Twilight: Lowlights and a Farewell to Jacob

by Kari Tervo

I finally finished watching the Twilight saga. In honor of the great experience I had with the movies, I'm going to post some feedback about stuff I didn't like, and then bring you back up to a soaring farewell with triumphant music, a montage, and some fuzzy focus romance.

I'm referring to this criticism as "lowlights," which I think is a great time to declare that I'm glad that stupid ombre hair trend is over. Girl, you're gonna regret that in 15 years like Jennifer Aniston regrets the Rachel. I do admit, I did have some Rachel-y color banding in the late '90s, but I thought it was cool. My head looked like a sunset, or cinnamon toast.

What? What am I talking about? Twilight. Okay.

I shared a collection of fun thoughts about the first 4 movies, here. And I started talking about how I think some feminists have it all wrong about Twilight, here. All in all, I've been pretty happy with the series--it has made me laugh, cry, cringe, feel suspense, wonder, and do all those things movies are supposed to do! In short, I've been wonderfully entertained by this series.

Yet, I didn't enjoy Breaking Dawn, Part II as much as I did the first four films in the series. Here's why:

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Highlights and Horrors of Watching Twilight

by Kari Tervo

I just finished watching part four of the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn, Part I.

In my earlier post on Twilight (here), I was in the middle of Eclipse, the third one. I wrote, "I’m just hoping the birthing scene involves sunlight and sparkles. And I hope none of you who have seen it are laughing at that."

Ummm. . .ha ha ha! The birthing scene alone was so intense and tragic, I had to watch from that point to the end in three separate sittings. Oh, how I long for the blissful ignorance of my youth (last Monday).

So, about this baby vampire (or whatever it is; I guess I have to watch Breaking Dawn, Part II to figure that out): Renesmee? Really? C'mon, Stephenie Meyer. Bella is the anti-lame. I don't think she would really get so sentimental or obvious as to make some horrid hybrid of her mother's name (Renee) and Edward's mother's name (Esme). Probably her high school friend Jessica would do that. I don't know, maybe motherhood changes you. They say there's something about baby brain. But I really think Stephenie Meyer was like, screw it! Who cares about its name when there's a grand possibility Jacob is going to eat it? At least Alice spoke for all of us when she strongly advised against Renesmee. She could see it coming that we wouldn't like it. Would that we all had such informative visions.

 CLICK AND RAWR FOR MORE TWILIGHT HIGHLIGHTS (TWI. . .LIGHTS!) AFTER THE JUMP!

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Twilight vs. Team Feminist. Part One: Hermione's Shadow

By Kari Tervo

I just started watching the Twilight saga, five years after the first movie came out. I had known the basics of the plot forever, because the franchise is larger than life. I think Twilight has had more covers of Entertainment Weekly than the Entertainment Weekly logo. I decided to give it a sit-down and see what I’d been missing. 

I’m on the third movie now, Eclipse, and I’m enjoying the series. It’s a timeless story with modern (and monster) flourishes. The special effects are cool, and the cinematography is magical (that’s the kind of stuff we say out here in Hollywood). I admit I’m having a little trouble even looking at creepy, pasty-faced Edward (I do not see what that girl sees in him). That’s the primary reason I’m leaning Team Jacob, but I’m hoping that kid can learn to control his aggro a little. Maybe put him on a light dose of anti-psychotic. But another thing keeps creeping into my mind, like Edward stalking Bella in her room while she’s sleeping: All the feminist critiques I’ve seen floating around about Twilight.


A lot of feminists hate Twilight. If you Google “Twilight” and “anti-feminist,” you get around 30,000 results. I started watching the series fully expecting to cringe frequently from a feminist perspective. Instead, I’m left scratching my head. I just don’t see how Twilight is so anti-feminist. I’m here to defend Twilight from a feminist perspective. Over a few posts, I’ll cover just a few areas of criticism and explain why I think they have it wrong. Here’s the first one:

CLICK AND RAWR FOR MORE BELLA AND HERMIONE AFTER THE JUMP!

