The Energon Pub

robofreak wrote:I'm almost done with New Moon. It's A LOT better than the first.

I kinda wish the series had Lestat though. (Anne Rice fans will know what I'm talking about)

Lestat is probably the coolest vampire ever.

original sin wrote:

robofreak wrote:I'm almost done with New Moon. It's A LOT better than the first.

I kinda wish the series had Lestat though. (Anne Rice fans will know what I'm talking about)

Lestat is probably the coolest vampire ever.

Maybe we should start a Chuck Norris style thread about Lestat.

Did you see the Interview movie and Queen of the Damned?

I thought Interview was the better movie, but Stuart Townsend was a better Lestat then Tom Cruise

original sin wrote:Did you see the Interview movie and Queen of the Damned?

I thought Interview was the better movie, but Stuart Townsend was a better Lestat then Tom Cruise

I have not seen Queen of the Damned. I have seen part of Interview and I though Tom Cruise was perfect for the role of Lestat. He looked and acted exactly how I pictured him. I don't know about Stuart Townsend though.

I remember seeing an interview with Anne Rice where she was livid that Tom Cruise was Lestat, but after seeing the film she said that she could'nt have gotten a better Lestat.

I thought Brad Pitt was a terrible Louis though. He would have made a better Armand and Antonio Banderas would have been a better Louis.

original sin wrote:
Lestat is the coolest vampire ever.

took the liberty of fixing a minor mistake for you

When did dracul ever join a rock band

Gutter Bunny wrote:

original sin wrote:
Lestat is the coolest vampire ever.

took the liberty of fixing a minor mistake for you

When did dracul ever join a rock band

He didn't have to. That was when men were men and vampires were undead men.

Anyhow, I'm back, and my girlfriend and I saw Twilight this past Sunday. Previously I reported never having read any of the books and so here's my impression of the film after going in cold.

I thought the story was pretty neat. I liked the whole idea of the 'doctor' and his 'family' in the rainiest part of the US where sunlight is rarely an issue. My girlfriend filled me in that the NAtive Americans are really werewolves that will surface in subsequent movies and I thought that was kinda cool also. Overall, I can't say anythign negative except that the effects were pretty cheap (like running through the forest at super vampire speeds) and the whole glittering in the sun thing was very stupid. But only one of those things is actually movie-related, as the glittering was apparently in the book but was described diferrently.
I felt bad afterwards because my girl had been talking about how she figured the movie would be stupid because she has like a love-hate relationship with the novels, so as we were leaving the theatre I was making fun of the effects and sunglistening. Turns out, she really enjoyed it, so I felt like an ass and apologized profusely. I liked it too, it was enjoyable, but not near what I'd consider to be a phenomonan kind of film or anything like that. Like, I'm happy I saw it, and really will go see any sequals because from what I now know the story seems kind of interesting. I think that, knowing myself the way I do, reading the books may be a waste of my time, but I'll see the movies, just like I do with Harry Potter. Don't care about the books, but the movies are fun.

So there. Robofreak, I said I'd be back to keep this thread going and I am......just late as hell.

Sorry Dagon, I got so caught up with school that I never saw your post. Glad you liked it. Unfortunately for me, I have a little too much going on for me at the moment and I'll probably have to wait until it hits DVD.

Well, I'm almost done with Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice and I've come to realize that almost every aspect of Twilight was completely ripped off of Anne Rice's work. I'll name a few:

*Edward is pretty much Lestat without the ego.

*There is not only a Laurent in Twilight, but also Queen of the Damned. Both are have about the same amount of speaking time and both die horrific deaths.

*The Marcus in Twilight acts almost like Marius in Vampire Chronicles.

*The relationship between Bella and Edward is EXACTLY like the relationship between Daniel and Armand.

*Vampires in both series turn white and become more powerful with age.

I read an interview with Stephanie Meyer and she said that she never read the Vampire Chronicles, but there's no frikkin way she could have written those books without reading them. The only thing she made different about her vampires were that fledgelings could be out in the light and how the vampires are turned. Instead of drinking vampiric blood while on the brink of death, you just have to survive the venom while it changes you. That's about it for differences between the vampires. Oh, and the eye color thing, but I have'nt read enough of the vampire chronicles to know if that's a similarity as well.

And now I enter the discussion. LET THE DESTRUCTION BEGIN.

First off, I haven't read Twilight. So take this all as the insane ramblings of a man who likes Vampires too damn much.

My main problem with Twilight is the abilities it grant Vampires; they have no visible weaknesses to sunlight and can't sleep. I don't know if the other weaknesses apply; Christian objects, stake through the heart, garlic, wolfsbane, silver, etc. But they damn well better be.

I'm okay with the sunlight resistance; Carmilla and Dracula both had that, and if I'm not mistaken, Lestat had that as well. (Dracula's resistance was toned down in most adaptations; in the original novel, he was shown in sunlight multiple times) The difference is that they were severely weakened in the sunlight, and you'd never catch them in a fight during daylight hours. Dracula spent this time sleeping, while Carmilla usually spent it sleeping, or screwing around with prey.

I don't think Carmilla gets the attention she deserves. Especially compared to the significantly more popular Dracula, even though Carmilla's book came out first.

What was I talking about?

Right; Twilight doesn't have Vampires. It has people with superpowers who glow in sunlight, occasionally need to drink blood, and can pass their powers on through a venom, given that the victim survives.

Shadowman wrote:And now I enter the discussion. LET THE DESTRUCTION BEGIN.

It was inevitable when you think about it.

Only weakness the Twilight vampires have is fire or a mauling from a pack of werewolves. Nothing else can destroy them. Also, the Twilight werewolves are'nt true werewolves. All they have to do is either get pissed off like the Hulk or concentrate to change.

I don't know if Lestat can be in the sun. I'm not done with Queen of the Damned yet, but in the movie he was able to be in the sun. The movie sucked BTW.

Anne Rice's vampires also have abilities, but I don't believe they specialize like the Twilight vampires.

What story are you reading that involves Carmilla and Dracula? Which author? I know I sound like an idiot for asking, but I'm still new to being a vampire story junkie.

robofreak wrote:Only weakness the Twilight vampires have is fire or a mauling from a pack of werewolves. Nothing else can destroy them. Also, the Twilight werewolves are'nt true werewolves. All they have to do is either get pissed off like the Hulk or concentrate to change.

Fire? FIRE?! Werewolf venom I can understand, that was a huge plotpoint in Van Helsing (Came out a few years ago? Had Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, werewolves, and Hugh Jackman?). And Werewolves concentrating to transform is similar to Lycans from Underworld (Had Kate Beckinsale and Bill Nighy?) and...wait, you were talking about Twilight ripping off Ann Rice, right?

robofreak wrote:I don't know if Lestat can be in the sun. I'm not done with Queen of the Damned yet, but in the movie he was able to be in the sun. The movie sucked BTW.

I had heard that he could survive it.

robofreak wrote:Anne Rice's vampires also have abilities, but I don't believe they specialize like the Twilight vampires.

There was a webcomic called Last Blood, where Vampires have to save the last surviving humans of a Zombie Apocalypse. Except Last Blood doesn't blow, and is awesome. Also, there is no substitute for human blood in Last Blood, and what happens when a Vampire doesn't feed is a big plot point.

robofreak wrote:What story are you reading that involves Carmilla and Dracula? Which author? I know I sound like an idiot for asking, but I'm still new to being a vampire story junkie.

Not really reading anything, but I'm specifically referencing Dracula by Bram Stoker and Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Incidentally, both happen to be public domain. I suggest Wikisource. Here's Carmilla, and Dracula.

Also, I suggest reading this.

