TwilightClaudia PuigNeither strong sunlight nor the sight of oozing blood will deter the romance between a teenage girl and her vampire dreamboat in Twilight (* * out of four). And despite questionable casting, wooden acting, laughable dialogue and truly awful makeup, nothing is likely to stop young girls from swarming to this kitschy adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's popular novel. All the girls at his high school agree Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is a hottie. But there's something strange about him and his siblings. Ultra-pale and icy to the touch, the five Cullen teens, foster children of Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) and Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), tend to keep to themselves. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is the teenage daughter of Charlie (Billy Burke), the police chief of Forks. She has just moved to the rainy town. Bella is mesmerized by the handsome, mysterious Edward, and the two soon fall in love. When she learns he is one of the undead, Bella is only more intrigued. So what if he has been 17 since the early 1900s? Director Catherine Hardwicke (The Nativity Story) relies heavily on extreme close-ups to make up for her lead actors' lack of emotional range. When the camera isn't trained tightly on their eyes and mouths, it's swirling around them. Stewart and Pattinson lack chemistry. Her subtle acting does not serve her well in this overheated setting. As Bella, she seems to have two expressions: blank and slightly less blank. Pattinson's native English accent comes through at inopportune moments. Meyer is said to have been involved in the production of Twilight, but her novel was substantially more absorbing than the unintentionally funny and quickly forgettable film.
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