Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Hello all bloggers and blogettes out there who may be reading this...my first official blog describing my thoughts on the entertainment world.I know I already wrote an introduction blog,but this will be what most of my future blogs will be about in the future.If you would like to read other blogs about random stuff I can get bored enough to write about...feel free to add me on myspace at myspace.com/jameserickson.That is all for my introduction,and now on to the the real thing.

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer is the current hot commodity among the book and movie world.I first heard about it when my local Barnes & Noble store put a big sign out front saying to preorder your copy of Breaking Dawn and that they were going to have a special opening at midnight for everybody who reserved their copy.I never heard of Twilight or Stephenie Meyer at the time,so I was a little surprised.I know they did that for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowlings,and maybe a few other books that I can't recall at the moment...but it took me by surprise.Shortly after that my girlfriend Sarah told me that her friend Jen has been reading the Twilight series and that she enjoyed it...and that she was a harsh critic of books too.That last part about her liking it AND being a harsh critic made me interested in reading it.I was told by Sarah that I may not like it because it is a teenage vampire love story...and I am not a romance fan...in books or movies.Nevertheless,around Christmastime last year,I bought it and a few other books and waited to read it...and waited...and waited.

I waited because I needed some motivation to read it,it didn't interest me and I was waiting for Sarah to start reading so I could compete with her to see who would finish first.Neither of us started it for quite awile,and I wanted to see the movie(I am a strong believer in reading the book first and then see the movie)so I suggested that we read it together when we hang out.We read the first chapter together,maybe more...but not much more,and just never read it together again.After a few weeks,I decided to go ahead and read it by myself.At first I didn't like it,and it just dragged on and on,making it hard to keep me interested enough to pick it up and read it.But I forced myself to,which is something I hate having to do.I think it makes for a less enjoyable experience with anything.

The first few chapters were the most difficult to read,as is the case with most things.However this book really sucked all excitement and desire to read out of me.I thought of stopping for awhile,but my mom and brother had seen the movie already and told me it was good,so I continued reading.The book did absolutely nothing for me...it was just like every other "new chick in town"high school book until chapter 8.I am not gonna be a spoiler for those who have not read the book/seen the movie,so I will try not to say too much other than that.From chapter 8-16,I loved it.It was exciting,funny,romantic,and the best part of it was that it was real to life.It didn't portray anything new for teens with their first love...but it differentiated with the vampire twist thrown in.It was not what I expected it to be.I thought it would be more of a typical high school crush...but Meyer did a nice job of making Edward hate his power/curse.Most would think he would enjoy it,or even make Edward be a split personality of a normal teenager...and then a blood-crazed vampire.Instead Meyer crafted Edward into a sort of anti-hero who everybody can sympathize with despite all the powers and things he can do.

The book becomes even better nearing the end beginning at chapter 17.It was so good,that I did not want to put it down.I was thoroughly engrossed in it.The book continues that same momentum,that drive all the way until it's thrilling conclusion.The ending did surprise me,but now it leaves me wondering what the next book will be about,what will happen,that sorta thing...which is what all good story-tellers do,make you want to hear more and more.

My final word on the book is it is a very good read.The target audience is centered around teenage girls(in my opinion)but has something for everyone and is definately worth your time to read.I am not usually high up on reading romance or teen novels,but this book surely delivered for me.I will be giving a rating out of 0-10 for everything I review.0 being the lowest,meaning if it comes within a 5 foot range of you,you need to walk away slowly and make sure not to let it get too close,and 10 which means it is something that you should go out of your way to find/get...even if it means yours kids starve.I would rate Twilight the book at 7.5.

Twilight the movie is part 2 of my review.I finished the book last week and got Sarah to start reading it so we could watch the movie together.If she didn't finish the book soon I was going to watch it without her.The book got me so hyped up,it pained me to wait as long as I did to finally watch it.I wanted to see the movie in the first place as that was a motivating factor in me forcing myself to read it.I must of lit a fire in her to finally finish the book because she picked it up and finished it last week while at my house.I asked her to bring the movie over with her this past Saturday so we could watch it.We were both pretty anxious to see it considering how we both really enjoyed the ending of the book.Unfortunately I felt the movie did the book and Meyer an injustice.

With all the hype and hoopla the movie made at theaters and with how good the book was,I had high expectations.It was like the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings with all the media exposure(well maybe not Harry Potter)and merchandise created around it.On the cover of magazines you hear about arguing and romances being had while filming.It is like a media frenzy with the series...but with one exception.Where the Harry Potter franchise and the Lord of the Rings movies lived up to the hype,Twilight didn't.It is near impossible to when the bar has been set so high,but this movie didn't even come close for me.Bella did not look how I expected,neither did her father,or some of her friends.That is something that should of been an easy thing to remedy...but it wasn't.I am not saying the actors and actresses hired didn't do a good job,considering everything I thought they did well,but at least have Bella look like the Bella we read about.I am sure with the amont of money she was paid,she could of dyed her hair for the movies.The hair is what really irritated me the most.I invisioned,and thought a light brown/blondish Bella with the dark-haired Edward would of really made for a good dynamic.The fair skinned,light haired Bella with the pale skinned,dark haired vampire Edward would of shown the opposite nature they share together.Haven't they heard "opposites attract"?Moving on,the movie does some minor geographical changes in moving Bella's mom from Phoenix to Tampa.Maybe her mom moved there in the movie to be with Bella's step-father,but I don't think they mentioned that she was living there in the book.I know movies and books differentiate,but it really annoys me.I also kinda wanted to see more of Dr.Cullen and his backstory in the movie,they told a little about it,but I was hoping for a black and white flashback kind of thing.One positive thing the movie does is it shows other people being hunted by the group of vampires well before they are even mentioned in the book.I like how they built them up,instead of the Cullens just getting word of it and then them popping up.They gave you a preview into what to expect from the ending.

Overall the movie was not utterly horrible,but when comparing the book to the movie,the movie pales in comparison which is usually the case.One thing I would like to comment on is the special effects. For a movie of this budget I thought it could have been so much more realistic and well-done. For instance, with Edward's running; it just looked so Sci-Fi Channel-ish. That is all for now. I would recommend seeing the movie only if you have read the book and want to see it in live action. The movie as a whole was not great but not bad. I would rate it a 7.5-8 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best. But when compared to the book, I would rate it 5.5-6.