'Twilight 2008'

The Story
Through a minimal amount of voice-over we learn Bella's leaving Arizona – and the sun – behind to live with her dad, Police Chief Charlie Swan, in Forks, Washington. Her first day at school she makes friends with Jessica, Angela, Eric and Mike, and spots…cue drum roll please…Edward Cullen. Be still our beating hearts – his already is.
If you've read the books, you know Bella falls quickly for the strangely cold, strangely detached 17 year old who occupies the same table at lunch every day with his brothers and sisters. The Cullens stick together and their fellow high school students tend to leave them alone. They're not ostracized, but they're definitely not the first to get invitations for sleepovers. But Bella sees something everyone else apparently misses or wisely chooses to ignore.


The film puts Edward and Bella together quicker than the book, which is fine because the most interesting parts of Meyer's story focus on Bella and Edward by themselves. Edward has to deal with balancing his desire to bite Bella with his longing to kiss her, which makes for one angst-ey vampire. And all Bella knows is that she's found the guy she wants to be with; the fact he's a vampire is pretty much a non-issue.
The Cullen family is the exception to the vampire rule, opting to feast on animals rather than people. They've adapted well to this lifestyle and although they're by no means totally immune to the smell of humans, they've progressed to the point where they can live amongst us fairly normally. But when vampires who do love humans – to death – come to town, it's up to Edward and his family to keep Bella safe.