Faturday Contained [12]

Okay, it’s not a cardboard box, but Fatty likes other types of containers, too.

Happy Faturday!

Friday Fix over at I Swim For Oceans!

Hey quirksters!  

Melissa from I Swim For Oceans has graciously let me participate in her feature, 

Friday Fix!

The interview of five of the most random questions ever (seriously, ya'll, they're random-random) is posted at her blog here.

Go check it out!  

Melissa has an awesome blog, 

so let her know you stopped by!

And thank you to any of her readers who have 

stopped by Writer Quirk to say hi!

Giveaway Highlight - Abby Annis 200 Followers Giveaway

Hey quirksters!  Abby Annis is having a 200 follower giveaway 

on her blog (HERE), and she's offering some great prizes!

The lucky winner will receive a journal, some awesome glowy pens, 

and these books:

 

So go enter HERE for your chance to win!

Teaser Tuesdays [10]

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the TITLE & AUTHOR, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Ethan stood there, his face blue and wrinkled, his lips pulled into a rictus grin.  In one hand, he clutched a butcher knife.

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa, page 136

Happy Tuesday!  ^_^

Boxy Faturday [11]

Fatty loves boxes.  Being in them, being on them, he just loves cardboard.  Makes me think if Fatty were human he would break-dance on cardboard.  He’d just be that cool. 

(See the song NUMB by Family Force 5 in the player at the very bottom of the blog).

Happy Faturday!

Quirk Review: Forgive My Fins (Fins #1) by Tera Lynn Childs

From Goodreads: 

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. U...more Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

 Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

This is the first book in the Fins Series by Tera Lynn Childs.

I won this book in a contest hosted by Caitlin at Written Word Review.  This was my first mermaid book, as well as my first Tera Lynn Childs book, so I was excited to read it.

This novel was an easy read.  I finished it quickly (for me) and enjoyed every minute of it.  The writing was good and clearly from the perspective of an older teen.  The fishy lingo was fun, though the usage was too heavy in the first half of the book, but it eventually tapered off to a decent level so as not to be overbearing and distracting.  A lot of it was funny as well, and I liked the creativity that went into crafting the phrases.

I did have a couple qualms, such as Lily, the MC, was very naive to be almost eighteen.  It got very annoying to see her fawning over Brody all the time while ignoring/hating Quince.  Also, I feel there could/should have been more time spent showing Lily interacting with her best (human) friend Shannen, her best (mermaid) friend Peri, or Rachel, Lily's aunt, whom Lily lives with while on land.  There just wasn't enough there to really get a feel for those relationships.

Going back to Quince (because he was definitely my favorite part of the book), I loved how he called Lily on her carp even though it hurt her to hear the truth.  It made him more believable as a character because he didn't just do the love/serious/impress-the-parents thing or the jerk/not really/just-want-to-be-near-you/sexy-bad-boy thing, even though both of those things worked just fine for him.  See, he also did the I'm-in-love-with-you-but-your-being-an-idiot thing, which I respect more than unrequited love because it shows just how much he was willing to do for Lily, even if it made her dislike him.  Quince also had some great lines which let his personality shine and smolder.  Definitely one of the more swoon-worthy love interests that I've read about in a while.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this novel.  I was simultaneously a bit sad/glad about the ending, but I'm curious as to what lies ahead for Lily and company.  Some might say that the story was predictable, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of it.  I look forward to reading the next installment, Fins Are Forever, when it is released next year. 

Top Ten of the Moment [6]

Top Ten of the Moment is a meme from Swimmer over at Breaking the Bookshelf to be hosted every Thursday.

How this meme works is that Swimmer will choose a topic (food, books, etc.) and will pick her current top ten.  If you want to participate, all you have to do is create your own top ten for Swimmer's selected topic and put your TTotM link in the Mr. Linky on her post.  Easy enough, right?

This week's topic is:  Best Covers Ever!
(to see Swimmer's top ten, click HERE)

This is essentially a list of my favorite covers and is not a reflection on how much I liked the book (if I've read it).

My Top Ten:

1.     Fallen & Torment by Lauren Kate - These covers are Gothic and gorgeous!

2.     The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint by Bree Despain - I love the floaty, colorful fabric and the font, even though I don't understand what the legs have to do with the books (anyone know?).

