The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

July 3, 2011 - Vampires and werewolves team up to fight an army of young bloodsuckers in this third entry in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. Kristen Stewart, Edward Pattinson and Taylor Lautner reprise their roles as Bella, Edward the vampire and Jacob the werewolf.

As the movie opens, a young man named Riley is attacked by a vampire and turned into one of the undead. The attacking vampire is Victoria, and Riley is just the start of her plan to get revenge on Edward for killing her lover a movie or two ago. Together, Victoria and Riley rampage through Seattle, building a powerful army of newborn vampires and preparing for war with Bella, Edward and the Cullen clan of vampires.

Meanwhile, the Cullens are also preparing. But, they know that to defeat Victoria, they'll need help from Jacob and his tribe of werewolves. The alliance is complicated by the fact that the two sides dislike and distrust each other and by the fact that werewolf Jacob is a rival for Bella's affections.

Overall review: *** (with apologies). I know these movies are cheesy, but I can't help it. I like them. This one, especially, gains points for the battle scenes and for delving into the backgrounds of some of the supporting characters. The one thing I haven't figured out, though, is why everyone is fighting over Bella. She's a fairly attractive high school girl who would naturally get attention from boys in a small town. But, if I'm a vampire or a werewolf with special powers, can't I do better?