TWIJOURNAL #4: TWILIGHT REVIEW! SPOILER-HEAVY!!!
Okay guys--I am writing this without having read any other reviews so that I may remain as unbiased as possible!
I went with my ten-year old cousin to the 11:35 AM screening this morning after fifty-plus days of counting down. It was such an unbelievable experience to sit in the theater knowing that in just moments I would finally see the most-anticipated movie of my life…
Twilight did not disappoint. Granted, it wasn’t quite as incredible as I had thought it would be (nor was it anywhere near the quality of the books, but then what is?) but it was still extremely wonderful-especially when compared to what usually passes for a book-to-movie.
I’m going to start out with what I didn’t like as it’s a much shorter list than what I loved! Actually, the only thing I didn’t like (beyond the two things mentioned above) was that Charlie and Bella ate out every night. What happened to Bella being the cook of the house?
Now what I loved-I loved that they made Charlie and Billy the comic relief (their attempts to talk “teen” were absolutely hysterical) and I LOVE JACOB BLACK. Taylor Lautner did an excellent job and I can’t wait to see him get to portray all of the layers Jake gets in New Moon.
I wanted to cry when Bella walked in front of the fan in Biology and Edward’s face just crumpled in pain-it was so sad!! :( And I loved how they kept the bit from the book where she discreetly sniffs her hair to see if she stinks-hilarious!
I loved the La Push scene and how they drug out the reveal of what Edward was a bit longer than the book.
The van scene was beautiful and I loved it, but one thing I don’t get-why did Edward leave?? Other than that puzzling thing I thought it was well-done, and the hospital scene afterwards cracked me up.
The Port Angeles scene was just absolutely perfect, even if the dinner scene left a little something to be desired.
And now, what was probably my favorite part of the whole movie-Bella researching “cold ones” and eventually finding her way to the realization that it’s another term for “vampire”. Everything from there to the scene in the woods is just so breathtaking and absolutely incredible. The reveal was perfect!
I loved everything about Edward and Bella (though I was a bit disappointed about the meadow scene, they got points for including my two favorite quotes-“heroin brand” and “the lion and the lamb). I absolutely LOVED the sparkling effect-I whispered to my cousin in awe, “They did it perfect!” when he stepped into the sun.
Also, anyone else really crack up at the Cullens cooking? Especially when Rose asked, “Is she even Italian?” and Emmett going, “Well her name is Bella.” LMAO!!! I thought that was a riot and definitely a great addition. (And Rose smashing the bowl when she said she’d already eaten-so her!)
The bit with Charlie meeting Edward was hilarious!
I also loved the scenes with James, Victoria and Laurent-from the murders to the baseball clearing and beyond. I really love how much horror that added to their characters (especially James and Victoria-they really have no morals to speak of).
I gotta say, I do wish there would’ve been more of Alice and Jasper with Bella! Some of the exposition that was lost might make it a little difficult for non-book fans to understand-for example, how the venom works and how Bella knows how it works. I always loved that Alice was the one to tell her (and also, it left Edward’s comment in the garage about her keeping her thoughts to herself unexplained).
The ballet scene was everything I’d hoped for and more-terrifying and stressful as I had to watch my poor Edward be beaten and then as he had to watch James bite Bella. Kristen Stewart did a remarkable job of portraying Bella’s pain as the venom burned in her hand, and Robert Pattinson did an excellent job of showing the “frenzy” and how hard it was to stop.
The hospital room was just so… perfect. That’s all I can say about that-I love how Kristen showed Bella’s absolute freak-out to the mere idea of leaving Edward. New Moon is going to be awesome with her in the role.
And last but not least… the prom. I was kinda disappointed that Bella knew where they were going (and that the whole Tyler storyline was cut-also, Angela and Eric? What the hell??!!) but in the end it was all good. I loved how he put her on his feet(!!) and ran the other people away haha (that’s how I saw it anyway-the whole vampire repelling people thing at work), leaving them free to discuss what we all know is an impasse at this stage in the book.
The ending with the reflection of them dancing showing in the water was perfect. And even more perfect was showing Victoria at the prom-a true stroke of genius. In movies you always have to show that the story isn’t over, and having Victoria there was definitely one of the best ways they could have shown that.
So in conclusion, Twilight wasn’t as great as the books-but it is an excellent film in its own right. The direction and casting is all just perfect, but the top four performances in the film for me were the following: Kirsten Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Ashley Greene (I wasn’t sure about her, but she played Alice perfectly!) and Nikki Reed (I was sure she’d be a perfect Rosalie, and I was right!).
Oh, and closing notes-I really want Rosalie’s necklace!!! And I think I figured out what the scene Catherine filmed from Midnight Sun was because it was on the previews but not in the movie. Anyone else have an idea? Let’s see if we have the same one!
