edward cullen Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The countdown has begun, and we are just 17 short days away from the arrival of the vamp-romance, New Moon, so why not celebrate by re-enacting some of your favorite scenes with your very own Bella and Edward? That's right, Mattell has released Edward and Bella Barbie as part of the Twilight Barbie Collection, but for those of you on Team Jacob, you will be sad to discover that he hasn't gotten a doll yet (although the thought of the additional 'werewolf' Jacob could be fun).

Now, considering some of the other Twilight themed products we have been subjected to, a couple of Barbie dolls don't seem so bad, I mean at least they are age-appropriate. The dolls are modeled after the infamous 'sparkling reveal' from the first film, but when I took a look at the final product my first question was: "Who the heck are these two people supposed to be?" I've seen Twilight and even I wouldn't have recognized Bella and Edward.

But I'm sure that is not going to stop you hard-core collectors out there, so head over to Walmart.com or Barbiecollector.com where you can buy them online for the suggested retail price of $24.95 -- but something tells me you are going to have to act fast.

After the jump: more recent examples of bad movie tie-in toys...

Even though I still haven't completely wrapped my head around some of the participants on the New Moon soundtrack (really, Thom?), worry not because this isn't about to turn into one of those Twilight bash-fests since I've already made my peace with this particular franchise. But I wanted to get that out there because you should probably know that I'm not exactly dedicated to the love story of Edward and Bella, or the Emo poster boys Death Cab for Cutie, which might not make me the best audience for the new music video for the first official release from the soundtrack, Meet Me on The Equinox. That said, I do have to admit that, no, I don't hate it.

The song might not be anything out of the ordinary for the band, and it has that trademark Death Cab vibe of slightly mopey and chock full of ennui, but it's a pretty little track nonetheless. Now, as for the video itself, it's mainly just footage of the band (after breaking into Bella's Forks home by the looks of it) but there is some additional footage from the movie peppered into the clip -- though you would probably have to have committed the first trailer to memory (and I'm sure some of you have) to spot the differences. But one thing that should thrill Cullen-lovers everywhere is that you do get a much longer shot of a shirtless and sad Edward -- and isn't that the bread and butter of the Twilight franchise, after all?

The official soundtrack will go on sale on October 20th, and you'll have one month to learn these songs by heart before New Moon arrives in theaters on November 20th.

After the jump: Death Cab emoting all over the place...

When I first saw Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I thought "Well, he's cute." I never thought about him again. (When it comes to Potter crushes, mine will always be the dude with the long blonde mane.) Who could imagine that his would be the face that would launch a thousand shrieks? Still, Pattinson's story isn't that unusual and girls have screamed and cried over plenty of handsome lads, and will probably do so until the end of time. But is it really worth filming a documentary about?

Someone thought so. According to Screen Daily, UK distributor Revolver has snapped up Robsessed, a feature length documentary that studies the "the teenage phenomenon known as being Rob-sessed" (also known as puberty). It'll follow Pattinson's career from a relative nobody to being Edward Cullen and a man who gets hit by a cab while running from fans. Hopefully it will take some time and examine all his likes, dislikes, solve what's going on with his hair, or reveal just what he was doing at my downtown Denver fish-and-chips place. (I'm not kidding. There's a signed photo of him at the restaurant that thanks them personally for "the best fish and chips!")

The documentary will be released in the US and the UK in November to coincide with the release of New Moon. They're also planning to release a boxed set that includes Pattinson's little seen (we wonder why) 2006 film Haunted Airmen. So much Pattinson in one month might just inspire someone to film Robsessed 2: The Reckoning.

You've seen it pointed out by every writer from here to the New York Times: We're in the middle of a vampire craze! Why? Why now? What does it mean? When will it end? Mix in the cries of love and hate for the Edward Cullens, Eric Northmans, and Bill Comptons and you have a deafening discussion centered on the creatures of the night.

But Christopher Beam and Chris Wilson over at Slate have done some historical digging, and come to a surprising discovery: We've never not been in the middle of a vampire craze. Christopher Lee created one, and when the popularity of the vampire began to wane, Anne Rice stepped in. When readers tired of Lestat, in walked Joss Whedon with Buffy, and so on. There's only been a few gaps that Slate terms "The Garlic Years" when vampires were "back in the coffin," perhaps most notably between 1960-1965, and 1975-76. If you think about the entertainment trends of those years, it actually makes sense why no one was sniffing out the artery. That period of the 1960s was when Hitchcock flourished, as did Steve McQueen and James Bond. 1976 was the year of Rocky, Taxi Driver, Network, and so much more. The vogue was for sleek mortal cool and for gritty realism, neither of which are embodied by vampires.

Yes, we all knew it would come to this (har har). In the darkest recesses of the Internet, people have been writing slash-fiction for years -- fantasies of what fans wished would happen between Sam and Frodo, Willow and Tara, and yes, even Kirk and Spock. A quick search for slash fic will give you more info on the hobby than you probably ever needed or wanted to know.

Of course, the adult industry picked up on this trend, offering up plenty of XXX take-offs of franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek, and the tongue-in-cheek horror-porn take on Re-Animator, cheekily called Re-Penetrator. Local NYC "cinema of transgression" filmmaker Nick Zedd even made a film that took its name from Lord of the Rings, in a play on words that I'm sure you can decipher or Google for your edification. Let's not even discuss the adult parody of Edward Scissorhands.

