As Robert Pattinson said when he was on the ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’, the movie is based on a book so they aren’t really any secrets. Having said that, I avoided all the clips and stills before seeing the movie and I’m glad that I did. I promise not to share anything with you here that will spoil your viewing experience. These are just some of my thoughts on the movie and I can’t wait to hear yours!

Overall, I was very happy with Eclipse. The love letter that David Slade wrote to the fans deserves an equally loving response. He did a fantastic job in bringing more of the action of Eclipse to life without losing the romance that is the backbone of the saga. If you’ve read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: an Eclipse novella, you will certainly see its influence on the film. I was really glad to see how small details were worked into the script. If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check out breetanner.com where you can read the book for free until July 5 at midnight EST. You can also check out the review I wrote of the book here.

There were so many things to love about Eclipse. Robert Pattinson’s Edward is straight from the books. We get to see a lighter, less broody version of the vampire we all love so much. We are reminded that despite his hundred plus years, he’s still very much a teenager in love. His emotions are very strong and very human, particularly when it comes to Bella and Jacob. The nasty chemistry between Edward and Jacob we got a glimpse of in Twilight has now come to full fruition and is played out fantastically. If it is at all possible for anyone to still have doubts about Taylor Lautner’s casting as Jacob after his performance in New Moon, this should erase every last one.

Eclipse also gives some of the other Cullens a chance to shine. The back stories of Rosalie and Jasper are brought to life beautifully. This is my favorite look for Rosalie and I’m so glad to see a chance for Nikki Reed to take a bigger part. If you have longed to see Major Jasper Whitlock in uniform on his horse, you will not be disappointed. But the Jasper wonderment doesn’t stop there. The scenes where he is training the other Cullens and the wolves how to fight the newborns are a highlight of the film much as the baseball scene was in Twilight.

No matter how many times you’ve read Eclipse, there will still be surprises for you. It’s very interesting how things have been moved around or changed slightly. The effect is generally the same and any omissions do not seem to impact the general flow of the story. The tent scene, the infamous leg hitch and the proposal are completely epic. The way Bella left school with Jacob on his bike threw me for a bit of a loop. There was only one moment that I was truly shocked by something that did not match the book.

So what are the downsides? I really could have done with less Riley. I understand the reason for adding these scenes, but some of them just seemed like overkill to me when we could have spent those few moments expanding some other scenes. I would have liked to see more of Bella’s time with Jacob after the battle and the emotional impact that had on her. The replacement of Rachelle LeFevre as Victoria was disturbing to me. I am in no way criticizing the performance by Bryce Dallas Howard, it was just very distracting. I found myself wondering who this woman was and what she has against the Cullens.

Finally, I think the Eclipse soundtrack is the best so far and is absolutely fantastic. I was a little disappointed and didn’t feel like it was used optimally. There was one song in particular that could have been used beautifully in several different spots and ended up in the closing credits. On the plus side, the Muse song which was my least favorite was used in a spot in the movie where it fit surprisingly well and sounded great.

So is Eclipse the best movie of the saga so far? I think it probably is, but I need to see it a few more times before I can say that definitively. This is my favorite Edward of all and there are so many chances for the minor characters to shine and sometimes completely steal the show in this one. It’s a must see and I doubt that you can resist the urge to see it more than once. With nearly a year and a half to go before we get part one of Breaking Dawn, you’ve got lots of opportunities to commit this one to memory. Can’t wait to hear what you think!

Since many of you wonderful readers are from the UK, I’m guessing that most of you already knew about Robert Pattinson before you’d ever heard of Twilight. Having said that, I still really want to hear the story of how you became a fan of Rob.  If you weren’t all that in to him as Edward, did Remember Me change your view? Did you fall in love with him years ago when he graced the screen as the ill-fated Cedric in Goblet of Fire? What better way to honor his birthday than to remember why we’re fans?

I read the first three books of the series before I’d even heard the name Robert Pattinson. You’ll have to forgive me, I didn’t even read Harry Potter until 2009. I wish I hadn’t waited so long! I totally fell in love with the series. But, back to Rob, I saw his picture the day that Stephenie Meyer announced that he had been cast as Edward. The original picture didn’t win me over, but a quick scan of his imdb photos had me convinced. Once I saw him as Edward, I was done for. The more of his work I have explored, the bigger fan I have become. The Haunted Airman and Remember Me are high on my list of his performances. My favorite thing about Rob is that I SO quickly forget I’m watching Rob on screen. Within just moments, I am watching Art, Toby or Tyler. That just amazes me!

