Twilight (2008)

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Writers: Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay), Stephenie Meyer (based on her novel)
Composer: Carter Burwell (he also did the music for the Colin Farrell movie "In Bruges"... one of those rare movies where Colin Farrell isn't hiding his native Irish accent to sound American for a specific role)

Cast:
Bella Swan- Kristen Stewart
Edward Cullen- Robert Pattinson
Jacob Black- Taylor Lautner
Carlisle Cullen- Peter Facinelli
Chef Charlie Swan- Billy Burke
Billy Black- Gil Birmingham
Mike Newton- Michael Welch
Jessica Stanley- Anna Kendrick
Eric- Justin Chon
Angela Webber- Christian Serratos
Tyler Crowley- Gregory Tyree Boyce
Alice Cullen- Ashley Green
Jasper Cullen- Jackson Rathbone
Emmett Cullen- Kellen Lutz
Rosalie Cullen- Nikki Reed
Esme Cullen- Elizabeth Reaser
Reneé Swan- Sarah Chalke
James- Cam Giganget
Victoria- Rachelle Lefevre
Laurent- Edi Gathegi

Write-up:

It should be noted... I am such a nerd about this series that I barely had to look at the credits to remember the names of everyone in the cast. At least everyone notable of mentioning.

First thing things first, I am a Twi-hard. I love this series. The books a lot more than the movies, of course. But of all the YA books series I got into after Harry Potter got me excited about reading fiction (no joke, when we had library as a class in elementary school, I borrowed more non-fiction than fiction because I didn't get into a lot of fiction books... I started reading Harry Potter in 2002 shortly before the movie came out and I was 16... that should give you some idea).
I remember reading an article about Twilight in the paper back in 2007 and it said that it was putting a twist on horror movie monsters. The story was about a teenage girl who had a boyfriend who was a vampire and her best friend was a werewolf. My memory is fuzzy, but I think it was something I had in the back of my mind and I remembered I wanted to read it when I saw the book when I went to Target in the spring of 2008 when I was home from college. I remember when I first started reading it and it sucked me in and I'd loved it since. (And yes, I realize there was an easy pun there... I didn't mean it as a pun, that's actually true).

And I remember when they first showed the trailer for this and I knew immediately what it was and I was floored to see these characters on my TV and they're going to be in a movie. 
It was such a big deal that when our animé club in college suggested a trip for us to do a midnight showing the night it premiered... normally I'd see these movies with my mom, but I had to jump at this chance because it was a big deal. And it was my chance to be part of a phenomenon. When certain characters appeared on the screen for the first time, the crowd cheered for them. It was absolutely crazy and I loved every minute of it. And of course I didn't mind going to see this at the movies a second time. The only other time I saw a movie in theaters twice... the first Harry Potter movie... 

I'm not just doing this entry now because the movie came out 10 years ago this year... it's been a long time since I'd read through this series and saw the movies and I thought it was time to revisit this world. 

I can't remember the last time I read the book. But obviously it's the most of any of the series. Heck, my paperback is pretty beat-up. I had to tape the spine because it was starting to rip. I'm pretty sure I hadn't read it more than 10 times. But it's been so much that I can anticipate some lines before they come up. My eyes will sometimes scroll further down and see some lines before I get there. Which is a sign I've read something too much... it happened a few times with my favorite Animorphs books (the only fictional series I really got into before Harry Potter and Twiilght happened).
It was also interesting because I'm interpreting some stuff differently than I had before. Some of it had to do with being older and more time passing. But also reading the gender-swapped version called "Life & Death"... a lot of it was identical, but the differences were interesting to take into account. Notably, the ending... and it really made me think harder about the choice at the crux of this story. I'd always been VERY Team Edward. Not to the point where I would start a cat fight with someone else who was Team Jacob. But to the point where I am very angry with Jacob when I read the books in those scenes where he's very anti-Edward. But I'll go more into that with the later books/movies... there's a lot more on that. 

And after going through all three 50 Shades books and movies, which were originally Twilight fanfiction... it's hard not to see some of that coming on. Like in those instances where Edward is clearly stalking, the red flags are going off in my mind. That didn't happen before. But that may also because I'm a bit older now and I'm seeing the difference. Not that I'd personally experienced any of that myself... I'm not more experienced in that particular realm than I was 10 years ago. 

I will say, though, that the reason I relate so strongly to these books... I am Bella. Not the point where I hate birthdays or that we have similar family backgrounds or vocabularies, but I read the words on the page and I related immediately. I'd react to these situations the same way she would. So naturally the fact she's constantly criticizied for being an inactive protagonist or being overly involved with her boyfriend... it's hard not to take offense to that. She's very flawed, but none of us are perfect either. And while I'm not a hopeless klutz (although my mom does have the klutz gene and I have my klutzy moments that are getting worse with age), I am as much an introvert as she is and I find that refreshing to have in a protagonist. 
I'll also add: as good as Kristen Stewart is as Bella in certain aspects of the character, I'm still convinced to this day I could have done a better job and I have zero acting expereince. Heck, I took three semesters of drama and never received a call-back for anything I ever auditioned for in high school...can't say I didn't try! Admittedly, I am bitter to this day that I was never cast in anything I tried for and the same kids always got cast in our productions. Despite all that, I could have been better. CinemaSins on YouTube, I think even kept a tally going of how many times she took in breath or gasped or stuttered before saying a line. You can chalk some of it to Edward being very disarming to be around and what teenage girl is able to talk intelligibly to the guy she finds attractive... but after a point, I admit its too much. 

