The minute my cousin and I realized we both read “Twilight”, we knew we had to make a date to see the movie...a very well planned date so we could get tickets before they sold out. I might be the only person on the planet that thought this, but I couldn’t really envision Robert Pattison as Edward Cullen. He just seemed too scrawny to me. But he proved me wrong! He looked so sexy on screen and had the perfect build to play Edward. I’m sure most of the girls in the theater experienced their first pitter pat down there when he was onscreen. But Pattison wasn’t the only eye candy to be had during “Twilight.” I liked Emmett Cullen’s (Kellan Lutz) hip hop, jock swagger. And Jacob Black’s (Taylor Lautner) boyish looks were dreamy.

The Lowdown: Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves back to Forks, Washington to give her mom some space to enjoy her new marriage. She’s been a bit of an outcast for most of her life and doesn’t expect any of that to change in Forks. Boy was she wrong. From her first day at school she becomes a bit of a high school celebrity, catching the eye of a few guys. But Edward Cullen is the only one she has eyes for and she immediately becomes obsessed with him. Edward is unlike any boy she has dated because he’s a vampire. He falls hard for her too, but fears his natural vampire urges will cause him to ravage her. There romance seems to progress without a hitch, but then a rival vampire clan threatens Bella, and Edward and his family must protect her and her parents.

The Verdict: “Twilight” is very close to the book, with the exception of a few plot changes that were necessary to save running time. But the essence of the book is still there. I also liked that the characters were more diverse than in the book, but no special attention was given to this fact. I do have to say that the sparkling effect for Edward’s skin was pitiful. It looked like an effect left over from an ‘80s movie. I hope they change this in the next installments. And speaking of future installments, here’s a warning. Summit Entertainment, you better make the other books into films as well, unless there will be teen girl and twenty-something women pandemonium. Many of the lines were taken directly from the book, so the cheesy factor remained. But having read the book, I felt a bit of comraderie with the other audience members because we were able to laugh and ooh and ahh at the little details. And to all the haters—just hush. Expecting “Twilight” to be cinematic genius was like expecting “The Da Vinci Code” to be a David Lynch masterpiece.

I’m considering seeing this movie again. And I can’t wait to read the other three books.