Windsock

Twilight on Celluloid: One Last Opinion

As a retired fan of the Twilight series, I was at one point thrilled at the prospect of a movie. However, trailers soon began cropping up on TV and youtube, and as I watched a few, my hopes fell. It appeared that directors took a pure and simple, yet quirky, love story and tried to turn it into a teen soap opera. Still, I felt obligated to see it, and was quite looking forward to critiquing it harshly. However, I was not as put off by the film as I had imagined. 

The directors did well in the casting of the movie, though of course there were discrepancies. No human man could ever accurately portray the god-like Edward, and no teenage girl would ever be pleased with Bella, as they always envied the role. Though the appearances matched those details offered in the book, the acting was not spot on. Emmett Cullen appeared frightening and malicious, especially toward Bella, who he was to take an immediate liking to. Jasper, who has the power to control other's emotions, appeared unable to affect even his own, as his face always remained in a state of stupefied fear. Bella, who in the book is very conscious of her plainness, doesn't appear self-conscious or plain. My biggest disappointment however, lies with Edward. The character is completely over dramatized in the movie. At the beginning, rather than being smoothly suave, he stumbles over his words and speaks in a voice that seems unnatural, and honestly, reminded me of Michael Jackson.

My other issue with the film was that the sweet, subtle simplicity was replaced with choppy, loud passion. The entire movie seemed to be one poorly executed transition after another. Scenes jumped from diners to boat docks to parking lots in a jumbled, disconnected sequence. Generally it seemed rushed and poorly put together. 

Anyone who read the book, and even those who didn't, sat through the movie awaiting the first kiss between Edward and Bella. It is supposed to be a quick, simple kiss that Edward can barely stand because of his thirst for her blood. Hollywood, of course, glamorized it into a slightly less sweet make-out scene atop Bella's bed. Edward was unable to stand it, but I still wonder as to which part. The kiss itself, or the scantily clad Bella?

Overall, the movie boasted attractive actors, and followed the story line closely enough to satisfy the teen fans out there, boys and girls alike. However, the sweetness was gone, and no guesswork was involved, as any subtle hints were displayed under a magnifying glass. It was nice, though, to see the images of many a young girl's imagination given life on the big screen. I suppose that Twilight's hopeful message lives on; maybe the lion can fall in love with the lamb.

- Jenn Leaman

Dazzled by Twilight

Two of our reporters were interested in reviewing Twilight, so they both have (Jenn's coming tomorrow). Check out the poll on the left of this page to tell us your view of the Twilight craze... Ed.

2008 was a huge year for diehard fans of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. May 6 was the release date for The Host, a science fiction novel by the same author, not part of the Twilight series. August 2 was the feverishly anticipated release date of Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final installment of the Twilight Saga. After that it was the long haul to November 21, when Summit Entertainment’s movie adaptation of Twilight would hit theaters.

That was the Friday before last, and millions of Twilighters across the continent rushed to their nearest theaters that day (many at midnight) to watch the most anticipated movie of the year.

This was the movie that had t-shirts and chocolate and perfume and ice cream themed after it long before anyone had seen the movie in its entirety. Was it possible for Twilight to live up to that hype?

Yes, yes it was. And it did.

Bella’s voice saying the familiar words from the prologue “I’d never given much thought to how I would die…” opened the movie, and everyone in the theater was transported into the story.

A book and a movie are two different mediums of a story, and turning a book into a movie is like translating one language into another. Some words have to be changed or rearranged for it to make sense. With that in mind, I was amazed at how much was left in. Favorite parts such as the cafeteria scene, the biology scene, the car crash scene, the restaurant scene, the meadow scene, the baseball scene, the hospital scene, and prom were all there. All that was missing, really, were a few favorite lines from the books including “Do I dazzle you?”, and “Enough for forever.” Still, these are minor things; fans of the book will not be disappointed!

Twilight has something for everyone. The central story is a romance, but it is surrounded by humor and intense action. However, people who watched the movie having not read the book first I’m sure saw something very different. I wouldn’t advise doing that, but then again, you never know if you’ll actually enjoy it anyway.

Anyone who knows me at all will know that my opinions on All Things Twilight are never completely unbiased, but I can assure you that I was prepared to abhor this movie if it ruined my favorite book. But it didn’t. So in conclusion, what can I say? Twilight was amazing. It wasn’t perfect, but it was getting there. There is a lot they could have done with an additional half hour, but I have no complaints. Go see it!

- Gennie Kirk

Transformers: A Children's Movie?

For a long time Transformers were thought of as toys for children and nothing more, but this past summer that all changed. Previews started to appear for a Transformers movie that left many people puzzled. How could anyone make a full-length, PG-13 movie about plastic action figures?

Obviously Michael Bay, director of Pearl Harbor, could. With the help of Steven Spielberg he created an action movie that seemed appealing to all audiences. Intrigued by the entire buzz surrounding the movie, I rented it for my family. When we finally got around to watching it, we were in for quite a surprise.

The opening scene was of an army base in the Middle East. An attack helicopter was allowed into the base, but was under suspicion. Suddenly, the helicopter started to change. It transformed into a huge robot that decimated the camp and started hacking into the Department of Defense computer files. All the while guns are blaring and people are getting injured. Blood was never shown, though, which could be positive. The rest of the movie followed a similar pattern.

The violence was to be expected, but there was more objectionable content than that.

The main character in the movie was Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LeBeouf. His parents are completely oblivious to most of the world and are mainly just a source of comedy, which was disappointing.  the love interest in his life is a scantily clad girl named Mikaela Banes. I was surprised that a movie geared toward a younger audience would portray females in such a way, since the reasons for his attractions are almost all physical.

The movie also contained a fair amount of language and crude humor. Some crude humor and language should be expected from a PG-13 movie, but I was not expecting it from a "children's movie."

The story line was interesting, though, especially for me since I had no past experience with Transformers. Apparently there had been a battle going on between Transformers for years and it had come to earth in an attempt to find the Allspark (a source of life for mechanical beings). The humans are dragged into the conflict in an attempt to save their world from the evil Transformers, otherwise known as the Decepticons, led by Megatron. Some good Transformers join the struggle and a war ensues.

In the end it seems like Transformers was not for children, but an older audience. While the storyline and acting were decent, the objectionable content made the movie not appropriate for all ages. The ultimate choice is for parents and kids with good judgment. Transformers was rated PG-13 for a reason and should be avoided by parents with younger children.

- Freeman Bendfeldt