Movie Adaptation the best it can be!

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2010)

Twilight books - fantastic for my imagination Twilight movies - fabulous compliment to my imagination I've been writing and rewriting this review, trying to find the right words. To put it simply though, I believe that the books are like the best meal you've ever had, and the movies are like the spices, the sauce on the meal that compliment it and give it life.
Let's not forget what these movies are - adaptations and a visual showcase. I can't say that they are not as good as the book; they are not books so they shouldn't be compared. They are movies! But what they offer should not be disregarded, or discouraged by anyone. They are a director's showcase of what he believes the movie to be so it's just a different perspective to our own which doesn't make it wrong.
But you know what ... if they capture and portray to us most of the magic contained in the book, in the characters, I will be happy.
Thank you Catherine Hardwicke. You found the people, you gave it a beginning, you picked THE best soundtrack and I thought you had Edward's hair the best, but too many scenes with Bella's ears popping out unfortunately. Your kissing scene was the best and the editing was really good. Baseball scene was awesome and again, the soundtrack and the score – mesmerizing. My only issue was the lack of dialog, that's all and a few scenes I would've liked to see which missed the cut. That's OK, there was magic and mystique in your portrayal and we can't go past that.
Well done to Chris Weitz. He gave us a beautiful perspective of Jacob and he portrayed the scenes delicately. I believe he gave the characters the space especially from the outset of production. His sensitive approach to the leaving scene and yet letting Jacob show his fun happy side was appreciated. Edward looked more like a 100 year old vampire in this whereas in Twilight he seemed like a teenager. I loved the hair on this movie for all except probably Jasper and Edward. It should be more like it was in Twilight. Editing was OK, the linkage between the scenes was great, Volturi were awesome – love Michael Sheen! Your wolves were fantastic so big ups to your CGI. Your backdrops were incredible; soundtrack was good though a little bit too quirky for me. I have grown to like it though.
David Slade - wow! I think your job was the most difficult. You saw Catherine portray the characters, and then you watched Chris developed them in his own way. I got the feeling that you tried to stick to the book, provide awesome dark moments and action which is your specialty and then just let the story come through. Brilliant! Some will say it sounded like the book; however it visually wasn't the book. I saw who cares to them, using the words from the book made it more like we were reading it and adding the pictures. Awesome! Charlie was great in this, the scenes were real. My only criticism was the linkage from scene to scene kind of made me feel like I was jumping around. I've seen it twice and will see it again. Once I have the DVD it will be much better for me. I loved the opening scene with Bella and Edward in the meadow, very nice. I loved the way you portrayed the stillness of the vampires, their speed and agility. We never see such things so it's hard to imagine yet after watching the movie I can visualize it now. I think Stephenie had a big part to play in the tent scene and we fans are grateful. Bryce did a fantastic job, wonderful. Your portrayal of the newborns was great, Riley and Victoria's background hinted at just enough. Bella's hair though – let's never do that to Kristen ever again. Her real hair is too beautiful to be ruined with wigs! And Edwards hair was still a little like New Moon, but I still loved it. I think the close-ups could be relaxed a little and give us a bit more dialog. I think it should've been longer.
For Breaking Dawn - what would I like to see? Edwards's hair like it was in Twilight, Bella's hair more like it was in New Moon, Alice/Jasper/Emmet/Rosalie/Carlisle and Esme developed more as they have such beautiful personalities we should see them more. Don't be afraid to make it 3 hours - we will watch it and give those more to say. They say so much in the books that we shouldn't be cheated out of that, I feel.
I've never read books as much as I have with these. I have never watched a movie so many times as I have with these. And what's even better, my husband is also hooked which is a big deal for my rugby, macho man. I often think of how Stephenie could've felt when she saw this story in her head. I am thankful she had the skills to be able to write it for us.