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The official opening of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” on one screen in Jakarta last weekend has whet teenagers’ appetites for more juice on vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his human girlfriend, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).

Such is the popularity of the films, which are based on the books by US author Stephenie Meyer, but not everyone will find “New Moon” satisfying.

“New Moon” remains faithful to the book, which means that girls obsessed with Edward as played by Robert Pattinson will be just as heartbroken as Bella, since he is absent from the screen for much of the movie.

“Twilight,” the first movie in the series, was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, but Summit Entertainment switched directors to Chris Weitz for “New Moon.” Weitz is known for his work on films like “American Pie,” “About a Boy” and more recently the fantasy film “The Golden Compass.” Even though “Twilight” was overwhelmingly successful, Hardwicke was criticized for adding scenes to the movie that were nonexistent in the book, and this might be one of the reasons Weitz chose to stay close to the original material.

After a near-tragedy at Bella’s 18th birthday party, the ever-tortured, pale-faced Edward skips town with his family, leaving Bella to spend not only days but months staring pensively out the window.

When Bella discovers that if she does dangerous things Edward will come to her in a vision, she becomes an adrenaline junkie, riding around on motorcycles and jumping off cliffs, because she longs to hear his voice.

Real comfort, however, comes to her in the form of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a cheery and hunky young Indian who becomes Bella’s best buddy and is the only one who can make her smile and keep her from constantly biting her lip.

This is the beginning of a Bella-Edward-Jacob love triangle. Love triangles are never fun, but this one gets even more complicated when it turns out that Edward and Jacob are sworn enemies: Jacob is one of the Indians of the Quileute tribe who turn into werewolves to protect humans from vampires.

In “New Moon,” it is Jacob Black who is the leading man. The warm and witty Jacob is the exact opposite of the restrained Edward.

In one scene, Bella falls off her motorbike and hits her head. To stop the bleeding, Jacob takes off his T-shirt and reveals his buff body for the first time, leaving Bella — and female audience members — with her mouth open, mumbling in disbelief: “You’re sort of beautiful.”

Later in the film, Edward — who wants to take his own life, because he is convinced Bella is dead already — unbuttons his shirt and slowly walks into the sun. Even though this is one of the film’s most dramatic scenes, you can’t help but think that Jacob looks so much better shirtless than skinny Edward. But then again, Edward is a 107-year-old vampire who doesn’t eat or sleep.

This leads to another stark contrast between Jacob and Edward: While Jacob is allowed to act his own age, delivering some of the funnier lines (“He is such a marshmallow”) in this otherwise rather serious movie, Edward sometimes comes across as stiff and utterly old-fashioned. Even the most romantic girl would probably find the line “You gave me everything by just breathing” a tad too corny.

But the heart wants what it wants, and Bella’s heart is yearning for cold-skinned Edward. So when she learns that Edward is determined to end his life, she leaves everything behind — including Jacob — to rush to Italy and save him.

There, in sunny, b e autiful Volterra — a nice change of location after the rainy and damp Forks, Washington — we are first introduced to the Volturi, vampire royalty, who will play a crucial role in the last book of the series.

Aro, the amusing but horrifying head vampire, is beautifully portrayed by Michael Sheen, while former child star Dakota Fanning gives a short but memorable performance as angelic-evil Jane, who can cause great physical pain by merely smiling at her enemies.

In the end, Edward and Bella are reunited, without much of a fight, but still they are not safe. Many problems are coming their way, but moviegoers have to wait for the third part installment of the series, “Eclipse,” to see how Bella and Edward will face them, and if Jacob will remain a part of their lives.

This is one of the problems with movies that are based on a whole book series: There will always be one part that sees less action, constructed to develop the plot and its characters, adding background information and working toward a climax — which is the case in “New Moon.”

But those who dismiss “New Moon” as boring should keep in mind that the Twilight Saga is most importantly a romantic love story, featuring supernatural elements, and not the other way around. And as such, both book and film succeed in delivering a heartfelt and convincing storyline: the sensation of falling in love for the first time and the pain of a broken heart are experiences that everyone can relate to, vampires and werewolves aside.


‘New Moon’ Soundtrack Tunes Into Teenage Angst
Marcel Thee

If the characters in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” had walked around listening to the film’s soundtrack on their iPods, they would probably have spent most of their time sulking instead of biting necks and howling at the moon or whatever it is these folks do in their spare time.

