The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.
[Jacob Black, Eclipse, Chapter 26, p.600]

However, that was not mentioned in the adaptation.

What day is it? I can’t believe that until now I haven’t done a review for Eclipse. Had it been shown in 2008, I probably had drafted my review already with fill in the blanks type (until I validate the other details). You know how it feels when you used to be head over heels over someone/something OR that famous realization about first love? That it actually dies, but is never forgotten. That is the current state of my Twilight Saga addiction. For old times’ sake, I willingly write this non-traditional review and random babbling into one:

(a) Would you believe that a larger percentage of the patronizers on the day that I watched were locals (Emiratis)? Their younger generation really are becoming more open minded.
(b) Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen is unfortunately depreciating. I prefer to remember Edward Cullen just as he is in the book and Robert Pattinson as he was in the first movie and as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I think most of you have heard of the joke, “Voldemort had killed Cedric Diggory and was turned into a vampire… he is now Edward Cullen!”
(c) On the other hand, Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black has became more appealing. In the book, I am with Team Edward. But in the movies, I am on the other side. Semi-Team Jasper even, in Eclipse. Members of Team Jasper increased because a portion of his admirable vampire career was highlighted.
(d) Why is Kristen Stewart’s (Isabella Swan) acting not improving? Haaay.
(e) Xavier Samuel as Riley Biers (new character) was very good. Too bad his role died on this movie, too. His acting reminded me of Vampire Diaries (Season 2 will start in September. Better than Twilight Saga.)
(f) The soundtrack is remarkable.
(g) Jessica’s valedictory address was good. But in the books, it sounded like Angela and Eric are the brainier batchmates.
(h) My most favorite scene in the book, i.e. the tent scene, which I looked forward to in the adaption, was depicted excellently. That was when they spent  the night on the mountains. On that stormy hour, the sickly chilling Bella cannot be comforted by Edward since the vampires as popularized from this point are as cold as ice. Jacob being hot-blooded, of wolf descent, saved the damsel in distress. There goes the one million dollar statement: “Let’s face it, I’m hotter than you!” The man-to-man (or ice versus fire) talk happened thereafter meaningfully. How lucky is Bella eh? But I do not envy her. Heehee.
(i) During my fanatic days, I was torn with the thought of becoming a vampire or wolf. I wanted to be a vampire because they are capable of not sleeping at all.  That means that I would be able to do a lot of things. And if I will have the special power like Alice Cullen’s, i.e. to foresee things, I probably can accumulate a lot of funds by playing through the stocks and other investments. But I realized that I do not want to cheat. I wanted to be a wolf instead since they can sleep and eat normally unlike the vampires. But smell wise, the wolves were jokingly depicted in the saga as smelling like dogs. Vampires are super vain, but I do not like that they are very pale. Assuming that there are only two choices: would you want to be a vampire or wolf? or let us rephrase that into “would like to get married to Edward Cullen or Jacob Black?”
(j) On a serious note, those who have watched Eclipse but have not read the book will definitely find Bella the ultimate two timer. Just after agreeing to marry Edward, the next day she was caught kissing Jacob (to top it all, she asked him). Although Edward did not technically see it, but of course, he has the ability to read everyone’s thoughts (except Bella’s). You just imagine him reading Jacob’s thoughts – all the intentions and emotions. However, Bella did that as a strategy to get Jacob on a surviving mindset as he was about to fight with the newborns (Army of Vampires created by Victoria).
(k) But whichever way you try to see it, she really is. She actually admitted that she loves Jacob, while she is engaged to Edward (hahaha). And claimed that she loves the latter more, anyway. And that’s perfectly fine for Edward. Where does he get his fountain of understanding? As explained in the book, his maturity about certain aspects is beyond compare being a more than 100-year old vampire. And you see, Jacob is just too aggressive. Edward’s being old fashioned (to an ancient extent) and empathizing were actually charming. But wait until you read the next point.
(l) He will suggest to Bella (as she wanted to procreate during their marriage) to have a baby with Jacob, knowing his limitations as a vampire. Eeeeep, that is on Book 4! [Sorry about the spoiler.]  Breaking Dawn the movie is yet to be shown – in two parts.
(m) The cutest terminology that surfaced in Eclipse is “imprinting”. When a wolf does imprint on someone, it is like he or she has found a soulmate. The way it was stated in the movie was clever. But I think that the process and school of thought were more descriptive as mentioned in the book:

It’s not like love at first sight, really. It’s more like… gravity moves. When you see her, suddenly it’s not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that’s a protector, or a lover, or a friend, or a brother.
[Jacob Black, Eclipse, Chapter 8, p.176]

