Twilight Movie Review - May contain spoilers

I have read the books and I went into this movie a little skeptical with medium to high expectations. I came out of the theater thinking that they totally could have done better. It was an okay film, entertaining, but left me feeling like there was something missing. I sat there watching it and hoped that it would get better, but it didn't. And as always...the books are better.

First of all, the good...

The actors they chose for the cast were perfect. One word....Carlisle...mmm yeah. Anyway, They got to the main points of the story. The action sequences are pretty good. The baseball scene is the best. The costumes and makeup are good. The music was good.

Now the bad...

The Director sucks...she has done a lot of "indie" films and you can see it play out here. The direction of the actors was kind of bad. There were alot of strange akward pauses, actions and the actors seemed to hesitate with their lines. And some of the lines were so cheesy and laughable. The relationship between the 2 main characters wasn't as strong as it was in the books. There a lot of little moments that Bella and Edward share and it hardly stopped on those. The film style is atrocious. Going with the directors favorite "indie" style, Most shots are handheld and there are way too many closeups. The vehicles don't completely match the description of what is in the book, Bellas truck is suppose to be an older Chevy truck. For the sake of time, A LOT was cut out...and I mean ALOT...It seemed like a bunch of clips edited together and it was very choppy. The story didn't flow well and it left alot out. For people who haven't read the books I am sure it was hard to figure out what was going on. The artsy end credits were lame.

What could have been better....

Different director. Someone who has had experience directing an epic type of film. Get a different DP or Camera Operator. Put the camera on a freakin' tripod and hold still!!! Get different screen writers. Make the story flow better and stick to the story for that matter. Develop the characters a bit more and give them more screen time, they barely scratched the surface with the Cullen family. They could have put more emphasis on the song that Edward plays on the piano, or introduce it in a different way and make it the theme for the series, sort of like how Harry Potter has a theme throughout the films. Also Edward hums a lullaby to Bella and that isn't even in the film...that is like a huge part of the books! They should have made this film with a similar style as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or even Spiderman and X-men. I mean, it is an epic book! Tons of people have read it and support it, so why did they make this film with such a low budget???

All in all this film needed better direction, camera work and screenwriting.

I give it a rating of 2 1/2 STARS.

Well, that is my review. Take it as you will. Please don't send me hate mail, the expressions and views of this entry are opinions.

ReAL Game

Coming Soon.

Halloween 2008

Halloween this year was okay. I wish that I had the time and the money to make a cool costume like usual, but hey, maybe next year. For the past few years my family has started a Halloween tradition of having a Halloween party with family, friends and neighbors, but this year we decided just to have some family over, carve pumpkins and have some awesome food. My dad made his great chili and my mom made a cheesy potatoe soup that was so freakin' good. Then on Halloween my sister and her kids came over and my brother and sister-in-law came over and we took the kids trick-or-treating. It was fun, the weather was nice, it only sprinkled a bit. Oh, and I got to dress up my sister with some clothes from my costume closet. I created an ensemble that turned out to be a 1800's mortician.
My sisters sweet pumpkin.

My friend Judge dressed up as Micheal Myers.

Cars at the Halloween Car Show at the Magna Arctic Circle were all dressed up too.

Ahh!!! Scary!

Arrr! I be a pirate scout! J.C.Hackett at the Oldies booth.

My DeLorean and my moms friends Datsun Truck.

My cool Garfield and Odie pumpkins that I painted. The pumpkins were so hard that I couldn't carve them, so I ended up painting them as Garfield and Odie from the Garfield Halloween Special.

My carved pumpkins, I just wanted to do some faces. The white one is a Jack Skellington. My sister in her Mortician Outfit.

More Halloween Pics coming soon.

italian food & some good vino

oh my gosh.

i just had the best pasta...EVER. stuffed rigattoni filled with ricotta cheese in a tomato vodka cream sauce....heaven! paired off with a nice glass of wine. okay two. whatever. YUMMMMMMM...

well, it is so boring watching my husband and my brother play video games all night long. so, don't watch them, you say? well, in this tiny apartment that is pretty much impossible. my son is asleep in my room. i don't really feel like hanging out in the nursery (i'm not that much of a mushy mom..LOL).

so, although the carpal tunnel is seriously acting up tonight, i decided to mess around on the internet (ya know...googling people, "facebooking", & blogging. the usual.) in order to cure my boredom. so far, it hasn't helped. and now i'm just getting tired. could be the wine.

so, my sister is getting her hernia (that she aquired 14 months ago after giving birth) removed on monday and she is pretty freaked out about it. pray for her.

so, miguel and i got into it...i mean, really got into it, the other night. i think that our relationship is being attacked big time. probably because we are trying to do so many things to better it. and because we are trying to incorporate christianity in our relationship. it's really scary. i sometimes feel like i won't be able to have the strength to fight off evil.

it's hard growing up. let me tell you, i really wanted my "mommy" while we were fighting/"under attack" (in like a thumb-sucking, blanket-carrying kinda way). but, that's not how things are anymore. i'm the mommy now. i'm a wife. i have a family of my own and i need to get strength from God to help me through those arguments.

so yeah. that was pretty much how my week went post-marriage small group where we were discussing being "safe" (not physically) in our homes. ironic how satan tries to undo everything that we try to do pro-"us". he's a jerk. lol.