3.     The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen - Opulent gowns in rich fabrics - need I say more?

4.     The Last Survivors series by Susan Beth Pfeffer - I find the cosmos extremely captivating, and though I've never read these books, I could stare at the covers all day.

5.     Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - Dark and mysterious with an awesome font!

6.    The Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter - These covers are so recognizable and I love that they are in different colors each time...I can't wait too see what the next one is going to look like!

7.     Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - I think this is a stunning cover, and from what I hear of the book, the feral female is fitting for the story.  I also like that the main character's name is Calla and they put (bloody) calla lilies on the the front.

8.     Paranormalcy by Kiersten White - I was instantly interested in this book the first time I saw it.  I'm glad that, according to many reviews, the book is just as awesome as its cover.

9.     The Mark by Jen Nadol - I don't know much about this book, but every time I see it I always think it's glowing.  I love that lighting effect.

10.     Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs - This is such a beautiful and whimsical cover that perfectly fits the fun story inside.

Quirk Review: Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

From Amazon: 

"Throughout all my histories, I found no one  I loved more than you...no one." 

Those were some of Rhode's last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face.

Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust. 

I never expected to fall in love with someone  else that wasn't Rhode. But Justin was...daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream. 

I never expected to be sixteen again...then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me...

This is the first book in the Vampire Queen Trilogy by Rebecca Maizel and will be released on August 3rd.

I received an advanced readers' edition of this book from Goodreads First Reads.  I thought the premise of the story was interesting - I've seen few stories where vampires can become human - so I was excited to see where this book would go.

First, the writing is elegant - that's the only way I can describe it.  This did make for a slower read, but an enjoyable one.  After all, the story is from the perspective of a former vampire queen who has been around for over five hundred years, so it would have been ill-fitting if she spoke and thought as if she were a modern teenager.  The whole story reminded me slightly of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, the Gothic tone mingled with the current times, not to mention the struggle of good and evil that the narrator of the story, Lenah, has within herself.

Speaking of that former vampire queen, Lenah is a great character.  I liked seeing the world through her eyes and watch her compare her new human experiences with her old vampire ones, which were mostly seen through flashbacks.  The flashbacks were something I was worried about initially, as I usually don't enjoy flipping between a current plot and past events.  However, the transitions were smooth, and the fact that it was simply part of Lenah's character to think on her past life made them interesting and did not slow the story down.  Truthfully, the story is not fast-paced or action heavy, but the story and the character of Lenah were written so well that I did not mind.  I thought the learning experiences Lenah goes through were believable and really made her character endearing.

As for the other main characters, I deeply wish Rhode were a larger part of the plot.  He does set the whole thing in motion, but we really only get to see him a little and mostly in flashbacks.  Justin, the main love interest, was personally disappointing.  As a reader, I want to fall for the main LI as much as the main character does, but I was never sold on Justin.  I thought it odd that someone who could date the typical mean girl and tease others along with her would be chosen by a smart and cultured Lenah.  After reading this post by the author, however, I better understood why Justin was a good choice for Lenah, though I really didn't care any more for him than before.

I also had an issue with Justin's mean girl ex-girlfriend, Tracy.  Though Lenah and her do not become true friends, the fact that Tracy's character also changes without any cause or explanation was hard to believe.  Sure, love or new boyfriends can change people, but what made them that way in the first place?  Was she truly an awful person or just insecure?  Maybe I'm being picky, but it was a bit too neatly tied up for me.  I wouldn't have minded if the change in Tracy had been explored or explained in some way.

The character I am most looking forward to seeing more of is Vicken, Lenah's other lover from her vampire life.  We get to see Lenah's view of him while he was still human and then we get to see him as a vampire when the action starts towards the end of the book. In both forms he made no excuses for what or who he was, and he seemed to be the man's man type, which I liked.  What happens with him at the end has me really intrigued to see where the plot leads and how it involves him.

Overall, this was a very good novel and an elegant story of an old vampire's new life.  I'd recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal YA and is looking to sink their teeth into something different.  I can't give it an A rating, though, because for me it was not one of those books where I just was completely and enthralled and engrossed.  I do think, however, that many who read this novel will find it worthy of top marks.

Also, if you want to see something awesome, click here to see the author, Rebecca Maizel, read an excerpt from Infinite Days.  She really captures the tone and character of Lenah, which shouldn't be surprising since she did create her. Go watch and enjoy!

