Final question of the Twilight movie debate; weigh in on Team Loved It and Team Disappointed

December 6, 7:09 PMBook ExaminerMichelle Kerns

Previous Next

20 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Book Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 

Attention Twi-hards! Before you read the Twilight movie debate team's answers for the final debate question, read their responses to questions 1 and 2 here and their responses to questions 3 and 4 here.

Now, both sides ponder question 5:

What, if anything, would you specifically suggest be changed in order for New Moon to be an even bigger success?

Any thoughts, Team Disappointed?

Mrs. Mary McGill: I've already stated that the addition of scenes to the film adaptations is somewhat necessary, so it should be no surprise that, due to Edward's much-maligned absence from the majority of New Moon, I think a welcome addition would be a few choice moments to check in on him during his absence. I know, I know, these books are generally always seen through Bella's eyes, but it would be an easy fix to a problem that I'm sure the filmmakers are already tackling. And, of course, I have to point out the paltry special effects in Twilight. A huge part of the film's criticism has concerned the cheesy effects, and there is much improvement to be made. Hooray for the bigger budget, and we better see it onscreen!

Ms. Jen Koeller: You'll never get Twi-hards to NOT watch New Moon. However, they can certainly be made much happier with the next installment with just a few changes. Some suggestions I have: *Ease up on the make-up a bit. The vampires are supposed to be pale...but the guys are not supposed to be obviously wearing more makeup than the ladies! *Spend more time on scenes that explain Bella's thoughts and feelings, as well as those of the other characters. Don't spend extra time inventing things that didn't happen. *Bring Bella back to her roots...she's very much a homebody, she loves taking care of Charlie (why couldn't she cook for him? Because the diner was an easy way to introduce Charlie's friend, just so he could be killed?), and she definitely wasn't wearing her underwear when she and Edward had their first kiss!

Ms. Maria Renteria: Jacob is a huge character in New Moon, although we only see him in Twlight a few times his role really takes a front seat to the story. So I would have liked to have seen him in this film tell Bella that the Cullens are vampires , not for him to tell a vague story and for it go into a flashback of the Cullens standing over a deer. Hello Bella can’t see that. He must tell her. I have to see some real emotions coming from these actors. Kristen should do some more work on Bella's character because its all about Bella in New Moon and she really goes through a whole lot. Just judging from Twilight she doesn't give off that vibe that if Edward were to leave she would be broken up about it. But who knows she looks bored and depressed throughout the movie. Maybe she will pull it off. I would like to see more interaction between Bella and the other characters, specifically Alice. 

Also, a new director, screenwriter and editor if possible. The director really didn't bring anything real out of the actors. The screenwriter managed to take corny dialogue and make even cornier and a lot of scenes didn't match up. You can see where she wrote and where Stephenie wrote, nothing matched up, it didn't fit. The movie was choppy, and poorly edited. For instance, the scene where Bella's leaving her house (pretty calmly I might add) the last thing she says is " If I don't get out I am going to be stuck here just like mom" then she shuts the door gets into her car and tells Edward she said the same thing her mom said when she left. What?? Did I miss some of the conversation??? I didn't hear anything hurtful.

 

Your turn, Team Loved It:

Mr. Patrick Black: The main thing I would change/add is to show more of the playfulness in the relationship between Edward and Bella.  It is probably the thing I missed most in the adaptation of the first book.  Things like at the prom where Bella comments that it is a horror film waiting to happen and that she would side with the vampires.  There are any number of little back and forths between the characters that would have added a lot of dimension at little screen time cost.

They don't have a lot of chance to do this in New Moon, but there are definitely places where it could be done and doing so could give a much better glimpse into where Edward and Bella are coming from (his distaste for what he is and her insecurity about why he is with her (especially the latter)).

Ms. Raelynn Coombs: Although I thought the movie was great, the one thing that I did not care for was the sparkling effect of Edward’s skin in the sunlight. I was a little disappointed by this because I had a different image in my mind from the books. I envisioned more of a glassy, diamond type of sparkle, not a glitter look. I would hope that this would be changed and with the wolves and the Volturi being introduce in New Moon, there has to be a way to adapt Stephenie Meyer’s descriptions and make them more believable. A lot of people had a problem with the special effects such as the tree climbing and the “flying” as they put it, but I personally never saw it as flying. I saw it as huge powerful  leaps, or jumps as it is described in Breaking Dawn.  So, I wouldn’t change a lot, just make some things more realistic and believable. ( And yes I know vampires are not real.)

Ms. Alexa Rae: I have complete faith in the cast and know that they will do an excellent job with the rest of the series. I hope they don't change anyone. I do hope that they enhance the budget of the film. I think New Moon requires more attention graphically. I mean the characters and situations and locations in this book are pretty out-there and to avoid "cheesiness", the film makers need to make sure that the computer graphics are up to par. 
 

Twi-hards everywhere, weigh in with your thoughts about the arguments made by Team Loved It and Team Disappointed! Just remember, let's all be ladies and gentlemen here: no snarky comments about someone lacking a brain, eyes, intelligence, etc.

In case you want a recap, the answers to all of the questions can be found here:

Answers to questions 1 and 2

Answers to questions 3 and 4

Answer to question 5 (above)

A huge Huzzah! to all of the Twilight movie debaters, as well as to all of the people who applied to be part of the debate. It's devoted readers like you that keep the book loving flag flying high! Keep reading, and let's all hope that a Midnight Sun will soon be on the horizon.