Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Twilight vs. New Moon
Last week I was sick in bed and put the TV on. ‘Twilight’ was on Cinemax and I proceeded to watch it for the umpteenth time. ” Why!? ” I asked myself. So did my husband. I own Twilight. I’ve seen it at least fifty times at this point (and I know there are some of you out there who have seen it more!). But it got me thinking- why do I watch Twilight again and again when I also own New Moon and have only watched it once since it came out on DVD?
So I tweeted my thoughts and many of you agreed: Twilight, for all of its faults, is the better movie and more watchable than New Moon. Sorry Chris. We all love you personally, but Crazy Cathy made Twilight that movie which I can watch over and over and quote freely. It is up there with ” Anchorman” and “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” right now in terms of the amount of times I’ve watched it and use it in my daily conversations.
So what is it exactly that makes us watch it repeatedly!? For me, it is the story of falling in love for the first time. Those amazing raw feelings. Watching Bella and Edward on screen falling in love is just what I want in a movie. The chemistry of Rob and Kristen is pure magic. They are up there with classic Hollywood on screen couples for the amount of heat and charisma they have together. The restaurant scene will never fail to capture my full attention and make me drop whatever I am doing.
I guess that is what I love about Twilight more than New Moon. The romance and intimate moments between Bella and Edward are no match for Bella’s depression and Jacob’s abs. The bedroom scene in Twilight with Bella and Edward’s first kiss definitely beats Bella’s birthday. I guess because you know heartbreak will follow.
What makes Twilight the more watchable film is also the High School teen aspect of it. It is not so serious and heavy ALL the time. You have lighthearted lunchroom scenes, dress shopping, and the Prom. You have my favorite scene in the whole movie: Edward and Bella arriving in the parking lot, Edward with his Ray Bans on and arm around his girl, announcing to Forks High School that “she’s mine”. Swoon worthy indeed! I could just re-watch that scene over and over.
I suppose the obvious reason that I don’t watch New Moon as often is that “Edward,” or Rob, isn’t in the movie as much. Perhaps it does have too much Jacob, and I’m a “Team Edward” girl. But New Moon doesn’t have all those memorable and lovely scenes. I even enjoy the”cheese” factor of “Butt Crack Santa” and seeing Stephenie Meyer at the diner counter. I love “La Push Baby”. I love Esme speaking Italian to Bella. I love the music and the soundtrack, too. It’s far superior to New Moon.
One final reason why I may just love Twilight more is because it brought one of my favorite stories to life. Twilight gave me that “Robsten” magic. It gave us Robsten. It brought Rob and Kris together. I loved Eclipse and enjoy the soundtrack tremendously. It will be interesting to see when I buy it how many times I watch it and if I enjoy it as much as Twilight. Probably more than New Moon, but I am betting Twilight will always be the most watched – and most beloved – of the saga.
Twilight will always be my favorite, as well. Every time I go to my sisters I practically plead to watch it if she asks me to stay for any length of time. There's just something about the initial meeting of the two, that magic of the draw between them when they're both confused and infatuated. Love it!
I have to agree with you, that is where it all started. The beginning…lol, their chemistry is amazing, and to date it is still amazing. They seem to be made for each other. Thanks for the wonderful blog, this is my wake-up call each morning in SA.
I must say that I completely agree! I guess I never thought about it before but upon reading this, I do watch Twilight way more than New Moon for the exact same reason you've mentioned. Thank you Catherine Harwick for giving us Rob, Kristen, and Robsten!
You hit the nail on the head. I will ALWAYS love Twilight and am amazed that I can watch it over and over (and over) again, almost 3 years since its release. Some may think that CH was erratic and crazy but she sure did know how to bring romance and angst to the screen and make those Robsten moments just sizzle.
Twilight is definitely the one you can watch over and over and over again. It has a simple formula but a very romantic essence about it. Everything about it is awesome and not just because you can really feel Edward and Bella's love. It is amazing for several reasons, the comic relief, the one liners, the baseball scene that I cant seem to get enough of, the romance, the falling in love for the first time aspect, and somehow even with some lines that make me giggle in a good way, it doesnt come off as cheesy.
Maybe it has a woman's touch that Weitz and Slade dont have but something about it just screams, this is the way it should be. Even with how Hardwicke shows that Edward is gorgeous and sexy. It isnt the lame, cheesy music with him walking in slow motion or trying to look overly cool aka Edward in NM and Jacob in Eclipse. When she wants to show Edward's gorgeous features, she zoomed in on his eyes, his lips, etc. Sure there are flaws in Twilight but it is still an amazing movie and while I know people say Eclipse is the best. I saw Twilight in theaters so many times I lost count, I couldnt get enough. I saw New Moon and Eclipse 3 times combined.
Twilight is just a movie that pulls you in and yes we should all thank Hardwicke for giving us Robsten ESPECIALLY Rob because Summit and SM were not behind her at first about Rob having the look. It was her and Kristen who said it has to happen and now look! She may be eccentric but Hardwicke is a great director and Twilight shows that, low budget and all!
Good post. Right when I was getting into this (which was last spring) Twilight came on Showtime. I still have it on DVR. I watch the biology intro allot. That scene hooked me on K's facial expressions. Next, the restaurant scene and the bedroom kiss and you have the full Robsten effect. New Moon on my iPad hardly ever gets watched.
Loved the post RL!! I totally agree with you about twilight. I own both twilight and NM..yet i never watch new moon. I am defiantly a Team Edward gal, and i have to say nothing beats the way CH translated their romance on screen. The chemistry is sizzling hot! And the first kiss is like no other. I am sure i will watch Eclipse a lot…maybe not as much as twilight, but defiantly way more than NM. We shall see how BD pans out. I am hoping it regains the romantic spark we had in twilight since the B/E/J "triangle" will be over. Eclipse is getting there..so hopefully we are heading back in that direction. Great post RL..i really enjoyed reading it!! <3
You've said it all. I'm team Edward, I love Kristen and Robsten 100%! I've watched Twilight several times now and it never fails to make me feel so in-love. C.Hardwicke really brings out the romance between Rob and Kristen.
Great Post RobstenLover
Anyone who has ever been in love before can totally relate to this story. It shows how first love starts out so sweet and how it's not easy there have to be some sacrifices made. The scene where they get out of the car and the whole school basically knows they're dating is also one of my favorite scenes. I also love how they were so down for eachother.Edward would protect her at all costs..and she would follow him to the moon and back..it was just so beautiful. Catherine Hardwicke did an excellent job with capturing the LOVE which was exactly the way SM intended it to be portrayed. Twilight was epic and it will always stay near and dear to my heart::
However {people please dont bite my head off}
I'm gonna have to disagree with you about New Moon. I loved New Moon and I feel Chris did an excellent job directing it. Even though Edward was gone for most of the movie the scenes that him and Bella DID have together were MAGICAL. Actually I think I paid attention to other details of the movie like the scenery and the music because RobWard wasnt there distracting me lol. I loved the New Moon soundtrack..the music was perfect for each scene. Examples;;
{Bon Iver && St.Vincent:Roslyn}–[break-up scene]
[Lykke Li::Possibility} EPIC ! I can still see the camera rolling around Kristen going through her depressed stage as the months go by. New Moon showed her devotion to her man like 'hey yeah you left me damn near killed me..but I still love you.'
CW never lost the whole point of the story which is the love aspect. I 'liked' Eclipse but I didnt love it. I felt that Summit had really let devoted fans down. It completely LOST the whole point of the story which is E/B's undeniable love for eachother the scenes were rushed the music was kinda off. I felt like they were trying to please everybody by putting out something everyone could love with the action and drama b.s. but thats the point Twilight was never supposed to be an action movie it's A LOVE STORY. In Eclipse I didn't feel the 'unconditional and irrevocable' love Bella is supposed to have for Edward..and obviously I feel other fans share my opinion because Eclipse still didnt top New Moon's sales and honestly as much as I'm looking forward to BD,I'm not going to get my hopes up too high..another movie..another director..we'll see what he does with it.
Catherine Hardwicke and Chris Weitz will always be my favorite because they stuck to the REAL story.
Sorry for the long post these subjects are sensitive to me and I just have to vent.
and i'm also sorry if I offended anyone just sharing my opinion
As far as directing, I think that Hardwicke beats out both but Weitz is a close second. Slade and Summit lost me on Elipse. It was good but not as amazing as it could have been. At least Weitz did what he could with a story where the beloved Edward leaves and it is full of angst. The thing about Hardwicke and Weitz is that they let the music guide the scenes and while as someone who studied editing I can honestly say that Weitz was choppier in editing than Hardwicke, Slade is in a league of his own.
The man jump cut his way through the whole film and it made it very confusing. I dont know how people who didnt read the book could even keep up. His music seemed rushed or just placed there to meet the requirements….some of it was ridiculously obvious that it was inserted at the last minute. Twilight is the best and New Moon given the fact that it has a lot to carry with Edward and the Cullens leaving, I think Weitz did a good job. I wanted him or Hardwicke to direct Eclipse. I have no expectations for BD because Summit has already proven they know how to screw up a good thing by trying to do too much with it.
I love Twilight more and I agree it always going to be my favorite Movie New Moon was ok but I only like some scenes the reuniting seen where Bella, goes to save her man and where Bella, sees Edward in the meadow at the beginning he, was so hot!Also Edwards vision comes to Bella when Laurent, is going to kill her and of course, the Meadow scene where Bella and Edward are gazing at each other.Other than that its allJake and I get bored so very quickly.Eclipse the tent ,proposal and
training for the battle where the only good scenes as Edward was awesome!
Twilight being the beginning of Edward& Bella
will be watched by me whenever I want!
Thanks for the thoughtful original post and all the following comments. I couldn't agree more with you all. Twilight, has the unusual staying qualities that make it a modern day "cult classic" with Edward and Bella's delicate love story as the center, and the whole vampire/human conflict swirling around them, keeping them apart– Romeo and Juliet all over again. Everything about that film is classic, even with its errors and jumps, maybe even because of them.
I've heard a lot of negative talk about Catherine Hardwicke, but she is a wonderfully trained director, and her creativity shines through. The later films strive to pull in a bigger, more diverse audience, but they miss the point, they put Edward and Bella's struggles in the background, not in the forefront where they belong. That probably comes with the later directors having to share their decisions with the Summit marketers. Robert and Kristen were put on the map with that film, and a golden Hollywood couple was born for the world to glory in; that was Catherine's vision. Twilight was alive in her head and heart long before the first scenes were edited. She deserves the credit that Robert continues to give her. She created a classic that will outshine New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, no doubt. I used this first film in a film course I teach and all,,, everyone of my students, agree. Many of them did not read the books (university age) but they saw the three movies; Twilight changed over even the unbelievers.
Its funny that your topic was this, cause I am one of those people that have both movies and have watched Twilight I cant even tell you how many times and New Moon not that many. I know its because there is so much love in the first one, and with new moon comes heartache:( . But I find myself watching Twilight over New Moon often, I really think also it because there is no Edward(ROB)lol yum!
Totally agree! I too am curious about Eclipse.. Twilight is my go to movie if Im sick or sad. I love Eclipse so I wonder if it will be able to reach the high standards. I also had to say that the parking lot scene was my favorite scene too. Everything about that scene is perfect, and the Muse song that accompanies it is right on!
I so watch Twilight over and over because of first love and the chemistry it brought with Robsten! New moon, I watch the beginning and the ending. Don't like the breakup and all in the middle stuff even though it's not bad. Eclipse, well it's all the hot kissing scenes of Robsten. There are clips on YouTube that I watch over and over!
I have to agree with everyone that the first film can be watched again and again. It brought not only Bella and Edward together,it brought Rob and Kristen together as well. Only they could make these characters work and their true love feelings for each other,helped make the first film a success. Most of that was lost in NM,because we have to go through Bella and Edward's separtion. Eclipse brought their love story back and had some great moments,but they were watered down a bit. Too much emphasis on the "love triangle",when there was no choice to be made. Bella loves Edward with her whole heart and the film tried to make it seem she loved Jacob just as much. Since BD is about Bella and Edward's marriage and foray into parenthood,the films will focus on that. I think the studio tried to hard to market a sympathy campaign for Jacob and that put most of the Bella/Edward relationship on the shelf. Bill Condon has promised he'll try to stay faithful to the novel and we can only wait and hope he does so.
Oh my….that's me,,that's i am.
i watched twilight like hundred times and never get enough.i watched it from the beginning till the end. While new moon just three two time if you count i watched just edward-bella part when they together. In twilight so many cute moment between them,,these just feelin so real and perfect. My most favourite scene when bella saw the cullens for the first time.
