Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Eclipse: The Review

(Spoiler Alert)
If you're reading this and you haven't read the books or seen the movie yet, then I doubt you're someone who worries about me giving away anything.

When a book that I love is made into a movie, I'm a fan of sticking closely to the text. I understand that some adjustments must be made for the sake of plot movement and time restrictions, but let's not mess with the good thing that the author created. There are some expections to this, such as Tom Bombadil in LOTR. You don't even remember him, right?

Twilight the movie was a disappointment. It did a poor job of illustrating the depth of connection between Edward and Bella. In fact, I was so distracted by Jasper's stare and Carlisle's hair that I didn't even know why they were pretending to be lions in the middle of a baseball game. Which left us wondering why Bella was so distraught in New Moon. The second movie followed closer to the story line and it introduced us to shirtless-Taylor. Nice.

On to Eclipse:

The Good
My expectations were met in both the tent and engagement scenes, two of my favorite parts in the book. The movie included just enough time with Bella's mom and dad to show that she was concerned about the choice she was making. Emmett was a nice comic relief, as always. What I most appreciated was the shortened versions of Rosalie's story, Jasper's story, and the Quileute legends. They provide crucial character development in the book, but I've read them so many times I just skip over the chapters now. We also were treated to more of Taylor's abs. Nice.

The Funny
Jasper's eyes still make me laugh out loud. Esme took some notes from him to make herself look more intense just before the fight scene. We all snickered at that one. Edward also commented on how Jacob can't seem to find a shirt to wear. The whole theater laughed when Edward pulled out the ring and the lady behind me said, "That's an ugly ring!"

The Disappointing
I know steriods can help Taylor grow muscles, but the poor guy can't seem to catch up to the 6' 7" that Jacob is supposed to be. It's hard to be intimidated by a small, scowling 16 year-old.
Why won't they let Bella cook? Is it not possible for her to be making dinner while she's talking to Charlie? Half of the book is Bella cooking dinner for her dad. Maybe it would take too much time and effort to teach Kristen how to use a kitchen.
Did they re-write Jessica as the valedictorian just because she's the new breakout actress? I felt a little sorry for Eric's character.

The Unacceptable
I fully expect that the screenwriters will take a few liberties with the story, but that last scene went a little too far. What was up with Bella's "I've never been normal" speech? And why did they feel the need to directly contradict what Bella said about there's no point in being immortal without Edward? Don't remember that part? Go look it up. Page 276.

Why the Midnight Showing?
It's all about the community experience. The evening started at Cheesecake Factory where the waiter commented on our matching t-shirts. Tamara and I were a little embarrassed, especially when the guy said a bunch of his (teenage) friends were going to the movie too. Once we got to the theater, it was awesome to have 8 of us in our "professional" shirts. Tamara and Rachel and I kept looking at each other and making faces during the movie. I couldn't stop laughing at the Jacob fans sitting next to me. Then there was the guy that decided to make a bunch of enemies by saving 30 (...yes, 30!) seats for his friends.
I did take a few pictures, but they were not quite worthy of publishing. If they were negatives, I would probably destroy them. Since they're not, I'll keep them around in case I need to blackmail Tamara or Rachel someday. ;)

It will be interesting to see how yet another director interprets the last book. At least he'll have two movies to stretch out all of the craziness that goes down in Breaking Dawn.

What is there to look forward to while we wait? Harry Potter!


Monday, June 28, 2010

Summer

I knew before the school year ended that this would not be a long, relaxing summer. After a quick weekend trip to Colorado, I jumped right in to teaching summer school. Fortunately, summer school ends this week. Unfortunately, I only have 2 1/2 weeks of summer free time left to soak up.

I have managed to squeeze in a few of my favorite summer activities:
- snow cones, usually watermelon with cream
- pool time (with my SPF 50)
- afternoon naps
- lots of reading

And have some new experiences:
- picking strawberries and blackberries in Marble Falls
- Blues on the Green at Zilker Park
- Austin Farmer's Market

But there's a lot left to do:
- go to Peru!!!
- pack and finish all the preparations for Peru
- see Eclipse at midnight (tomorrow!)
- get a library card
- spend more time at the pool
- eat more snow cones
- take some classes
- go to Michigan
- pick blueberries
- go to Six Flags (How have I not used my season pass yet?)