As for my wish for our beloved star on his birthday, it’s all really very simple. I wish him a lifetime of love and happiness. A long career that brings him as much joy as his work brings to us. A life filled with family and friends and people that he can trust. The privacy and peace to enjoy all those things. Most of all, I hope that he feels the love and gratitude of his fans today.

So now it’s your turn…how did you become a fan of Rob? Can’t wait to read your answers. If you like, stop by Eyes of Amber and find out how the rest of our bloggy staff became Rob fans!

So I won’t be giving away any plot points here, but I am telling you that this is a movie you must see. While I want to write a review, I really prefer holding off on that until most of you have seen the movie and I can discuss it more openly. My blog partner Kerry has written a really great spoiler-free review that you can read on the main blog.

I wanted to let you know about a fan movement in support of Remember Me. I was happy to participate in the US movement earlier this month and I invite you all to be a part of Remember Me Saturday UK.

The Mission – To Support The Writer, Director And Actors of Remember Me Remember Me Saturday UK, 3/4/10. This is a nationwide fan event in support of Rob, Chris, Pierce, Lena, Emilie, Tate and all the people who worked on Remember Me. Bring family, friends, and anyone you know to see Remember Me on Saturday, April 3. Your friend, a brother, a parent, your husband, your sister…Anyone! Bring them out to the theater on Saturday April 3rd to help pull this fan event off and make Remember Me a success. For more information on this fan-supported campaign,Please also follow Twitter.com/RMSaturdayUK

So get out this weekend and see this wonderful movie! Everyone involved with this project has done a fantastic job. Rob displayed range that even I, as a major fan of his work, did not expect.Will Fetters did a wonderful job on the screenplay. I have to admit that I now have a crush on Tate Ellington. I’m really eager to hear what you all think of this movie. Everyone should see it. It’s just that good and that relevant.

You can check out the links after this article for more information.

My first reaction, I admit, was to be underwhelmed. While it was certainly beautiful, did it really portray what Eclipse is? And what about the tag line? It All Begins…With A Choice Does that really yell Eclipse to us? The more I looked at it though, the more that I liked it. I mean, check out Edward in the v-neck t and of course the eyes are gorgeous. Yes, it very quickly grew on me.

So what is there to complain about? I heard some people who wanted to see some shots of a battle perhaps. Some wanted to see more of the wolf pack or the Cullens. I heard a suggestion of a poster that showed the Cullens and the wolves together since they join forces in this one. While I think those, and a tent in the background, would make great posters, they just aren’t what you’re going to find on a one sheet.

I’m glad that Edward looks a bit more casual here, closer to the 17 he is supposed to be than he looked in the button-up shirt and jacket we saw through so much of New Moon. I think this poster does an excellent job of showing that Edward and Jacob are both making a play for Bella’s heart here. It’s not like New Moon when Edward removed himself from the equation. Although they may have never had an equal chance, showing them like that on the poster is a good move.

As for the tag line, well, for Bella, was there ever really a choice? I don’t think so, but I’m incredibly interested to see how it’s played out in the movie. I’m very happy with the poster. People will always find something to be unhappy with, that’s unavoidable, but I think the most important thing is that the release of this poster just brings us one step closer to being in our seats, riveted, on June 30.

What were your thoughts on the poster? Can’t wait to hear from you! Be sure to check out my main blog for the Eclipse quote of the day and book discussions!

Join the Eclipse debate over at Salty or Sweet.

Before you say that I’m cheating on Edward, I promise you, he still holds the same very special place in my heart that he always has. But you know what happens in the end, Edward gets the girl, and her name is not Amber. So let’s not act like he’s off somewhere pining because I have discovered there are other vampires out there. New Moon is trickling out of the theaters, the DVD release is still weeks away and we won’t be able to see Eclipse for months! There’s nothing wrong with getting a fix.

