Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures

I know movies based on books never (or almost never) live up to the book, but I had high hopes for the Beautiful Creatures movie.  I asked Keith to take me to see it as my Valentine’s Day gift which he did without complaint   Unfortunately, I left the movie extremely disappointed.

Likes:

• I didn’t think I was going to like Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan and Alice Englert as Lena, but they did a great job portraying the characters.  I didn’t imagine Ethan being quite so goofy, but Ehrenreich was entertaining.
• Jeremy Irons is a great Macon, but there were times when his Southern accent reverted to his British accent which isn’t a big deal, but it was something I noticed.
• I appreciated the quality of the movie.  When Twilight came out as a movie it was obvious that it wasn’t funded, but that wasn’t the case with Beautiful Creatures.
• Those who haven’t read the book or aren’t huge fans like I am will probably enjoy the movie.  Keith said he liked it and that it was better than the Twilight movie.  I made him take me to the midnight showing of Twilight and he ended up reading the next three books in the series after watching the movie with me.  I don’t know if he’ll read any of the Beautiful Creatures books, but he did say he would watch the next movie if it’s made.

Dislikes (some spoilers):

• Why do screenwriters insist on changing even the smallest details when making a book into a movie?!  Was it really necessary to change Lena’s birthday? And why was Ethan’s age changed? He’s entering his sophomore year of high school, not starting junior year and looking up colleges.
• Amma’s character drove me nuts.  I like Viola Davis, but she was a horrible choice for Amma, especially considering her age.  I really like Amma, but she isn’t portrayed accurately at all.  She’s basically a mixture of Amma and Marion.  Which leads me to my next point…
• Marion isn’t even in the movie!  I don’t know how they plan on making more movies, or if those plans are in the works, without casting Marion.
• Emmy Rossum was okay as Ridley, but she would have been better if even the smallest attempt was made to make her look like Ridley.  Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve read Beautiful Creatures and I’m halfway through the audiobook, but I don’t remember her being a man killer. Correct me if I’m wrong.
• The story of Genevieve and the curse really irked me.
• Why didn’t they include the Kelting?
• The ending was horrible. Sob.
• There’s more, but I don’t want to  include too many spoilers.