In an upset for the ages, "Cosmopolis" defeated "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" in the Elite Eight round of the 2012 MTV Movie Brawl. Let us count the ways this is shocking. One, it's a freaking "Twilight" film, one in a franchise that has so far grossed $2.5 billion worldwide and has catalyzed 2.5 trillion fever dreams in teen bedrooms around the globe. Two, "Cosmopolis" is a little indie based on a slim, highbrow novel by Don DeLillo, a writer who has, without a doubt, changed the face of postmodern literature but whose themes, characters and erudition don't exactly make him a likely Twi-fan fave. And three, "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" had thus far stormed through the Movie Brawl, dispatching challengers with ease and becoming the odds-on favorite to win the entire tournament.
But a curious thing happened — and its name is Robert Pattinson. Fans banded together, deciding to support, in "Cosmopolis," RPattz's new work (a possible post-vampire breakout role under the direction of David Cronenberg), rather than his been-there, sucked-that performance in a "Twilight" flick. The result, after almost 400,000 votes, was a decisive victory for "Cosmopolis." "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" will have to find some way to console itself (perhaps a mega opening in the fall will help), while Pattinson's upcoming film moves on to face "The Dark Knight Rises" in the Final Four. "TDKR," for its part, has shown a remarkable resurgence, repeatedly fending off challengers and, in the Elite Eight, besting "Dark Shadows," the Johnny Depp adaptation that at one time seemed like a Movie Brawl dark horse.
On the other side of the bracket, the story continues to be Daniel Radcliffe's "Woman in Black," a seven-seed that followed up an upset victory over Kristen Stewart's "Snow White and the Huntsman" with an impressive win over "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." That contest literally was decided in the final few minutes of voting. When the dust cleared, another franchise had fallen at the feet of an indie flick led by a young international superstar. "The Hunger Games," meanwhile, straight up embarrassed "John Carter" in the Elite Eight, setting up what is going to be a compelling Final Four battle. Let's take a look.