And yeah to add the list i am TEAM EDWARD too
You are very right…twilight will always be the most watched and the MOST loved..it was the beginning..
Frankly, it was the beginning of this franchise…a much quiter, peaceful, calmer time…when it wasnt this "worldwide phenomenon"…I LOVEd the indie style and vibe…
LOVED Crazy Catherine..because she was passionate about the entire movie from day 1.. although it wasnt clear or didnt have all that CGI and whatever it stayed true to the essence of what twilight is, which goes to show all that CGI stuff doesnt make a movie…CH she put herself into this prob..even more than Meyer…she was into the whole falling in love for the first time..CW also did a good job but, it was all about making it look good-hw style and the CGI stuff was all too much, we didnt get the essence of the lovestory in New Moon (esp. the after Italy part which was cut short, till this day i am not to happy about).
I will ALWAYS be greatful and thankful to her for casting the best cast we can ever ask for and for staying true to the story….with twilight we need a woman's touch and CH def. brought that!..and most of all she believed in Rob and Kristen from day one…she brought the makings of Rob and KRis…IF and IF Robsten moves on and let's say has kids (not saying it will happen but IF)..I always joke that CH HAS to be the godmother of those kids
..because she made Robsten what it is today.
sometimes i still wish that she could back and do just one more movie in this series…with a little bit more money and a bigger budget it will be perfect…she's got the essence of this whole series..it is not the vampires, the werewolves, the six pack or anything else…its the idea of true love and innocent first love!..I'm hoping Bill C. can bring a bit of that in BD..or at least consult CH..because i tell you, CH nailed it!
Pam
@PrettyBrownEyes..you have a point..want to add that I think Eclipse was that way because summitt was trying to draw in more audience…
The series has become this whole big phenomenon thing…with some "false" fans if you know what i mean..that are just waiting to see Jacob shirtless or how cute Rob is…they were trying to cater to that.
In the midst of twilight becoming so big, we've lost the essence of the story…the first love and all..its become something else now..which is why sometimes i wish this series did not become so big..loved the indie style and most of all it brought the essence of the lovestory!…the devoted true fans (first of the books) have been let down..
I love both Twilight and New Moon. I only started reading the Saga books this January. The music of both movies is amazing. Believe it or not I have listened to the scores while work out
I watch both movie at least twice a week ( eventhough I always skip Jacob's parts 
. Twilight brings us the joy and wonder of first love ( never tired of watching E/B scenes). I cry every time I watch the breakup scene ( my husband makes fun of me for crying)in New Moon, and the scene while she was sitting in her room and we see the season changes. I get so emotional when Bella comes back to the meadow and realizes it is not the same ( burning grasses and dying flowers). Off course, the joy of reunion is to die for. I wish CW made the B/E reunion longer. We can feel the love and pain while watching Twilight and New Moon not so much in Eclipse. I watched Eclipse 6 times in the theater because I love R/K. However I don't feel the magic like the other previous installments.
Wow, all of you, well said!~ Twilight is way more stylish with indie feel. And this enhances the delivery of "raw desire" & "energy" (in Kristen's words) for first love. It's like you can literally fell the excitement of Edward & Bella when they get to know and fall for each other during the process. Intense romance is the soul of the saga. Hope the production team get it!~
Eclipse is watchable but all the commercial elements,e.g. action, triangle thing, distract the romantic essence of the story.
Summit, please don't mess up BD cuz It's my favourite book.
Mon
@anon 11:42 thanks for agreeing with me.
To me Summit has messed the series up. Instead of trying to cater to the TRUE devoted fans that actually fell in love with the books before the movies and give us what WE want..they have been catering to the crazed fanatics who just wanna see Jacob take his clothes off,and market a fake love triangle. Like someone else said there was never a choice it was ALWAYS going to be Edward. Even with Edward back in the picture in Eclipse it was still completely watered down. Bella always looked at Edward as more than a boyfriend or a husband she felt those titles didn't suit him because her love was just that strong for him. I kind of felt like she treated him like a 'normal' boyfriend in the third movie the love wasn't there anymore. Expectations aren't high for BD because Eclipse was a let down..hopefully I'm proven wrong.
