This Weekend @ the Boxoffice: 2008.Nov.24

[Hand of Evil]

Now now, there are plenty of 40-year-old women fans out there who still dream of meeting their dark hero/lover. Remember "Beauty & the Beast", and all the women who dreamed of being swept up by Ron Perlman and carried off to have forbidden love in the sewers?

See, I just never have got that with vampires, they are EVIL, first there is the cannibal / parasite thing of feeding off humans. Then there is the mind control / seduction thing, you become their slave, under the control of their will. Then there is the dead part of things, forever young is one thing but they are hollow, the soul has moved on.

Yea, I know, it is all crazy talk and how they are wrote but...EVIL!

 

[Mallus]

... first there is the cannibal / parasite thing of feeding off humans.

Plenty of humans feed off of other humans, at least in the metaphoric sense.

Then there is the mind control / seduction thing, you become their slave, under the control of their will.

Plenty of people like being submissive in a relationship (especially in the unvoiced privacy of their own thoughts).

... but they are hollow, the soul has moved on.

That just means they're fixer-uppers.

EVIL!

Evil is sexy. Well, actually, it's power that's sexy. And evil can be seen as the unrestrained use of power, so...

Also... being a guy fast approaching 40, I'm not about to see Twilight. However, I did a fantastic vampire movie from Sweden last week called Let the Right One In. An absolutely fantastic little film that manages to be a sweet, even innocent love story despite the fact it contains several grisly murders (and a decapitation) committed by one of the protagonists.

 

[Mistwell]

I saw it this weekend with my wife (she is a vampire fan). I thought it was a fine movie and worth seeing. Not amazing anything, but fine. My wife loved it.

I did see this coming as far as sales. It's being touted as the next Harry Potter series. HSX.com saw it coming as well, which actually mildly overpriced it near the end (it actually dropped 5% after the weekend numbers).

 

[horacethegrey]

See, I just never have got that with vampires, they are EVIL, first there is the cannibal / parasite thing of feeding off humans. Then there is the mind control / seduction thing, you become their slave, under the control of their will. Then there is the dead part of things, forever young is one thing but they are hollow, the soul has moved on.

Yea, I know, it is all crazy talk and how they are wrote but...EVIL!

That's exactly what I find wrong with many vampire stories nowadays. People are so eager to fantasize about these guys as heroes and lovers, that authors are willing to follow suit. As a result, many of these vampires feel like watered down versions of the real thing. The very concept of being a vampire loses much of it's bite ( pun intended) as a result.

Also... being a guy fast approaching 40, I'm not about to see Twilight. However, I did a fantastic vampire movie from Sweden last week called Let the Right One In. An absolutely fantastic little film that manages to be a sweet, even innocent love story despite the fact it contains several grisly murders (and a decapitation) committed by one of the protagonists.

I'd heard about that film from a review of Twilight at AintItCoolNews. The author of said review called it a true vampire film, but one US audiences may never watch.

 

[Felon]

See, I just never have got that with vampires, they are EVIL, first there is the cannibal / parasite thing of feeding off humans. Then there is the mind control / seduction thing, you become their slave, under the control of their will. Then there is the dead part of things, forever young is one thing but they are hollow, the soul has moved on.

Yea, I know, it is all crazy talk and how they are wrote but...EVIL!

Well, I like vampires, but I never got the idea of them being portrayed as dead meat with no biological processes. Think about it; the need to feed, to keep their heart stake-free, to have sharpened senses and generally be more vigourous than a human, and to have sex with teenage girls--seems a whole lot more sensible to portray them as another life form than as walking corpses with jerky for guts.

The rest of it I certainly get as being attractive to certain women. There is something appealing to them about the idea of meeting a guy who is a jerk to everyone else, but treats them special. And then there are the women who like guys who are jerks to everyone including them.

I don't think we'll see Titanic numbers. It was a perfect storm of a movie, and even guys went to see it because it was directed by James Cameron (there were some cool death scenes there towards the end).

 

[Felon]

Just so we understand the level of devotion the Twilight series has engendered, and to possibly engender a chuckle, I thought I'd post a few comments about the book that I googled up at vampiregenre.com:

Chihero Says:
"Twilight is the best book in the history of books, published or not. I fell in love with it from the first page, and can still not stop obsessing. Me and my friend even made our own site for it! I recommend this book to anyone in their sane mind, and if you don’t like it….? Well, that’s just because you’re jealous you don’t have your very own vampire-God to love you. Sorry."

Heather Says:
"Twilight is my most treasured possesion. I simply loved it, more than loved it, actually. There is no word great enough to describe my feelings about Twilight. Having read it nine times, I know that it is a great piece of work. And Stephenie Meyer is the queen of teen vampire reads, or in general, the best period...."