(n) And Jacob thought he imprinted on Bella. But he will have the real imprinting on Bella’s half human-half vampire daughter (on Book 4). Sure, that sounds weird… Jacob’s love interest is an infant. My initial reaction, too. But if you would refer back to the real meaning of imprinting, it encompasses not only romantic love. I wished though that he had imprinted on Leah Clearwater instead.
(o) I waited for the following lines from Jacob, which did not happen in the movie:

The fortune-telling bloodsucker can’t see us? Seriously? That’s excellent!
Chapter 4, p.104

I think it’s easier for you to be near me when I’m not human, because you don’t have to pretend that you’re not attracted to me.
Chapter 21, p.478

I make you nervous. But only when I’m human. When I’m a wolf, you’re more comfortable around me.
Chapter 21, p.478

He’s like a drug for you, Bella. I see that you can’t live without him now. It’s too late. But I would have been healthier for you. Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun.
Chapter 26, p.599

The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.
Chapter 26, p.600

(p) In general, the third film adaption was the best so far. It actually is the best among the four books. I wonder how they will execute the out of the world scenes from the fourth/last book. I hope that the Volturis will be really authoritative then, I was not too impressed with their presence in this movie.

Although my addiction has worn out, it is obvious that I can still talk about it and them endlessly. When friends refer to me for “consultation” on the missing links, I still explain to them patiently and effortlessly. I guess that’s what happens when you liked something too much that you have read it four times. You explain things as if they just transpired last night. Haha.

N.B. I thought it would be difficult to finish this post as I tried to gather my mood. It turned out to be a breeze. It also took me out from my packed weekend for a while.

I think that it is odd that I got surprised when I learned that the third installment of the Twilight Saga, Eclipse, is going to be shown in the cinemas soon. I mean, I used to be very informed of anything Twilight related. While it is debuting on the 30th of June in most of the countries, we got the 8th of July playdate here. It is odder that I did not take it as a big deal like when I did when the first installment was shown here few days late. Really, the delay strained my patience and even pained my sleep. I even made pre-screening preparations like re-reading the book, having the ticket in advance, at a minimum. It is interesting though that there is going to be an advanced screening (which is rarely happening in the UAE) of Eclipse on 1st of July. The oddest thing was that I did not even consider that. Wow, I think I have matured a lot (*facepalm*).

If you are a follower of this blog, you can attest that I was soooo consumed by Twilight. I can not help but giggle when I re-read my crazy entries on the day I got the four books (and reading it several times), that I was so engrossed that I associated too many things with Twilight that it affected my conversations with selected few, going gaga over my Twilight shoes (I love this pair until now; I think this is going to be one of my treasured pairs forever), writing my review for the first film adaptation after watching it thrice in the cinema, and more. Well, I thought those were the most logical stuff to write that moment. Seriously.

I am randomly recollecting how this Twilight madness enriched my well-being. Aside from the unexpected financial benefit which I got during one of my travels (i.e. I did not pay for my excess baggage, more than 10 kilos as I remember, when I was in Hong Kong, because I was wearing my Twilight shoes which signaled the airport officer that we are on the same boat. The rest is history. Hence, I got an implicit discount.), I think what matters more to me is the friendship it strengthened and the one of a kind virtual association I gained by sharing the same passion for Jacob and/or Edward (just kidding), errr, by sharing the same interest – to put it simply (special mention to Toni, who has been there through thick and thin; yes, there’s such a thing!). You probably know how it feels when you are fighting for a common cause.

Going back to my claimed “maturity”, I saw it coming when I was never tempted to get a graphic novel at all and New Moon DVD (but I watched it twice on the big screen, haha) soon. I was not tracking Stephenie Meyer‘s new novel as well. Unlike when I finished the four books, I was very hungry for anything Meyer that I also read The Host (yes, she knows other creatures other than vampires and wolves!), which made me realize just now that I have not done a review yet.

It is interesting how junk food for the brain (the same with Farm Town, chic literatures, etc.) consumes us in a way as if it meant the world to us. That during those times, we tried hard to manage the addiction without really knowing when the fever is going to subside. When I re-read my Twilight entries and Farm Town madness, I never felt though that I wanted to delete any of these even if it is going to be embarrassing to some extent… because they formed part of my interests and made me. We must be thankful for this kind of junk food because they kept us sane. We can never be too serious, there is going to be the other side of us always. But as the term suggests, we need to precaution ourselves not to take too much junk for our brains.

What are your junk food for the brain?

Fans were like this during the first movie. Are they the same after they have seen New Moon?

