Twilight is Upon us!

So, I've waited over 36 hours since my first chance to see the movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight to post anything. Can I just remind you what absolute torture this has been for me. All I want to do is stand up on our rooftop and shout out to everyone "I've seen Twilight and I loved it" and then go on to list every singe way in which the movie has captured my heart; and the list is rather extensive.

I think I can safely say that I am a very dedicated and die-hard Twilighter without too many complaints from the peanut gallery. That being said, I can still enjoy every minute of the movie without being nitpicky. Everyone needs to remember that this is not Twilight the Book: the Movie. They don't need to get every single scene and every single line word for word as you would read it on the page, but surprisingly enough fans were given more than a fair dose of quotes straight from Stephanie Meyer's work to the screen. Every time I could quote the book in the movie I got goose bumps and I spent the entire viewing with chills (all in a very good way, of course).

The casting was incredible. My one hold out since they announced the casting until now has been Elizabeth Raeser as the mother figure of the Cullen family, Esme. She was only in the film for 2 brief scenes, but I take back everything that I said about her, which was never anything horrible to begin with. She did the compassionate mother justice in every sense of the word. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart as our newest favorite stat-crossed lovers Bella and Edward played their roles to a tee. Bella comes off much more headstrong than she was in the books, but it suited for a better movie and Rob did such an amazing job with the i-love-you-but-i-want-to-eat-you half of their romance. It's plainly obvious to any Twilighter worth her weight that he read Midnight Sun, the story of Twilight told from Edward's perspective. From his reaction to her upon their first encounter to trying to convince she was seeing things at the hospital, I couldn't have asked for more. But more, we definitely got!

The rest of the Cullens were UH-MAH-ZING! Peter Facinelli is just a gorgeous man, and while I prefer his dark hair, he's not too shabby as a blonde! His Dr. Carlisle Cullen was every bit as compassionate and gentile as Meyer depicted him. Ashley Greene as the pixie-like Alice Cullen was to die for. She was so adorable and really fit with the character. You could just see how excited she was to have a new friend in Bella (maybe something you got more out of Midnight Sun than Twilight). Asking Bella if she was going to join them on the school bus after their field trip was a standout for me, and after watching her pitch how can anyone deny her gracefull, dancer-like movements. The toe point, leg kick with each pitch made me wish I had any kind of grace of my own. Now I feel inadequate! Jackson Rathbone's Jasper was too cute in the best of ways. I can see how someone who hasn't read the book could find him a little awkward. As Jessica points out in the film "the one who looks like he's in pain" definitely gave you the impression he wasn't comfortable around his classmates, and that's the way it should be! I just wish we could hear him talk more. Or see him more. I keep playing him in the baseball scene over and over in my head the way he was throwing the bat around was classic as was his response to Victoria's "wicked curve-ball" remark. Just like Jackson himself, the slight Southern twang can easily steal my heart any day. Rosalie was just, well, Rosalie. Nikki Reed is an outstanding actress any day of the week, and you could just feel the animosity she felt for our heroine. Of course, I have to save Mr. Kellen Lutz as the big burly brother Emmett. From the beginning he's been my favorite cast choice. He just is Emmett, no ifs ands or buts about it!

OK, give me a minute to swoon here for a second ...

The actors who portrayed Bella's high school friends could have stolen the show on any given day. Eric Yorkie (played by Justin Chon) was just hilarious and to be honest reminds me of a lot of the people I went to high school with, and Mike Newton (played by Michael Welch) wasn't too bad himself. Angela Weber (Christian Serratos) wasn't as much the silent wall-flower that she was in the book either, but you can't find a better human-friend for Bella and Jessica Stanley (Anna Kendrick) was just as oblivious to everything that didn't involve her hooking up with Mike -- oh, and of course her own cleavage. I think the hidden gem was definitely Mr. Melina, the Biology teacher, played by Jose Zuniga. I love high school teachers like that. I had a few of my own who really made the whole experience that much less of a bore; the world needs more teachers like him and his golden onion and compost tea!

I guess I have to apologize to Taylor Lautner too. I wont go so far as to say I agree with his casting just yet (I'll wait to see how he pulls of his transformation in New Moon before I comment further) but I wasn't as disappointed with him as I expected to be. Any time I see a photo of him he just makes me think of a preppy little girl. I don't know, I'm not a fan. But his Jacob was alright. Maybe it's just my general bias of Jacob as a whole that has me on his bad list. I am, and have always been, a Team Edward gal and Jacob can eat my grits ... As far as the Pack is concerned though, I'm on Team Seth (Eclipse reference here).

And before I forget, Bella's parents were awesome too. Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, Chief of Forks Police, reminded me so much of the awkward relationship that I have with my own father. The love is there, but the communication is not. You could tell he's a man that's been living on his own and hasn't had to have too many real conversations with people inside his own home and how he was trying his best to fix whatever the problem might have been between him and his daughter (yeah, it's called absence). OMG - two beers and a shotgun! I just about jumped out of my seat I was so giddy in that scene when he first met Edward. P.S. He's also a fan of pepper spray! Sarah Clarke as Renee Dwyer, Bella's mom, was such a good choice. There's something about her that just screams care-free is the way to be. Maybe it's the gleam in her eye or the way she smiles but she is a perfect fit for the flighty woman.

The movie itself was more than I could have asked for. We got 2 hours packed with as much from the book as they could shove in. The down-side to that though, was that every scene just felt too short, but that could have easily been my need to see more. They made sure to keep the essentials which I am thankful for, but a lot was cut out. A lot of other scenes were condensed into others, such as Eric asking her to Prom (the Sadie Hawkins dance was cut entirely, which is OK), Mike asking her to Prom, and so on. I'm a little sad we didn't get to see Tyler's chance to ask her out, but I'm not going to put the movie down because of it. I expected the special effects to be downright tacky, but they weren't. Edward glistening in the sunlight was just beautiful, and the super fast speed wasn't anything I can criticize. Anyone who's going to hold that against them should answer themselves this: What should they have done on their budget? This wasn't some multi-million dollar blockbuster people. The fight scene and showdown with Edward and nasty-evil James (a.k.a. hot and sexy Cam Gigandet) was spectacular.

I hate to say, as much as I love it, that people who haven't read the book may find it a little lacking with the choices of other films they have to see, but that's their own damn fault! There was so much in the movie that really catered to people like who me, and for that Summit and everyone involved are my new heroes!