An angel named Clarence is sent to help him. This Christmas classic from 1946 shows the heartwarming tale of George Bailey (James Stewart), a businessman, who is feeling suicidal. These are the classic films, which simply have to be watched at Christmas time and can not be missed. Twilight is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.Christmas is not Christmas without Love Actually After all, when was the last time you saw a vampire film that climaxed around a game of baseball?Ĭombined with the excellent Kristen Stewart, who gives us a strong line in intensely teenaged angst – that fiercely individual streak would eventually lead Bella to a more empowering position come the franchise finale – and Robert Pattinson’s aloof good looks, the result is a dark and attractive piece that, even if you expect to go in laughing, will leave you rooting for its lead couple anyway. Hardwicke presents it with a keen sense of pacing – the film chops up the source material to build tension more efficiently – and a nice line in imagination to match the relatively low-budget effects (the Cullen clan’s orange contact lenses and pale faces are wonderfully eerie). In this case, that means a slightly unsubtle intertwining of being chaste and being undead (a smart interpretation of the age-old Dracula-and-woman trope), dishing up creepy horror lore in a way that its modern audience can relate to. Meyer backs it up with a hefty serving of mythology that deserves credit for bringing something new to the genre table – like (the superior) Let the Right One In, the franchise has its own take on traditional myths and isn’t afraid to go in its own direction. But while our pubescent pair are slaves to their emotions, gazing into the distance and uttering lines that scale the heights of Brokeback Mountain – “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin…” – there’s a real chemistry evident on screen. Throughout all of this, there’s lot of swooning, drooling and moping – the kind of thing that, if left unchecked, could see Twilight live up to its unfair reputation. Which is convenient enough to cue some dodgy wirework and a knuckle-on-fang dustup. Apparently, Bella is so deliciously fragrant that they all want a taste. Things get ever more strained when a troupe of bad vamps wander into town, gobbling up the locals. Does he have the willpower to resist chomping her jugular to pieces? Ed might be from a family of ‘vegetarians’ (who only eat animals, not humans), but at his heart, he’s still a natural born predator. The thing is that if Ed were to give in to his desires, his blood lust would literally kill her. And in these heady, hormone-laden bushes lies one thing: trouble. But all is star-crossed in love and horror, leading this unlikely couple down the garden path to the mulberry bushes behind the bike shed.
Naturally, Bella and Edward fancy the pants off each other. Not only he is ridiculously fit, but when he isn’t pouting or walking in slow motion, he’s scaling trees, running through the air, or stopping cars hitting her with his bare hands. Most gorgeous of all neck biters, though, is Edward Cullen (Pattinson). Of course, that means only one thing: vampires. They’re withdrawn, mysterious and ridiculously good looking. She’d much rather share eyeliner with the distant collective of pale-faced kids in the school canteen. Living with her estranged father in a new town, she doesn’t fit in with the trendy crowd.
Actually sitting down and watching Catherine Hardwicke’s film, though, reveals a romance that’s worth engaging with – a fact that may prove pretty irksome for those so dismissive of it.īut imagine, for a second, how frustrating life would be if you were Bella (Stewart). Over the years, it’s become a flag-bearing example of what’s perceived as twaddle aimed at young adults, a shorthand for things that can’t be good because lots of teenage girls like them – filed right next to Justin Bieber and One Direction.
Watch Twilight online in the UK: Netflix UK / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Google Playĭon’t you hate it when things turn out to be good? That must be how some people feel after watching Twilight, the first teen vampire flick based on Stephenie Meyer’s series of novel.