Honestly, if I haven’t read the book, I won’t bother to see the movie. Or maybe, I will, but not on the big screen.

If I have read the book but did not like it, I will probably see the adaptation hoping that there’s a big improvement in it.

But since I read the book (the entire Twilight Saga to be exact), although I did not like New Moon at all, I will watch all the film adaptations to see how the characters and stories came into flesh.

I’ve watched New Moon (second installment in Twilight Saga) twice, with different companions, enough to compare the moviegoers in different screenings and notice the remarkable and non-remarkable. We had a discussion after the screening about the silly, unreasonable and laughable scenes and twists in this sequel. Being the Twilight nerd in our group, I was like the Help Menu providing the details on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Lol. So, instead of making a traditional movie review, several comments on an FAQ type follow.

1. The screenplay sucks. What’s wrong with the screenwriters?

Nothing. The story was based on the second book, New Moon, which was poorly written. I’m a fan, but to be frank, this book was my least favorite because it’s boring I was just forced to finish this one so that I can proceed with the third book which turned out to be my most favorite. In New Moon, Bella was always whining, suicidal and didn’t make sense at all. Another reason I initially disliked it was because Edward was out of the picture for 80%. I was with Team Edward when I was reading it. Believe me, the movie is 4 times better than the book. Wow, quite an exception to the fact that the book is always better than the adaptation.

2. I thought the Cullens are generally no longer tempted by the human blood. Why did Jasper want to attack Bella after she had a simple paper cut? Why does Jasper have that normally constipated look?
The Cullens are vegetarian vampires, i.e. they only drink blood of the animals. Jasper is the youngest among them, in terms of being converted into a vampire. Hence, he’s the most mouthwatered/tempted whenever a single drop of human blood is around. The vampires are always holding their breath when they’re with humans so as to avoid being tempted by their scent (blood). Hence, the constipated look and the irregular breathing when they talk.

3. Why did Edward suddenly break up with Bella? And why on the woods?
Jasper’s attempted attack on Bella made him realize that the obvious danger is always there, no matter how they try to live in each other’s world as normal as they can. I also thought it was heartless to break up with her on the woods, of all places. Knowing how clumsy Bella is.

4. Who is that guy who found Bella in the woods? Why was he shirtless? What was he doing in the woods?
That’s Sam Uley. The leader of the pack of wolves (of Quilette tribe, descended from wolves). It’s their mission to protect the people from vampires. They don’t kill humans, only vampires. Except for the Cullens because years ago they made a treaty that they will not touch them as long as they don’t bite any human. In return, the Cullens cannot go beyond La Push, wolves territory.

He was topless because he was “hunting” from the woods. It’s easier for the wolves to transform into human or vice versa when they don’t wear a shirt. In the book though, Edward left a note in Charlie Swan’s (Bella’s father, who is the Chief of Police in Forks, Washington) house that they were going to the woods for a walk.

5. I got so dizzy with the scene that months were counted from October and so on, that Bella was just sitting in her room facing the window. What about you?
Same here. In the book, few pages were without stories, just month labels (October-December) to imply that Bella was lifeless when Edward left. Did you notice that in the movie she was just sitting and didn’t change clothes? I think being lifeless could have been depicted better.

6. Why did Jacob loose his temper that he wanted to punch Mike Newton (Bella’s classmate who’s crushing on her) after watching the movie Face Punch?
That moment, Jacob’s calling to become a wolf and join Sam Uley has reached its peak. He became literally hot. A wolf thing. Hence, he didn’t want to be seen by Bella on the succeeding days. Thinking that she won’t be able to accept this abnormality + her being associated with the Cullens.

7. Why did Jacob cut his hair? Why the sudden change in his built?
When they are transforming into wolves, it’s better to have a short hair. You will notice that the pack of human-wolves have clean cut. In their tribe, those who have the calling to be a wolf age faster and become taller. There will come a time that aging would stabilize and that they will live like normal humans. Only those in their prime/youth are called to actively protect the people from vampires.

8. What was your reaction when Bella apologized to Jacob when she bled after the motorcycle incident?
I was laughing out! She should have apologized for being stupid and not for bleeding (well, too much love for vampires). Another major reaction, when Jacob took off his shirt, I joined the rest of the viewers in exclaiming, “wow!”. Off the cinema I wondered if he really needed to stand while taking off his shirt? Well, sabi ng director. Syempre, para makita ang multi abs. Lol.

After that scene, I’m pretty sure that most of the girls (I’m not sure about the guys) were not blinking everytime Jacob appears on the screen.