Really, the biggest flaws about these movies is how Bella is portrayed. Read the books and you see she can be funny, she can take charge of situations... because she was often the parent in the situation between her and her mom, she takes care of chores AND she cooks a lot. The movies never showed her cook-- there was one time in all of the movies... more on that later. A lot of Kristen's performance is one note and it goes between two extremes... either there's not a lot of humor or expression involved or she's stuttering through her dialogue where it's cringe-worthy. Given the right role, I really like her a lot and I'd seen her plenty of times after these movies.
On the other hand, when I first saw the movie, I was really surprised with her in this role and how much I thought she worked within it. But as time went on and I read the books more, I really imprinted on the material to the point I feel like I'd be better suited for it. At least I'd love the opportunity- even if I'm twice the age of the character by this point. (I'm still getting carded when I order drinks in restaurants- that should count for something, right?)

I make this comment because as happy as I was that the actor playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter (and I actually cried my eyes out in the theater when he got killed... wouldn't be the first time for this actor), I didn't like Robert Pattinson as Edward. I'm still not 100% sold on it... I'm maybe 80% sold at best. I hate the fact he's British and he has to do an American accent for this role. I mean, Edward is technically from Chicago originally, but still... Robert Pattinson doing an American accent doesn't do it for me. In fact, there are very few Brits that can sell me on their American accents... the one exception might be Andrew Garfield in "Hacksaw Ridge"... 

This is a stupid issue to have with the movies, but I can't help it... I hate that they're not direct adaptations from the book. For the sake of making a movie, they had to include other scenes with the nomad vampires to foreshadow their arrival later in the movie... but in the book, there was no hint of them until later on, a chapter before they arrive. I get that Stephenie Meyer wrote the book from a dream and Chapter 13 was the dream and she wrote it to the end before working backwards. A lot of people might not think it works in a movie-- just suddenly introducing the bad guys towards the end. But as much as there's some cringe-worthy stuff, I'd rather spend more time with Bella and Edward than foreshadowing and backstory stuff not from the book.
I will forgive them introducing Jacob when they did because he has his own fanbase and they had introduce him early to incite interest. And it really does work. 

Probably the one thing I really hated about the adaptation process... the biology lab chapter "Blood Type" was completely scrapped and changed to a field trip. I can see why they did it. Bella almost got killed in a car accident that Edward saved her from, so adding on a scene where she faints in Biology when they're doing blood typing would be making her seem like a real wimp... but that is my favorite chapter in the whole book. I am not joking! It's a fun chapter I always look forward to reading. She's faint and Mike volunteers to take her to the nurse's office and Edward interprets her on the way there, because of course he does. But there's a lot of humor in that chapter. I have fun reading it. He says something like "I thought Newton was dragging your corpse to bury in the woods and that I'd have to avenge your death"... it's dry dark humor, but it's funny. And I miss it. 
Also-- there's all this "build-up" to Bella finding out Edward is a vampire. Jacob doesn't even say the words "werewolf" or "vampire" in the "Scary Story" scene in the movie. And then it all leads up to this scene from the trailers where Bella says "vampire" to Edward in the middle of the woods. All of us watching the movies know where the hell it's going, so why not just say the words and stop teasing us with them? 

I agree there's only so much you can do with this source material. It could be the best written script in the world and have the best actors for the roles and it could still be miscontrused by people who make it all out to be a big joke. 
I know it's not perfect, but it's hard for me not to take offense to people making fun of Twilight and Bella in particular. Kinda like the people who give Taylor Swift a hard time. These people are a mirror of how I see myself and to criticize them feels like a personal attack on me even though these people don't even know me and I don't know them. 

Ok... I think I've done enough negativity and to focus on the positives. 

Everyone else in the cast is great, perfect in their roles. Heck, some didn't register the same way in the books and their portrayal in the movies made me look at them in a way that informed the rest of my reading of the books. 
Billy Burke as Charlie. He didn't look anything like I pictured him to be and he's so much better. He's the typical dad dealing with a teenager daughter and he has that awkwardness about it. But he also has subtle dry sense of humor. As I understand it, he also gained his own fanbase out of the movies. 
Ashley Greene as Alice... I always loved Alice, but I loved her even more after seeing her in the movies. She really embraced that character. 
Anna Kendrick as Jessica... this movie introduced a lot of us to Anna Kendrick. And I followed to her so many movies after this. Heck, she's the only one associated with these movies that got an Oscar buzz. I didn't think too much of Jessica reading the books. Not that I hated her, but Bella spoke about her like she was a girl who craved the attention of being in her company than her actual company. Anna Kendrick playing her was a perfect fit and it's hard to separate the two a lot of the time. 
It was also interesting after the fact seeing Mike in "Joan of Arcadia"... a completely different character than he is in these movies. And it was nice to have that sense of familarity. (Although I already knew Amber Tamblyn from the Sisterhood of the Pants and the actor who played her boyfriend Adam from that movie Fanboys). 