Allow me to introduce to you another family of vampires. In this case, it’s two brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore. L.J. Smith originally published The Vampire Diaries series in 1991. The outcry of fans convinced her to release a fourth volume in 1992. I’ll be honest, if she’d ended it at book three, I wouldn’t be writing this right now. You know how New Moon makes you want to throw the book up against the wall? Yeah? That’s what book three did for me. The fifth book was released just last year and there are three more due this year with a ninth book due out summer of 2011.

Obviously these books have been around since before our beloved Edward appeared to Stephenie Meyer in her beautiful dream of the meadow. There have been countless comparisons made between the two. The stars of Vampire Diaries his addressed some of these, as have both L.J. Smith and Stephenie Meyer. Yes, both series revolve around a vampire falling in love with a human high school girl. But that is just about where the similarities end. Vampire Diaries even makes reference to Twilight in one of the early episodes.

While I’m not a wine drinker myself, I would imagine it’s fair to compare one to a red and one to a white. Do they both have similar origins? Yes. Do they have the same flavor? No. Is one always superior to the other? Definitely not. Do they both have something to offer to the connoisseur? Absolutely!

So when I’m not writing about Edward and the wonderful world that is Twilight and the Cullens, I do partake of the world of the Salvatore brothers. You can learn a lot about them by reading my Vampire Diaries Examiner articles. I promise you, Edward doesn’t mind. Vampire Diaries will begin airing in the UK on ITV2 beginning February 2. Be sure to tune in and let me know what you think!

As I’m sure you know by now, Haiti was hit by back to back devastating earthquakes on January 12. The utter desolation is beyond comprehension and these people are in such desperate need of our help. George Clooney and MTV have worked together to organize the “Hope for Haiti” telethon that will take place in the US tonight.

The telethon will air live and commercial free. The special celebrity appearances, live musical performances and news reports will be airing from New York, Los Angeles and Haiti. Twilight’s own Robert Pattinson will be hosting the London portion of the program which is being recorded this afternoon.

This country and its people need our help so badly. What a wonderful opportunity this is to show that the Twilight fandom is full of heart and concerned about our world. Thinking of Rob, The Fandom Gives Back and Ms.Kathy have been doing an incredible amount of work for this cause. The current total of donations from the fandom stands at nearly $40,000 US dollars.

The two-hour program will begin live tonight in the US at 8pm EST. In the UK it will air live on MTV at 1am GMT. It will be repeated at 9pm on Saturday on both VIVA and MTV. The songs will be available for download on iTunes tomorrow to extend the fundraising even after the telethon is finished.

From Thinking of Rob…

All dona­tions will directly ben­e­fit Oxfam Amer­ica, Part­ners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF and Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Foun­da­tion. Face­book and MySpace have signed on as offi­cial social-media part­ners to help steer view­ers to the telethon and drive donations.

Addi­tion­ally, the Clin­ton Bush Haiti Fund and United Nations World Food Pro­gramme have joined the list of relief orga­ni­za­tions that will ben­e­fit from the show, with pro­ceeds to be split evenly among each organization’s indi­vid­ual Haiti relief funds. “Hope For Haiti Now” will be the most widely dis­trib­uted telethon in his­tory, inter­na­tion­ally and across media plat­forms, includ­ing live stream­ing glob­ally on sites includ­ing YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fan­cast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, MTV.com, and Rhap­sody and on mobile via All­tel, AT&T, Sprint, Ver­i­zon, and FloTV.

Please take this opportunity to do something good for the global community and make a donation. It’s also incredibly important to remember your local blood banks. Donating blood is something that’s easy to do and costs you nothing, but can mean the difference between life and death for someone else.

If you like, let us know in the comments what you’ve done to support this cause and help inspire others to do the same. We are large in number and can make a wonderful difference.

Like it says in my bio, my sister sent me the first three Twilight books as an early Christmas gift in 2007. She’d read them, was completely in love and wanted me to read them so that we could discuss them. I’ll admit that I wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea at first. Vampires had never been my thing. But I appreciated the gift and looked forward to reading them, just didn’t expect to like them. Fact is I didn’t, I feel irrevocably in love with them and never looked back. Two years later here I am!

It’s been just over a year since Twilight hit theaters November 21, 2008. When I read the first three books, we weren’t even sure that we were going to ever see it on the big screen. That was before Summit had even acquired the rights. My sister and I would send emails back and forth all day long with links for new Twilight articles. Twilight Lexicon very quickly became my first stop each time I logged on to the computer. Breaking Dawn came out the day of my baby shower and it nearly killed me not to open it until after.