Well, the werewolves of Twilight don't have venom either which is another dissapointmant. They just have powerful jaws and can tear through vampire flesh. It's been a long time since I've seen Underworld, but I believe you're right about the Lycans. I was more focused on just vampires at the time and completely forgot to mention the werewolves being ripped off. Thanks for bringing it up.

Also, the werewolves come from an Indian tribe and the werewolf "gene" only activates when vampires are nearby and feeding on humans. I know, it boggles my mind too.

LOL on the script thing.

robofreak wrote:Well, the werewolves of Twilight don't have venom either which is another dissapointmant. They just have powerful jaws and can tear through vampire flesh. It's been a long time since I've seen Underworld, but I believe you're right about the Lycans. I was more focused on just vampires at the time and completely forgot to mention the werewolves being ripped off. Thanks for bringing it up.

Also, the werewolves come from an Indian tribe and the werewolf "gene" only activates when vampires are nearby and feeding on humans. I know, it boggles my mind too.

LOL on the script thing.

...Oh, please tell me werewolves at least get big and hairy. Otherwise, why even call them werewolves?

Of course. From what I got out of the book, they become wolves about the size of a grizzly bear.

You should read the books so we can discuss this even more.

robofreak wrote:Of course. From what I got out of the book, they become wolves about the size of a grizzly bear.

You should read the books so we can discuss this even more.

I would but...I NEVER LEARNED TO READ!!

...It would be totally hilarious if you somehow didn't notice the inherent flaws in that lie.

But I'd much prefer to not read Twilight; I prefer to avoid books that I've made repeated criticism against. (Which is why I haven't read Lord of the Rings twice, the last few chapters of Return of the King were physically painful to read)

Shadowman wrote:But I'd much prefer to not read Twilight; I prefer to avoid books that I've made repeated criticism against. (Which is why I haven't read Lord of the Rings twice, the last few chapters of Return of the King were physically painful to read)

Very true. I could never finish Lord of the Rings.

robofreak wrote:

Shadowman wrote:But I'd much prefer to not read Twilight; I prefer to avoid books that I've made repeated criticism against. (Which is why I haven't read Lord of the Rings twice, the last few chapters of Return of the King were physically painful to read)

Very true. I could never finish Lord of the Rings.

Just because it ends like like 3 - 4 times, that's no reason to give up!

The movie did a pretty good job of trying to adapt all those endings, but was still annoying.

Sorry, I have nothing to add about TWILIGHT, my wife reads it. I saw the movie, but it is a pretty distant memory now. The movie was tolerable, but I have not picked up the books yet.

Dagon wrote:know that vampire lore traditionally or at least since Stoker makes the vampire into a pretty attractive and mysteriously sensual being, and that Anne Rice really drives that point home, but do all of our vampires really need to be pansies? Twilight may have the badest assed vampires of all time, but from commericals they look like wussies. I know the vampire experiences centuries of the existential crisis of being alone and never being able to experience human love without cursing the one they love to the same life-in-death state of living dead, but must they really be such cry babies?
From what I understand that is one of the themes of Twilight with what's his name (Edward?) not wanting to turn some girl into a vampire, but dudes, really, sounds too whiney for my tastes.

If you'll excuse me for being Edward a moment, I want to tell you you need to find and play the old PSX game Blood Omen (if you haven't yet), but feel deep internal conflict knowing that it will set you down a destructive path of sequels that will break your heart (some for different reasons than others), as well as the dark eldritch knowledge that once you've gone Kain, you can never go back. You will search eternally for other vampires that measure up to his greatness, while each new book, comic, and game you try will futher convince you of the cold fact there are none. Alas and woe, and most importantly, VAE VICTUS!

...Ahem. Well, as it stands, my own personal eternally fruitless search for vampires I like as much as Kain compelled me to read Twilight. It's difficult to classify exactly how I feel about it. If you asked me whether or not I liked it, I'd say yes without hesitation- I mean, I bought all four books, three of them hardcover- and yet I also agree with a lot of the criticism levelled against it. Action scenes are too often given secondhand. Many aspects of the plot have been done before (the rescued-from-thugs scene, vampires and werewolves are eternal enemies, good vampiers eat animals and bad vampires eat humans, etc). And love stories have never been my thing.

