I’m writing this a few hours after leaving the midnight screening of Eclipse! Keep in mind, I also saw it the night before at a special sneak screening. I don’t tell you this to brag, but so you know (if you don’t already) that I am a HUGE Twilight fan. You need to know this before you read my review. I write this review not as someone who makes a living critiquing movies, but as a fan of the Twilight books as well as the movies. Since most of the reviewers I saw at the screening were older men, I’m guessing they’re going to hate it. A few of them even laughed in places that weren’t supposed to be funny. People who “don’t get” us Twi-hards, will never understand the obsession and that’s fine. Just let those of us who do love it, enjoy it, and not care about all the details that movie reviewers are paid to care about. Bottom line for us…Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

That said, onto the movie. No surprise here…I absolutely loved it! The feedback I’ve been hearing from other people and from Twitter and Facebook, is that people are loving it and think it’s the best of the series. After sitting in the theater for 7 1/2 hours last night to check out The Twilight Experience (all three movies including the midnight premiere), I would have to say that while I believe the quality of the movies has evolved, I do have a special place in my heart for each one of them. I’m guessing it’s kind of like not being able to pick which one of your kids you love the most!

The details… I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll be careful about what I say, but here’s what I believe to be the good and the bad of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

What I loved:

The chemistry between Edward and Bella is as beautiful and passionate as ever. I always say that every woman wants their man to love them as much as Edward loves Bella.

Jacob Black is HOT! No doubt about it, Taylor Lautner has a lot of women defecting from Team Edward to Team Jacob. Bonus: he spends most of the movie shirtless! Edward actually makes a funny comment about it!

The Tent Scene – This is the one scene I was looking forward to the most and it did not disappoint! Jacob has a classic line that will make you laugh and cheer, and the conversation in the tent between Edward and Jacob makes you love Edward even more!

Charlie – He isn’t one of the “Holy Trinity” as I call Kristen, Rob and Taylor, but Charlie is one of the best characters in the movie. Billy Burke is PERFECTION!

Emmett and Bella – There are only a few exchanges between them in the movies, but I love the digs he takes at Bella. Very cute!

Back stories – I love that they show you the history of Rosalie, Jasper, AND they get into the story of the werewolves. Awesome!

Anna Kendrick – She is just so cute, and she is such a scene stealer. I love her, and she was great in Up in the Air. Can’t wait to see what else she’s in.

Fight Scenes – This is what’s going to draw some guys to the theater, and they really are great! I also loved seeing Jasper in a slightly bigger role as the “instructor” for the battle.

Riley – Xavier Samuel is incredible as Victoria’s “puppet” Riley. They made a great choice in Samuel, and as a woman, I love that they’ve added a little more eye-candy!

What I didn’t love:

Victoria – I’m sorry. I watched her on the Jimmy Kimmel/Twilight special and she was really sweet and nice. I wanted to like her, and love the fact that she’s a Twilight fan, but she is no Victoria! I REALLY missed Rachelle Lefevre, who was the original Victoria. All I kept thinking was how much I would have loved to have seen what she did with the role.

Wigs – It’s really insignificant, but some of the wigs are just really bad! Not enough to screw up my enjoyment of the movie, but every once and a while, I would think to myself, “Damn, that is a horrible wig!”

I think that may be it! I loved Eclipse, and I’m excited to see it for the third (today) and fourth (tomorrow) time! I know that reviewers are going to rip the movie apart, but we Twi-hards need to stick together and let them know that their opinion doesn’t mean crap to us! We love our Edward, Jacob and Bella and no matter what they say, we’re always going to love them!

My prediction…between $170 – $180 million! Twilight made $70 mil, New Moon made $140, and with Eclipse coming out in IMAX and the appeal for guys, I think it will break the New Moon record. Cross your fingers!

Have you seen Eclipse?  What did you think?  Do you think it’s the best of the series?  What were your favorite parts?  Leave me a comment, I would love to hear your opinion.

Just my humble opinion…

Pebbles

Actress…excuse me…Oscar Nominated Actress Gabourey Sidibe has been the brunt of numerous jokes and downright mean comments over the past couple days.  Since my new motto is, don’t get mad…blog, I need to address this.  The first “joke” I heard was comparing Gabourey aka Precious with the football player from The Blind Side.  I’m sure some of you are laughing as you’re reading this, but it just makes me so sad.  Even worse is Howard Stern and Robin talking about her on their radio show.  I only put it here with the hope that you will find it as awful as I do, and start to not find these vicious comments funny.

What I love about Gabby is that she loves herself.  I’m a big girl myself, and I have to say that I wish I had the confidence that she does.  I struggle with it every single day, and I hope to one day feel as comfortable in my skin as she does.  The other thing I love about her is that she is funny without making fun of herself.  Believe me, when you’re big, it’s so easy to make fun of yourself and become the brunt of all your jokes.  It’s definitely a case of making fun of yourself before someone else can.  Watching Gabby on the red carpet at the Oscars was amazing.  She was having fun, was confidently posing along with all the size zero and 2′s, and come on, she fist-bumped Keanu Reeves!  And people were excited to meet HER! I was really happy for her!

The other comment I’ve been hearing, is that people are lying to her and that she’s not going to have a successful career because of her size.  Do I think that it’s going to be easy for her?  Absolutely not.  BUT, are people forgetting the two seriously powerful people who are supporting her…Oprah and Tyler Perry.  That girl will have roles MADE for her.  She’s not going to have to worry about fitting into “Skinny Hollywood.”  I believe that she’s going to be able to write her own ticket and have a bright future. NOTE:  She just finished filmimg”Yelling to the Sky,” and has just signed a deal to appear as a recurring character on the new Showtime series “The C Word.”

The only thing that I will say about her weight is that for health reasons, it will be to her benefit to lose weight.  We all know the statistics and risks, especially for African-Americans, so I do hope that she (and me too!) lose weight so that we can live a long, happy and healthy life!

Remember, Hollywood has to listen to us.  We are the ones going to the movies, we are the ones spending money, and we are the ones who should take a stand and support good actors…and not just the skinny ones!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles

Please leave a comment.  I would love to hear what you have to say!