After seeing the movie last November, I found that my family blog was quickly being overtaken by all things Twilight. I realized it was probably time to devote a blog just to Twilight and because my family blog was private, I was hungry to share my love and excitement with a larger audience. After spending some time finding the perfect name, Eyes of Amber was born. Up until August, it was a solo endeavor, but I decided that I needed some help. I was looking for a news poster, but I ended up finding a totally awesome blogging partner who quickly became a dear friend. We just celebrated the one year anniversary of the blog on December 13. That simply blows my mind!

Over the last two years I have met some of the most amazing people because of Twilight. These people have become my friends, my mentors and my support system. While Eyes of Amber is still a small blog, we’re growing, and thankful to everyone who is making that possible. There is so much to celebrate this Christmas, and a lot of it is because of Twilight.

We’ve seen New Moon in theaters now, Eclipse is already filmed and we’re waiting for news on Breaking Dawn any day! What a year it’s been!

So now I want to know, how has Twilight changed your life over the last year?

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Christmas. As a gift from Kerry and I, this week’s Twi-Theories Tuesday was all about meeting a Cullen under the mistletoe. Be sure to check it out!

As a side note, I can never pass up an opportunity to make a plug for Sam Bradley. He has recorded Silent Night and is offering it as a free download on his website. I listened to it on a continuous loop while I made out my Christmas cards this year! While you’re there, you can always pick up his EP as well. I highly recommend it.

Happy Christmas!

Our panel consists of three Twilight fans with different views on the series. Kerry is our resident Team Edward girl. While she doesn’t hate Jacob, she’d never consider him as a real option. I consider myself Team Total Bella. I love Edward dearly and believe he’s the right choice for Bella. But, I also love Jacob. In a world without Edward, he is the absolute perfect choice for her. Just like Bella, I love them both, but I know who I couldn’t live without. To round out the group, we have brought in a guest blogger to represent the Team Jacob point of view. Sabrina is wolf girl through and through. It will be interesting to see just how these three points of view collide as we move through the book.

The first week we tackled the preface, including the Robert Frost poem referencing fire and ice. Here is an excerpt from that post…

Amber: and Edward is ice…but also, you have the fire linked to desire and the ice linked to hate. With Edward…Bella is all fire, all desire. With Jake…she feels them both
Sabrina: True. And the idea of destruction is pervasive in this poem. Although it might make you think about the love triangle, that’s not what the poem itself is actually about.
Amber: well obviously sweetie…I didn’t think Robert Frost wrote poems about Twilight
Kerry: Really??
Amber: okay, give me your take, Miss English Major
Kerry: ooh! An English Major!
Sabrina: this poem gives a foreshadowing of the problems that the Cullens as a clan face.
Amber: if you’re looking at it that way could the fire be the wolves and the ice the newborns/Victoria

We really do get into some serious literary discussion, just with our own little banter thrown in. This week we did chapter one and spent a lot of time talking about the note from Jacob.

Amber: the note kills me
Sabrina: I’m sorry Team Bella!
Amber: the crossed out lines and the eventual statement of the truth
Sabrina: Yeah, me too. He can’t even be mean to her in a note. He just can’t.
Amber: that they do miss each other, but it just doesn’t change anything
Kerry: the notes are very telling. I love that he just crosses out the thoughts, but not enough to actually obscure the previous thoughts
Sabrina: That is particularly odd. It’s like, he wants her to know what he’s thinking, but he also wants her to know that he doesn’t want to say it.
Amber: I think this was more a case of he wanted to get it over with… he just wanted to get an answer written out and send it back to her
Kerry: but why not simply use a different piece of paper, or tearing off the other parts?
Amber: like he said, the more he thinks about her, the more it hurts
Sabrina: I just think he didn’t have it in him to ignore such a desperate plea.

Of course there is still plenty more to talk about. Hop over to my main blog and join in the discussion. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Eclipse is my favorite book in the series and I am so eager to look at it from all different points of view!

As the record-breaking box office numbers began to pour in for New Moon, there was a question heard across the fandom: What about Breaking Dawn? I’ll admit, I was one of those who predicted we’d get an announcement over opening weekend. I based that prediction on the fact that New Moon had been given the green light during opening weekend of Twilight last year. But as you know, no such announcement was made.

