Books V. Movies

Although I quite like the first movie and I love how weird it is, the first book is much better. I specifically love the car scene when Bella finds out that Edward is a vampire. Not only because it isn't what I expected because of the movie (all of that weird, and scarring, "say it. Out loud." and running around the forest business), but it is also a really genuinely cute moment between Bella and Edward where you can see that they really care for each other, even in their obssessive, creepy way. Something I do like better in the movie is that Bella figures out that Edward is a vampire by herself (with Jacob's help), and isn't just straight up told by Jacob that he is a vampire. I also prefer the book because I get to picture them in my own mind and don't have to watch Kristen Stewart's twitching in that weirdly close up shots in the bio classroom. Although that scene does have an incredibly useful gif of her saying "you're asking me about the weather?" which is one of my favorite bits in the series. Plus, the movie gave us "you better hold on tight spider-monkey," so what can we really complain about?

This one is definitely the book that I was most surprised to like after watching movies. New Moon desperately suffers from "second movie syndrome" and the separation of Edward and Bella. Although many people aplaud the movie for the chemistry between Bella and Jacob, I completely disagree. I think the book did a much better job of developing their friendship through the dialogue and Bella's monologue. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the Romeo and Juliet comparison and thought it portrayed the triangle in a perfect way. I wish there was more of it. The movie just isn't as memorable as the others, even with "Bella, where the hell you been, loca."

I liked how the movie made the montage through the months that the book expertly had different pages for. It was the perfect way for the audience to really see just how deeply depressed Bella had become.

Unpopular opinion: I dislike this book. Unpopular opinion: I like this movie much better than the book. The triangle was so much better developed in the movie since Bella never really had feelings for Jake in the movie. In the book, it is written so weirdly and it makes the reader even more annoyed with Bella since she is acting unfairly to Jake and Edward. The movie also completely nailed the scene between Edward and Jacob in the tent while Bella sleeps (which is quite a feat, knowing they were working with Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner). It is hands down one of my favorite scenes in any Twilight movie and my favorite in this book.

I think my problem with the book is that there is so much more of a plot than the prior books and I don't think Meyer necessarily nailed the integration of it into the book. The movie's version was just generally better executed. I was quite diappointed with the book becuase Eclipse might be my favorite movie in the saga.

Maybe it is because I read the books after watching the movies, but I think that cutting it into two movies was a great idea. The book feels like two different stories. However, this is the mind of someone who was able to binge watch them on Netflix, not someone who had to wait a year to watch the second part of a movie.

Especially when there is absolutely no plot in the first one. What happens again? Oh, Bella and Edward get married, she gets pregnant, everyone freaks out, they have a baby. Do you think that maybe it needs a plot? Nah, it's Twilight, people have learned to not expect a main storyline. However, I love how true to the book it is. Almost every beat is hit and is just the most "feel-good" of any of the movies. I really like this one.

Part 2, however, is an abomination. I really liked it, and then I read the book and I only use one word to describe it: an abomination. Every detail I liked about the second part of the book, they changed. Stuff Bella figured out on her own? Oh no, let's change it and make Edward look like a know-it-all. Jacob not caring that Renesmee is a child and only thinking of her as a child? Oh, let's scrap that and make him call Edward "dad," because Twilight movies aren't cringy enough. Oh, and let's also add three different montages to end the movie on so that we can get tears from fond memories of the past books.

Also, I genuinely don't know how I feel about the fight. I don't love reading fight sequences because they get too complicated for me to follow, so appreciated not reading it, but without it, the ending feels super odd in the book.