Modern Day Fairy Tales

My name is Channing and I am a self proclaimed movie junkie! I love going to see the latest movies, so I thought why not blog about them?? Every week I will go to see a new movie and write about what I thought was good and bad about it and how it rates on my Chan-o-meter.

First movie up, drum roll please.... Beastly. Beastly is a modern day take on Disney's classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast and is based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer, Mary-Kate Olsen and Neil Patrick Harris. The movie is about a egotistical rich New York teen named Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) who is transformed by a witch (Mary Kate Olsen) into a hideous monster. In order for him to return back to normal he has to find true love within a year or he has to stay a monster forever!!

( Beastly movie poster of costars Vanessa Hudgens  (left) and Alex Pettyfer (right). This photo is from beastlythemovie.com.)

 The Good

Neil Patrick Harris was the highlight of the movie. As Kyle's tutor, he had impeccable timing with all of his jokes. He acting came natural to him unlike some of his fellow costars. Mary- Kate Olsen was also a pleasant surprise! I haven't seen her in a movie in years and thought she did a good job acting as the mischievous witch. Another good thing about the movie was that Alex Pettyfer had his shirt off most of the time and was very easy on the eyes when he wasn't a monster!

The Bad

This was supposed to be a tear jerking heartfelt love story but the cast as a whole did not deliver. The movie was another teeny bopper movie that "tried" to rival Twilight and the storyline was very predictable. I felt like Alex Pettyfer did a horrible job with his role. None of his scenes seemed real or sincere. Most of his lines were awkward and it just seemed like he was trying to hard. He should have taken more acting classes before he took on this role. Vanessa Hudgens (Kyle's love interest in the movie) did not impress me either. I was expecting more from her. Vanessa's performance was flat and was just another pretty face in the movie. 

Overall

Initially, I was excited to see Beastly because I am a sucker for fairy tales with happily ever after endings, but overall this movie disappointed me. According to boxofficemojo.com, Beastly finished third in the box office on its opening weekend to Rango and The Adjustment Bureau. It brought in a little under $10 million. I think if they would have put more thought and effort into the movie, it would have been better and more successful! Therefore, Beastly gets a whopping 5.0 on the Chan-o-Meter. I might have been a little harsh on Beastly but hey I had high expectations!! Do yall think I was harsh?? What are your comments about the movie?

Next Movie on Deck

The next movie I plan to see that premieres this coming weekend is a spin of another classic fairytale, called Red Riding Hood. We all know the story about a young girl and the big bad wolf, but this remake seems to have more of a darker mid-evil twist than the original story. The previews look good so hopefully this movie will impress me more than Beastly!!