However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The sulking around refers to the quasi-depressive nature of the soundtrack, released by Chop Shop Records, which is filled with quietly strummed acoustic guitars, appropriately ghostly vocals and an overall brooding vibe. The teen-goth-romance nature of the series seems to have presented an opportunity for many of the bands and musicians involved to write songs that might have run the risk of sounding slightly sappy or overdramatic on any of their own albums. After all, the soundtrack is filled with indie-alternative rock bands that are famous for being extra conscious of their image.

Washington indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie opens the album with “Meet Me at the Equinox,” which combines the group’s arena-rock tendencies with the introspective pop sound the band has perfected over its 12-year career. Lead singer Ben Gibbard’s repeated wails of “everything ends” during the chorus over guitars and lush orchestration is grandiosely emotional, although the repetitiveness of the song’s overall arrangement and relentless orchestration does teeter a little toward overkill.

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke offers the soundtrack’s best track in the form of “Hearing Damage” — the singer’s characteristic mumbling is backed by an abstract synthesizer-laden arrangement and an electronic beat. Like the best Radiohead songs, the cyclical melodies and rhythms are hypnotic.

Swedish songstress Lykke Li’s “Possibility” is an effective but safe vehicle for her angelic vocals, which as always are drowned in a sea of reverb. It is enjoyable enough but no great leap for Lykke Li.

Grizzly Bear’s collaboration with Beach House’s Victorial Legrand on “Slow Life” combines the former’s off-kilter chamber pop with the latter’s penchant for haunting vocal melodies. Considering the collaborators involved, the song is far too predictable, and its dreamy atmosphere fails to hide the song’s weak melody.

British group the Editors channel Joy Division by way of U2 on “No Sound but the Wind,” only Tom Smith’s theatrical vocals are closer to Sesame Street’s The Count than the intensity of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis. Overproduction makes the song sound like another Indonesian diva ballad.

The best tracks are those where the bands steps outside their comfort zone.

The Killers’ “A White Demo Love Song” is a pleasant surprise. Sounding like an ominous lounge song, it starts with singer Brandon Flowers’ multi-tracked monotonous vocals — which almost give it a Gregorian feel — and ends up with a classic-rock guitar solo and off-kilter orchestration that is reminiscent of Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles.

Singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, collaborates with songstress St. Vincent on “Roslyn” and their ethereal vocals harmonize over a single acoustic guitar.

The album works well as a collection of tracks, even outside of its soundtrack tag. Most of the artists involved are either indie darlings or successful mainstream bands. For original fans of the indie bands here, their contributions might be too predictable or too geared toward a mainstream audience. But most of the bands offer a good introduction, not only to their own sound, but to a more challenging type of music that the younger fans of “Twilight” might not be familiar with. The experimental pop sound of the majority of the songs follows this pattern.

These songs are far from the artists’ best work, but they make for a listenable soundtrack.


Tale of Undead Makes Box-Office Killing

The vampire romance “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days on screens in the United States and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates.

The No. 1 domestic US debut for Summit Entertainment’s “New Moon” was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for “Twilight,” the first in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s novels.

“Obviously, with the success of ‘Twilight’ itself, sequels being what they are will generate X-number of dollars more, particularly if it’s a satisfying sequel,” said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Summit.

“New Moon” placed third on the all-time domestic chart behind last year’s $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” and 2007’s $151.1 million haul for “Spider-Man 3.”

Among the top-10 all-time openings, “New Moon” is the only one that came outside of Hollywood’s busiest time, the summer season. The movie adaptation of Meyer’s next “Twilight” chapter, “Eclipse,” is due to arrive  in the heart of next summer, on June 30.

On Friday, “New Moon” set an all-time domestic high for a US opening day with $72.7 million, topping the previous record of $67.2 million, also by last year’s “The Dark Knight.”

Outside the United States, “New Moon” debuted in 25 countries, including Indonesia, and took in $118.1 million.

Meyer’s books have been a phenomenon among women and girls. Females made up 80 percent of the audience for “New Moon.”

The “Twilight” franchise “taps into something primal and visceral that drives women crazy, and they’re willing to pay for the privilege,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

Associated Press


Twilight Saga: New Moon
New Line Cinema
130 minutes

Directed by Chris Weitz
Produced by Mark Morgan, Wyck Godfrey
Starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Jamie Campbell Bowers