Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Published December 1st, 2009 by Little, Brown and Company
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
My review of the Beautiful Creatures movie:
I have been so excited to watch the Beautiful Creatures movie ever since I saw the first preview for it. I haven’t read the book in years…I want to say it was either in 2009 or 2010 that I actually read it, so I didn’t remember everything that happened in the book. That was awesome because that meant that I wouldn’t necessarily catch on if the producers changed things around in the movie. I’ve also only read the first book in the series. I think I might just reread book 1 and read the rest of them after watching the movie on the big screen.
Here’s what I liked about the movie:
Ethan Wate: The entire cast in this movie was off the charts amazing, but nobody was as brilliant as the guy who played Ethan. He showed such emotion, and he was able to capture Ethan’s character so well. I just loved him so much! When he first appeared on screen, I knew that I was either going to find him very annoying or fall in love with him. Thankfully it was the latter.
Ethan and Lena’s chemistry: These two actors really connected on screen, so much so that I actually wondered if maybe they formed an actual relationship while working together. I could have maybe done without them being all over each other all the freaking time, but their chemistry was ridiculously hot. They could not have chosen a better cast for this movie.
Lena: While I didn’t love Lena’s character as much as Ethan’s character, I still adored her. I should have just created a section titled the cast because they were all brilliant. Honestly, though, Ethan and Lena were spot on. I haven’t read the book in years, so maybe there are some character glitches that I didn’t notice, but from what I remembered of the book…they were amazing.
The Movie Itself: I was a big fan of The Beautiful Creatures movie…so much that I actually intend to buy it when it comes out. It was funny (OMG….the beginning of the movie was hilarious. and the guy who plays Link cracked. me. up,) it was emotional, it was….just brilliant. I thought that they captured the story really well. I did question a few things, because I wasn’t sure if they really happened in the book, but I loved it.
The Ending: OMG. The ENDING. I am going to be REALLY upset if a second movie isn’t made, because the ending is such a tease! I can’t remember if that’s how the first book actually ended…but woahhh. Awesome!
What I didn’t like about the movie:
There wasn’t very much that I didn’t like about the movie. However, I did feel that there was a huge cheese factor during the very middle of the movie…especially when Ridley is introduced. The beginning and the ending of the movie are awesome…and I liked the middle of the movie, too! But I just felt that it was a little cheesey during the middle, and I thought that that part could have definitely been better.
I also didn’t like the lady who played Seraphine. I don’t know if it was because of the actress or if it was simply the character I didn’t like, but I couldn’t stand her. Absolutely couldn’t stand her.
Have any of you guys watched the Beautiful Creatures movie? Did you love it? hate it? Let me know in the comment section!
I am a big fan of the book series. And as a fan, I can say the movie did not live up to the book. They changed A LOT of the story in the movie, including the climax and ending. Stuff that really didn’t need to be changed.
I was not happy with the adaptation. I will not be watching any of the other movies, if they end up making sequels.
My husband and friends that haven’t read the book, said they enjoyed the movie. So I guess this is a case when it is better to have not read the book. lol
See…that’s what I wondered about. I haven’t read the book in years, so I couldn’t remember all the detail. I thought that that movie might be a little confusing to people who haven’t read the book…but nobody in the audience seemed confused. And I just couldn’t tell how much they left off. There were a couple things that I was like…wait….did that happen that way?
I thought everyone did a great job with the acting. It was just the fact that it was so different from the book, that bothered me.
I haven’t watched it yet, i’m waiting until after midterms but i am so psyched bout it! :DD
Yay!! I just started reading Beautiful Creatures & am totally falling in love with the story, so I’m really excited to hear you loved the movie! Something great to look forward to : )
I too, loved the acting but that was about it. I only got about halfway through the first book because the Southern accents annoyed me. I just couldn’t decide if this movie was supposed to be small town Southerners, fantastical magic, a CGI animation or what. There were SO many cliches, so many coincidences and easy resolutions. Unlike you I didn’t get the chemistry. One minute they hated each other then they were kissing? I mean, what? And whats-her-name that played Lena really left a lot to be desired. No one blinks that much when they speak.
Sorry to the people who liked the movie, but to me it seemed like a hot mess. I really wanted to like it but was severely disappointed. I think Warner Bros relied too heavily on the fact it was a young adult novel with a good following and didn’t give it the effort it deserved, they just threw money at marketing.
There’s one good thing that came out of this movie though; I’m now pretty happy Zooey Deutch was cast as Rose in Vampire Academy. Yay!