Thursday, November 20, 2008

Twilight the Movie: pros and cons

I just saw an advanced screening of Twilight, and I know that every teenaged girl in America is going to be walking on clouds and singing about how fabulous of a movie it is... but I'm coming from a different place. I'm not saying the movie was terrible, I'm just saying that if I were making it I would not have made it like that. Here is my list of pros and cons (WARNING, SOME SPOILERS):

Pro:
Edward Cullen. When I first heard that they got Robert Pattinson for the role I rolled my eyes. I didn't think there was even a slight chance that he could pull it off. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did he do a great job covering his accent most of the time, his acting was quite good and he looked very attractive in most shots.

Con: SCREAMING GIRLS. Every. Time. He. Appeared. On. Screen. My ears are still ringing.

Pro: Charlie was amazing. Totally not what I pictured, but the perfect Charlie. Also, Jessica and Mike Newton were surprisingly likeable and did a great job.

Con: They made the town of Forks into a wonderful multi-cultural melting pot. Hate to say it like it is, but the REAL town probably consists of a majority of very pale caucasians with a few Native Americans. There were Asians and African Americans in every shot. Ok, be non-realistic... but don't dress them up as rock stars and let them act like they are in Beverly Hills. This is Forks.

Pro: Bella Swan didn't bug the crud out of me the whole time.

Con: She did bug the crud out of me some of the time. She would not be my first choice for Bella, she's a little too sarcastic. I also wanted her to look a little prettier. They could have done her makeup differently or something. (Like the poster, she looks great in the poster!)

Ok, I can't help it... here is a flow of cons:

Con: The music. I really didn't like the soundtrack. Except for Claire De Lune, but that lasted for about 5 seconds.

Con: The filming style and the cinematography. It was like a cross between a documentary and a Bourne movie. I don't think the style fit the genre at all. It just looked like they were trying to cover up bad acting, bad computer graphics, and a whole lot of other half-baked things.

Con: The Computer graphics! They were terrible! Just one example is Edward's sparkley skin. I was not impressed.

Con: The vampires did not look prettier or even more interesting than anyone else in Forks. You could see some of their white makeup lines. However...

Pro: I liked Alice and Jasper. They saved the Cullen family from utter lameness. Jasper was quirky, but I liked it. The rest of them did a fine acting job, but they just looked so wrong... and the look is such a huge part of it.

Con: Rosalie looked slightly fat and kinda odd-looking in at least half of her shots. Out of all the blonde models out there you couldn't find ONE that would do???

Pro: The bad guys were pretty good. And I'm not just saying this because I used to go to acting school with Edi (Laurent). I didn't like their styling, but that wasn't their fault.

Con: The script, sometimes. I get that movies can't be carbon copies of books, but I also know a little bit about writing and it was off. I didn't like the introduction into the movie.

There are tons of other little cons (such as why didn't Bella have pants on when Edward first appeared in her room...) but this is getting long.

In conclusion, I am a picky movie watcher. You may see this movie and LOVE it. Please, feel free. I'm actually sad that I have so much info in my head about acting and art because I don't get to enjoy it as much. Ignorance is bliss. Sorry if I ruined yours.

3 comments:

Lynette Mills said...

I am ignorant about movies Jamie...so it is interesting to me to get your point of view. Thanks for sharing.
For me the movie just screemed teenagers...teen movies aren't my favorite but because I read the books, I enjoyed it a little more than I would have otherwise. Thanks for being so generous....and allowing me to sit in the VIP seats. It was a treat!

Tracy said...

I ended up liking it way more than I thought I would. I will buy it when it comes out. But I see your point on some things.

Michael + Anna Costa said...

I loved Twilight!! I saw it twice and loved it both times. Michael and I love movies - so it obviously wasn't "Lord of the Rings" quality but was great for what it is. I can't wait to see it again!