Monday, November 24, 2008

Twilight ... the movie

Well, since people are asking me ... yes, I loved Twilight! We saw it Friday afternoon and I really enjoyed myself. I even took my camera, hoping to get a picture of me and a cardboard cutout of Edward ... but no luck. Sometimes New York theaters are so lame.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. You all know how much I LOVE the book and so when I went to the movie, I went with the idea that I wasn't going to compare every piece of the movie with the book - that's a sure way to set yourself up for disappointment. I thought they did a pretty darn good job of getting all the key elements from the book into the movie ... let's face it ... it can't be easy turning such a large novel into a 2 hour movie.

I loved the baseball scene - I thought it was perfect. And I thought the scene in the ballet studio at the end was pretty good - the actors all did a good job of playing their parts without coming off really cheesy. I did think the flashbacks of Carlisle biting Edward and Esme were a bit cheesy ... but other that that, I thought all the actors did a tremendous job bringing these beloved characters to life. I loved Charlie - thought he was perfect. Bella was really good too. I wish we could have seen more interaction with the Cullen family - but I'm sure they'll put more into the next movies (YEA!) I thought Jessica was also perfect - she sounded just like she did in my head, when I was reading the books. Prattling on and on ... oh, and Mike was pretty good, too. And Edward playing Bella's lullaby on the piano ... aaaaah! So good! I liked the prom scene, too. And how Edward "sparkled" in the sunlight was pretty well done, too (thought it did kind of look like he spilled glitter on his chest).

I thought Edward was a bit too intense at times ... he needed to lighten up a little more, like when he put his arm around Bella and they were walking through the parking lot with him wearing those shades. Just a little less angst would have been good :) We didn't get to see too much of the relationship between him and Bella develop, since a lot of their dialogue from the book was cut and things there seemed a little rushed. Still, there was a lot to fit in, and they did get some of the book's most famous lines in there ... like "You are my life now"... my personal favorite line from the book. Could you get any more romantic? Yep, I swooned at that one.

Oh, and just a little bragging ... I have the best husband in the world :) He went with me to the movie, which was really special for me, getting to share something that I was really looking forward to with him. He's listened to Twilight and New Moon on CD, so he's familiar with the story. I didn't have to drag him kicking and screaming, either. He was looking forward to going (granted, not as much as me) and enjoyed the movie. Probably not his favorite movie ever, but he liked it and I got to share it with him. He's the best!

So yep, I really liked it. Twilight (the book) has this magical quality that just sweeps you away when reading it, and you get totally sucked into the story and the characters. The movie didn't quite pull that feeling off ... but they did a pretty awesome job. I definitely think I am going to re-read Twilight ... and definitely see the movie again.

Thoughts from you guys?

Oh yeah, and it made about $70.6 million ... wow! (see here)

9 comments:

MiriamR said...

I really liked the movie and still haven't read the books. Although I am borrowing all for books from a friend tomorrow. I am worried about the affect it will have on my family (I get into all books and just read and prepare meals and read some more bath them cloth them and read, its bad)I am SOOO excited to read them wish me luck.

Heidi said...

I actually enjoyed it. I was surprised. I can now accept rob as edward, he played the part nicely. I too wish more interaction with the cullens. A bit cheesy through the middle, and it did feel kind of rushed. but all in all, i'd see it again.

Melvin and Carly said...

Once again, you sum it up pretty good for me. I can't say I "loved" the movie, but I did really like it. Like you, I went with the idea of not comparing it with the book and I vowed to not make any comments DURING the movie. (I succeeded except for pointing out Rob's singing to the girl next to me.)

Loved the baseball scene. Thought the end of the ballet scene was a bit much, but wow!, don't get Alice mad at you! And the flashbacks were cheesy. But on the whole, they did a decent job in bringing the novel to life. All the key elements were there and in the right order. Not bad!

And honestly, I was surprised at how much I laughed during the movie. I didn't expect so many parts to be funny!

How long do we have to wait for New Moon?

Lincoln and Alisia said...

I didn't like it. I felt that Edward and Bella played ONE emotion the entire time. What happened to some of the playful bantering you read in the book?
But I did like the baseball scene.
And Lincoln went with me, which made it great.

Sarah said...

Yeah the baseball scene seems to have been everyone's favorite. That and Charlie and his gun (where I laughed - out loud). I agree with Ali that Bella and Edward could have lightened up a little more ... but I still really liked it. Some parts were very funny - and I managed to keep quiet during the movie, too, except for the part that had Stephenie in it - I was poking Cory and I'm like "there she is!!!!" and he's like "duh, I know what she looks like!!" It was pretty amusing :)

Andrea said...

My favorite part was when Edward shows up to school with Bella in the sunglasses. It was so cocky and cute. I liked how they brought Jacob into the story a little more. I felt like that friendship was more developed. In New Moon for me it just came out of nowhere. My second favorite moment was when Edward gave Jacob the death stare at prom. Yeah! I also loved the Cullens. And I loved Alice and was pleased she was just as likable in the movie as she was in the books. People in the theaters actually laughed at some of the romantic scenes and I have to say I was right there with them- it was just cheesy and made you laugh, but you still loved every second of it.

One thing I didn't care for were the tree hopping special effects. Hopefully they've done well enough that they can make the effects better. I imagined the vampires much smoother and not so jumping jellybean.

I want to go see it again. Deven saw it with me too, but didn't quite have Cory's attitude. He had a lot of questions at the end though and I think people who didn't read the books would have those questions. I'm for sure getting it on DVD, and the music was incredible. Whew. Longest comment ever. Loved it!

Lindsey T said...

I enjoyed the movie and was mostly converted to Rob as Edward. He did a good job and Kristin did pretty well as Bella, (although the hospital scene at the end was way too much for me!). Most of the characters were right on, especially Bella's school friends, (Jessica was great!). The Cullens were great, except for Jasper who looked like a blonde Edward Scissorhands.
Aside from a few cheesy scenes I really liked it and I want to see it again, after I read the book again!

Marie said...

I loved it. I have seen it 2 times now. I loved when Bella walked in the room and Edward looked like he was going to throw up. Priceless! I was laughing so hard. The baseball scene was great. Spider Monkey was also so cool. I loved it and cant wait to see it again!

Lindsey T said...

I'm sure you have already, but you need to check the Normal Mormon Husband site to see his thoughts on the movie!