The New Twilight Movie - What's all the Hype About?

With Halloween coming up this weekend, there's nothing better to put you in the mood for a night of spooky fun than a good old-fashioned monster movie. This weekend's offering includes Saw VI, The Vampire's Assistant, and the spooky-without-meaning-to-be musical movie 'Michael Jackson: This Is It.'

The main choice for most people under the age of 25 will be, of course, Stephanie Meyer's latest movie, 'New Moon,' a werewolf/ vampire love story that is predicted to hit #1 at the box office the weekend of its release.

Whether of not you're a fan of Stephanie Meyer, you can't deny that her Twilight series has captured the imagination of teens and adults alike. It seems like the classic rags to riches tale: after being initially rejected by 14 agents, the first book in her teen-oriented vampire romance series became the biggest-selling book of 2008, selling around 17 million copies around the world.

Since then, three other books have followed in quick succession: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. As a series, the books have been praised by fans and casual readers alike for their readability, whilst drawing fierce criticism from some (including Stephan King) for their simple 'childlike' writing and for reinforcing old fashioned stereotypes of women.

It's not hard to see why - in book after book the heroine Bella Swan is constantly rescued by the hero, the vampire Edward Cullen, whilst following him around like a love-sick puppy and ignoring or even spurning the advances of other human boys her age.

Critics say the heroine provides an unhealthy role model for young women, whilst fans rave about the interplay between the vividly-drawn characters and the themes of forbidden love and realistically-portrayed teenage angst.

Whether you love or hate the series, the second movie in the series New Moon will be released next week, and introduces a new romantic rival for Edward - the young werewolf Jacob Black. Is Ms Meyer a genuine new talent in her own right, or simply yet another writer cashing in on the massive surge in popularity of vampires following the sadly-demised 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' super-series? Joss Whedon she ain't, but the girl sure knows how to spin a good yarn.

Check out the trailer for the upcoming New Moon movie and decide for yourself:



If you're a big werewolf or vampire fan, check out these great costume ideas for this Halloween:

How to do vampire makeup:



Do you love werewolves? Check out this awesome werewolf costume for inspiration:

How to Cure Halloween Procrastination...

So, Halloween is on Saturday night, and you're SO prepared for Halloween this year it's not even funny. You've got your costume sorted out, your house is blazing with lights and exotic spider-webs and plastic neon witches climbing up the guttering, and you have sackloads of candy for the local children and a bunch of scary movies by the DVD player.... in your dreams.

Okay, so in reality, you're kind of sort of thinking about maybe swinging by the costume store on Thursday night to see if they have anything cheap-ish left on sale, followed by a last-minute run to Target on Friday after work to pick up whatever cheap candy the Great Unwashed Masses have left (hopefully) untouched and (mainly) unchewed in the bargain bin. Take heart. You're not alone.

If you're like me and you can happily turn Halloween procrastination into an art form, here's a couple of tips to inspire you.

First-up, for a cheap costume, raid your girlfriends/ mothers/ sisters cosmetics drawers and check out the amazing creature make-up in this vid by Hollywood Mac experts:



Do you like zombies? Would you like to create some realisticly gory Zombie special effects make-up? Is there such a thing as having too many zombies? Find out in this fun video by the fabulously green Indy Moguls, How To Do ZOMBIE Special Effects Makeup.

And finally, if you want to get your own back at those annoying little sticky kids that turn up at your door and cover your hedge in toilet paper, check out this article and find out How To Scare Trick or Treaters.

Happy Halloween! :-)