Teaser Tuesdays [9]

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the TITLE & AUTHOR, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

"Don't do that," he says, as if sensing my train of thought, his voice softer.  "Don't twist my words."

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs, page 25

Happy Tuesday!  ^_^

Faturday Giveaway [10]

So you may or may not have heard about my 

Favorites & Followers Giveaway,

but either way, I need to show you something.

If you don't enter and claim these awesome prizes, Fatty will steal them and they will 

never see the light of day again!  

See! 

He's already got his paws all over that CD!

Quick Quirk Update

Hello!  It's been a busy week, and I have been reading my butt off so I could finish the ARC I won of Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel.  

I finished it yesterday!  Yay!  I liked it and will be vlogging about it soon.  

And you never know, it could wind up in a little *contest* I'm having...

Happy Friday!

Teaser Tuesdays [8]

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the TITLE & AUTHOR, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Soon we were standing face-to-face in the middle of the living room.  Around me were the talismans of my life:  the sword, the photos, the vial of Rhode's dust around my neck.

Infinite Days (Vampire Queen #1) by Rebecca Maizel, page 208

Happy Tuesday!  ^_^

Holy Blogger, Fatman! [Part Four]

Okay, so I've been hinting about a giveaway for quite a while, and finally here it is!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. 

Win some of my favorite things!

The Rules:

• Must be 13 years or older to enter.
• At this time, all contests are U.S. only.
• All winners will be announced on this blog.
• Only entries made using the stated method will qualify.
• I can not be held responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail.
• All winners will be notified by email and will have seven days to respond with valid shipping information.
• In the event a prize is not claimed, I reserve the right to select a new winner with the method of my choice.
• I reserve the right to change contest rules, contest dates, or disqualify entrants at my discretion without prior notice.

The Prizes:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (Novella)

Memento Mori by Flyleaf (CD)

Both of these items are BRAND NEW and FAVORITES of mine!

To see why, check out my reviews HERE and HERE.

(check out some tracks from the CD in the player at the very bottom of the blog)

Since this is also a follower contest, my goal is to reach 50.  Shouldn't be too hard; only a handful away. 

BUT...

for every 25 followers I get over 50, I will add another winner (i.e. @ 75, 100, and so on).

The potential winner(s) will be able to choose one prize out of the following options:

The Heat by NeedToBreathe (CD - review here)

Love Reality by Charmaine (CD - review here)

Memento Mori by Flyleaf (CD)

$10 Amazon.com gift card (I lurve gift cards)
***NEW*** ARC of Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

I've set up the standard form, complete with extra entry opportunities, but some of them are just questions to answer 
because I wanted a chance to learn about you!

The last day for this giveaway is August 14th, 2010.  The winner(s) will be chosen using the random number generator at Random.org.

To enter, fill out this form.

Museic - NeedToBreathe

Museic: Bands, songs, and albums that inspire my writing 

This edition features:

NEEDTOBREATHE - The Heat

NeedToBreathe's Website  ~  NeedToBreathe on Myspace 

Bear Rinehart - Vocals, Guitar, Piano

Bo Rinehart - Guitar, Background Vocals 

Seth Bolt - Bass, Background Vocals 

Joe Stillwell - Drums, Background Vocals

I'm sure some of you have heard of this amazing band, but
if not, now you can learn about one of my favorites!

Bits about the band from the band's site 
(full article here):

"We're from a small town in South Carolina called Possum Kingdom," NEEDTOBREATHE frontman Bear Rinehart explains when asked about the place he and his younger brother/co-writer Bo were raised. "Trust me - there was absolutely no music scene there."

The sons of an Assembly of God pastor, Bear and Bo Rinehart had inherited their father's gift with words, and put it to good use in their songwriting; their mother taught piano, making music a constant part of their young lives. Formed in 1999, NEEDTOBREATHE (with childhood friends Joe Stillwell and Seth Bolt) built an impressive regional following, playing throughout the Southeast. Along the way, they sold more than 15,000 copies of their self-released EP's, recorded by Seth, who had earned a degree in record engineering. 2006 saw the release of the band's major label debut, Daylight, and a relentless, national touring schedule. Despite being on the road nearly non-stop, NEEDTOBREATHE returned the following year with The Heat, which went to #2 on the Heatseekers chart and spawned the hit single "More Time," a top 10 success at Triple-A radio (sitting alongside established artists like Coldplay and Jack Johnson). The group's penchant for capturing a poignant moment or eliciting an emotion with their music is evidenced by the numerous songs from each of their albums that have appeared in film and television, including the Hilary Swank-starring, motion picture P.S. I Love You and MTV's "The Hills," among many others.