@anon 11:59 I too have cried when watching New Moon because at the time I was going through the same exact thing. I was in love with my first love and he had just left me because he felt like he was doing the right thing by protecting me from being hurt. I felt like I wanted to die..or as Bella said
"like a hole had been punched through my chest."
I do believe that anyone can relate to this story but you can SERIOUSLY relate to it if you've actually went through these things and I have.
Maybe that is the thing. Eclipse seems more commercialized like the true essence was sucked out and filled in with flashy unnecessary moments that were cool to look at but didnt help the story. I miss the raw and real emotion that Hardwicke brought out. Maybe it was because they stayed closer to the book and didnt try to promote things that dont need to be promoted. Maybe it is because it is the first time we get to fall in love with Edward and Bella and Robsten, but really I just think it was done in a better way that left out the BS of movie flash and did the book justice. Twilight was before Taylor needed to constantly be shirtless and the audience needed to be constantly reminded that hey the kid put on 30lbs for the role, it was before action and sex selling became more important than the romance that made the books a success, Twilight was before Summit decided that money and greed were way more important than doing the books justice. Either way, the fact is that I can watch Twilight over and over again unlike NM or Eclipse. And the one liners are better to me….you better hold on tight spider monkey, it's very common you can google it, my monkey man. I still smile every time I watch it.
Thanks anon @ 12:20 or so I think Pau!
Well, continuing with the topic in question, without doubt, TWILIGHT is (in the series) the best movie and book!.
WHY? Because the new moon, although it has a soundtrack (instrumental) amazing, the Essenes Robsten were so few (unfortunate) and obviously got also features the Jacob, who takes away the true relation of importance (Kris and Rob), clear does not matter we all know what section that Taylor is in photos and video, so how seriously to take this competition? PLEASE!
TAYLOR (or any other pair of actors) have the chemistry of them (Kris and Rob). Ah! ECLIPSE and then this new movie, very commercial, but it's great (and I owe to the editor) very Robsten the many scenes in the movie there.
BREAKING DAWN and we can only hope that (the second part of the movie) is the second best film in the series, because no film (a film unless it is midnight sun (with Kris and Rob)) can mimic twilight.
SA
Do not misunderstand, (EDITING PROBLEM !!!!) What I meant was that no one (not Taylor, NI ANOTHER COUPLE OF ACTORS) THEY HAVE THE CHEMISTRY OF TWO (Kris and Rob), I really feel for those who misunderstood.
SA
I keep thanking the director of the movie ECLIPSE by the many scenes Robsten !!!!!!!!
And I would be grateful if STEPHANIE M. write (the fascinating and frustrating) midnight sun book.(Is frustrating because it is incomplete)
The only book or film (if the act Kris and Rob) that can mimic TWILIGHT.
SA
@Rachelle I agree with you except Eclipse didnt
'seem' commercialized
it WAS commercialized.
Like you said Twilight will always be the best,because CH stuck to the story there was no Team Jacob vs Team Edward hype. Jacob was always fully clothed..it focused on the love.
@anon 2:03 Stephanie wont complete that book for a long time from now.
{if she decides to at all}
I would love for her to finish it too but who could blame her..someone leaked it before it was even done..and I'm sure as a writer that's gotta hurt. I read the chapters she posted on her website and it's nice to get inside of Edward's head to see what he was thinking..I hope she does decide to finish it,but if she doesn't you can't really blame her.
PrettyBrownEyes, PLEASE do not get me wrong (although it is possible, if I have to rely on the Google translator) I never, never (really never) would speak ill of STEPHANIE (OMG its fantastic books) (also I read the little bit of sun midnight in the official pag her). It is a great, great writer and although she does not know personally, I appreciate very much for your great work in the twilight saga.
And as so often mention the word "frustrating" in the book (midnight sun), good is the right word for how it feels after reading the unfinished book.
