Twilight - the movie

I went last night and went to MY most anticipated movie ever. I have never sat and waited on a movie like I have waited on Twilight. I was literally nervous and anxious as we were sitting in the theater waiting on it to start.

So how was it? I'm still figuring that out in my head. On one hand, I can't get it out of my head. I keep replaying scenes over and over again trying to hold on to every minute that I can. On the other hand I wish it was better. I honestly didn't like how hard Rob Pattinson played Edward. I understand his reasoning; vampire tortured by love and by blood lust all in the one lovely person known as Bella Swan. Kristen Stewart did great. She was a little overly serious too - but it worked. They were SPOT ON on the kissing scenes, that could not have been done any better. The special effects - well they had us laughing at some points, but with a bottom of the barrel budget, that was pretty much what I expected.

My husband, who has not read the books and is unable to hyper analyze every little detail of the film like I was, has asked me a million questions since we got out of the movie. So by that, I think it's safe to say it really was a good movie. I'm over analyzing everything. Some scenes I wish could have been there that weren't: The scene where Jessica is asking Bella a million questions about Edward after their "date" in Port Angeles. And of course, Edward listening in. That would have really played up Jessica's character a little more, and it would have set the bedroom kissing scene up a little better too, because there would be a little tension of Edward knowing Bella really wants that physical contact but understands how her situation is not that of a normal "teenage love" situation. I would have liked to of seen some of the stuff from Midnight Sun thrown in, more specifically the scene where Alice clues Edward into the fact that he is falling in love with Bella - because he is utterly clueless.

I want there to be more. I told Justin, I want MORE. I want to see the rest of it, even though I'm pretty sure they may stop short at Breaking Dawn - but I'm not finished. I would like to see more of Alice, and I want to see Jasper's character come out of his shell. My husband wants to see the werewolves, and was pretty disappointed when Jacob didn't phase. I was hoping they would do one phasing scene - the dream that Bella has after the beach trip to La Push, but Jacob didn't elaborate on the Quinton tribes tradition enough in the movie for that dream to of made any since.

I think what I want the most is for Rob's acting skills to sharpen up a bit. This really IS his first major movie production, and I hate that I say that, because of the last few months of following the Twilight media, and having watched dozens of Rob Pattinson interviews, I have come to like Rob as a person. From his interviews, he seems like a really down to earth, really awkward person. He's not really into this fame, but taking it as it comes, and in every interview you can tell how seriously ...just awkward he is. But the answers he has to the questions are pretty funny, and he says some of the weirdest stuff that you know he's telling the truth. I don't think he likes being considered an "actor" in Hollywood terms, like flaunting his popularity with expensive toys (he drives a used beat up, sounds like it's not working properly, car). He'd rather just be a normal guy who can go and play some music at an open mic night without being mobbed - unfortunately now that is just simply impossible with all the 13 year old fanatics running around screaming at him. All he has to do is run his hands through his hair and half the girls would probably faint at the sight of it. It's all pretty funny actually.

Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Young Adult Fantasy

Well, I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to go to B&N and return some books. I bought the first two books of the Blue Blood series; Blue Bloods, and Masquerade, and I must say I'm extremely disappointed with Melissa De La Cruz's lack of creativity, to say the very least.

I'm not even finishing the first book. I actually was following a recommendation based on my love for Twilight, and I'm sorely disappointed. I am enjoying reading Fantasy books, and will not avoid delving into more of the Fantasy genre, I obviously DO NOT like Twilight solely based on the vampires. They do help, but it was the world that Stephenie Meyer created more than the vampires themselves. What I love about Twilight, and many other books - including The Time Traveler's Wife and The Pillars of the Earth, are solid characters. Characters you can believe in, relate to, that you can love and hate, characters that intertwine with each other within the story. And this is exactly what Blue Bloods was lacking.

The barely lets you get to know the characters before moving on to the next one. It does not delve into their thoughts much more than a second. Dialogue between them is lacking as well. And the worst part of all are the things that were similar to Twilight. Main character, Schuyler, is suppose to be shy and inward. Only instead of being a plain Jane, she's a rich goth princess. The vampire, Jack Flash, is a wonderfully handsome guy with lovely green eyes (...okay that's different) and adorably disheveled hair (can we say, Edward knock-off?). Not to mention that most of the vampires have mind-reading capabilities?? About the time I learned all that, I decided I was done. I already knew that the book wasn't going anywhere for me. I'm not much for the rich and classy - I cannot relate to that. I don't like reading about vampires just because they are vampires.

Here's my suggestion. If you LIKE vampires, give the books a try. I mean, I only named a few things about the vampires, just pointing out the obvious Twilightish references, but there are OTHER things about them that certainly are different than the norm. If you like high class, 'I can buy any thing I want' type books, sure it might work. I don't want to shoot anyone completely out, I mean Melissa DID spend time and effort writing and creating this new vampire world. I'm sure there are people out there who like it. I'm just not one of them.

Twilight

I just recently realized that I never did a real review on the Twilight Saga books. I talk about them often enough that anybody should realize that I loved every last one of them, but seeing as how I have a book review site, it only seems appropriate to do reviews. When I first read the Twilight books, Breaking Dawn had not been released yet, and I read through all three (Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse) in less than 4 days. When I did talk about them on my other blog, it was a quick overview of all three, and how I was completely crazy and read them all without stopping. Since then I've read each of them 2 more times, except Breaking Dawn, and Midnight Sun's draft - which I have only read through twice. So here it goes...

Twilight (& Midnight Sun) by Stephenie Meyer
Young Adult Fantasy

(A short synopsis from Amazon.com)

Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

Twilight is probably one of my favorite books of all. It's not perfect. It's not the most eloquent book of all time. But the story is absolutely wonderful, captivating to say the least. I just recently finished reading Midnight Sun again and I really, really hope that Stephenie Meyer will finish it in time. I believe that the strongest aspects of all of the Twilight books are the characters, and that what I consider the most important aspect of any book I read. If the characters are strong and believable. With the Twilight books, I honestly felt like they were alive, they were real. When I was done reading the books, I felt like I was missing a bunch of my "friends."

Bella feels that she is so plain and ordinary, that Edward's beauty and character is not much less than God himself. She is nothing compared to him. And yet, she cannot help but fall in love...

About three things I was absolutely positive:
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him–and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Edward views himself as a monster. He has been living for over 80 years in a state of complacency and just numbness. The only reason he's living is because he can't die. He views Bella as a beautiful, and horribly breakable being. He wants nothing more than to love her forever - except maybe taste her blood which literally calls to him. Yet wants to do nothing to harm her or effect her what-so-ever, including damning her to life forever as a vampire. He struggles constantly with his feelings for her, positive that it is very wrong for him to love her, but finding impossible not to.

Oh, and also, I'm wretchedly in love with you.
And, by the way, I adore you...in frightening, dangerous ways.

I think my favorite part (of Midnight Sun) is how he refers to Bella as "the girl" for a good portion of the first part of the book, basically distinguishing the "age" difference between them. But he is frozen at 17, and that includes emotionally - no matter how much Edward would like to deny that. He over analyzes every move Bella makes, and exults at her simple "yes" when he asks to take her to Seattle. He is most certainly still a teenager, with teenager-like emotions.

And all of this is just the beginning. I remember the first time I read Twilight, I was reading until the wee-hours of the morning just because I could not bare to put it down for too long. I was happy with the internal struggle. I was happy with just Bella and Edward, but what kind of book would that make? It all intensified with the addition of the nomads! The struggle and conflict, setting up Edwards ultimate decision for New Moon, perfectly, his worst fears are coming true. Humans hanging out with vampires just can't be good for their health... This conflict just topped the book of with a nice cherry for me making it one of my all time favorite books. I can almost feel myself wanting to go upstairs and pull off the shelf....again.