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annundrielLast night, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sdrohc_ratiug and I drove to Othello to see Twilight. We figured we'd have better luck at Othello crowd-wise. And we did, especially because the staff had set up the theater so that you could reserve seats. We told the man behind the counter where we wanted to sit and there was no "Oh noes, my neck is broken from sitting in the front row for two hours." We chose the middle of a middle row. Kind of great.
In fact, the whole evening was great. Mostly. We got to the theater early to buy our tickets and then we were going to drive around a bit to waste some time (and see where Dahlia works now). But on the way back to the car, I hit an uneven part of the sidewalk and went down. Scrapped up my hand and knee. (The knee is sore today. And stung in the shower.) So we wasted time by going to the grocery store and buying bandages and a Neosporin-type ointment.
So that was not fun. But ended up being strangely appropriate, given how clumsy the character Bella is.
The audience was interesting. There was this group of, like, eleven to fourteen year olds in the front row and anytime anything remotely romantic happened, they squealed and giggled and the rest of the audience, after a while, started laughing at them. At one point, I was actually fantasizing about throwing something. They also lost it when Edward first appeared. At least learn to silently flail, girls. It comes in handy.
As for the movie, I liked it a lot. It was cheese-tastic and kind of hilarious. Though it probably shouldn't have been as funny as I was finding it. Now, I like the first book. The writing is beyond horrible, but it moves fairly quickly and has some good things going for it. The second book disappointed me a great deal, which is why I haven't read the third or fourth. Last night, the movie reminded me of all of the little things I liked about the first book. And then it improved upon them.
Yeah, I think I'd definitely say that in this case, the film surpasses the book. Which, um, really isn't that hard.
I think it was what the actors brought to the characters that made it work. And the fact that there was some plot going on beyond the teenage angst. I loved Charlie and Mike and the Cullens. There was just...more there.
Randomly:
- I loved the vampire baseball. That...actually may have been one of my favorite parts. It just looked like a ton of fun. Probably because the Cullens were clearly having a blast.
- I thought it was hilarious when Edward and Bella where in the science lab the first time and things were angled in such a way so that the stuffed owl was behind Edward and it looked like its wings were his. Heh.
- The sparkling skin. Of all the parts in the book, that's the part I was dreading the most. Because it is a little ridiculous. But what they did really worked for me. It was actually pretty subtle. And that scene really brought out how much Edward hates himself. When Robert Pattinson gave that interview where he said that's how he decided to play Edward, I was actually kind of surprised. Do people read Edward some other way? It seemed fairly clear to me that there's a ton of self-loathing going on there. But then I'm fairly astute, or so I've been told repeatedly, and I'm not a tweenager. Though I think when I was that age I still would have been like, "Oh, Edward! I love you! But you need therapy!"
Oh, and now I'm wondering about reader interpretation versus author intention. Does Stephanie Meyer think he hates himself?
- Kristen Stewart was great. So was RP. And everyone really. Plus, Mike was cloned Jack O'Neill! I flailed a little over that. I had no idea he was in it! Pleasant surprise.
And, seriously, I love the Cullens. I want more Alice and Jasper. And Emmett. Hell, even Rosalie was great.
- What I really liked about Edward here was that you could see hints of a personality beyond the self-hate and angst and struggle not to eat Bella. Sometimes he was funny! Sometimes they kind of played together! There were hints of witty banter!
And all this just made me sad in the end. Because, oh my God, what wasted potential. I want a vampire love story where it isn't all angst and loathing and "Vampirize me!"/"No, I mustn't take away your precious human experiences!" I want there to be something where the vampire has been dead for over 100 years and has actually, omg, come to grips with what he is and can smile and flirt and banter and actually have some fun.
Why couldn't you go there, Stephanie Meyer? Why?
- They flying/running was dumb. Why do all vampire movies/shows (besides Buffy and Angel if I'm remembering correctly) have stupid effects for making vampire movement less human-like?
- The first fifteen minutes I had some trouble just letting go and watching the movie. I kept wondering at the abruptness of the exposition. Oh, we're here, introducing this character. Now we're over here, meeting this guy. Minute later we're in the cafeteria seeing that person for the first time. It was a little choppy and awkward, dialogue-wise. Which, okay, source material. And I'm willing to forgive because Bella's just kind of awkward and odd.
- Also, I love the Pacific Northwest. It looked fabulous on screen. And I did love how the movie looked.
