in Scream.”

- Shark Week definitely DOES not refer to the guys trying to meet girls at Comic Con.

- Lena Headey (Game of Thrones)  was seriously buzzed at SDCC..then again, so was I.

- Summer Glau, whom you know we love (dare we mock her again) was in the Knights of Badassdom panel, I wanted to ask her, “Summer, how did you role in The Cape prepare you for this role?” Yes, make a joke of their failures.

-Knights of Badassdom is about LARPers- Live Action Role Players – I am not one to judge, considering my nerdy interest, but you can’t get much deeper in the nerd pool then LARP. Many actual LARP’ers were used as extra’s in the film. I wanted to ask the panel, “What was the LARPers response upon encountering women for the first time?”

-BTW – Knights of Badassdom – Worst panel ever. I had high hopes for it, the cast is great, but the director wouldn’t shut up and let them talk and it was obvious he was over selling the movie, and heavy metal music.

-Game of Thrones is also what happens after a couple of days of convention food. Alternately, it gives new meaning to the Gaslamp quarter….okay how about CONstipation…I will stop here.

- I hate the same old, boring, stupid questions….”What was it like to work with this person?” What do you expect them to say, “Oh, it was horrible, I am never working with that no talent hack again?”  I also hate the question, “How did this past role prepare you for this role?”  Truth is, from what I have heard, most roles don’t prepare you for a future role, you just get in there, embrace your role and act. (Of course there are some exceptions.)

-If you thought the Exhibit Hall had some stank to it you needed to go wait in line pick up your badge at the Town and Country…smelt like a Jawa crawled up and died somewhere.

-Gaslamp Quarter – I really enjoyed the Gaslamp this year. In the past couple of years they have really started to push events outside of the convention itself. Lots going on, NERDHQ, Coco Moca Art Gallery, Southpark set up etc. and TONS of after parties, was almost more fun the convention itself.  I met a couple of people who didn’t have SDCC passes but just went to enjoy the scene outside of it.

- If you see Cowboys and Aliens at midnight is it Midnight Cowboys and Aliens?  Look it up you none cinephiles.

- I found it highly ironic I had trouble finding the Lost panel.

-If I get another 5:00 A.M. tweet from Team Coco I am switching to Jimmy Kimmel

Well that about wraps up all my bad jokes for now. I’m sure I will think of more though!

I’ve Got Swag and You Know You Want It.

This is the first article by guest writer Aileen Cacayorin:

Stuff We All Get. San Diego Comic Con is known just as much for its plethora of giveaway’s as it is for being the mecca of all things pop culture. There’s a reason all attendees of the Con get a “swag bag”, and yes, the ridiculously large size of the bag is completely necessary. Even if you’re not a fan of comics or don’t enjoy going to panels, you can make your money’s worth just by spending the entire event collecting “swag”. You’ll see a lot of  cool giveaways and wonder how to get them. Sometimes it’s directly from the exhibitors or their employees, but the majority of the time, it’s from a brand ambassador, and that’s where I come in.

(I can literally fit inside one of this year’s swag bags.)

What’s a brand ambassador? Simply put, we help spread brand awareness, and our actual tasks vary depending on the event and brand. At Comic Con, you probably recognize us as the people you’re trying to “sweet talk” into giving you some free stuff. This year, I was one of them.

I can’t talk about the specific exhibit I was staffing, but you probably went to it. Comic Con is one of the biggest and funnest events you can work as a brand ambassador, but it’s also one of the most stressful. We’re not attendees, we’re there to work and most of us don’t get the fun of attending panels, exploring the exhibit floor for hours, or trolling for swag. We spend most of the day on our feet (and for some, outside underneath the sun, I’ve got the sunburns to prove it) and we deal with crowds of people harassing us for free stuff.

Believe it or not, our job isn’t to just hand out freebies. Yes, part of the job entails giving you promotional items, but overall, our job is to represent the brand and spread awareness positively and professionally. The things we’re handing out are part of a much larger promotional campaign designed to increase brand knowledge,  which is why so many items are given away conditionally. Trust me, we want to give you free stuff, but we also have to do our job.

On that note, here’s a round up of some of this year’s SDCC swag:

Most In-Demand Swag: Pan Am Bags

As part of the promotion for ABC’s new fall show, Pan Am, Con attendees could board Pan Am “flight” at the ABC booth, watch a preview of the show, and receive one of the highly sought after trademark Pan Am bags. These bags varied in style from simple messenger bags, to slightly nicer and sportier messenger bags, and even the classic leather weekend bag. Each one had the famed Pan Am logo, making them the hottest swag items at the convention. Tickets for these flights would be gone pretty much as soon as the exhibit floor opened. The only other way to get one was to be at the right place, right time outside the convention and those went fast.

Yea, I wanted one too.