okay. i'm done. time for my final glass of wine.

hey, it's the weekend. lol.

baby update

oh no! alejandro got his first shots today! :( i wasn't sure if i was going to get him vaccinated, but i decided (after about 2 months pros & cons lists) that the main reason i would not be getting them done is because other people told me not to. not because i thought it was the right thing to do. needless to say, it was awful watching my baby cry in pain. even now that he is home and comfortable, he keeps crying at random times even in his sleep. so sad...

it is interesting though to have this "mommy instinct". there are certain things that have happened just within these two months of his life that i just knew what the right thing to do was. i am proud and happy with all of my decisions, thus far. hopefully, i can keep that up!

so, for anyone who reads this that wants to be updated on my baby, he is growing like crazy! here are some of his stats:

1. at birth- 8 lbs 13 oz, 20.5 inches
2. 5 weeks- 11 lbs 6 oz., 21.5 inches
3. 7 weeks- 12 lbs 12 oz., 22.5 inches
4. 9 weeks- 13 lbs 6 oz., 23.5 inches

THIS KID GROWS LIKE A WEED! He is between 80-90% range for weight and height for his age...but his head circumference (35.5 cm) is in the 10% range! Big boy, little head. :)

smile

so. earlier today, i wrote my first blog on here. put a lot of thought into it, had just enough time to write it while my son was sleeping...and then the computer froze. i lost everything. grrr. needless to say, i hadn't cooled off until just now. so, i shall try it again!

alejandro, my 8 week old son, smiles all the time now. i was watching him today and wondering how he could be so happy. he smiles when he sees me first thing in the morning, when his dad gets home from work/school, any toy that lights up or makes noise, & (definitely) his bottle. such simple things. i realized i hadn't been smiling that much lately. that made me kind of sad. why shouldn't i smile. i am married to a great guy, i have a beautiful son, i love my church, i have the best "first apartment", i am very close (in proximity & relationally) to my family...the list goes on. there is so much i am truly thankful for. i can't stop smiling just thinking about it.

and trust me, my marriage is not perfect (by far), it is sometimes very overwhelming having a little baby all day, i am really not where i want to be in my walk with christ, i can't wait to move out of this town, and the fam sometimes drives me nuts...why is it so easy to focus on all of that instead of the things that make me smile? my life may not be perfect in general terms, but it's perfect to me. anyone feel the same?

This is Halloween

Nothing says Halloween like getting bitten by a Vampire. My sister being the culprit in this case. I look like a doof, staring off into nothing. I made her into a Vampire for Makeup Class. I even made her some custom Vampire Teeth. The shirt is mine and the jewelry is provided by Lia Sophia.
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love orange and black and fall is my favorite season. Halloween is dark, creepy, evil, and awesome. Changing Leaves, Moonlit Nights, Carving Pumpkins, Haunted Houses, Corn Mazes, Bobbing for Apples, Trick-or-Treating and Candy, Candy, Candy, Candy. I like the things that have been tied to Halloween, things such as Werewolves, Frankenstein, Vampires, Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), Zombies, Ghosts, Goblins, Black Cats, Witches, Mummies, Skeletons, Spiders and spiderwebs, Crows, Owls, Magic and Spells.
My Harry Potter Pumpkin was the coolest.

Something Ironic about my love of Halloween is that I do not like Horror/Scary Movies. Sure I like blood and guts, but I don't like to be freaked out or scared. However, I always thought it would be cool to get some ghost hunting gear and go out to search for ghosts, but I would get freaked out, or rather I would psych myself out. Think things that were not there, see things that were not there. Still I wouldn't mind trying it as long as I had something to fend off the ghosties.

I think the coolest part of Halloween is the opportunity to dress up as whatever one wishes and go out in public. Almost every year I dress up for Halloween. I usually make my own costumes or purchase things at Thrifts stores to create a costume. I usually spend alot, the most I have spent was around $300. Once Halloween is over, I instantly think of what I am going to be the next year. Yeah, I know I am a freak.

Things that I have dressed up as and can remember include...
In Elementary School: Tiger, Cougar

In Junior High: Pauly Shore from Encino Man, Wayne from Wayne's World

In High School: Witch, Hippie

In College: A Black Cat, Rogue from X-Men, Tomb Raider, Legolas from LOTR, Shinigami from the Bleach Anime series.
Shinigami from Bleach anime. Legolas from Lord of the Rings...yeah, I know it is a guy character, so what! This wasn't for Halloween,but me and my buddies from Film Production Class filmed a spoof cop film.

I was told from my friend Travis McFarland (aka. Von) that I looked like Robin from the Witch Hunter Robin anime series, so I thought I would be her for Halloween one year. I started to make the costume, but I still have yet to complete it. This is what it would look a bit like...This year I will attempt to be steampunk. If you do not know what that is...look it up. Think Van Helsing and Wild Wild West.
I will try to find more pics of my past costumes and post them on here.

I wish there was some sort of Masquerade Ball at the Capitol or somewhere that was for 21 and older, where they would play classical music and everyone would ballroom dance. Where you had to wear 18th and 19th Century gowns and tuxedos and a mask or you would not be admitted. Think of the scene on the movie Van Helsing where Kate Beckinsale is at Dracula's Place and everyone is dancing. Now that would be cool!