Be Realistic

Rating: 5/10 (15 January 2009)

I'm a guy and I saw this movie and have since read the book. I'm not in love with the series but find it relatively compelling. I think it would be better if I had ever been a girl going through high school, but alas I went through it as a guy. I went to the movie because I know fan girls who love this series and wouldn't shut up about it. I don't like to judge these fads as I once liked Pokemon. I saw this movie not knowing anything about the series other than Edward is a vampire and Bella was in love with him. As someone who has not read the book the story was quite interesting. They made a pretty decent plot out of what they had to work with. Like I said I read the book later and was amazed at what they did. In the book, it felt like it was a turn of the page and Bella is in love with Edward where in the movie, I feel the progression felt more natural with less of the angst filled teenage girl feel. The acting is overdone but I feel it was intentional. If you've ever seen Speak with Kristen Stewart, you know she can act. I feel she probably was acting well and they asked her to stop. The camera never stops moving really unless the actors are moving around. I remember one scene where Bella is talking to Charlie in the kitchen and Bella is filling a glass with water and drinking it while her dad is eating his food. What grabbed me about that scene is I can't remember the dialog because they were moving around so much. There is always movement. I feel all of this was also done for their target audience: Angst filled teenage girls. Let's be realistic, that is who the film was intended for. That's who the books were written for. The camera never stops panning and the actors never stop movie because teenagers have ADD. Despite a myriad of flaws, the movie was still entertaining. It's not the next Lord of the Rings or anything but when I left, I didn't feel ripped off. Let's be realistic, most movies suck these days so just having a film that doesn't annoy me is an accomplishment.