Rarest Swag: The Flaming C shirts and Oven Mitt

One of the main attractions outside of the convention center itself was Team Coco’s The Flaming C art exhibit. Flaming C T-shirts, oven mitts, and capes were given to everyone who went, but they must have run out quickly because I hardly saw any during the Con.

This is a sweet shirt, why didn’t I see more around?

I Need to Start Working Out Swag: Jon Favreau and the Golden Bricks

I went through 6 of these and still didn’t win tickets!!

To win tickets to the world premier of Cowboys and Aliens, you had to follow @CowboysandAliens on Twitter or sign up for text updates. Throughout the day, the Cowboys and Aliens team would be handing out Golden Bricks at random locations around San Diego. Notifications would read something like:

“Another Gold Rush! Head to Fourth and J now for the chance to get a gold brick and win tix to the Cowboys and Aliens Premiere!”

Whenever there was an update, you literally had to be there within 5 minutes if you wanted a brick, and that usually involved a lot of running. Not every brick had a winning ticket, but the bricks contained some sweet consolation swag in the form of exclusive Comic Con Cowboys and Aliens shirts, or a blaster.  If you didn’t win, hopefully the freebies were worth the asthma inducing sprint.

I sprinted 8 blocks to get this?!  WORTH IT.

Smart Phone Swag: South Park T-shirts

For South Park fans, the Comedy Central South Park Interactive Park was a must see, even though it was outside the Comic Con venue itself. If you had a smart phone and were willing to wait in line for 15-30 mins (pretty easy compared to Hall H, I’m looking at you, Twilight fans), then getting an awesome South Park shirt was pretty easy. All you had to do was use your FourSquare app to check into the Interactive Park, show them your check in badge, and you got yourself a free shirt.

However, if you didn’t have a smart phone, you were sh$t out of luck.

Easiest Swag: Real Steel/Shark Week swag bags

These were pretty much just being handed out. All you had to do was stop by Petco Park or the Real Steel truck on Island and first to get one. Also, if you busted a sweet dance move for the DJ outside the Real Steel truck, you got one of these:

Let’s hope the movie is good.

Most Useful Swag: Psych/IGN Sunglasses

Psych sunglasses were being handed out pretty generously, but to get IGN sunglasses you had to play a game of corn hole with the IGN station emcee. If you aren’t good at the game, you probably had to be a good sport about it, as the emcee would call you out on your level of suck. Whether the sunglasses were worth it depends on how easily embarrassed you are. However, these sunglasses came in handy if you were waiting outside for Hall H all day.

Second Location Swag: Nintendo Pokedex 3D shirt

Nintendo had it’s own booth at the Con of course, but if you wanted some gear you had to go to it’s gaming lounge, located next door at the Marriott. If you had time to kill, it was worth the trip as the lounge featured over 80 gaming stations where you could preview a bunch of 3DS and Wii games, including the new Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword!!!

Best Panel Swag: Game of Thrones

The Game of Thrones panel was one of the hardest panels to get into. Those who waited for hours outside Ballroom 20 to get in were rewarded very well, not just with a great panel, but with some pretty awesome gear. I didn’t get to go but apparently after the panel, you could go to the fulfillment room (they seriously need to rethink that name, if you know what I mean) and get a Game of Thrones bag, complete with T-shirt, book, and mouse pad.

Worst Panel Swag: The Cleveland Show

This doesn’t mean the panel itself was bad. It was actually kind of fun and we got to preview The Cleveland Show’s upcoming Christmas special: Die Semi-Hard. However, if you went to the fulfillment room you probably left pretty . . .err . .. unfulfilled. All you got was a tiny Cleveland Show pin, which is kind of a tease considering right next to that giveaway were some pretty sweet Avengers shirts for anyone that went to the Marvel panels.

Overall Best Swag: Marvel

In my opinion, this goes to Marvel, not just for quality but for variety as well. Every day the Marvel booth (designed to be a replica of the SHIELD headquarters!!) had something different to offer. There were exclusive posters, comics, Captain America iTouch and iPhone 4 cases, passes to an early screening of Captain America, and of course those highly sought after and extremely cool Avengers T-shirts. Giveaway hour at the Marvel booth was always chaos and there would literally be mob of people desperate to get an Avengers shirt or whatever else was being handed out. During the last giveaway hour on Sunday, it was actually complete mayhem as the best was saved for last. Among the drool worthy items given out were limited edition figurines, signed movie poster boards, Captain America shields, and no less than three Marvel themed guitars signed by Stan Lee, Chris Evans, and Joe Quesada!

I thought Thor had a hammer..not an axe.

If you want more of Aileen’s generally awesome work follow her on Twitter @A1L33N

Obama and GOP Reach Deal on Comic Con Cap!