Why THE HEAT is Museical:  When I think of warm nights,  fireflies, and bonfires, I think of NeedToBreathe.  I know these are Southern boys, but their music makes me think of California beaches.  When I rediscovered this album (I've had it for a while) it fit the carefree spirit of my MC perfectly.  She's originally from California, loves the sun and surf, and has a laid back personality.  This changes for her later, but this album perfectly fits where she's at as a character at the beginning of the story.  There are also parts of this album that fit one of my MC's love interests, which when I stumbled across it, inspired actual scenes in my head.  So, yeah, I'm lovin' this album big time.


Tracks (*faves*):

1. Spare The Time
2. *Restless*
3. *Again*
4. *Return*
5. *We Could Run Away*
6. Streets of Gold
7. *More Time*
8. Signature of Divine (Yahweh)
9. ***Looks Like Love***
10. ***The Heat***
11. ***Nothing Left To Lose***
12. *Movin' On*
13. Washed By The Water
14. *Second Chances*

Quirk: Lately I've been taking dusk/night drives through the beautiful open spaces that exist near where I live, and I refuse to listen to anything but this album, specifically tracks nine, ten, and eleven.  Windows down, wind whipping through my hair,  NeedToBreathe blaring...perfect summer night.

(Listen to song previews here.)

Rating:  Royalty

Faturday Flashback [9]

This is Fatty when he was just a little kitty, which means this is Fatty when I thought he was a girl and had named him Baiby Fuzzyface Grey.

Happy Faturday!

I'm having a slight out-of-body experience...

Okay, one rule I generally keep up pretty well is "Don't read blogs you wrote years ago when you were stupid and selfish and emo."

I broke that rule and learned some things.

1.  That was ME?  I am so different now, it seems like a completely separate life, let alone person.  And just FYI, the time between now and then is approximately four years.  Seems like eons.

2.  Maybe I wasn't as weird a person as I thought.  Okay, I was out there in some ways, but from my blog I sound pretty normal, almost.  I'm starting to see how paranoid/self-focused I was, which is slightly disturbing but at the same time completely expected.

3.  My sense of humor hasn't changed.  I mean, I know it has because there are things I would have found funny then that I wouldn't now.  But as I'm reading, I'm laughing, and not at myself in a "I was so stupid" way but in that way when you know someone is joking and it's funny because you get it and that is their personality.  Even if no one else ever thought I was funny, at least in my eyes my humor is still top notch, even if it is a few years old.

4.  If you use nicknames for people, keep a list somewhere. I'm reading through and coming across names for people (Berlin, Thames, Kansas, etc.) and I have no idea who I was talking about!  Some of them I figured out eventually, tying events to people and then to nicknames, but seriously!  Who that crap is Kansas?!

5.  Reading comments from people you used to know can make it feel like you still know them.  Even if you haven't seen them in years.  Or spoken.  Or anything.  Or they've had a stroke and are no longer themselves.  But it does no good to pine for the past. *sigh*

Some of my favorite quotes from my former self:

9/21/06

when i die, i want my ashes scattered on the internet, because that is where i spent most of my life.

*STILL TRUE* (the last part anyway) 

8/30/06

Sexuality: duh, i dont have a bf for my health

From one of those super quizzes that were so popular

3/15/06
the appropriate definition of an indie film: don't expect an ending...
from when I began working at a movie store 

2/12/06 

jeez, im such an unspeakably ridiculous person...
I still can be this sometimes...

6/11/05 

at the moment i dont feel very attractive...my tongue is hanging out of my mouth, my eyes are half open, and my nostrils keep flaring...sounds spectacular, doesnt it? 
what happens when I don't sleep...

4/28/05

and right now i seem to be putting off thinking about the fact that the future of my college career will be decided soon, and until then my life is hanging in the balance...frankly, no 3.25 or better=no scholarship=no college=no good job=no life... 

That stuff in bold?  I was SO WRONG!!!!  I have a great job and an awesome life, and I never finished school.

