Beautiful Creatures (2013)

Very disappointing...

Such a frustrating disappointment

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Let me start by saying I never read the book or even heard of this story at all. So I went into this movie with a completely open mind and no expectations. It seems like most of the hate for this movie is coming from people who read and loved the book. I was also shocked to see that the movie financially did poorly because I thought it was magnificent. I am a huge sucker for romance. To me, love is magic so adding in actual magic only makes it better! The chemistry between the two actors was AMAZING. I was pulled right into their epic love story. I wish there had been even more between them and less of all the other characters.The religious nonsense was very difficult to deal with but I think it was done to illustrate how different the two main characters were from the people they were surrounded by and the place they were trapped in.This does not get a full 10/10 for me because I found certain aspects of the plot very convoluted. I thought that Lena's evil cousin was awesome but I did not feel that she needed to corrupt and control Ethan's friend in order to accomplish what they wanted to do. I also did not feel like the reenactment was entirely necessary, it felt like the plot could have culminated in a different way. I see what they were trying to do since they had been past lovers but even that felt like it didn't need to be that way. Couldn't they have just been in love now?I am so glad that he remembered her in the end because I HATE open endings. I do not know why some writers insist on doing them. To me, an open ending is like finishing a beautiful, delicious meal for yourself and then deciding not to eat it. All that work for nothing!I saw that there were several sequels to this book but I feel like it ended great. I did not expect her uncle to sacrifice himself for her which was beautiful. I would have also liked to have actually seen the form of her mother and for the cousin to have gotten what she deserved. But I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves fantasy and romance!

This movie is a beautiful blend of supernatural and teenage love. It will enthrall you from the beginning and tear at your heartstrings. This movie is going on my list of movies that make you feel on par with a fault in our stars. Wonderfully done. If you have not seen this movie. I recommend you watch it. It doesn't have a that fake feeling that most teenage movies seem to have. It feels amazingly genuine and will touch you to the core.

If you love to hate bad YA novels and their tired clichés, you'll have a blast with this. At least I did. Highly recommended if you like to talk back to movies with friends. I'll admit this has a halfway-decent premise (one of my original stories has a similar premise!) but it is executed with no passion or creativity. I was smiling dementedly throughout this movie at its failures. Let me use the seasoned metaphor of the train wreck--so disastrous, you're fascinated. Take the romantic leads, who share the most brain-melting lack of chemistry this side of Twilight. I honestly thought Bella in the Twilight movie demonstrated a more well- rounded character than the main girl in this! Ethan (I'm ashamed that I picked up the characters' names) makes Kevin Costner in Robin Hood look like a credible hero. That takes a special level of incompetence. I suspect they cast him because he sounded the most Southern. (Ah, the old "actors too old to be playing teenagers" cliché!) Now, I'm not from the American South, so the prevalence of the accent was all the more conspicuous for me. Speaking of which, why should you suffer through this? Emma Thompson plays a stereotypical church lady. You won't believe that, at least. Also: Am I the only one who thinks Jeremy Irons has only got hotter and hotter? The older, more talented actors easily steal the show. Well, there's not much of a show to steal in the first place. I couldn't believe it when Thompson gave Lena that by-the-numbers "Join me and we can rule" speech towards the end! At least the absence of self-awareness gives one cause to laugh at it.This is not the worst story ever conceived; it could have worked better. I will give the movie credit for the following things: 1) No love triangle, and 2) The aged male aristocrat is on the good side. And I was genuinely sad when he died and didn't see it coming. Maybe the book is better, but where's the fun in being awestruck when you can feel smarter than something?

There are a few movies that tackle the concept of love truly magically. I am not talking about unconventional friendships or the such. Rather, the usual boy/ girl romance is dealt with in a recognizable format. The difference is something that is felt more than seen. This is not your usual star crossed lovers fare. There is a beauty in this film that seeps through the entire thing. Lena and Ethan are my new favourite people to watch (amongst many of course). Alice Englert has proved herself many times over by now, and Alden Ehrenreich is an absolute treat. I couldn't be happier he's going to be young Solo. But, I digress. The movie is full of stalwart performances from Viola Davis, Jeremy Irons, and Emma Thompson to name a few. The story line, I believe, is much cropped and chopped from the books, but it holds its own. The effects are alright. Overall, it is the story of the two lovers that holds you. Their chemistry is absolutely brilliant and you really find yourself cheering for them. Ethan Wate is the bumbling village boy who is not as stupid as the others, and Lena is the mysterious beauty from out of town. This is a perfect, modern Romeo-Juliet with a twist of fantasy thrown in.