Washington D.C. (AP) -After weeks and weeks of stalemated talks and partisan bickering President Obama and GOP leaders finally reached an agreement on the Comic-Con population and spending cap issues.  If the talks had failed to produce any deal by Friday night it was feasible that the great Con may not occur at all. The debate raged between Obama, who wanted to raise both ticket prices and the number of attendees, and Republicans who wanted to cut spending by reducing the number of panels while lowering the number of attendees. Both parties, who have lost all credibility among the nations’ nerd and geek communities, were desperate to avoid any more plunging approval ratings.

Just when all seemed lost and another walk-out inevitable, nerd hero’s Nathan Fillion and Zachary Levi, stepped into the panel to offer a reasonable compromise. The final deal, which is being called CapCon, would raise the overall price to $175 but keep the current number of panels and attendees, was signed early in the morning, giving each side the much needed time to get in line for Hall H. Additionally, a special entitlement program for those who couldn’t get SDCC tickets called the Nerd HQ, was signed into existence as well.

President Obama released a statement saying, “This is a win-win for nerds and geeks everywhere. The great American tradition of Comic Con will continue for the foreseeable future. However, much more work needs to be done.  There is still the question of keeping Comic Con in San Diego and the always touchy subject of getting rid of the Twilight panels. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go plan out what panels I am going to.“

The signing of CapCon

Let the Right One In

 

So after much talk and hype and I decided to watch Let the Right One In. the original Swedish film that the recently released Let Me In (Starring Chloe Moretz) is based on. This is about a vampire, a real one, that doesn’t sparkle in the sun or emit nauseating waves of angst.  Nor are there any half clothed wolfmen running around in the woods although there is a really furry poodle at one point.

What there is however, is a twelve-year-old girl, named Eli, who has a very bad blood habit that needs feeding. There is also, one incredibly pasty, pale blond boy named Oskar, who the local school bullies have a fondness for.

Eli and her guardian father like figure are forced to move around a lot, as dead people tend to draw suspicion, and so it is that they move into the apartment of lonely Oskar. Without a father to teach him how to fight, Oskar is left to his own dark thoughts about how to deal with the bullies. Eli watches him practicing with his knife in the courtyard and decides to talk to him.

They hit it off, in a quiet, awkward, creepy kind of way, and soon they adopt Morse code as means of communicating between the walls of their rooms, each becoming the others only real friend, with Eli even teaching Oskar to defend himself. When something happens to Eli’s guardian, she is forced to hunt and feed for herself and soon chaos ensues, as people start to get suspicious.

I won’t spoil the movie for you, but let me just say that as former scrawny, nerdy kid who was picked on, it made me wish that I had a vampire girl friend to help me out.

Supposedly this movie is a  “study in evil.” Trying to force the audience to deal with the issues of the necessity of Eli’s killing for her survival versus Oskar’s desire to kill the bullies out of revenge. We also witness Oskar’s decent into his own darkness as see just what he is willing to do for Eli.

While there are elements of this in the overall story I never felt the issue was presented very strongly. If this was the intent of the director then I would say the movie is a failure from that standpoint. My mind was never engaged with the moral struggles nor shocked by the darkness presented.

That being said, I nonetheless enjoyed the movie. It is a little slow, and there isn’t a lot of dialogue, but considering it is all in subtitles, that actually works in the movies favor. It has the feel of a low budget movie, which it probably was, and some of the shots and editing are a little off, but I think it actually adds to the faded, dark feel of the film.

Let the Right One In is not a horror film per se, but at its heart is more about a very dark friendship. I enjoyed this movie, but I admit it is not for everyone. If you need constant action, don’t go see it, and if you don’t like dark stories with mixed endings, don’t see it. Otherwise have at it. Now that I have seen it I want to see the American version to see how they compare.

 

I give this film 3.5 Babbles.

Twilight Explained

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Underworld + Romeo & Juliet x Dawson's Creek = Eclipse

I survived another episode of the “Twilight Days of Our Lives” with Eclipse, the next installment in the ridiculously popular teen angsty, vampire love story. If you don’t know what ‘Twi-Fever’ is all about then you probably are in jail, or dead, or even worst, a male over the age of 30 (which is ancient in Twi-years).  The Twilight Saga has been exactly that, a saga. It’s one of the few phenomenon’s that has been able to frenzy its fans to a Star Wars level of fanaticism. I had a pretty bad experience with the first movie Twilight. The awful dialogue and wooden acting was about the worst I have seen in years. The second part, Twilight: New Moon, was an overall improvement under new direction and with more experienced actors. Would Eclipse ‘imprint’ on me or would it be the kiss of death?   

