New Moon is no Romeo + Juliet but it's still teenage fun

You might find this hard to believe because I’m such a classy, dignified lady, but I was once a giggling teen with a major crush on a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Like so many girls (and some guys) of my generation, I was convinced that there was no greater heartthrob than Leo. Today, it seems the hottie du jour is everyone’s favorite sparkly vampire, Robert Pattinson.

Before Twilight, and its sequel New Moon, there was William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann. That film began the Reign of Leo as the be-all end-all sexy icon of young Hollywood. Like Twilight, it wove age-old themes of first love, societal restrictions and sorrow caused by violence with good-looking actors and cool contemporary music.

It’s only fitting that New Moon constantly references Shakespeare’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers when continuing the story of plain-jane Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her immortal love Edward Cullen (Pattinson). This film sees the couple put to the test when their two worlds seem at odds. Bella is a human who dreads turning 18 because it symbolizes that pesky mortality that will surely keep her from spending an eternity with her immortal vampire boyfriend. Edward fears for Bella’s safety, knowing how irresistible fresh human blood is to his kind and, in usual cruel-to-be-kind fashion, tries to drive her away in an effort to protect her. After he splits, she starts spending time with another supernatural hottie, the werewolf Jacob Black, played by an insanely ripped Taylor Lautner. Bella is at a crossroads. Should she date the teen wolf with the rock hard abs or the pale, brooding, vampire whose hotness seems to increase as he gets more morose?

Read the rest at http://trashwire.com/2009/12/09/new-moon/