Beautiful Creatures: How Can A Film Be So Good Yet Get The Story Adaption So Wrong? A Rant by Mike CCD

Last night was Valentines Day, and my fiance and I do not like to get caught up in all the schmoes that go out to dinner on that night. Everyplace is packed and uncomfortable, and we hate it. So we decided to take a short drive into New Jersey to attend a movie at an AMC Dine IN Theater. This is a movie theater with super comfy leather recliners, a full on dinner menu, and alcoholic beverages... basically it is heaven on earth. We decided to see Beautiful Creatures, the book adaption that is set to be the next franchise type event series. It is based on a book series by Kami Garcia & Margret Stohl. There are four books in the series, and since Tara and I like these types of books we decided to grab the set about a month ago in preparation for the upcoming movie. The book revolves around two teenagers, a boy that is native to South Carolina named Ethan and the new girl who just moved into town named Lena. In this small town things don't change often, so when Lena shows up as the relative to the town outcasts she starts a stir. But things are a bit complicated because Ethan knows her... well, actually he has been dreaming of her for the past few months. There is something about this girl... and after they begin to connect Ethan finds out that Lena is a Caster (a sort of witch) who comes from a long line of casters. Not only is he dating a teenage witch, but there are many other things that are not quite right in Gatling, South Carolina. Lets just say things get a bit strange... in a good way. As they couple speeds towards Lena's 16th birthday (the day which she is claimed for The Light or The Dark), things get quite hectic. Tara and I flew threw the first book, and we were super hyped to see how it converted to the screen. We got that chance on Thursday, but the results weren't quite what we had hoped for. But they weren't exactly bad results either. Check out the rest after the jump....

'Beautiful Creatures' Sure Looks Good...

'Beautiful Creatures' is the newest entry to try and grab a piece of the Young Adult market that is about to be left with the end of the Twilight franchise. Creatures is the first part of a proposed four book series called 'The Caster Chronicles' (three have been published so far) and is the story of the Ravenswood family. They are witches, or casters, and the youngest member of the clan (Lena) is about to reach a milestone in her life. At age 16 a caster is chosen to either joining the forces of light or dark, forever determining the type of existence they will have. Lena padre is played by Jeremy Irons, who appears to be a proponent of the light. Mom dukes is played by Emma Thompson and seems to be one of the most powerful dark casters in the world. Both obviously want Lena to join their side, and will stop at nothing to get her to go their particular route. You also have the typical teen love story thrown in, and a very beautiful Emmy Rossum as cousin Ridley (who seems to be a bit of a bad ass), and some wonderful looking special effects. With a cast like this (irons, Thompson and Viola Davis? In a YA movie... killer!) we may be looking at the heir to the Twilight/Harry Potter YA crown. At least The Hunger Games & Mortal Instrument movies will have a challenger for the next few years. Check out the new extended trailer after the jump. the movie comes out in February. I'm in... how about you?