-the movie schedule shown on the internet might be incorrect.
-the theater might be randomly closed.
-the power might go out.
-smoking might be allowed in the theater (that would be a deal-breaker)
-we might get caught in traffic and miss the movie.
-the movie might be in Arabic.
-the theater might be a piece of junk not worthy of our business.
Miraculously, everything came through and we actually got to see the movie in relative comfort. There was even an intermission, wedged right there in the middle of the movie where it didn't really fit! So classy.
The picture quality was good even if the sound was all over the place. I don't know what the sound guy was up to but one minute the movie was way too loud, then the next minute so soft that I felt like we were back at home watching it in our living room trying not to wake up the girls. The sound finally stabilized but even then the audio sync was a little bit off. Oh well.
The movie was entertaining in and of itself but there was additional merriment in sharing the experience with Egyptians. The theater was packed, and it was a very mixed crowd - men, women, adults, teens, veiled, unveiled. We were the only foreigners there (which tells me that there are better, more expensive theaters in town that we don't know about). Throughout the movie, I could hear a sort of running commentary going on throughout the theater. People made comments, and explained plot points, and vocalized their suspense or happiness at certain scenes. It was a very social experience, even though we didn't know the people we were socializing with.
And can I make a nerdy, wholesome living observation right about now? It was SUCH a relief to watch a movie where for once I didn't have to cringe on behalf of America. Nobody drank alcohol or used drugs. Parents were present and responsible. On the whole, people dressed modestly. AND NOBODY HAD SEX. In fact - as I've come to expect in these Twilight movies - there was an entire scene after which you could have paused the movie and put up a title card saying, "ABSTINENCE: Sponsored by the Mormons." Sometimes I get tired of being judged by the standard of Desperate Housewives or Friends when I'm in the Middle East (because those shows are shown on TV here, and for some people, that is all they know of America). It was just nice to be a morally upright nation for once, you know?
Now, the movie itself. My overwhelming impression is that it wasn't as...moody as the other ones. I mean that in two ways. First, it didn't take as much trouble to establish that brooding, Pacific Northwest overtone that the other movies got exactly right. Don't get me wrong - there were some awesome outdoor shots but there wasn't enough ambient soundtrack music or pouring rain to bring it up that extra notch.
The other way it wasn't moody was that there was far, far less angst in this movie. Of course there still WAS angst, because hello, Twilight. But people didn't talk about their feelings so much or sulk over unrequited love for months at a time. I don't know, I kind of missed that element. A little.
Otherwise, I think Eclipse is the strongest movie of the series so far. They made Edward a little more likeable and his family a little more understandable. Riley was pure evil, as in, he didn't even have to do anything - just his face was evil enough. Yikes. Jeremy pointed out that they seemed to have given Bella a little more oomph as far as female empowerment goes.
Have you seen it? What did you think?