So now there's not only a sparkly Twilight sex toy, but two Twilight naughty knock-offs. First there was Twilight of Virginity (shot in the home of Nikki Sixx!), and now there's a new one called This Isn't Twilight: The XXX Parody coming your way October 15th, just over a month before Twilight: New Moon is unleashed on audiences.

The real question is, who are these marketed to? Even the grown-ups who enjoy the Twilight franchise say that the fun is because of the way it portrays high school crushes -- yearning, unconsummated, and most certainly virginal, especially in the case of this sex-phobic book series. And Twilight fans, don't spoil the plot for the rest of us if they do get it on. OK?

Someone check these out and report back. I want to know if the term "spider monkey" is used in any context. Thanks!

Well, it's not like anyone would be mistaking Stephanie Meyers' Twilight Saga with one of English literature's greatest classics, but I guess we should have seen this coming. Lately there have been all sorts of Twilight tie-ins that you would never have thought possible, and the latest is courtesy of HarperCollins who have printed new editions of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights with Twilight-inspired cover art.

Now the Cullen-devoted probably already know that Brontë's romance was the book of choice for Edward and Bella, though one edition even goes so far as to remind you of that fact on the cover. Frankly, the Heights mention adds a whole new layer of creepy to Bella and Edward's relationship. There is some pretty messed up stuff going on in Brontë's book, and the twisted relationship between sort-of siblings Cathy and Heathcliff was the blueprint for every romantic bad boy to come after it. So if you thought Edward was screwed up, then wait till you get a glimpse of the 'corpse-defiling' Heathcliff. Although the Heights connection does explain a lot when it comes to Edward's 'stalkery' behavior and Bella's propensity for acting like a bit of a doormat in Meyer's series.

You can't help but wonder if Twilight marketing has gone overboard when its reach has extended this far. But on the upside, I guess anything that gets those darn kids reading again has got to be good, right? Plus, if you want your little girl to grow up with a thing for borderline abusive and emotionally unstable men like the rest of us, then you might as well start them off with a classic.

Well, we've all had our fun and made our jokes, but I think that the fans of the blockbusting vamp romance Twilight have had just about enough of us. At least, that seems to be the case in an editorial titled Enough with the 'Twilight' fan-bashing media antics already, over at The Examiner. The editorial was a response to a piece on The Frisky about Twilight conventions that was full of the usual cheap shots and snark that accompanies all Twilight news. But The Examiner isn't the only one defending the Twi-hards -- here's an editorial from our own Erik Davis over on Movies.com about how Twilight actually saved fandom.

I'll be the first to admit that, yeah, I was one of those people taking cracks. I made jokes about toothless sparkly vamps, and all the rest. But I've started to wonder if us writers have crossed the line of gentle teasing and into 'bullying'. So what makes Twilight jokes any different than cracks about Trekkies or a geek who lives in their mom's basement? For me, it was the idea that these girls (or women) were just silly little hormonally charged chicks looking for a glimpse of Robert Pattinson rather than honest to goodness fans of the series (however flawed it may be).

When it came to Twilight, it seemed that the general consensus was: Girls like it, so it must be stupid. Well, I've had enough conversations over my lifetime about how something is a 'dude thing', that I'm fully versed in the idea that certain stories appeal to men and women sometimes. But what has me ticked is the idea that when you pull the dude card, it's in a tone that says, "You just don't understand, it's a dude thing". Whereas when it comes to us girls, it's more along the lines of disdain as in: 'Eww, that's a chick thing".

After the jump: will I mend my Cullen-bashing ways?...

Bloodsuckers are back, baby! If you happen to own a television, visited the fantasy section of your local bookstore, or clicked onto a certain high-quality film site (*ahem*), then you've probably noticed the pigment-challenged are everywhere. Before you get all worried, I'm not just talking about the Twilight saga, which has become the scourge of so-called 'serious' vamp fans everywhere. Nope, this trend goes way beyond the Cullens, and vampires are now everywhere.

Just yesterday we got our first look at the trailer for Cirque de Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, and now that Guillermo del Toro's Strain is also on its way to TV screens, I doubt our fanged friends are going to be disappearing anytime soon. Which is fine by me, because I always thought the best thing about vampire mythology was that everyone has their own take on which kind of monster they want to create -- I mean, how else could we have Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? So whether you like your bloodsuckers funny, romantic, or just downright bloodthirsty, there's a little something for everyone these days.

I have to admit, though, I'm a little picky about my vampire movies, and there are just certain things I cannot abide. So, because there is nothing I love more than a list, I decided to compile the best and the worst when it comes to bloodsuckers on the big screen.

After the jump: my picks for the top five best, and worst vampire movies...

If you were anywhere within the Northern Hemisphere, we're assuming that you heard the euphoric outcry of fangirls who screamed and applauded at the sight of Twilight's Robert Pattinson, who appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con to help promote the upcoming sequel, New Moon. If however you were unlucky enough to experience it – and like us, lose all ability to hear in the process – Cinematical was there and is only too happy to offer a short overview of Summit's panel for the film. Remarkably, the film appears to be in far surer hands at least from a genre standpoint, which should come as no small relief to the fellows out there who will eventually be dragged to see it by their girlfriends or significant others.

Among the panel's high points: