My Review of "Twilight!" My Review of "Twilight"--The Movie! ~

As I thought about the reading I have done over the last two years when it has comes to the "Twilight" series, I just have to say that it has been amazing! Four books--750 pages each---approximately 2800 pages! NICE! As a mother, I love to see that kind of reading going on in my home! Christopher and I would read the books as fast as they came out! On the last book, "Breaking Dawn," I let Christopher read it first and then I read it! I will just say that I felt like that was a big mistake! I wish I had read the book before him. While I really liked the direction of the first three books, book number four, "Breaking Dawn," contained material that I was not happy to have my 13 year old read at this point in his life. I am a big believer that reading helps to let us develop imagines in our minds and helps us to develop that imagination!

I guess this is what I would like to say before I review the movie: Just because Stephanie Meyer is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a graduate of BYU, I guess I had certain exceptions as to what I would read! I wasn't disappointed in the first three books. My beef with the whole "Twilight" phenomena comes from the final book. I appreciate that Bella and Edward have high moral standards. I appreciate that Edward respects Bella. I like that they both wait to have sexual relations until after they are married. I guess what bothers me is that "Breaking Dawn" reads like a Harlequin Romance. I don't know that young women and young men need to be having those imagines in their heads as they struggle on a day to day basis with their "teen-age" years. That's my beef--at least with the books! I would have maybe appreciated the series to stop after book three.

So my review of the movie. After doing as much homework on the movie as I could. Meaning I went to my favorite review sites like "Kids-in-mind" and read a few blogs of people I respect, I decided that this would not be a "Mom-only" movie. So last night, Tuesday, November 25, 2008, five days after the opening, I took Christopher to see "Twilight." The theatre wasn't as packed as I thought it would be. And by the way, it was free popcorn night, so what did I have to lose. The theatre was full with mostly teen-age girls and a few brave young men who knew that it would be a cool place to be. Those young men had the right idea, a theatre full of the cutest girls in town and ....well, you get the idea.

One more thing: The previews were not good at all. In fact I complained to the theatre manager as I was leaving. The preview for "The Unborn." How satanic was that?! Come on, the audience that came to see "Twilight" is NOT going to be the audience that is going to see that kind of movie. And it was disturbing! I don't like scary--scary like that at least! GIVE ME A BREAK!

There wasn't really a beginning of the movie. I was unsure that the movie had actually started. The whole deer in the forest thing was a bit strange of a beginning for me. It took me a few minutes to actually realize that the movie had started. I have to say that I liked ALL actors for the most part. I thought Bella and Edward were great. I had a few problems with Jacob. OK--his hair was just strange! They didn't really develop the whole relationship between Bella and Jacob very well in the movie. It was so much more in the book. When I saw a picture of the Cullen's house, I was blown away at how close to my own personal imagine it was. THAT WAS FUN! I also wish we had had more development of the whole Cullen family and their individual relationships to Bella. I was also a little disappointed that Belle's mom hardly gets the time in the movie she needed. For those of us who have read the book the movie was great. I don't see the movie being able to "stand alone" without one having done the reading before hand. It would be hard to follow. I didn't really like the characters that played Belle's two guy friends at school, Mike and Eric. I thought we should have seen more from those relationships as well. A 90-minute movie doesn't really give us the time to develop the kinds of relationships with the characters that we do when we read the books. We had 2800 + pages to develop our opinions about these characters.
So, did I like the movie? Kind of! I guess! I mean, I am glad to have a movie to give imagines to the things I read. I wish that Stephanie Meyer hadn't sold out to Hollywood. I wish it could be a movie where I felt like I could say to my teen-age and young adult friends., "Hey, let's go watch a movie that upholds the standards that I try to teach you on a weekly and daily basis." I am glad that we see that Belle and Edward are so innocent in their relationship with each other. I like that we don't hear any vulgar language. I like that the violence is equal to the characters and scenes. I wish that the girls in the prom scene had been wearing modest dresses. I wish that there could have been a few other subtle hints about "LDS standards and values." But at the end of the day, I didn't have to be embarrassed to bring my 13 year old to the movies and try to explain some vulgar humor or sex scenes to him. For that I am grateful!