Okay, that's it for the flashback!  Thanks for reading!  ^_^ 

Top Ten of the Moment [5]

Top Ten of the Moment is a new meme from Swimmer over at Books, Writing, and More, Oh My!! to be hosted every Thursday.

How this meme works is that Swimmer will choose a topic (food, books, etc.) and will pick her current top ten.  If you want to participate, all you have to do is create your own top ten for Swimmer's selected topic and put your TTotM link in the Mr. Linky on her post.  Easy enough, right?

This week's topic is:  Best Movies Taken from Books!
(to see Swimmer's top ten, click HERE)

This is essentially a list of my favorite movies and is not a reflection on how good the book was or how precise the film adaptation.

My Top Ten:

1.  Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King from the book by J.R.R. Tolkien
2.  Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers from the book by J.R.R. Tolkien
   
3.  Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring from the book by J.R.R. Tolkien
4.  The Phantom of the Opera from the book by Gaston Leroux
5.  Little Women from the book by Louisa May Alcott
6.  The Secret Garden from the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett
7.  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from the book by J.K. Rowling
8.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from the book by J.K. Rowling
9.  The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse from the book by Stephenie Meyer
10.  The Count of Monte Cristo from the book by Alexandre Dumas

Total ECLIPSE of Sanity

At midnight on Tuesday, June 29, 2010, I was one of many attending the opening of Twilight Saga:  Eclipse.  My thoughts on the movie are in a separate post (HERE), so this post is a short account of my adventure and a few videos courtesy of me, my friends, our local IHOP, and the delirium that accompanies the wee hours of the morning.

First, Eric and I arrived at about 10:30pm to our local movie temple (we don't live in a big city so we weren't expecting anything crazy).  We thought we'd be all smart and get there early and were slightly surprised to find out that were were late.  Quite late.  There was no parking so we had to park in the lot next to the theater and walk up from the street.  No big, really, as it was a nice, warm night and we were not alone.  :oP

Anyway, we got our tickets and proceeded to stand in line for a while.  We finally made it in and learned that they were seating people regardless of the showtime they had paid for, which was slightly disgruntling, but we ended up in a theater that had plenty of seating left (because evidently some people have an aversion to the lower level).  The theater staff had obviously not expected the chaos that caused all twelve theaters to be filled, but they were still courteous and pleasant, answering the same questions over and over and ushering people in as best they could.  These nice theater employees talked with us while we were waiting:

We eventually sat ourselves in theater number nine and waited for our friends Caitlyn, Sina, and Sarah.  I was on edge slightly as I was saving seats for them and was hoping they would arrive before the seating filled up, but our theater never reached capacity so it worked out just fine.  We were able to sit together and didn't have to crane our necks like we did the year before (front row=not my favorite).

The lights dimmed shortly after midnight, and we were treated to the awesome Deathly Hallows trailer, among others.  Then it started, finally, after months upon months of waiting for this moment, ECLIPSE began and the squeeing commenced! 

It was great!  The theater goers laughed together (often when it wasn't really warranted, but that's half the fun).  There were many hoots and howls (Edward, Jacob, Jasper, oh my!) and applause after the show was over.

It was a claustrophobe's nightmare trying to get out of the theater, but once out, those in our group stopped for pictures in front of the movie poster.

Me, Caitlyn, Sina, and Sarah

Eventually (at the prodding of a hungry Eric) we made our way to our cars.  Instead of going by sidewalk (like normal, sane people) we traversed the landscaping of stones and shrubs as a shortcut.

We made it to our cars without injury and then drove to an immeasurably understaffed IHOP.  Evidently, the restaurant was already short-handed when the after-Eclipse-food-boom happened.

Eric, Sina, Sarah, and Caitlyn being themselves.

The videos pretty much pick up from here, and we discuss the movie and various other things.  The round-table (or square-table) recording, which was not planned but a spontaneous decision, is the epitome of random.  So if you think you can handle the random, please watch and feel free to laugh at us.   

It's okay, we do it all the time.

Teaser Tuesdays [7]

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the TITLE & AUTHOR, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Yet, I yearned for the faces of the coven.  The men I had known for centuries.