9. What was the main reason for Alice’s return to Forks?
She was just visiting to check on Bella because she had a vision that she died. The vampires have special powers. If Edward can read everyone’s mind, except Bella’s, Alice can see the future depending on the current intention and/or activity of the person. She indirectly kept Bella under her radar and saw her cliff dived. Bella almost died, almost impossible to survive. Her vision concluded there. Incidentally, when Jacob rescued her from drowning (and unknown possible attack from Victoria, a nemesis, non-vegetarian vampire), her vision was blocked. In book 3 (Eclipse), it will be revealed that this special power of hers doesn’t effect when there’s a wolf around.

Alice mentioned to Rosalie (another vampire within Cullen family) this vision, the latter relayed to Edward. Hence, he assumed and concluded (after talking to Jacob on the phone, when he said Bella’s father was arranging a funeral; but did not elaborate that it’s for his friend and not for Bella) that Bella’s dead.

10. Why did Edward have to show up before the humans before the Volturis can kill him?
Upon learning that Bella is dead, Edward went to Volturis (leaders/Royal group among the vampires headquartered in the Italy) and asked them to end his life. Normally, vampires can’t kill themselves alone. Volturis won’t kill for no particular reason, you’d have to offend them. Since vampires can’t show themselves to humans under strong rays of sun since their sparkling nature would be revealed, it’s the easiest/most immediate offense he can do.

11. What was your reaction when Edward took off his polo and he began to sparkle?
Major laugh! He should not have considered going topless because he will be, of course, compared with Jacob. It’s sort of battle of the abs. Lol. Well, it should have been enough that the humans saw his sparkling face and perhaps little portion of chest. I am sure there are so many converts to Team Jacob by now. But what shall Edward do? He can’t work on his physique since in the story he is supposed to remain as a 17-year old handsome guy. Probably, work on the make up at the next movie?

12. I haven’t watched Twilight, why are the Cullens so white?
Well, because of the vampirish make up, which has improved a lot. In Twilight, they looked like they had too much baking powder.

13. Who’s your favorite vampire?
Alice Cullen. She’s so cool no?

14. Who’s your favorite wolf?
Leah Clearwater. She’s yet to be introduced in the next installment.

15. Would you rather be a wolf or a vampire?
None. I love my being human. But not the human as Bella, she’s very unreasonable. But if I’m compelled to choose, I’d rather be a wolf because at least, a time would come that my life would normalize after I served my calling. Another reason is that I can eat human food. The vampires don’t eat (except for occasional blood feeding, for the Cullens, they periodically hunt animals) and sleep at all.

16. It seems like you strongly don’t like Bella. Why?
I bet you noticed. I like her good side like she’s low profile, understanding and goodnatured to a reasonable extent. But I didn’t like her being suicidal. I think that that part of her, does not imply anything good especially to teenagers who like her. (But I assume they know that this is just fiction.) When Edward broke up with her, I understand when she got depressed but not to the extent that she became lifeless. She could have drawn her strength from her mother and friends without necessarily divulging Edward’s secrets. Sense of acceptance is a blessing and we should always think of the many others who love us. Anyway, I’m not the author.

17. Isn’t Bella some kind of a user?
In a way, I used to think. Like when Jacob helped her regain her smile, she left him instantly just because of Edward’s situation. But to be fair, I think that whether it’s Edward or not whose life is at stake with the Volturi, she will still go to Italy to save him because she already got a strong attachment with the vampires. In the sequels, you will notice that she will go on her way, too, to Jacob despite going against Edward’s wishes. She’s inherently unpredictable (or predictable?)

18. How will you compare New Moon, the Twilight Saga, in general with Harry Potter (HP) series?
I read HP series only this year. Had I read it before Twilight Saga (I did last year), the latter probably did not appeal to me. To be frank, they are not comparable. I’m a self-confessed Twilight fan, but Harry Potter series is much of a finer writing and Twilight Saga is a fiction that is a rare junk food for the brain. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still a Twihard. Just stop comparing. Dahil hindi sila magkalevel. Heehee.

For those who are not yet oriented, Robert Pattinson (playing Edward Cullen) actually appeared as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and Goblet of the Fire. He was very different there. I just noticed that in New Moon the movie, when Edward was being electrified by Jane (another vampire), his acting was very Cedric Diggory eh? Suddenly, it felt like I was watching HP.

19. The million dollar question: are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
When I was reading the 4 books, I was 70% with Team Edward. At some chapters in different books I felt for Jacob. They have their own qualities that will make you swoon. Lol. But Edward is so unreal eh. But in the movie, medyo bumalimbing ako. Naging Team Jacob ako sa ibang scenes. Haha.

But at the end of the day, I’m with Team….
Gu Jun Pyo!

20. What did you think of the movie?
I found some parts uber cheesy. It’s quite long for this kind of adaptation, I wish they devoted the other scenes to vampire and wolves fights (I guess that would be in Eclipse, next installment). The wolf transformation was very good. But since I have read the book, I really commend the people behind the film since they were able to make it four times better than that. And I liked this better than the prequel because it’s more action packed.

I’m sure you have other questions about this movie and/or the saga in general. I won’t mind being your Help Menu.

In case you don’t know or if you forgot, I’m a Twilight fanatic. Last year, before the prequel debuted on the big screen, I’ve written a number of posts about the book. Anyway, I became a little tamed with New Moon and I only got to blog about the first teaser. Otherwise, this site probably has turned into a New Moon blog . Haha.

Sadly, UAE got a few days late playdate and that starts today. So I had to bear the agony of not looking into any spoiler (reviews, comments through social networking sites, etc.). Anyway, the waiting’s over. But before that, did you know that I had a checklist before watching New Moon? Heehee. Forgive me, I’m really like that whenever I’m dead serious about something whether it’s work-related or not. Are you ready to know what’s on the list? Sige lang, feel free to laugh out loud.

• Re-watch Twilight DVD. Ensure that I still memorized the lines.
• Read (i.e. memorize) the e-book of New Moon. (I already brought home the books when I vacationed last September). Just to let you know, New Moon is my least favorite among the 4 books. But the film adaptation looks much more promising than Twilight the movie.
• Watch Taylor Lautner’s (Jacob Black) old films. I saw Cheaper by the Dozen 2 during the weekend. Did you know that he played there as an 8th grade student? His facial features didn’t change a lot. Who would have thought that that totoy would be a charming wolf?
• Prepare my Twilight Saga shoes. It’s a sort of mismatch shoes because the covers of the 4 books are handpainted on it. Click here to see.

PS. You might be wondering how I’d be able to watch this on a Thursday daytime. Incidentally, the universe paved the way for me. Heehee. Today marks the start of my 10-day “weekend”. In our sector, we will not return to work until 6 December (while the other sectors only got 2 days holiday). Thanks to EID and UAE National Day celebrations.

Alice is so charming, as ever.

Laurent to Bella: “You’re so… mouthwatering!”

At 1:26, Jacob is so transformed.

Wolf, wolf!

Wednesday of last week started so right. The creative swap haul sent by my partner arrived. Immediately I munched on the galletas (that little pack of bread-crackers, that’s how we call it in Laguna). It reminded me so much of my late grandparents. I remember they normally dip that in black coffee. I also got banana chips, a tri-color yarn, handmade stickers (I’m using soon), and of course that neatly wrapped big surprise. When I read her letter, I really thought she read my mind.

She wrote,

“Since you love to travel and you love shoes, I made a shoe bag for you to put your beloved shoes inside when you are on the go….

…and to make it more special, I also made a shoe stuffer so your shoes won’t be deformed while traveling.”

As I told her (in the email), I was thinking of making/buying a shoe bag and stuffer. These came just in time.

(The shoe bag and shoe stuffer. Minus the shoes. I was just trying to fit in my current favorite pair.)

Further, she wrote,

I hope you’re a Twilight fan because I named this “The Twilight Shoe Companion”.

Ang galing! The color and fabric aptly matched my Twilight shoes. Yes, this pair is still alive.

Thank you again, Bem. And it made me feel more special and luckier when I learned who became your assistant while working on this one.

Creative Swap is hosted by Caryn.

I bought the Twilight DVD from a record bar in Abu Dhabi a week before the package came. Included in the package is a surprise Twilight DVD my closest cousin got from one of the record bars in Metro Manila. I watched it as if that’s the first time I’m seeing it. Lol.

But the moment I opened it and rolled the first disc for the first 10 minutes, that’s when I concluded something’s wrong. What you don’t know won’t hurt you. But because I happened to have a basis of comparison, I thought “bakit parang clear copy lang at hindi DVD copy yung nirelease ng Viva?” Aside from the inclusion of advertisements (i.e. Volvo, Choco Mucho, etc.) in the one released in the Philippines, the following discrepancies were glaring:

(a) Viva-released cover is better. At least. It has a cute cut-out packaging. The back cover is practically just the same, except for the promo lines:

Released in the Philippines
The immortal romance based on phenomenal bestseller.

Released in UAE
The most epic romance since Titanic. – Hollywood.com

But the rest of the discrepancies, I’m not sure you’d like to know if you are planning to buy a DVD from the Philippines or if you already got one.

