Twilight???

Heard this review on NPR this morning - I haven't seen the movie and I am nervous about seeing it because all of the parts of the book (which I generally loved) that seemed too hokey to me while reading may be so apparent in the movie I won't be able to stomach it. This review nailed it for me - it's about the movie, but I think the same could be said about the books. Bella has no perspective - I could never figure out why Edward loved her. But I still wanted him to. Anyway I will be blog-stalking to see if other people love or hate it. My SIL, Miriam lives in Guam and has already seen it and loved it. Have you? Love, Hate or Tolerate? I don't want the movie to ruin the books for me.


Morning Edition, November 21, 2008 · I am not now nor have I ever been a 13-year-old girl, but Twilight made me wish I could be, at least for a couple of hours. It would help me appreciate a movie that has been targeted to that demographic with the specificity of a laser weapon.
Any romance fan can tell you that love stories need obstacles, and in this egalitarian age, the traditional obstacles — of class, caste, religion and fortune — are harder to come by. Twilight's notion is that Edward Cullen is a sexy vampire and Bella Swan is very much alive. Placing this conflict in high school, where emotions are extreme and every moment is a crisis, was the masterstroke that created a publishing-industry phenomenon.
And the film of Twilight succeeds in what it sets out to do — realize that phenomenon for a big-screen audience — because it treats those high-pressure high school emotions with unwavering, uncompromising seriousness; Laurence Olivier essaying Shakespeare didn't approach his material with more reverence than is on display here.
When Twilight opens, 17-year-old Bella is moving to the tiny Washington town of Forks to live with her dad. Even before the plot kicks in, Bella demonstrates the film's key attitude: As a teenager she is, by definition, a deeply superior being, elevated far above the dross of everyday life.
Forks High School holds no charms for this lofty creature — until she spies drop-dead handsome Edward. Aside from being a vampire, he's pretty much the ideal boyfriend.
And though the story's action quotient has been increased to appeal to the random males who might show up at the multiplex, Twilight is unabashedly a romance. All the story's inherent silliness aside, it is intent on conveying the magic of meeting that one special person you've been waiting for.
Maybe it is possible to be 13 and female after all — for a few hours, at least.

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