Stephanie Meyer said in an interview that she wanted a love story with a twist, so one of the protagonists was a vampire. Is that really a twist on love stories, though? Especially if I can think of others? No, no it's not. It's just another type of love story. A cliched one.
sdrohc_ratiug and I drove to Othello to see Twilight. We figured we'd have better luck at Othello crowd-wise. And we did, especially because the staff had set up the theater so that you could reserve seats. We told the man behind the counter where we wanted to sit and there was no "Oh noes, my neck is broken from sitting in the front row for two hours." We chose the middle of a middle row. Kind of great.In fact, the whole evening was great. Mostly. We got to the theater early to buy our tickets and then we were going to drive around a bit to waste some time (and see where Dahlia works now). But on the way back to the car, I hit an uneven part of the sidewalk and went down. Scrapped up my hand and knee. (The knee is sore today. And stung in the shower.) So we wasted time by going to the grocery store and buying bandages and a Neosporin-type ointment.
So that was not fun. But ended up being strangely appropriate, given how clumsy the character Bella is.
The audience was interesting. There was this group of, like, eleven to fourteen year olds in the front row and anytime anything remotely romantic happened, they squealed and giggled and the rest of the audience, after a while, started laughing at them. At one point, I was actually fantasizing about throwing something. They also lost it when Edward first appeared. At least learn to silently flail, girls. It comes in handy.
As for the movie, I liked it a lot. It was cheese-tastic and kind of hilarious. Though it probably shouldn't have been as funny as I was finding it. Now, I like the first book. The writing is beyond horrible, but it moves fairly quickly and has some good things going for it. The second book disappointed me a great deal, which is why I haven't read the third or fourth. Last night, the movie reminded me of all of the little things I liked about the first book. And then it improved upon them.
Yeah, I think I'd definitely say that in this case, the film surpasses the book. Which, um, really isn't that hard.
I think it was what the actors brought to the characters that made it work. And the fact that there was some plot going on beyond the teenage angst. I loved Charlie and Mike and the Cullens. There was just...more there.
Randomly:
- I loved the vampire baseball. That...actually may have been one of my favorite parts. It just looked like a ton of fun. Probably because the Cullens were clearly having a blast.
- I thought it was hilarious when Edward and Bella where in the science lab the first time and things were angled in such a way so that the stuffed owl was behind Edward and it looked like its wings were his. Heh.
- The sparkling skin. Of all the parts in the book, that's the part I was dreading the most. Because it is a little ridiculous. But what they did really worked for me. It was actually pretty subtle. And that scene really brought out how much Edward hates himself. When Robert Pattinson gave that interview where he said that's how he decided to play Edward, I was actually kind of surprised. Do people read Edward some other way? It seemed fairly clear to me that there's a ton of self-loathing going on there. But then I'm fairly astute, or so I've been told repeatedly, and I'm not a tweenager. Though I think when I was that age I still would have been like, "Oh, Edward! I love you! But you need therapy!"
Oh, and now I'm wondering about reader interpretation versus author intention. Does Stephanie Meyer think he hates himself?
- Kristen Stewart was great. So was RP. And everyone really. Plus, Mike was cloned Jack O'Neill! I flailed a little over that. I had no idea he was in it! Pleasant surprise.
And, seriously, I love the Cullens. I want more Alice and Jasper. And Emmett. Hell, even Rosalie was great.
- What I really liked about Edward here was that you could see hints of a personality beyond the self-hate and angst and struggle not to eat Bella. Sometimes he was funny! Sometimes they kind of played together! There were hints of witty banter!
And all this just made me sad in the end. Because, oh my God, what wasted potential. I want a vampire love story where it isn't all angst and loathing and "Vampirize me!"/"No, I mustn't take away your precious human experiences!" I want there to be something where the vampire has been dead for over 100 years and has actually, omg, come to grips with what he is and can smile and flirt and banter and actually have some fun.
Why couldn't you go there, Stephanie Meyer? Why?
- They flying/running was dumb. Why do all vampire movies/shows (besides Buffy and Angel if I'm remembering correctly) have stupid effects for making vampire movement less human-like?
- The first fifteen minutes I had some trouble just letting go and watching the movie. I kept wondering at the abruptness of the exposition. Oh, we're here, introducing this character. Now we're over here, meeting this guy. Minute later we're in the cafeteria seeing that person for the first time. It was a little choppy and awkward, dialogue-wise. Which, okay, source material. And I'm willing to forgive because Bella's just kind of awkward and odd.
- Also, I love the Pacific Northwest. It looked fabulous on screen. And I did love how the movie looked.
Stephanie Meyer said in an interview that she wanted a love story with a twist, so one of the protagonists was a vampire. Is that really a twist on love stories, though? Especially if I can think of others? No, no it's not. It's just another type of love story. A cliched one.