So thanks for reading my review-do you agree, disagree? Just give me your opinion, I’d love to hear it! :)
~~Manda
I went with my ten-year old cousin to the 11:35 AM screening this morning after fifty-plus days of counting down. It was such an unbelievable experience to sit in the theater knowing that in just moments I would finally see the most-anticipated movie of my life…
Twilight did not disappoint. Granted, it wasn’t quite as incredible as I had thought it would be (nor was it anywhere near the quality of the books, but then what is?) but it was still extremely wonderful-especially when compared to what usually passes for a book-to-movie.
I’m going to start out with what I didn’t like as it’s a much shorter list than what I loved! Actually, the only thing I didn’t like (beyond the two things mentioned above) was that Charlie and Bella ate out every night. What happened to Bella being the cook of the house?
Now what I loved-I loved that they made Charlie and Billy the comic relief (their attempts to talk “teen” were absolutely hysterical) and I LOVE JACOB BLACK. Taylor Lautner did an excellent job and I can’t wait to see him get to portray all of the layers Jake gets in New Moon.
I wanted to cry when Bella walked in front of the fan in Biology and Edward’s face just crumpled in pain-it was so sad!! :( And I loved how they kept the bit from the book where she discreetly sniffs her hair to see if she stinks-hilarious!
I loved the La Push scene and how they drug out the reveal of what Edward was a bit longer than the book.
The van scene was beautiful and I loved it, but one thing I don’t get-why did Edward leave?? Other than that puzzling thing I thought it was well-done, and the hospital scene afterwards cracked me up.
The Port Angeles scene was just absolutely perfect, even if the dinner scene left a little something to be desired.
And now, what was probably my favorite part of the whole movie-Bella researching “cold ones” and eventually finding her way to the realization that it’s another term for “vampire”. Everything from there to the scene in the woods is just so breathtaking and absolutely incredible. The reveal was perfect!
I loved everything about Edward and Bella (though I was a bit disappointed about the meadow scene, they got points for including my two favorite quotes-“heroin brand” and “the lion and the lamb). I absolutely LOVED the sparkling effect-I whispered to my cousin in awe, “They did it perfect!” when he stepped into the sun.
Also, anyone else really crack up at the Cullens cooking? Especially when Rose asked, “Is she even Italian?” and Emmett going, “Well her name is Bella.” LMAO!!! I thought that was a riot and definitely a great addition. (And Rose smashing the bowl when she said she’d already eaten-so her!)
The bit with Charlie meeting Edward was hilarious!
I also loved the scenes with James, Victoria and Laurent-from the murders to the baseball clearing and beyond. I really love how much horror that added to their characters (especially James and Victoria-they really have no morals to speak of).
I gotta say, I do wish there would’ve been more of Alice and Jasper with Bella! Some of the exposition that was lost might make it a little difficult for non-book fans to understand-for example, how the venom works and how Bella knows how it works. I always loved that Alice was the one to tell her (and also, it left Edward’s comment in the garage about her keeping her thoughts to herself unexplained).
The ballet scene was everything I’d hoped for and more-terrifying and stressful as I had to watch my poor Edward be beaten and then as he had to watch James bite Bella. Kristen Stewart did a remarkable job of portraying Bella’s pain as the venom burned in her hand, and Robert Pattinson did an excellent job of showing the “frenzy” and how hard it was to stop.
The hospital room was just so… perfect. That’s all I can say about that-I love how Kristen showed Bella’s absolute freak-out to the mere idea of leaving Edward. New Moon is going to be awesome with her in the role.
And last but not least… the prom. I was kinda disappointed that Bella knew where they were going (and that the whole Tyler storyline was cut-also, Angela and Eric? What the hell??!!) but in the end it was all good. I loved how he put her on his feet(!!) and ran the other people away haha (that’s how I saw it anyway-the whole vampire repelling people thing at work), leaving them free to discuss what we all know is an impasse at this stage in the book.
The ending with the reflection of them dancing showing in the water was perfect. And even more perfect was showing Victoria at the prom-a true stroke of genius. In movies you always have to show that the story isn’t over, and having Victoria there was definitely one of the best ways they could have shown that.
So in conclusion, Twilight wasn’t as great as the books-but it is an excellent film in its own right. The direction and casting is all just perfect, but the top four performances in the film for me were the following: Kirsten Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Ashley Greene (I wasn’t sure about her, but she played Alice perfectly!) and Nikki Reed (I was sure she’d be a perfect Rosalie, and I was right!).
Oh, and closing notes-I really want Rosalie’s necklace!!! And I think I figured out what the scene Catherine filmed from Midnight Sun was because it was on the previews but not in the movie. Anyone else have an idea? Let’s see if we have the same one!
So thanks for reading my review-do you agree, disagree? Just give me your opinion, I’d love to hear it! :)
~~Manda