(b) Absence of Scene Selection mini-poster

(c) Absence of disc separator and censor’s rating indicator

While those are tolerable, I think these make a big difference:

(d) Missing Audio Commentary. This is a significant portion and generally a standard feature.

(e) No option for subtitles and spoken language selection . Isn’t this standard?

(f) 6 out of 7 portions in the documentary The Adventure Begins are missing! How come? That’s equivalent to at least 54 minutes missing scenes. To simply state it, it’s not worth the price.

Here’s an excerpt from the statement issued by Viva Video:

The 1st disc contains the full feature or movie in its entirety. The 2nd disc contains the DVD extras or DVD add-ons licensed to us by the international licensor. Such content are confined and limited to the rights granted to us by Summit Entertainment. The release of the Twilight video is in accordance with the License Agreement between Viva and Summit Entertainment.

Ganun? Eh, bakit yung narelease dito complete naman. I was thinking of the aspect of censorship. Hindi pa rin eh. The regulators here are stricter with regard to the media being circulated.

Although there are missing parts in the Special Features in the DVD released by Viva, the entire movie (as shown in the cinema) came out as it is. BUT, the video quality is really inferior to the one I bought here.

If you’re planning to buy the DVD, the following should be included in the two discs:

* Entire film as shown in the cinemas
* Audio Commentary
* Muse music video: “Super Massive Black Hole”
* Paramore music video: “Decode”
* Linkin Park music video: “Leave Out All the Rest”
* Five extended scenes with director introductions
* Five deleted scenes with director introductions
* Seven-part documentary: “The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen”
* Comic-Con Phenomenon
* Theatrical Trailer and Theatrical Campaign
* A Conversation with Stephenie Meyer
* Music: The Heartbeat of Twilight
* Becoming Edward
* Becoming Bella
* Catherine Hardwicke’s Vampire Kiss Montage and Edward’s Piano Concert
* Catherine Hardwicke’s “Bella’s Lullaby (Remix)” Music Video

What you don’t know won’t hurt you. But whether you ignore it or not, you’d feel something half-baked.

(a) I might probably still appreciate the movie Twilight. But I might just see it once.

(b) I will find it definitely unnecessary to scream and/or swoon when some of the Cullens (family of vampires living in Forks) made their first appearance at the cafeteria.

(c) I will find it really, really odd why the Cullens are uberly white and Edward’s lips are so red.

(d) I might notice the missing link, somehow lost, why Bella and Edward are suddenly obsessed with each other and why they can never be apart since then and when.

(e) I would find it impractical that Bella went to Port Angeles just to buy the book about Quilete Legends wherein she can just google related things about that, just like what she did after buying the book.

(f) I would have unanswered points like why the Cullens decided to be vegetarian vampires (i.e. drinking only animal blood), why Rosalie is so unwelcoming of Bella while the rest of the Cullens approved of her, etc. (Please refer to letter F below).

(g) I will find the flying and crawling from one tree to the other and fighting scenes at the ballet studio entertaining.

(h) I will assume that there will be a sequel because of the ending.

(i) I might decide to read Twilight book (just like my officemates) after watching the film.

Because I have read the book,

(a) I find so many discrepancies between the book and movie. Though I promised myself I wouldn’t compare, it was the normal thing to do when you see it the FIRST time. In general, the book version will probably outshine the movie’s. How can you effectively squeeze 434 pages into less than two hours flick? However, what I’m concerned about is that the important points should not be omitted.

I watched the film again simply because. I just knew that I would do that. Especially when my fellow Twilighters advised me that it would be better the SECOND time. They were right. And at the third time, what I did mostly was to analyze their characterization, faces, etc. as described in the book. Though I didn’t picture out Rob Pattinson while reading Twilight, he IS so Edward in the film. I think he prepared well, like he isolated himself for a while in real life and his reading of Midnight Sun’s partial draft absolutely helped. He had felt and saw it in Edward’s point of view.

(b) I was so mesmerized when the Cullens entered the cafeteria one by one. It’s like seeing the characters in the book into flesh. I instantly knew who is who. (I didn’t really indulge much in reading the promotional interviews). Eric, Charlie, and Billy Black were a surprise for me. They’re much better in the movie.

(c) Though I am long oriented that the Cullens are vampires, I was still initially distracted by the make-up. It’s exaggerated, especially the super red lipstick in Edward’s. Eventually, I got used to it. Alice is the hippest for me.