Infinite Days (Vampire Queen #1) by Rebecca Maizel, page 89

Happy Tuesday!  ^_^

Thoughts on ECLIPSE

This is just a (none-too-quick) rundown of my thoughts on the movie, which overall I really, really enjoyed.

I liked the opening, and really any scene with the newborns.  However, being a big fan of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, I was a little disappointed.  I wished they had shown Bree (Jodelle Ferland) distancing herself more from the newborns, to really show she wasn't like them. Also, I wish they had included Fred and Diego.  Even if the two only had seconds on screen, I would have been appeased, but alas, the movie did have only so much time and tons to cover.

As for that, I was impressed that the filmmakers did mange to get everything in.  Granted, the pacing was pretty quick, and yes, some of the stuff was revealed out of sequence from the book, but it didn't bother me a bit.  It was all there, without any huge changes, and that's what mattered to me.  They left out a big bit about imprinting, but I think it was because that part really comes into play in Breaking Dawn, so they just held off to allow for the rest of the stuff in Eclipse to take center stage.

There were also less of the artsy-for-the-sake-of-being-artsy shots that were pretty but slightly annoying from the first two movies.  This movie was still gorgeous, but the look didn't overwhelm the flow.  Also, while the amount of close-up shots on the main actors were about the same, they actually held more substance.  The way they focused on Bella's (Kristen Stewart) ambivalence between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) really worked for the story.

The acting was much better in this film, heads and shoulders above the other two movies.  My only qualm was with Jane (Dakota Fanning).  Her few lines about the newborns (seen in the Volturi-focused trailer) seemed flat and false to me, and I don't know if it was her acting or the script that was the problem (I don't think what they gave her was very good).

Speaking of the Volturi, I LOVED Demetri (Charlie Bewley).  He had very little screen time, but I absolutely adored the part where the Volturi arrive after the battle.  I had my eyes on him (of course) and was blown away by his acting.  I was mostly impressed with the fact that though he's not one of the big stars of the movie, he gave his role everything he had, and he stood out (even more than before).  Plus, his costume was PIMP (not a word I use lightly).

Okay, moving on to the other characters...I thought Bryce Dallas Howard did a good job as Victoria, but thinking back on it, there was something about her portrayal that wasn't quite satisfying. I think Rachelle Lefevre would have done just as well, and the continuity of character would have been intact.

As for the wolves, I liked Leah (Julia Jones) and Seth (BooBoo Stewart) and I am expecting more from them in the next installments.  The rest of the wolf pack was fine, not so much the focus this movie, so less of them, but fine.  Jacob was fine (like I said, better acting) though he wasn't quite himself in my opinion (less whiny-teenager, which was both both a positive [less whining] and a negative [OOC] but whatever).

I liked the relationship between Edward and Bella much more in this film, even though Bella is always grating my nerves for one reason or another.  But, again, the acting was so much better, it made Bella's internal struggle more realistic.  I was also glad Edward had more of a backbone and showed more emotion than usual, though again, this could be considered OOC, but what-the-hay at this point.

As for the Cullens...Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) and Esme (Elizabeth Reaser) were fine, Emmett (Kellan Lutz) made good use of his bit of screen time, and Alice (Ashley Greene) was cute as ever.  I loved Rosalie (Nikki Reed) in this movie, and I was impressed with Reed's portrayal of her as she brought a softness and vulnerability to the character while still retaining Rosalie's prideful demeanor.  As for Jasper...

...holy blogger, Fatman!  I LOVED JASPER!!!  Jackson Rathbone was spectacular!  We got to hear his (real) Southern accent, see him in uniform, see him and Alice interact (huge aww moment), and see more of his personality.  I was worried about his appearance after the first photos came out, but the hair was not as bad as I thought it would be.  Overall, the moments with Jasper at the center were my favorite, hands down.

The scenes with Charlie (Billy Burke) were a close second for favorite.  As usual, Burke steals the show pretty much every time he is on screen.  I can't wait to see him once Bella has turned vampire...it's going to be great!

I haven't said anything yet about the action, which was one of the reasons I was excited to see this movie.  I thought it was fine, the effects were cool, the fight scenes fun and full of, well, action, but I was neither blown away nor disappointed, but entertained nonetheless.

To sum up, I was impressed (have I used that word enough?) by Eclipse and want to see it again. Though it had a few flaws, the great things about this installment of The Twilight Saga far surpassed my expectations.

Go see it and have fun!