I Saw it! Caution: Long post with SPOILERS!

Yesterday the hubster and I went to Corner Brook for a date night to see my much anticipated movie, "Twilight". Yay! I was so excited!

The movie started at 6:45 and accustomed to Ontario theatres with the crowds and lines, Jamie and I arrived at 6:20, eager for a good seat. HA! What a laugh! The flashing "Now Playing" lights on the brick exterior of the "Majestic" were not even on! We were the ONLY people there.

We were greeted at the door with a "I'm not going to check you in because we need 4 people to start the movie." There was one ticket window just inside the door which reminded me more of the coat check at a trashy bar.

I was devestated! "Well, I'll pay for 4 tickets," I said, "I just drove over an hour to see this movie."

"No way!", was her response, "you're not the first one who's tried that. I told my manager that if 4 people didn't show I was lockin' up." "But you've still got lots of time," she injected thoughtfully, "I'm sure someone else will come."

And then we waited for 20 minutes in the grand foyer with a total of two chairs and a food counter the size of the computer desk at which I now sit and consisting of regular sized bars, small popcorn, and CANS of pop. What?! No giant fountain drinks or meal deals with nachos and twizzlers and more popcorn than anyone could possibly consume in 2 hours?! Chatting with the 60-something lady and her husband we found out they used to live in Ontario, they had a son, couldn't get "into" this movie, made 99 cents and $2 an hour, respectively, when they first worked in Corner Brook, and that they had visitors from ALL over the island drive for hours to see "Titanic".

And then through the glass doors I could see another car pulling in across the street and a couple emerging, making their way to the theater. What a relief! I told them how happy I was to see them and they laughed, they had also driven for an hour to see "Twilight".

Eventually about 8 customers showed and the husband clunked his way upstairs, turned the lights on the screen, and rolled the film. And roll the film did, we heard it the entire time. And much to my annoyance, it skipped in a couple of places as well. Jamie said the theatre reminded him of the old one that used to be in Norris Point 20 years ago. We laughed and made the best of it.

My thoughts?: I enjoyed it. I tried to go in with an open mind after reading the book, knowing full well the difficulty in translating a novel to the big screen. The book was fantastic. The movie left out a lot of parts I thought were fantastic. The movie was good but not fantastic, they could have made it a smidge longer maybe. Jamie liked it well enough, despite some definite moments of cheesiness which left me giggling in a couple of parts not meant to be funny. Overall, Edward was dreamy and, I thought, well acted out as the vampire tortured over his humanistic love for Bella knowing full-well his monstrous desire to taste her blood and thus, kill her. Bella was clumsy and stumbled over her words, as did her character in the book. But the book left you with more of an understanding of why, as it is written from Bella's perspective. I thought the movie could have added a little more narration from Bella to explain some of the finer details. Jamie was confused about a couple of parts (i.e. why Edwards eyes change colour. They noted it in the movie but didn't explain why it happens. If you read the book you know Edward's eyes become black when he is most hungry and, therefore, then has a hard time being close to Bella. This becomes one of the pieces of the puzzle for Bella when she figures out Edward is a vampire.)

Some of the things they changed or eliminated from the movie:
The way Bella meets Jacob, not at the beach like in the book, but at the beginning when Bella gets her truck from Jacob's dad.
The accident: I believe it was snowy and icey in the book with Mike talking about a snowball fight. It was more rainy in the movie.
They added a character, a friend of Bella's dad, and had him killed off by the visiting vampires. This is not in the book.
The bus/field trip: Not in the book
They excluded the girl-ask-boy dance and made it all about the prom, which Bella hated in the book, but was okay with in the movie.
Eating at the local Diner all the time: not in the book. In the book, Bella likes to cook and makes supper for her dad at home nearly every night.
Edwards family using their kitchen for the first time and making Bella dinner to welcome her on her visit.
Rosalie doesn't speak in the book but does in the movie, which I think was probably necessary.
There is no mention of Jasper's "gift" and the movie doesn't explain very well why he is so stiff and withdrawn.
No airport scene in the movie.
....LOTS more changes, I couldn't possibly name them all.

And those changes were all fine, really. The changes I didn't like AT ALL:
1. They left out a lot of the intimate romantic parts and a lot of the comedic lighter parts, focusing more on the negative tortured emotions. This left the movie not accurately portraying the extreme roller coaster of emotions in the book. (i.e. The scene near the end in the hospital. It was all about Edward being angry and guilt-ridden. That's true, he is, but it's got more of a pleading & loving undertone in the book).
2. Leaving out the part of the visit to Edwards home where they spoke with Carlisle about his history, I thought it would be important for the accurate continuation of the series.
3. The scene where Edward and Bella spend the day together in the woods. This, I felt, was a pivotal point in the book, and extremely important in Edward and Bella's relationship. It is where Edward decides he IS strong enough to be with Bella and not hurt her. It is where they first kiss, (in the book but not in the movie), and where Edward expresses his love. Edward explains why he can't be in the sunlight (a little cheesy but important in the book). Edward and Bella then spend the night together at her house (no sex since Edward is afraid of losing control and hurting Bella), and Edward admits he comes to watch Bella sleep all the time. This scene in the MOVIE was chopped up, split up the middle with them separating for a scene where the other vampires kill Bella's dads friend. I didn't like that. It took away from the importance of that day on their relationship.

And there you have it...I've nearly just written that essay I was talking about in my "geek post". lol :) And don't get me wrong, it's sounding now like I didn't like the movie. I really did, I'd love to see it again and I can't wait to read the next books and watch the next movies. I'm still officially HOOKED!

Did you see the movie? Read the book? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree?