Feeling :  nauseatednauseated  Listening :  Rock Me Now - Metric  Reading :  Stardust (I know... I'm slow, haha)

I have two things I’m gonna review, “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer and “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” I finished reaching “Twilight” at work (I got an eBook version of it and read it in between helping guests, oops) and I saw “Prince Caspian” with my family last Friday.

“Twilight” is everything that I thought it would be, and more. The language feeds into its young adult target audience, Twilight Moms notwithstanding. Basically I went into reading it knowing it as fanfiction, and it read like that. My opinion didn’t change when I finished it. I enjoyed the book for what it was though. I can see why it would capture the hearts and minds of readers everywhere. There is a little bit of everything: romance, horror, adventure, dysfunctional families, finding what you’re capable of, and feeling like an outsider.

Bella has yet to grow on me. Perhaps it will change when I read “New Moon” and “Eclipse,” but from “Twilight,” Bella just out and out pissed me off something crazy. Her being clumsy seemed to be a hindrance rather than a cute byproduct of being Isabella Swan. Her being practically unaware of the power she had was just silly. There is absolutely nothing spectacular about her, other than Edward falling for her.

But I suppose that is the clincher. Everybody can see themselves in Bella: a teenage girl falling in love with the first time, not really sure where her place is in the world, coming into her own about her sexuality, etc. However, I like my female protagonists to be more than what Bella is presented as in “Twilight.” She left a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve read interviews that Bella is very much a reflection of Stephenie Meyer, a self-proclaimed “late bloomer.” All good authors find themselves in their characters in some way. The writing in first person was a bit tiring after awhile. I really didn’t care to hear the inner thoughts of Bella.

However, I find the Cullens fascinating in their own right. I’m not quite sure why, but I’m dazzled, haha. Vampires fascinate me in general. I once found an old book from the 70s or something in my elementary school library that taught me the history of, how to identify, and ultimately, kill vampires. I like to think I was a vampire slayer from 8 years old. I like the unique spin Stephenie put on the mythology of vampires though. As such, I would rather hear about the Cullens than Bella, to be honest. Stephenie should write a book about them, and NOT in the first person. At least the fourth book is gonna be from Edward’s point of view, right? That’s something to look forward to.

The inclusion of James and his coven seemed a bit tacked on at the end, as though her editors said “you need some outside drama, throw in another coven!” Like if she seeded in the drama earlier - rather than focusing on Bella’s clumsiness and Edward constantly saving her - I think it would have been far more interesting. But I guess I’ll take it for what it is.

Like most things, I resisted falling into the “Twilight” zone (bet you’ve heard that one before). I am very slow when it comes to fandom, especially with books. And like with Harry Potter, I didn’t start reading the series until they made Sorcerer’s Stone. Which is probably why all the Twilight Tuesdays posts on ONTD, with their dazzling text and all that, drew me in. And imagining Robert Pattinson as Edward as I read it, just put me over the edge. I will politely refuse to call myself a “Twilight” fan until I’ve read more of the series. It was much too juvenile for me to feel comfortable identifying myself as a fan.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was perfect. In most book to movie adaptations, things are lost and the spirit of the book is never translated. But I think the filmmakers really captured the spirit of the book. And Caspian is my favourite character from the series. I will concede that they deviated from the book in key parts (I’ll try not to post spoilers). I will say that the flirting glances (and the ultimate resolution) between Susan and Prince Caspian set this little fangirl on fire. Caspian is meant to be with Ramandu’s daughter dammit, rofl. But I’m sure they threw that in there for fanservice or summat.

I remember reading an interview early on in production about how the director wanted to focus on how hard it was for the Pevensies to adjust to being children in 1940s England after being royalty in Narnia. I was really looking forward to seeing how that played out, and I wasn’t disappointed. William Moseley captured that emotion perfectly. I would be freaking emo too if I was ripped away from paradise by accident. Especially if I had been there long enough to age as much as they did. You do have to be somewhat familiar with the first film to get some things that happened in Prince Caspian (especially if you don’t read the books), but it’s pretty good on its own.

I will admit that it dragged in some places, like during the siege of Miraz’s castle. But I don’t agree with a lot of reviewers who said there wasn’t a lot of character development. Some examples that spring to mind are the scenes between Lucy and Aslan in her dreams, Susan and Lucy in the forest trying to get to Caspian with the others, and Peter and Lucy near the Stone Table. Both Peter and Susan asked why they didn’t see Aslan, and they questioned why. I’m glad Aslan explained it; I was afraid they were gonna forget! I think by him saying so will help the transition between this film and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I hope that the receipts from this film will be impressive enough for them to continue making the series. I wanna see Silver Chair already!

I don’t think it was explained on film how Miraz ended up dying in the ring, unless I wasn’t paying attention. I only covered my eyes once and that was during the goodbye between Susan and Caspian. I mean I know how he ended up getting killed from the book, but maybe it was too subtle for me to catch on film. Or maybe I was looking for it so hard I missed it. I thought that was a very important part of the storyline.

Edmund had the best lines in the whole film. And he made the best of them. I can’t wait to see him do a film that’s not Narnia-related. And I realized that Anna Popplewell (Susan) was in my favourite adaptation of Mansfield Park with Jonny Lee Miller. I saw the scene when Fanny goes back to her family, and I saw this little round-faced, dark-haired girl, and I’m like, “That looks like Susan!” And it was, haha. When I first saw Lucy in the film I couldn’t believe how big she’d grown, and I can’t wait to see her in Dawn Treader. I think she’s growing nicely as an actress.

Reepicheep is my boy, erm, mouse. Eddie Izzard completely captured him. Prideful, unwilling to back down from a fight he knows is just, believing until the very end. The evolution of Trumpkin was so cool to see. There’s something to be said of not believing in something or someone. And that’s not really a religious theme, but more of a personal growth idea. And I just read that Peter Dinklage (who played Trumpkin) said his character was more for the cynical adults in the audience who don’t believe in what Narnia stands for. He was sort of their mouthpiece throughout the film. I also cannot wait to see Ben as Caspian in Dawn Treader and, to a lesser extent, Silver Chair (because we know what happens to him in that book). I wasn’t sure how the Spanish style for the Telmarines was gonna fly, because I hadn’t really read them as of Spanish stock, but it worked out pretty well. When I read the book again, that’s prolly how I’m gonna hear their voices in my head, haha. I LOVED the battle scene between Peter and Miraz, from Edmund delivering the decree to Miraz getting shanked at the end, haha.

All in all, I can’t wait for the Twilight movie, reading “New Moon,” and “Eclipse” and watching Prince Caspian again to drool over Ben Barnes, if nothing else, haha.