This weekend I stepped back into my youth. I surrounded myself with teens giggling and oooing over a world which momentarily takes captive their minds and most assuredly their hormones. I also sat among ladies twice as old as I, also dabbling in the same state of euphoria as the 14 year old sitting next to them. Now let me ask you...what could bring so many women (and some guys) to this place of unrelenting anticipation?
It's simple - New Moon.
Yes of course I'm referring to the movie spin off from the Twilight Saga Series by Stephenie Meyer. Which by the way I enjoy. Yes I said it...the Twilight Saga is my dirty pleasure.
Warning civilized rant to follow :)
For those of you who feel obliged to express your negative reaction to the books and movies...by all means do so. It's a free country enjoy your moment of solidarity. And now I will do the same but with a request for the strident haters. For those of you adimently opposed to anything "Twilight," that's cool, but please do me a favor. Try and compare apples to apples and not apples to wine or wine to french fries. It seems the hype which circles Twilight has become target practice for those opinioned enough to shoot at it. Really if it's so sub par then why even waste your time?
I think anyone who claims to enjoy the series either in lit or video form (or both), if they were being truthful, would admit the series is an indulgence. Nothing more or less. And who doesn't allow themselves to indulge every once in a while. Everyone's tastes are different- thank goodness. So like it or hate it, but haters however you distasteful you find this series keep in mind its a YA (young adult) series written for fun and obviously geared to teenage girls (aka idealistic-imaginary-hormone-driven-adolescents)(which if you're not a gal I can understand how this storyline might offer a biological disadvantage to its enjoyment).
O.k. now onto the movie for the Twi-lovers. I am declaring my bias up front, and I am happy to say I'm not a paid critique because I don't think I ever want to analyze a movie at that level...I think it can strip the fun from it like trying to edit a book vs. just reading it for pleasure. In my perspective it yields two very different experiences.
So her's my take on NEW MOON- the movie:
Enjoyment level - 10
Accuracy to book - 8.5 (I realize allowances must be made, but it was dead close)
Character portrayal - 8 (and may I add I'm most impressed with Taylor Lautner's take on Jacob- its perfect in my mind - he gets a 10 (thus his own character plug above- plus it looks cool)(also I spoke to someone who feels the development is weaker strictly based on watching the movie- which I could lend to agree on IF you haven't read the book first)
Special effects - 9.5 (compared to the first they were just plain fun)
Musical Score - 9
Satisfaction level - 10
And finally will I see it again - YES
I'll admit this blog was more a "get it out of my system" post - sorry for the length. But considering my how weekend was submerged in Twilight's cult following, I needed to post something with Stephanie and her works in mind. Thanks Stephenie.
To conclude, in relation to my writing addiction, like Stephenie, I write for me with the purpose of ENTERTAINMENT- a get away. If a day comes I also find a fan following for my characters and their fantastical lives I would be thrilled if it reached even a percent of Twilight's success. The glory will never been mine, that's not something I can claim for myself nor want to, but I can enjoy the thrill of seeing an audience connect to my work as much as it connects to me.
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