Hold on tight spider monkey.

I've been waiting for Twilight (2008) to hit the dollar theatre before I saw it, and I must say, it's more entertaining than a lot of movies I've paid full price for. Much like the book, it's a decent story with enough tension to keep you entertained. But also like the book, there's a lot of ridiculous you can laugh at.

Random thoughts:

1. Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, the father, was the best part. He acted like a real person, and was awesome enough to have a shot gun ready for Edward. Also, Taylor Lautner, in his 3 scenes as Jacob, already won me over like in the books. Something about personality in a character makes them more likable. Who knew? To be fair, most of the acting was an improvement on the book. In at least half of the scenes, the characters were incredibly likable. And when Robert Pattinson isn't emo-ing it up or trying to convey anguish in the close-ups of his eyes, he's quite a charmer--certainly an improvement on a god-like statue.

2. The scene in the woods is the worst part. It's the part where Bella decides that she trusts and perhaps loves Edward even without him earning it. Apparently being beautiful and saving a girl a couple times = IMMORTAL LOVE. It's also funny with the awkward exposition and the revelation that vampires sparkle in the sun. I don't think I need to go further in explaining how Ms. Meyer probably should have just invented a new creature instead of bastardizing the vampire myth. Whatever. It is a testament to the film that there was only one real clunker scene. Probably because it was staying too true to the book.

3. Jasper with a baseball bat was honestly the most attractive part of the film. Check at about 1:40, Jasper flipping around a baseball bat in a baseball shirt. Yum.



4. I kind of missed the scene in the book where Edward and Bella are watching a movie in biology and there's a ridiculous amount of teenage sexual tension. I'm not sure how they would have conveyed it without doing even more ridiculous close-ups of Edward staring intently at Bella's head. I guess you can't make Edward not creepy. That 's just part of his character.

5. The cinematography was pretty good. I liked the washed-out colors. It almost felt like home*. My only complaint is how dorky the vampires look when they run. But then again, Twilight vampires glitter, so there you go.

6. My friend Alison and I decided to co-write a novel in a week. We finished today before seeing Twilight and can say with complete certainty that our book is at least as good this one. Watch out world! Stephenie Meyer isn't the only BYU graduate who can write entertaining, but cheesy and kind of crappy novels! Also awesome about BYU: this. I didn't see it, but I love the spirit of it.

7. Overall, just a fun movie. It reminded me why I started reading these books in the first place. Hopefully, the subsequent films will be an improvement on the books. If they can cut down on the times Bella tries to have sex with Edward by even 1/2, it would be a drastic improvement.

8. I can't believe how positive I sound about this film. Oh well.

*Shout out to the Pacific Northwest!