If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! After an unsuccessful first bid to see New Moon, I finally got into a screening yesterday afternoon. It was awesome! I loved the book, so I’m actually a little surprised I liked the movie as much as I did. Normally, movies based on books just seem to disappoint me. It was nice to be wrong! (If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I suggest skipping to the last paragraph of this post.)

I know leading up to the movie there has been a lot of talk about Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. Even after reading the book, I didn’t get it. The relationships between Bella and the two boys were so different that I just couldn’t grasp the comparison. Obviously Edward was the one for her. After watching the movie, I surprised myself with how much I liked Jacob more than Edward! Maybe it was cinematic magic, maybe it was screen time domination, maybe it was only my mood last night. Either way, I found myself unexpectedly and totally on Team Jacob.

Another pleasant surprise was Dakota Fanning’s (brief) role as Jane. She has certainly grown up since her days in I am Sam and Uptown Girls! (Both excellent movies by the way.) I especially loved her expression when she realized that her powers had no impact on Bella. She is definitely going to be able to make the transition from child to adult actor. So far she has also been able to avoid any major scandals or embarrassments. Here’s hoping she keeps this trend up!

Dakota is pictured (all grown up!) at the New Moon premier in Los Angeles. Absolutely love the dress – not so sure about the shoes. A better option may have been something similar to the Nina Ulexa Sandal. I really like the texture this shoe would have added to her outfit. It’s pictured in black, but is also available in red or ivory. Any of these color choices would have worked with Dakota’s outfit and fit a little better with the very feminine feel of that gorgeous frock.