Well, here's my review...

I promise I'll try to keep it short...try. (And remember to excuse my not so perfect English)

I am a big fan of movies and books, as busy as I am, I usually will make time for it, so this weekend I made time to go see Twilight, twice, not that anyone had to force my hand, because after waiting for so long I could hardly wait; so, there I was, with my mouth open watching Bella and Edward kiss on screen, laughing and gasping through the first half of the film. Until then, until Bella runs away with Alice and Jasper, the movie had exceeded my expectations and for three good reasons:

FIRST: the casting was fantastic, I take my hat off to the casting director and to Catherine Hardwicke for choosing actors that would portray these characters with great accuracy. They are all talented actors, no doubt about it, from the inconspicuous class mates, to the main characters, they all moved me. Kristen Stewart was convincing and powerful, she managed to portray Bella as a real teenager who simply happens to be special, she does not expel all the self pity she shows in the book and that almost makes Bella a better character in the movie translation. Robert Pattinson was a true walking struggle, sometimes, it was painful to watch his internal turmoil, in my eyes he wasn't perfect and that almost made him even more perfect.
Watching the ensemble on screen was a true experience and an almost perfect translation of what my imagination came up with during my endless nights of re-reading each book over and over again; there was only one piece that didn't fit as well as I imagine (casting wise) and that was Rosalie. In my head, she was "statuesque" as Bella describes her, a fair maiden with very blond, very straight hair, very slender and model like, in the movie she doesn't come across as such, not a true blond, and a little more J-lo than I'd expected, not that she isn't gorgeous, simply that she doesn't fit the picture in my head as easily as the rest of the cast does, but I give it out to Nicky Reed who plays Rosalie, her portrayal was so believable that by the end I had almost forgotten I wasn't pleased with her choice and I had, without a doubt, learned to love, I mean hate her as the evil step sister; I actually would like to see her again in the next movie. Jasper's hair, still gets on my nerves, but he was so very creepy in the movie that again I almost forgot he needed a box of L'Oréal hair color ASAP.

SECOND: Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay worked magically during the first half. While watching the movie I didn't mind the missing puzzle pieces, I loved the new settings for the important conversations and I enjoyed the extra excerpts here and there. It all added to the medium, which is what a good screenplay is supposed to do, play onto the strengths of the book while translating it to the screen-especially a book like Twilight which mostly happens inside her head. I cannot imagine being charged with the daunting task of having to translate one person's thoughts into multi-person dialogues. If I could have changed anything I would have shown Bella cooking for Charlie a little more often simply to show how much he "needs" her, but truthfully, I loved the dinner and the storylines around it.

THIRD: My favorite thing about the movie were the small moments. It seems that the weight of it all fell on the simple dialogues and not so powerful shoots. Moments like the very teenage exchanges between Bella and her classmates, the conversation they have in her bedroom after they kiss and her falling asleep on his chest... (ahhh....), the trip to La Push, the field trip; Charlie and Billy, the Cullens cooking for Bella, which added humor and a bit of reality to an almost too perfect world; the small cactus she takes from Phoenix, the narration, the human interaction, Edward's vulnerability and Bella's determination. All the small moments that made for a heck of beginning of the movie.

Until, then, until Bella's runs from the Cullen's house alongside Alice and Jasper I had very little to say, mainly because my mouth hung open and I had popcorn stuck in my throat. Until then, I loved the movie, until then it was perfect... and then I blinked and they were at the prom! I kept looking around me for a sign that maybe I had fallen asleep, maybe, after spending endless hours updating twilightgeeks.com my eyes had giving in and I had missed the crucial part, the building up to the Ballet Studio Scene, but then, I sadly realized that wasn't the case, It did happen, right in front of my eyes, but it was so fast I missed it when I blinked. What happened to the chance of letting Alice shine? What happened to the building up of the tension? to the real tension the phone call is supposed to create? A 5 minute trip to the airport would have made it so much more interesting, 5 minutes to give Bella a chance to escape the bathroom, run through a crowd with a steady cam following her and experience her desperate attempt to escape Alice's visions; instead, she gets a phone call and she walks right out the front door?

There, I said it, I was truly disappointed with the unraveling of the events that would eventually lead to the climax of the film. 5 minutes would have been enough...5 minutes

I did liked the small twist at the very end and the prom was just as I expected, but I can't quit thinking about those 5 minutes I will never get back, unless the DVD is holding a great surprise for me.

On another negative note, the special effects WERE terrible, but truthfully, they did not pull enough weight in the movie to make me have a physical reaction to my dislike. The wire work on the other hand, fell WAY short of my expectations, for crying out loud, you might as well have seen the wire stretching from their back, the bounce was there, every little bit of it and that DID drive me crazy! Sometimes it looked like they were elves from The Santa Clause movie trying to take flight, rather than agile vampires with spectacular gifts. Then again, I am willing to overlook this, I did LOVE the baseball game, maybe mainly because I couldn't see much of either effects or wire work. I know that the small budget had a lot to do with it and that makes me wonder what will they come up with for New Moon with the pockets full of cash... I know, PLEASE call WETA (The Visual Effects studios that created the effects for Lord of the Rings)

All an all, this was more than I expected, a visual translation of a story I love, an almost tangible expressions of what my mind came up with the first time I read the book. If it is true that Twilight the book is sitting in my shelf as one of my favorite books of all time, it is also true that Twilight the movie may not hold the same spot. I did love it, to the point were I cannot wait to see it again, but I have a hard time understanding whether I want to see it again because of my love for the book or because It was a good movie; I guess once your heart is so involved it becomes hard to think with your mind.

For now, I am holding on to the notion that Catherine Hardwicke is a good director, who did a wonderful job translating this "immortal" tale to life and so I will be here, desperately waiting and hoping to see a very bright New Moon soon...

I told you I would TRY to make it short...sorry I wasn't successful at it.

Cara
The TwilightGeek