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New Pop Culture Beast Writer: Kari Tervo

Image via Today.com

Hi, I’m Kari Tervo. I’m a new writer here at Pop Culture Beast. I’d like to introduce myself. Hi!

Writing for Pop Culture Beast is going to be an adventure. The pop culture landscape is constantly changing. New movies! Songs! Books! Games! Magazines! Hot people, places, things! People we know well doing dumb things, and people we’ve never heard of til now doing cool things! And then there are all the ideas that emerge from that delightful pop culture mess. What does it all mean? I’m here to review and react to pop culture happenings, current and classic. With so many talented (and ridiculous) people on this planet, I think it’s going to be a good time.

CLICK AND RAWR FOR MAWR AFTER THE JUMP! Learn about how I got into this pop culture mess, and find out what I'm into! [offer not valid from direct URL and in Pennsylvania]

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News: JK Rowling and WB Teaming For More Harry Potter! Sort of.

J.K. Rowling is headed back to the world of Harry Potter.  This time as the screenwriter for a film not featuring Harry but Newt Scamander, the author of Hogwarts textbook"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

She says:  “It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

What do you think?  Do you want more of the magical Harry Potter universe even if those beloved characters aren't a part of it?

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WB Announces Harry Pottter Set and Fans Are Not Amused.

 It's been rumored for months and WB has finally announced the Harry Potter Wizards Collection.  The set includes all 8 films on Blu-ray/DVD/ and UltraViolet Digital Copy.

Here are the stats taken from Amazon's Product Description:

Contains 31 discs, inclusive of all content ever previously released, in addition to over 5 hours of never before seen special features, in a limited and numbered edition.

18 movie discs

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Theatrical Version and Extended Cut

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Theatrical Version and Extended Cut

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 2D and 3D Versions

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2D and 3D Versions

13 Special feature discs

Includes multiple specially-produced, collectable memorabilia items, including concept art, a Map of Hogwarts and much more!

Check back to this product detail page for further details.

Coming in 2012.

Sounds nifty right?  Well fans are already calling foul and not just for it's astronomical $500 price tag ($349 on Amazon currently).  What this amounts to is a retread of what many Harry Potter fans already spent their money on, myself included.  The fans want something more, namely the extended editions of the films, including the Director's Cut of Order of the Phoenix.

I'm sure that this will sell like gangbusters regardless, but it still feels like a bit of a cash grab when there is barely any new content and the price is so extreme.  People can get the movies for less than $80 bucks by now.  That fancy box isn't work another $300.

Warners is going to need to do some serious damage control or really start boosting up the contents of this set or I fear they're going to be doing some serious damage to the Harry Potter brand.

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Is This The Complete Harry Potter Film Set?

It's beeaauuuttiiffuullll.

Damn I guess I have to buy this set which means I'd have bought these movies on DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray (twice) and now this set.

Who has a job for me?

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New Harry Potter TV Spot!

We're getting closer! July 15 is right around the corner.

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Movie Posters: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

We have four brand new posters for the extremely anticipated film Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The one above is just a tease.

See the other three by clicking the Rawr!

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Harry Potter Release Date Changed Again!

Warner Bros. has moved the release date of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Fear not, this time they are moving the release date up. Instead of Friday, July 17th, the film will now open on Wednesday, July 15th.

Get those tickets NOW!

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Movie Trailer: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Here is another new trailer for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. This one is a new international trailer. Each trailer I see makes me more excited for the movie.

July is so close!

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Three New Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Posters!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price hits theaters in July.

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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Poster!!

November. Only have to wait till November...

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Oh Best Week Ever how i heart thee

So Funny.

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Potter PWNZ!

Harry Potter claimed the number 1 spot this weekend at the box office. Bringing in $140 million domestically, and $190.3 million internationally for a combined total of $330.3 million.

No doubt the 5th installment of the Harry Potter movies has broken records left and right, including the BEST Wednesday opening of all time at $44.2 million, will this be another 1 hit weekend wonder like this summer's past?

I don't think it matters. The quality of the films, the lore of the books, and the perfect cast will have staying power, even if it doesn't hold the number 1 spot.

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