However, where Twilight really shines, where it's really brought to life, is in the small details; Bella's beater truck and racin' motorcycle, the dreary atmosphere of Forks, "conversations" between Bella and her dad. It comes together into something that is a lot of fun and is rather hard to put down. The whole idea of a "frozen beach party" with everyone in coats and hats delighted me, and is probably still my favorite scene. I really like Rosalie, who is just my type of vampire (sometimes I think the only reason she's a "vegetarian" is because she feels indebted to Dr. Cullen), and the Volturi were intriguing (this is one case in which the 'secondhand' storytelling made a lot of sense; it helps the Volturi keep their mystery and creepiness when the vampires whisper to one another about them).

I didn't know about a stolen Edward-POV novel, though. That's interesting!

(...but dude, srsly. Blood Omen. .

Does anyone else notice Edward bears the last name of Optimus's Voice actor? (Peter Cullen)

tigertracks 24 wrote:Just because it ends like like 3 - 4 times, that's no reason to give up!

The movie did a pretty good job of trying to adapt all those endings, but was still annoying.

I didn't give up, but I did feel like I ran three miles.

SeekerInAFakeMoustache wrote:(...but dude, srsly. Blood Omen. .

I tried Blood Omen II...I was not impressed. Sorry, I'm a Castlevania man, myself.

Sailor Cybertron 24 wrote:Does anyone else notice Edward bears the last name of Optimus's Voice actor? (Peter Cullen)

It's not an uncommon name.

Shadowman wrote:I tried Blood Omen II...I was not impressed. Sorry, I'm a Castlevania man, myself.

That's because Blood Omen II was not made by the same people as the first, and in this LOKers opinion, was not so much a sequel as an awful parody. The first one is much, much better.

Never heard of Blood Omen. I'm with Shadowman on the Castlevania though. Problem is that I don't have the patience to find all the proper ending so I've only played a few of them:

Lament of Innocence
Curse of Darkness
Rondo of Blood (X chronicles)
Symphony of the Night (X chronicles)

I've got a whole stack of them nearby that I have'nt played, but my brother has a thing for annihalating Gameboys as soon as he gets them.

SeekerinAFakeMoustache: Midnight Sun is the novel from Edward's point of view. We're probably not going to see it for a couple more years.

robofreak wrote:
SeekerinAFakeMoustache: Midnight Sun is the novel from Edward's point of view. We're probably not going to see it for a couple more years.

Not ever if you are believing the author. She's pissed about an early draft getting out.

SeekerInAFakeMoustache wrote:

Shadowman wrote:I tried Blood Omen II...I was not impressed. Sorry, I'm a Castlevania man, myself.

That's because Blood Omen II was not made by the same people as the first, and in this LOKers opinion, was not so much a sequel as an awful parody. The first one is much, much better.

I thought Blood Omen 2 was fun as hell. Same with Soul Reaver 1&2, and Legacy of Kain Defiance

Much as I detest That Game, I am glad there are LOK fans who got some enjoyment out of it (makes its existence sting a little less). However, I also think a gamer who didn't like Blood Omen 2 might still like the others, since they are quite different.

tigertracks 24 wrote:

robofreak wrote:
SeekerinAFakeMoustache: Midnight Sun is the novel from Edward's point of view. We're probably not going to see it for a couple more years.

Not ever if you are believing the author. She's pissed about an early draft getting out.

Well, then I guess we'll be forever denied the good action scenes.

Also, Twilight is known for building up to really cool scenes and then letting everything fizzle. I thought for sure that the werewolves would be in the first book, but everytime you think they're about to come they did'nt. It was'nt until 1/4 through New Moon that they appear. I've been hoping Midnight Sun would at least let us read about the fight between James and Edward.