So the question remains and is rarely far from the forefront of Twilight news. While it’s often hard to know the rumors from the truth, there are some things out there we can take hope in. First of all, Rob mentioned during the press tour that he believed they were looking toward fall of 2010 for filming Breaking Dawn. There is a video circulating of producer Wyck Godfrey saying that the intention is definitely there to make Breaking Dawn, but as you can imagine, most of their current focus has been getting New Moon and Eclipse out.

Yesterday it was reported that Rob, Kristen and Taylor are negotiating their contracts for Breaking Dawn as a team. I think that’s certainly a smart move, as losing any of them at this point could be detrimental. While Rob cemented himself as Edward in our hearts during Twilight, Taylor absolutely embodied Jacob in New Moon. It’s undeniable that while Kristen was certainly Bella in Twilight, New Moon allowed us all to watch her grow into the character even more. These are now the faces of Twilight to us, and any casting changes at this point would not be acceptable to the fans.

Didn’t mean to break into a review of New Moon there, which I will certainly be posting soon, I’m just waiting until next week when I see it for the fifth time before I do. Yes, I’ve already seen it four times. Actually, that was within the first week. I may now be in withdrawals after a full week without seeing it. But I digress, this post is supposed to be about Breaking Dawn.

So why haven’t we gotten any official word yet? My guess would be that they’re waiting until the filming dates can be set and trying to secure a release date. We know that Rob has at least two other projects on the table right now, Unbound Captives and Bel Ami, which may not have firm filming dates right now. Kristen and Taylor could very well be in the same situation. I would think that Summit is trying to avoid any scheduling conflicts after the debacle that ensued over the replacing of Rachelle Lefevre in Eclipse.

So now you know what I think, I want to know what you think! What are your theories on Breaking Dawn?

If you’re tuning in to read the interview with my hubby, I promise it is coming. For two people who live in the same house, you wouldn’t think finding the time to sit down and go over a few questions would be so difficult, but it really is. Of course, the four tiny males running around the house could be a large part of that. And the fact that I’ve been to see New Moon three times without him…

There are about twelve of us who will be getting together tonight for dinner before the movie. We’re having a lovely New Moon themed meal at a friend’s house. We are then promptly piling into our vehicles and heading to the theater. We plan to be there somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30, even though Twilight (yes, I’m seeing Twilight on the big screen again…yay!) won’t begin until 9:00. We are taking with us some games to keep us occupied, including a 100 question New Moon trivia compiled by yours truly. I’m very excited!

I have painted my fingernails and toenails gold to coordinate with the New Moon color scheme. I have my very own mini New Moon Edward necklace, which you can see here. I am beyond ready to forget the rest of the world and spend a few hours in Forks tonight. Of course, I’ll be going again tomorrow, seeing it with three of the girls from tonight as well as my mom. And on Saturday I’m going with the hubs. I hate to make him wait so long to see it, but isn’t he a doll for letting me get in so much Twilight time and act like I don’t have four children and responsibilities for a couple of days?

Speaking of my hubs, I have saved him for last in the “Men who read Twilight series.” I’ll be featuring him next week. I wanted to wait until he’d seen New Moon before I wrote about him. I can’t wait to see what he thinks.

Have you reread New Moon? I’ve been through it again once in the last month and then read bits and pieces over and over again. On the one hand, I’m incredibly excited to see New Moon. But on the other hand, isn’t it masochistic to be eager to have my heart broken? I’m in love with Edward completely, and it’s going to crush me when he leaves. But then again, when he comes back, it destroys Jacob, and I love him too! What’s a girl to do? That’s right, bawl like a baby, but very quietly as not to disturb anyone around me. Super Secret Twilight Blog has a wonderful post on the complex emotions that New Moon brings about.

I also wonder, as I’ve said before, if people who didn’t love Jacob will be able to resist him on the big screen. What is it going to be like to see his face and hear the pain in his voice when Bella leaves? And what about Italy? What is it going to be like to see what Edward is going through as he learns that Bella is dead? I’m telling you. New Moon is going to be heartbreak city!

So, tell me what you think about these questions and what your New Moon plans are. I can’t wait to hear from you!