Robstenlover, I agree with you 100%. Maybe I’m a bit biased because Twilight is my favorite book in the series, since it is all about E/B. Eventually, the love triangle, back stories, etc. have to be there because it’s a 4 book series. It’s exciting, great storytelling the first time I read them, but once I knew the outcome, I’m not that interested in rereading the whole series again, just the “good” parts. What gets me coming back is the relationship, the dialogue and interaction between E/B. The first movie is all about that. There was no requirement or budget for big special effects, so they really had to focus on the relationship. On top of their insane chemistry, R/K took it seriously, delved into the characters, and made the movie work. I loved the New Moon book at the end because of E/B’s reunion and explanation, but I felt that it got short-changed in the movie due to Summit’s adherence to a 2 hour movie. I enjoyed Eclipse, but I will probably fast forward through most of the non-E/B parts. R/K’s lessen amount of face-time together glaringly shows the inadequacy of the scripts and that R/K are the ones that made Twilight as special as it is today.
Well we ever get a real R/K version of the parking lot scene? We’ve seen the Paris tarmac and the Eclipse after party pictures, but well we get a live action version? Just a teeny, tiny video of them walking and holding hands, please?
I find it interesting as anon @ 16:42 uses "E / B" and "R / K", but realistically if you do not understand very useful for short or to give it a relationship hidden from Kris and Rob, because after all you have to be really blind not to see the wonderful chemistry they have. please! how to ignore Taylor in the photos, or look in the interviews, as his jokes are appearing repeatedly denied that they just laugh and of course, thousands of similar gestures. PLEASE! ofcourse Robsten (forever). Although they never admit it (nor deny) Robsten !!!!!!!!!
SA.
My feelings exactly!!! I watched Twilight the night before the opening of Eclipse on cable and paid to see it again the next day along w/New Moon and Eclipse.
I love Twilight more than New Moon although I think New Moon is a very good movie as well. I love Eclipse but not more than Twilight. Catherine's Twilight will stand the test of time.
ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!?!!?!?!! WHAT IS WITH EVERYBODY WITH NEW MOON!?!?!?! Everyone keeps knocking it all of a sudden!!!! What happened!!?!!? Why can't people see that New Moon was ten times more closer to the book than Twilight AND Eclipse!??!?!?!!?!!? Isn't obvious!?!?! I mean, c'mon!!! Go read New Moon…and then watch the movie and add up the scenes. That movie was incredibly beautiful and I would not be saying that if it weren't true. I'm starting to think that New Moon was just TOO beautiful to be quite honest here. Yes, I know that the problem with New Moon is that Edward leaves….but they made it so tasteful and they did it in such a respectful manner that you barely knew that Rob was gone practically the whole movie. In New Moon they almost MADE the movie better than the book !!!! EXHIBIT A: Instead of Bella HEARING Edward's voice….he showed up in all of his wonderful glory. I mean…that's BETTER than the book. C'mon guys!!! We've read the books. We've seen the movies. It's practically a fact that New Moon was closest to the book out of all of them. Why wasn't it watchable??? Because it was TOO magical?? I remember…I literally left that theater in tear it was so beautiful. I cried in every scene with Edward and Bella. Edward and Bella's reunion was sooo touching and my mascara was running down my face. I'm to be quite honest here…..that didn't happen to me with Twilght and Eclipse. BECAUSE THEY Didn"t follow the books as well!!!! Isn't that what we want guys?!?!?! for them to flow the books!?!?!? Think about it!!!! New Moon was just plain magical. Otherworldly. Just the way it's supposed to be. And the reason that the critics attaked New Moon was because it was pure beauty at it's best. It was beautifully crafter, NOT RUSHED and NOT CHOPPY. It moved…you felt each emotion..there was enough time to digest all of the different emotions and feelings in each scene. And it was following the book with its best efforts.
New Moon….was just the book….on the screen.
It's what we fans want.
What we SHOULD want!!!!
I agree that New Moon was beautiful and Kristen fucking killed it in that movie. It followed the book very closely and the directing was FAB, as were the performances. It was an incredible movie. As a matter of fact, between the movie NM and the book, I WILL watch the movie again, all the way through. I will not, however, read the book from start to finish. I always skip a huge portion
But when it comes to Twilight and New Moon, I'll always pick Twilight first. Not just the movie, but the book as well. It's the original, my first love, what I fell for, what brought me to the series.
holy crap Anon 9:09… Freak out? lol
Anyways, I find myself liking Twilight more bc I have hated New Moon THE BOOK since I read it. So, obviously, I wasnt really going to be that into the movie anyways. If that makes me a bad fan…. then whatever. I didnt like a book. So sue me.
Great post, RL. I won't compare the books with the movies b/c for me they're 2 completely different animals. But I see what you mean by Twilight vs. New Moon the movies. I feel the exact same way. In fact, I will admit I watched Twilight 12 times in the theater. New Moon? Three. Eclipse has surpassed that. Nothing beats seeing Rob and Kristen on screen together for the first time. And Twilight is giddy and so romantic. So yea, Crazy Kathy is completely wacky but she had a winner on her hands. Still love you, Chris Weitz!
Anon, 9:09, NM is my second favourite book of the series. However, I don't think the movie did the book justice. I agree Kristen carried the movie (Man, if it wasn't Kristen, the movie would be much worse~). I can literally feel Bella's pain after reading the book but the movie, sorry, I didn't get such strong feeling. I guess it was b/c the limitation of the screen time and there wasn't enough scenes to show how Bella was tortured. In my opinion, they could do it better by adding some more scenes, e.g. Bella's partents tried to force Bella to leave Forks and Bella went crazy.
Mon
I don't think anyone is really slamming New Moon here, or Eclipse. We're all just answering the question: Twilight or New Moon? But I've got to say that everyone should recognize that it is impossible to make a movie exactly like a book… books are 300 or 400 pages of images we create, in our minds. A movie screenplay is about 120 pages with slight direction of what we should see and hear; otherwise, it's up to the director to fill in the space provided by the screenplay writer. Every one of us has different pictures in our head; we can't expect a book to be copied into film. What we should expect is that the tone and emotion of our favorite books should be captured by their movies. If that doesn't happen, the director isn't connnected to the story.
@anon 9:09 lol i feel you hun New Moon was beautiful like I mentioned in my post before even though Edward was gone it was still tasteful and you still felt THE LOVE Bella felt for her man.
i seen new moon 14 times and twilight way more.i watched Eclipse 4 times but its not my favorite Twilight is.eclipse was my favorite book but the movie cut too much and seemed rushed.
I've said before and I'll say it again, Twilight remains my favorite. I just watched it again for the umpteen time and I still can't get enough.
One of my favorite scenes is the biology class when E/B had to identify the onion root cells slides, and Edward asked Bella "are you enjoying the weather?" and Bella's retort was she didn't like the rain, any cold, wet thing. For some reason, the first thing I thought of when I heard that line was you're not gonna like kissing Edward! LOL
My other one was in the restaurant when Bella asks Edward "you're really not gonna eat anything?" Edward: "No, I'm on a special diet." I howled!
Twilight was funny and lovely…remains my favorite.
@anon9:09, you're right about NM being closest to the book…loved, loved, loved the Volturi and the Italy scene was dazzling! But the whole werewolf thing just didn't connect with me. I couldn't care less about their background or why they exist. I skipped that part in the book as well. It just does not rate above Twilight for me…
I somewhat enjoyed Eclipse because the Cullens played a major role in it. Jasper and Rosalie's flashbacks were insightful, and the fight scene was incredible. But neither NM nor Eclipse made me believe Edward was a vampire or dangerous (he can read minds too, you know).
Twilight walked a tight line between the formidable vampire and the teenager trapped inside. NW and Eclipse had Edward acting too much like a pussy…it was more the Bella and Jacob show.
Whereas Twilight created the Edward described in the books, strong, sexy, dangerous, loving, funny and moody. Never understood Summit and their insistence that MR continue to write the screenplays, but glad the series is almost over…love seeing Rob and Kristen in their other projects.
Did anyone NOT see it coming?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7Q6uluPY0
Great post, RL. Thinking about it, I've definitely been watching Twilight more on Bluray than New Moon; however I never saw the original Twilight in the theater.
To me they are representative of very different schools of film making. Hardwicke's is a very intimate, small movie (in terms of 'feel', not just the budget) that takes some liberties with the subject matter to portray a vivid love story taking room. Whereas New Moon is far more grand and stately and sticking very closely to the original matter to reproduce a faithful Twilight filmatization to date.
Perhaps it's CW's directorial style that influenced it but to me New Moon felt a little bit more 'detached', since to me the level of intensity in performances is higher in Twilight. Maybe everyone was more aware of the fandom and felt the need to make sure the movie meets expectations, which contributed to certain cautiousness in performances, directing and editing — who knows?