Caitlin Says:
May 25th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
"My biggest pleasure in life is reading, so reading isnt really a challenge for me. I am currently, or rather now officially a senior in High School, but my reading level is at a college state. But I have to say that Twilight is the best book that I have ever picked up, I dont even know where to start on describing the incredible feeling you get when your reading this novel. Stephenie Meyer has a very rare gift, not many people can produce a piece of literature that’s so appealing to young teens and adults, and thats what this novel is. Not only that but you get so connected to it, that it becomes part of your life. I can say for myself, that after reading the book it changed me, it changed the way I thought and looked at things. I had to re-read it over and over again. I found myself hungry for the book everyday, if I didnt read it… then it was like a part of me was missing, thats what this book does to you. You become so engrossed in the character’s world that you actually feel like their becoming a part of you, and you to them. It can definetely be said that this book is the best book of its time."

Virginia Says:
"To me, Twilight is the best book in the world, until New Moon (sequal of Twilight) comes out, of course. Sadly, I’m just reading it for my third time because of reading so much Twilight fanfics on the net, but when I’m through with the interesting ones I’m sure to be back to reading this book day and night! I haven’t been able to buy it yet, and the one I’m reading from the library down the street from my house is WAY overdue. I’m afraid that if I return it that it will disapear…and I can’t just keep renewing it forever! Silly, I know, but you would feel the same way! Okay, I’m starting to babble obsessively about the wonderful work of Stephenie Meyer… I must go before I make all of your heads explode with my obsessions!"

morgan Says:
"First let me say that Twilight is the best book of all freakin time! No joke. If you didnt like it you need help. Serisouly.If I could, trust me, I would have sex with this book. Ive just stated to read it my 6th time and cant wait to finish so I can start again!Stephenie Meyer you are my hero! This is the best book in the world and if you disagree then your crazy but honestly, who would? When I read it I feel like a gitty little school girl because I just cant stop giggling and smiling. The romance is so captivating its so real and so sweet.Actually Im kinda jelous of Bella. Well you probely think Im a freak so Ill go but if you havnt read Twilight go out NOW get it and read it….. over and over again!"

Marcie Says:
June 23rd, 2006 at 12:38 pm
"OMG!! I love this book so much. I swear I was hyperventilating the whole time!! The way Stephenie described it all made it feel so real…IT’S AMAZING!!! I’ve already read it a couple of times so I let my friends borrow it, I think it was the biggest mistake! I can’t stop thinking about it and I need to read it again!! Anyway, you have to read this book, I think I could honestly say you’re life may depend on it!!"

Hand of Evil, this is how I knew Twilight would top Covenant's box office by no small margin. I wonder if these ladies have ever heard of the concept of being a parody of oneself?

Ah well, I guess the upshot is that if not for Twilight a lot of these kids might never have read anything that didn't have a pin-up of the Jonas Brothers folded up inside it. Of course, now they have the movie, so reading's for suckers again...

 

[Mallus]

I wonder if these ladies have ever heard of the concept of being a parody of oneself?

People who live in glass replicas of the starship Enterprise and the Hall of Justice should not throw stones.

 

[Crothian]

I saw it this weekend with my wife (she is a vampire fan). I thought it was a fine movie and worth seeing. Not amazing anything, but fine. My wife loved it.

I found it boring. It was an okay movie, but it didn't move well. Though it moved along better then the book.

I did see this coming as far as sales. It's being touted as the next Harry Potter series. HSX.com saw it coming as well, which actually mildly overpriced it near the end (it actually dropped 5% after the weekend numbers).

Ya, I knew it was going to be big. Most of my female friends love it and have been eagerly awaiting this film. I went with my mom and sister and both of them loved it.

My favorite quote I've read about the series has been, spoilers just in case. It's from one of the female writers of the Onion.

[sblock] the more it seems like it was meant as pro-abstinence, pro-life propaganda in masturbatory-fantasy form[/sblock]

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I don't think we'll see Titanic numbers. It was a perfect storm of a movie, and even guys went to see it because it was directed by James Cameron (there were some cool death scenes there towards the end).

Its not about the overall numbers, but rather the revenue pattern I am refering to.

 

[Felon]

People who live in glass replicas of the starship Enterprise and the Hall of Justice should not throw stones.

Pfah. There's enthusiastic fandom and then there's loopy fanaticism. I feel comfortable in identifying the above quotes as the more extreme of the two. When I post something about wanting to have sex with a book, or needing to re-read a book ad infinitum to stay alive, feel free to classify me amongst the self-parodying.

And hell, it's not likie not throwing stones means that they don't get thrown at you anyway. Lousy expression for that very reason.