(d) I believe that the biggest omission from the book is the build up of love and obsession between Edward and Bella. In the movie, suddenly they are in love with each other (appeared so rushed). But despite the omission of that essential part, the intense care and passion could have still been fairly executed if Kristen (playing Bella) did better. Don’t be mad.  Yes, she eventually got into characterization. But not so Bella. She needs to improve her facial expressions and delivery of lines. Did you notice some of her lines did bear too much air? Saving grace is that Rob and Kristen look good together as Edward and Bella.

(e) It surprised me that Bella was using a Mac. In the book, she has an outdated desktop in her room instead. Wherein she researched about ‘vampires’ and not Quilete in particular. The googling included a search result about Danag in the Philippines. In the movie, that was omitted.

(f) Though I instantly found discrepancies and omission, I never had a missing link just because I’ve read the four books already. In Book 1 (Twilight), there were some points that kept us wondering, too, until we’ve found the answers in Eclipse in particular. So, don’t feel like there are too many inherent flaws in the film.

(g) To be fair, the movie was better in the sense that it has reduced the mushy lines from the book. Also, by reading we only imagined the hunting and the vampire’s speed and extra abilities. Here it was visually entertaining (flying, crawling, fight scenes, etc.). Most importantly, some characters came out as better in flesh (i.e. Charlie is so fatherly in a unique way and humorous, Jessica is not so bitchy, etc.)

(h) I love the ending and the pre-ending (i.e. when Jacob conveyed his father’s message to Bella to break up with Edward. I remember a group from the audience swooned. Haha. Team Jacob. Honestly, I can’t wait to see a different Jacob in New Moon. And Taylor (playing Jacob Black) is very good in delivering the lines. I think Rob has to improve his, because he inherently has British accent.

(i) In three times that I saw the movie, the audience consistently swooned in the cafeteria scenes, Biology class, Edward and Bella’s kissing scenes (why is it very short? I think they’re so concerned about the PG 15 rating), when Bella curled up to Edward while asleep the first time they kissed, and when they were at the mountains and Edward confessed to Bella, “The lion fell in love with the lamb”.

My most favorite part? The first day they decided to go on public as a couple. The few seconds scene that Edward put his arm around Bella while all the students in Forks High School were staring at them.  And well, all those moments of brooding smiles that I was just imagining while reading the books, were perfectly executed by Pattinson.

The movie is good. It is not superb, it is not overwhelming. You may even get disappointed depending on your level of expectation (if you’re not too willing to depart with the book). It is entertaining. No question about that.

What did you think of the movie?

Oh, great. After the long wait and speculation, my favorite cinema in UAE announced that Twilight would be shown on 4th of December. It would be released in the US this friday and in the Philippines on the 26th. I.am.jealous. Meaning I need more patienceeeee (!) in the coming days. I promise myself not to peek on any reviews and other form of spoilers until I see this for myself. Huhuhu. What a test of EQ. Sige na nga, okay lang. At least, it’s still a better playdate. Sourgraping. Haha.

If you’re following my posts, you probably have an idea how I transformed from a non-fictional reader to a teenage series addict. I’ve managed to have kept a reasonable period to have this blog free from Twilight talk. But now, I really, really want to talk about it again. What’s the trigger?

It has been reported that President Obama is reading Twilight with his daughter.

President-Elect Barack Obama truly has a full plate. Revitilize a sinking economy. Energize a nation. Rehabilitate America’s fragile standing in the world. Oh, and get through four “Twilight” books with his youngest daughter.

Yes, according to the latest issue of US Weekly, Stephenie Meyer has a couple fans who will be moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in a couple months. The magazine reports that the President-Elect and his ten-year-old daughter Malia often bond over addictive book series, “They read all the Harry Potter books together and have moved on to the Twilight series.”

If that’s true, I like him for reading the book. And again, only if that’s true, I don’t like him for allowing his youngest daughter to read Twilight. Too young to read it.

What’s really in it?

I’ve read Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse thrice (Breaking Dawn is my least fave), but I’ve never really discussed my take in it. (But, don’t ask me if it’s better than Harry Potter series. Never flipped any of its pages YET. I’ll try to catch up.) Admittedly (and obviously), I did like Twilight Saga. I fell in love with the first book. The main factor, maybe, is because it served as a junk food to my brain.  Just in time when I wanted to take a break from all the serious reading that I was doing.

A love story between a 17-year old gal (Bella) and dazzling vampire (Edward), set in Forks, Washington. The rest are obvious and weird, predictable and unimaginable alike. In less than two weeks, I finished the four books in between the not so obvious crazy schedule, deprived myself of sleep and proper eating schedule.

Book 1 (Twilight): Almost finished it in one sitting the first time I read it. I’ve been curious about the vampire world. I started to like Edward. I considered visiting Romania. I wanted to meet a vegetarian vampire. Silly but seriously once thought about. Well-written, right phasing.

