The Twilight Saga: New Moon (PG-13) (2009)
Teen girls across the nation are camped out in the lobbies of movie theaters anxiously awaiting a showing of New Moon. With the largest ticket pre-sale total in history, this film is raking-in money.  Some of the young women are Edward’s (Michael Pattison) fans (easily spotted, wearing black Team Edward t-shirts), and some prefer Jacob (Taylor Lautner), but all are in love with the idea of being in love. The fact that Bella Swan’s (Kristen Stewart) suitors are a vampire and a werewolf seems to take a back seat to the powerful draw of first love. Love is dangerous enough, but when you factor in the thrill of being loved by “other worldly” creatures, some of whom can literally love you forever, things get hot, very hot. 

New Moon is the second installment in the Twilight series of novels authored by Stephenie Meyer and if the box office lines are any indicator, the other two should already be in production. Director Chris Weitz has it made. Most in the audience already know the story. They are simply watching and waiting for a kiss, or the removal of a shirt exposing Jake’s well-defined abs or Edward’s lean, angular look. The good news is that all of these attendees have plenty of ticket money and most will see the movie more than once. In addition, there is plenty of spin-off merchandise to bring in more revenue for the franchise.

Briefly, a shocking incident (involving blood) at Bella’s eighteenth birthday party with the Cullens causes Michael to rethink the practicality of their relationship. In an effort to protect Belle, Michael breaks up with her and promises never to return (oh, yeah). Bella turns to her sexy, rapidly maturing pal Jake to take her mind off the split with Michael, but it is just not the same. She learns that Jake is a werewolf and a new set of relationship problems emerge. The ancient war and the tenuous pact between the vampires and the werewolves in Fork, Washington, are back in play.
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