Eclipse continues the story with Edward trying to convince Bella that it is time to make their relationship official by marrying. From the last movie, in order to avoid getting in trouble by the vampire police, the Voltaire (whose superpower is walking in slow motion), they promise to marry after she graduates high school. The love triangle that also started in the last movie with shirtless Jacob continues to thicken as Bella’s ‘love’ for both of them increases. Meantime, their vampire nemesis Victoria, who is Hell bent on revenge, is hatching a scheme to destroy Bella and the Cullen family by creating and manipulating an army (more like gang) of vampire newbies. Forced to work together, the cold-hearted Cullens and the hot-blooded wolf pack join forces to defend against the incoming adolescent threat.   

Bella: "Enough about what I think about me, let's hear about what you think about me?..."

Overall, this isn’t a bad movie although I think I enjoyed the last one a little more. With each installment, you can see a honing of the genre and a more economical use of storytelling. Each actor portrays their character with a stronger awareness and confidence than before. The drawn out, sappy scenes are kept to a minimum and there are a few genuinely funny moments which helps not to take itself too seriously. In particular, there is a scene where Edward is forced to allow the ‘overly hot’ Jacob to help keep Bella warm in a snow storm. He turns to Edward and says, “I am hotter than you”, which gets a good lauch. He should have winked and smiled at the camera while he was at it. The CGI (computer generated imagery) continues to improve and blends more realistically into the environment. There is also a pretty strong abstinence message which is refreshing and is unique in this modern age of teen movies. This third chapter, seemed to be pace better and builds to a natural climax.   

With all that being said, I still don’t enjoy these movies very much. With even less action than the last, Eclipse dragged a bit for me. But my disdain for the Twilight Saga has less to do with movie making and more about believability of this absurd scenario. Like my review of New Moon, this emo goth, teen soap opera really pushes the boundaries of what real (and immortal) people would do for love. These two warring families, who HATE each other (for generations mind you), set aside their differences just because of one teenage girl. These two families risk everything they have been built up without hesitancy or dispute because of teen romance?!?! That’s just not what sane adults, supernatural or not do. It’s not like the Matrix Oracle said Bella was the ONE or Yoda foresaw her bringing balance to the Force or Frodo bestowed the one ring to rule them all. Bella  just happens to be dating boys from both sides- and everyone is okay with that!!! I dunno, I think someone with centuries of wisdom would have suggested kicking her to the curb. a couple of movies ago.  

Get your 'Eclipse Performance Denims' at Old Navy for $19.99!

I see the horrific brilliance in this tale. It creates a fantasy of a lonely, awkward girl to be the object of affection between two supernatural dreamy guys. Both boys are honorable, with honorable families and their devotion for Bella is never-ending. Their love stirs up conflict that has never been equalled throughout time and could have cataclysmic results. Nothing of substance is every really discussed but rather just how much each boy loves this one girl. It’s every girls dream (and every boys nightmare). If I ever met Stephanie Meyer, I would probably judo chop her on the nose with one hand while shaking her hand in congratulations with the other. With cunning skill, she has catered to a very specific audience and continually delivers a perfect ‘made to order’ product that will never be out of demand. I don’t HATE Twilight since it spawned a generation of new readers but I do loath it for what it is teaching those same readers. Being a previous teen boy, I know it’s hard enough as it is to have a semi-healthy relationship in high school without all the unrealistic expectations that Twilight injects.     

Eclipse is much of the same as New Moon. If you liked or hated it, you will probably have the same opinion of this one. For me, while gritting my teeth in agony, I also found myself applauding it’s shrewdness in successfully connecting with its target fan base (which was clearly not me by a couple of decades). I will more than likely see the next one and my review will probably be similar to this. My only hope is that this Twi-coaster will all be over soon and we can get back to normal, healthy fanaticism over things like Star Wars and Star Trek. :)   

I give this a 2.5 Babbles out of 5.
 

Check out my review of New Moon and all of the lively discussion that spawned from it.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse trailer

The Twilight season is upon us whether we like it or not. The third installment in the Twilight series in coming with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and it is sure to whip te ‘emo-goth’ teen legions into frenzy. This summary of Eclipse is from IMDB.com:

Bella and Edward have been reunited, but their forbidden relationship is threatened to be torn apart again with an evil vampire still seeking her revenge. And Bella is forced to choose between her true love for Edward or her friendship with Jacob Black as the struggles between vampires and werewolves continues. But there is still another choice for Bella to make, mortality or immortality?

Prepare yourself, the Eclipse is coming June 30th.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Podcast

Our latest podcast is up! In this episode we review New Moon and the overall Twilight phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. In this podcast, we not only discuss our critical review of the movies but it’s impact on pop culture, the next generation, and morality. Since none of the Babblers are big fans, we brought in two experts, or ’Twi-hards’ to help us understand what all the hype is about. Check it out and leave us your thoughts.

The Twilight podcast can be found here.