Book 2 (New Moon): I wanted to slap Bella many times. If I’m her friend or mother, I could have told her, “Nababaliw ka na ba?” (Are you crazy?) Towards the end, I started to like Jacob. Balimbing, no? Heehee. Honestly, Book 2 was boring. Then, I realized it needs to tone that way as an installment to establish the Bella-Jacob angle. I just think that it was unnecessary to emphasize on Bella’s numerous kahibangan (foolishness) when Edward left.

Book 3 (Eclipse): This is my uber fave in the series. I’m feeling Bella here in the sense that I was torn between Edward (vampire) and Jacob (the Omega of the werewolves). It’s like the lyrics in a song, “Are you gonna stay with the one who loves you or are you going back to the one you love?” I’m so kilig with the Tent Scene. I’ve read and imagined that for the nth time. In the end, I’ve finally concluded that I’m with Team Edward. Hahaha.

(Before flipping through the fourth book, I opted to read Midnight Sun partial draft.  This is Book 1 as told in Edward’s point of view.  Ack! I’m surprised he’s that so obssessed with Bella!)

Book 4 (Breaking Dawn): It did break my heart for two major reasons (a) This meant the end of the saga; though I like the Bella-Edward ending (b) That Jacob imprinted on Bella’s daughter. That was so unfair. To Meyer’s fans, no offense meant, but I think she was definitely not in a good mood when she drafted this. She pushed it too hard to give each party a happy ending; really rushed. Minadali at hinog sa pilit. I prefer that Twilight Saga ended with Book 3 instead, wherein it opens many probabilities. But sadly, Meyer wanted to really END it in the least expected way.

After Breaking Dawn, I had a hard time getting over my Twilight addiction (I’m surprised that a number of referrers to this site come from searches for “how to get over Twilight addiction” and other Twilight related queries). How did I move on? I tried reading other books. Turned out that I can’t appreciate them yet. So, the recourse is to indulge till it doesn’t tickle anymore. After reading the books again, I finally was able to keep my heart and mind with The Chocolate Run. And of course, my email chats with Toni was a big help when I was at the peak of addiction. During my Twilight relapses, I reconnected with a good friend through Facebook and surprisingly she’s more addicted than I am. And both of us ordered Twilight shoes (see here).  Swoon.

My friend ordered Twilight bag from Dr. Catigbe, too

Surprisingly, even Sarah Jessica Parker was bitten by the Cullen virus that she had a product line for Twilight.  Tempting, ey?  I wonder how’s the scent.

During my relapses, I would sometimes blog or mention something about Twilight, or even when I do comment in other blogs. If I wasn’t able to control myself, I had probably blogged about Twilight everyday and renamed this blog to “Twilight Vampie” (goodbye, wits and nuts). Lol. For the non-Twilighters, the addiction seems unreasonable. For my Twilight sisters (and brothers?), they know the very reason why and how it feels. How to know if you’re obsessed with Twilight series?

(a) When you start relating anything (as in) anything about Twilight to everything and everyone.
(b) You say you’re thirsty when you’re actually hungry.
(c) When you buy food, you tell people you’re going hunting.
(d) When you go to Antipolo, with all the trees, mountain sides and when it rained and looked gloomy all day, you accidentally call it Forks.
(e) When you’re obsessively finalizing travel plans to Forks, Washington, with your impossibly irrevocable optimism that you’ll meet any of the Cullens and then be one of them.
(f) See other points here.

Should you read Twilight Saga? Go get the first book and you would surely feel if you want to read the rest of the books or not. But I don’t encourage people as young as Obama’s youngest child to read it. There are implicit sexual motivations, Bella’s being unreasonable in Book 2 is not a good example, etc.

If you want to appreciate the saga, you have to remember (and occasionally forget) that this is just a FICTION.

(Photo credits: Twilighters Anonymous, Twilight Coven)

Meet my newest pair of shoes.

If you’re a non-Twilighter (and probably wondering about the basis of the design), that’s a consolidated artwork based on the cover of four books comprising the Twilight Saga. That was handpainted by the very talented Dr. Nanette Catigbe from Cagayan De Oro, a fellow Twilighter. The pair is so amiable! If you meet her in person, she actually shimmers, and so comfy.

My heart literally jumped when I opened the package last night. I didn’t have the chance to change into a denim or more appropriate wear and immediately tried it and took photos. I’m so excited for weekend. If only my office would allow me to come in a corporate suit with this slip ons, I’d do. Can I just say that I felt I was smiling while sleeping last night?