All of the Cullens were cast really well to where it felt like these character had come to life right off the page. And that's really made these movies so fun to watch. Even if some of the source material got skewered in the process. 

The soundtrack is full of a lot of indie artists I don't really know. I'd heard of Muse and Paramore and Linkin Park, but not many of the others. Stephenie Meyer knew a lot of indie bands and had their music throughout the movies. And they were also part of her personal soundtrack of music she was listening to while writing the books. (Admittedly, I didn't get the soundtrack until maybe 2012... and it was because the songs showed up in Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance... Colton Dixon did that Paramore song "Decode" on American Idol and it was when I first really took notice of him and followed him to a couple of his albums. "Eyes on Fire" was danced to on SYTYCD and Kayla and Kupono nailed the vampire personas- I was annoyed when Nigel Lythgoe mentioned Twilight and True Blood in the same breath... both series were big at that time, but that song was from Twilight ALONE and True Blood is completely different-- it's a lot more violent and sexual for starters, which is why I couldn't get into watching it like my family did. I think the trigger was when they used it on Dancing with the Stars and their cast of singers ruined the song... that's the one thing I really didn't like about Dancing with the Stars. Aside from them never using any actual stars, and they're still going despite being out of legit celebrities, I hated how they had their own singers instead of actually using the songs from the recordings... unless it's the actual singers, it never sounds good to me to have cover artists).

As much as she has a lot of fans, there are so many haters who criticized and ripped her apart for being "a bad writer" that she can't maintain any sort of social media presence. Nothing's more than E.L. James being more or less bullied off of Twitter when she tried to do a Q&A session about 50 Shades and nearly all of the comments she received were criticizing her material. Criticism that is deserved to a point, but it's a really sad situation when so many people are on the attack to where there's no way they can get answers to their questions. At least not the answers they want to hear. But I'd love to write Stephenie one of these days and say how much I loved these movies and books. Moreso the books.
I actually attempted to rewrite the screenplay a few years ago to make it more of a play by play of the book... but I got lost around the middle. It's not as easy as it looks. But I at least would have kept "Blood Type" in the script and have given Alice and Emmett... even Jasper more screen time. They add a little more to the scenes they're in within the book and it gives another great point of focus to expand on situations. Like Jasper controlling the mood when he and Alice are trying to keep Bella safe in Phoenix and Bella trying to fight against that. Or Emmett and Alice both trying to convince Edward to think through the situation when they're trying to get away from James. 

One final positive: Carter Burwell is really good at composing. When I recognized that main piano piece as Bella's Lullaby... it was another of those mind-blowing book-come-to-life situations. I can play it to a point, but not as well as he did. 

I could do a play by play of the whole movie and the book with all of my likes, dislikes, nods of approval and so on... but I think I got most of it done here. I don't need to write 500 pages on that on its own :P 

I will say it was interesting to read the book again and getting more of a handle on Edward's perspective. Why he reacted so badly to Bella when they first met. How she was perfectly made to be his kryponite- him not being able to read her mind, the fact her smell sings to him stronger than anyone else's, and how there were a few times where he almost killed her because the temptation was too much. 
Stephenie Meyer actually posted part of her manuscript to "Midnight Sun"- Twilight from Edward's perspective online... a choice she ultimately made because some jerk had to leak her manuscript and is singlehandedly responsible for the fact she vowed never to release it in full in any form... haters just had to ruin it for everyone who gave a damn... I downloaded what she put online, but I have actually yet to read it. I keep meaning to, but just keep putting it off. Maybe someday. 
And I'll admit I was annoyed she published Life & Death instead... and another movie called Midnight Sun (based off an unrelated book) got released... That book is most identical and it's a little weird dealing with some of these characters with different genders. But like I said, it was enlightening to get this other version of it and see these characters in a different light. And also that ending... 

And after seeing the movie, I'm starting to wonder if I'm still as Team Edward as I used to be. If there's potential for me to convert to being Team Jacob... or will I get to a point in the literature or the movies where I just revert back and I wind up hating Jacob again and I stay Team Edward for the rest of my life. 
But it is oddly to a point where I'm thinking to myself... maybe she is rushing to spend all of her eternity with him. 

Anyway... there'll be more of this to come. I'll try to do one book at a time, then watch the movie and do my write-up... just as I did with the Harry Potter series. Except this time... it's a little more personal.