Hubby and I went to see Twilight last Saturday.  It was our first movie date in years!  It wouldn’t have been possible if not for my friend, Bet, and her brood, who looked after Abby for about four hours (Hubby and I had lunch, too!). Thank you, Betchay!  Sa uulitin! *wink*

We caught the 12:20pm screening.  Here, it’s cheaper to see a movie before 5pm (matinee).  The theater wasn’t full but most of the people who were there were the movie’s and the book’s target market, read: teenagers.  I was prepared to be annoyed amused, having read that in some movie screenings, viewers couldn’t help shrieking whenever Edward (Robert Pattinson) came on screen.  I’m proud to say that my movie crowd was very well behaved, thank you very much.  No shrieking whatsoever!

I had high but reasonable expectations from the movie.   I thought the trailers to be such a tease and very exciting.  And everybody knows for a fact that movie adaptations seldom, if at all, give justice to the books they’re adapted from.  Having read The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion, I had insider info that made me a bit partial to the movie already.  Plus, I really did like the book, however much some people rant about their dislike for it.

For the most part, the movie was true to the book.  But given that the movie only had 120 minutes to compress a 498-page book and make it interesting and appealing to people outside of it’s target market, a good portion of the book, I should warn you, got chucked.  When I was reading Twilight, I found it really hard to put down.  I didn’t quite get that hard-to-put-down feeling I had with the book as I was watching the movie.

*Spoilers alert!!*

Here’s a list of what I liked about the movie:

* As I said, the movie tried its best to stick to the book.  Plus points for that!

* I liked that the movie had limited budget to work with.  Otherwise, it might have turned into a circus of special effects.  There’s some semblance of purity for movies that are not backed up with gazillions of moolah.  And in my humble opinion, the documentary style it had going worked.  Kudos to director Catherine Hardwicke!

* One of my favorite parts was when Bella noticed the Cullens for the first time as the five beautiful vampires were about to make their entrance to the school cafeteria.  Jessica started giving Bella a run down on the Cullens then entered Rosalie and Emmett first, followed by Alice and Jasper, and finally, Edward (shrieeeeeek!).

* The vampire baseball game got a lot of flak from critics.  But I liked it!  I think the movie was able to capture the game as described in the book.

* I liked the part where Edward revealed himself to Bella.  He demonstrated his strength and speed and how his skin sparkled under the sun.  He did look like he was made up of diamonds.  It was very subtle and better than the image I had in my head when I was reading the book.

* Another favorite of mine was when Edward introduced Bella to his family in the Cullen house. There was comic relief in that scene.   There were a few funny exchanges between Edward and Bella, too.

* The big fight between Edward and James at the ballet studio.

* The helicopter shots of Edward and Bella  on top of a tall (as in tall) tree were just breathtaking.

* The soundtrack is awesome.  That’s one of the things Hubby noticed.

* One need not have read the book to enjoy the movie.

And here’s a list of what I didn’t quite like and what I would have liked:

* I’m sorry but Jasper looked like Edward Scissorhands with better hair.  He always looked like he was in a state of shock, unlike the rest of the Cullens.  If that’s the way the movie people decided to depict Jasper as a still struggling “vegetarian” vampire, it didn’t quite work for me.  I also don’t recall his special gift, that of being able to manipulate the feelings of people, being mentioned.

* I would have preferred the prom as it was written in the book, with Bella having no idea that Edward was taking her to the prom and Charlie being part of the conspiracy.

* Due to the 2-hour run time of the movie, a lot of the characters made very limited appearances, say only twice or thrice.  I guess that’s why the movie didn’t quite capture the feelings and emotions the book brought to its readers.

* The movie was stripped of a lot of kilig moments between Edward and Bella.  Case in point, Edward humming to Bella.  In the book, a lot of these kilig moments happened in Bella’s bedroom. (Note to self: Put iron bars in Abby’s bedroom window.)

Overall the movie was likeable.  Hubby, who hasn’t read the book said it was just ok.  Another male friend who watched it with his family said the movie was “maganda”.  I guess people who haven’t read the book and were willing to keep an open mind had a better chance of enjoying the movie.  The movie will definitely appeal to the teenage set.

Given the chance, I’ll see it again.  But I’ll just wait for the dvd version…and buy myself a copy. Junkie!

PS. After the movie, Hubby and I had lunch at Steak ‘n Shake.  Food photos on my food blog.

***More favorite parts added at 12:24 pm (Picking up Abby from school gave me time to think some more.  Hee hee)***

* The time Edward saved Bella from being crushed by a van. Edward, my hero, ang dating!  Hee hee.

* And then, the time Edward and Bella arrived in school together in Edward’s Volvo.  Everyone was staring at them!

* Robert Pattinson was a credible Edward.  He totally rocked!  *shrieeeeeeek!*  I don’t care what the naysayers think.    I couldn’t say the same about Kristen.  Sorry.

* My favorite characters in the movie, other than Edward, would have to be Charlie, Alice, Emmett and Jessica.  For the tiny bit of screen time they had, they made the most out of it.