Thirst Is the 'Anti-Twilight'

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson star in new 'Twilight '

(NEWSER) - The latest Twilight installment is, predictably, highly popular with fans ; critics are less enthusiastic as Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson continue their vampire romance.

• “Enough with Bella's depressed, ragdoll posture and her eternal gloom,” writes Lisa Schwarzbaum in Entertainment Weekly . “A pox on Breaking Dawn ... for its contented complicity with Stephenie Meyer's ultimately awful message to millions of readers”—a message that life is “all pain” and “no pleasure.”

Sadly, it won't make you look like a Twilight character

(NEWSER) - So you’ve already bought the Edward Cullen panties , and you’re not sure how to continue expressing your love for all things vampire? Consider a "vampire facelift." No, it doesn’t make you thirst for blood, but it does take blood from your body and injects it in your face. “Alas, it won't make your face immortal or make your skin paler or anything like that,” Dr. Anthony Youn tells Salon . More»

'Twilight' vampire tops Forbes list; cartoon superheroes fare well

(NEWSER) - Upheaval in the financial sector has widespread implications—it even affects the annual Forbes rankings of the wealthiest fictional characters. Entering the list at No. 1 is Carlisle Cullen, the Twilight vampire patriarch, who has a serious advantage in that he's undead and has had 370 years to accumulate his $34.1 billion fortune. The full list is here ; the rest of the top five are: More»

Goth retail mainstay is relevant again thanks to books, films

(NEWSER) - Like much of America, Ylan Q. Mui had forgotten all about Hot Topic, the mall mainstay for baby Goth merchandise—and then Twilight came along and made the store relevant again. The uber-popular vampire franchise “accomplished what the store had tried but failed to do: It made goth mainstream,” Mui writes for DoubleX . And thanks to Hot Topic hawking Twilight merch before any other outlet, sales are up for the first time in 5 years. More»

Vampire's Assistant has an identity crisis

(NEWSER) - Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant isn't particularly freaky, and it sure could use some assistance. Some critics' takes:

• Peter Travers doesn't deign to explain the film's loose ends. "All you need to know is that the movie is a setup for sequels that I hope never come," he writes in Rolling Stone. It also "commits the cardinal sin for a vampire movie: It’s bloodless."