THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE Blu-ray Review; Reviewed by our TWILIGHT Super Fan Contest Winner

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens with a fresh-faced college kid attacked in a dark Seattle alley by an unseen menace, save for a flash of red hair, and left bitten and screaming on a dock in the pounding rain. Immediately, you know you’re in a more dangerous film than Twilight or New Moon. Ultimately, Eclipse led watches is still more love story than horror film: a supernatural Wuthering Heights of the Olympic Peninsula. Altogether, it’s an intoxicating blend of vampires, werewolves and romance. The Blu-ray Special Features explore a quality film production, in more depth than has been marketed. The more time I spend with the Blu-ray, the more I like it. lcd watch Find out why after the jump: Eclipse the movie, condenses into 124 minutes Stephenie Meyer’s novel (629 pages) and parts of the Eclipse novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (178 pages). The screen adaptation changes timeline, settings and dialogue which work better cinematically. As a bonus, Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg (Dexter) coins superb zingers. Even my husband, who named me the “Twilidiot,” lcd watches frequently quotes Jacob’s line: “I am hotter than you.” The Twilight and New Moon films were a kind of aesthetic Cliff Notes of the books and confusing for those who had not read them. Fortunately, Eclipse stands well on its own. There are mythology and character hiccups which usually occurred when self-proclaimed “logic nazi” Meyer wasn’t on set. Thank goodness for reshoots. One rescue was the essential “Tent Scene” in which the love triangle of cool vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), hot werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) and hypothermic human Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) spend a stormy night together. It’s an utterly absurd predicament – a chaste threesome – and the sort of thing that makes Twilight be Twilight. In another successful deviation from the book, Director David Slade (Thirty Days of Night) keeps the action rolling throughout, introducing laser pointer exciting chases and clashes that are outside Bella’s point-of-view in the novel. Eclipse drags at times in the first act but then clicks along at a vampiric, albeit sometimes choppy pace. In impressive stunt and special effects sequences, the vampires are wicked fast and strong. The CGI wolves are leaner, meaner and furrier. PG-13 bloodless bloodsucking and crystalline beheading abound. Visually, Eclipse is light and naturalistic, a contrast to the cool and ethereal Twilight and the romantic lushness of New Moon. The natural settings are gorgeous with a beautiful use of light by Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. The Cullen House of the first film is back in an impressive act of set design spy camera that is one reason to watch the Blu-ray Special Features. David Slade favors a lot of close-ups but often this works against him, especially when you feel like you’re staring up Edward’s nose from the second row of an IMAX theater. The movie takes on a comprehensive point-of-view, often relegating Bella to the sidelines. There are cutaways to Bella’s reactions ad nauseum, but unfortunately, Stewart isn’t doing much in these shots. Pity. When I first saw Twilight, I felt a bit breathless because I was completely absorbed by Stewart’s performance and ability to draw us into Bella’s point of view. On the way home from the theater in sim cutter November 2008, I remember saying: “Robert who? Wasn’t he the guy who played Cedric Diggory? I didn’t even recognize him.” Two years later, a bit of Robsession has set in. In Eclipse, Pattinson finally relaxes into his character, creating an Edward who is both sweeter and scarier. Add in some improvements in hair, makeup and wardrobe and movie Edward and book Edward are finally matching up. Pattinson pulls off an impossible character and an equally impossible marriage proposal as real and not maudlin. Even though Bella and Edward are more comfortable with each other, Rob and Kristen continue to have that inexplicable magnetic pull. With that kind of chemistry, I want to see plenty of kissing (sorry, Rob!). The best chemistry award, though, might go to Pattinson and Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria. My favorite scene is the Edward/Victoria showdown on the mountaintop. With a controlled, manipulative rage Edward goads Victoria into staying for the fight, resulting in one of the movie’s many lovely screams. After a toppled tree and a few head butts, Edward literally bites off Victoria’s head (a detail I was glad was retained from the book). One of Eclipse’s strengths is the considerable depth of talent in the enormous supporting cast. Even unnamed characters catch your eye in the brief time they’re on screen, such as the newborn vampire boy (Cainan Wiebe) in Jasper’s history, and you’re sad to see them killed off. The real breakout performance of the film, though, belongs to Taylor Lautner. Lautner’s Jacob is an utterly believable teenage boy (who just happens to be a werewolf), who is simultaneously sarcastic and sweet, both rash and noble. The studio execs who approved those monster salaries for Abduction and Stretch Armstrong based on only a modicum of screen time can relax: Lautner’s the real deal. His last scene in the film is devastating, as he’s left physically and emotionally broken by the fight for Bella’s safety and her soul. It’s in that scene that I lament the absence of my favorite line from the novel, without which, the title doesn’t make much sense: