Beastly

"If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time." Disney's Beauty and the Beast

After the Twilight Series, I am Number Four, and now Beastly, I'm not sure I ever want to take that Hot Tub Time Machine back to those love-weary days. I mean, are these kids getting any love these days, or is their passion filtering through cell phones as their fingers do the walking rather than the stroking? Beastly once again shows teen longing relieved by the workings of magic, not old-fashioned getting-to-know you stuff their grandparents labored through.

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer straight from his boring turn as a hunk with little affect in I am Number Four) learns from his distant dad that looks are what count in life. As he imputes this "aggressively-unattractive" characterization to Goth Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), she condemns him to being all he hates, largely ugly, until someone says "I love you" to him.

Beauty waiting to be rescued, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), falls into the protective custody of now ugly Beast, Hunter (Kyle). And there you have Beauty and the Beast revived for 2011 teens. Dramatically the audience can anticipate every outcome, not just because of the adapted classic's well-worn story, but because the dialogue is pedestrian enough to telescope it all anyway.

The blind tutor, Will (Neil Patrick Harris), has some wry commentary, suited to the off-beat characters Harris usually plays, that saves this adolescent sentimental claptrap from my damnation. I get it that beauty is from within; I just don't buy why all the teens should be hot when most in real life are pimpled and gawky. It's too bad some wizardry couldn't save Beastly from mediocrity—but then I would need resuscitation that I finally had a teen weeper worthy of an audience smarter than filmmakers give them credit.

I was so excited to see this movie after hearing about it. I loved the book and was extremely excited for the movie. That movie was so far from the book they could have renamed it. The movie had strong characters but a weak plot and barely any climax. Compared to the book, that was a complete butchering of the story. They cut out some extremely important events within the book. The ending was completely ruined. It was supposed to be full of suspense and adventure, excitement and nerve. The movies ending was dull and pointless. It was completely changed from the events that happened to the location of the events. THE NAMES IN THE MOVIE WEREN'T EVEN RIGHT!! I was disappointed. Basing it an a movie stand point, and not compared to the book, it was okay. Boring and cute. A basic romance. Nothing to special. Definitely not something I would see again. I was extremely disappointed with this movie. I would have thought it would have been better since they postponed the release date for half a year. If you ask me, wait for the DVD and don't waste your money.

I wasn't planning on seeing this movie, but after a group of girlfriends convinced me it would be a good chick flick, I caved.

Going into this movie, I haven't read the book, just seen the Disney movie quite a few times. I was expecting this tragic love story, just like the original movie, with plenty of tear-jerking moments, but it just wasn't there, in terms of script and acting.

The plot was rushed, and therefore the audience didn't have enough time to appreciate the story line, even though we all know it like the back of our hands.

Our Beast, Kyle, was more of a brat than a beast, and even after transforming, I was expecting this monster of rage, and he just whined and moaned and was more comedic than anything else.

Lindy, who was our Beauty, really only stood as a placeholder for a gorgeous woman. Vanessa Hudgens is a gorgeous girl, but that's really all she is. Her acting is very flat, with one moment standing out in particular. She's just been told some devastating news over the phone in a conversation that lasts all of 10 seconds. Acting 101: Acting is the reality of doing, she just pretended, and there's no two ways about it. I didn't see a role model to young girls in her, I just saw a pretty face.

However, there were some exceptions, Neil Patrick Harris was impeccable with his comedic timing, and really saved this movie from otherwise getting a 1 star. Mary Kate Olsen also pleasantly surprised me, as she was good at convincing me she was this evil enchantress. However, for her entire time in the movie, she looks like a haute couture model rather than this disgusting ugly creature.

Overall, it's not terrible, just not that good. Neil Patrick Harris is reason enough alone to see this movie, and to get a look into what some consider "21st Century Beauty and the Beast."

My girls begged me to take them to see this movie as they are big fans of Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer and Mary-Kate Olsen. As young teenagers of 13, they both loved the movie and would rate it 9 out of 10. I however, will rate it a 6. My favourite character was Neil Patrick Harris (Will), the blind tutor.... he made me laugh at almost all the scenes he was in.

I did enjoy some of the characters, and Vanessa was very convincing as Lindy, and played her part well. I enjoyed Mary-Kate's character as, Kendra. It was fun seeing her in a different acting role then the many years of having watched her on Full House and all those cute Olson Twin movies. So all in all, I enjoyed my evening out with my girls. Please keep in mind that we did not know this movie was based on a book, which is probably why my girls enjoyed it so much.

I watched this movie on a whim. Two of my friends asked if I wanted to go out and watch this movie, and since I had nothing better to do, I said yes. I didn't think this movie would be that bad since people have called it the 'newer and more modern version' of "Beauty and the Beast". They didn't add that it fails at doing so.

Kyle was born handsome and has had everything handed to him on a silver platter since. One night, he offends an enchantress which leads her to cursing Kyle and turning him into a beast. In order to break the curse, Kyle must find someone who'll love him despite his looks before the last flower of spring blooms.

"Beastly"'s plot is a lot similar to that of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", but I'm afraid that "Beastly" just doesn't compare to the magic and emotions that "Beauty and the Beast" shared with its audience. Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens, while being well-known actors, just don't commit here. Their acting, particularly Hudgens', felt flat. On screen, they did make a cute couple, but that was all it was. They just looked good together. For me, I thought that there was no build-up and not enough back story for their romance to feel real. Disney's Belle and the Beast did a far better job than them.

Neil Patrick Harris saved this movie. When he first appeared on screen, murmurs of "It's Barney!" were heard all around. Obviously, Neil Patrick Harris is a very famous actor. But despite his big name, his acting was great and he did not disappoint. In almost all of his scenes, he managed to get laughs from the audience. It almost felt like it was really Barney Stinson who was the one acting. He was the one thing that made this movie enjoyable and bearable. I'm sure many people agree with me.

While not the best take on the famous Disney classic movie, I don't feel like this movie deserves a flat-out 1. The movie did have a bit of charm. First is Neil Patrick Harris who was great here. Second is how cute Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens looked together. And third is the comic relief that the movie gives. That's basically it. If ever you decide to watch this movie, don't expect it to be as great as "Beauty and the Beast".

Viewed on: April 27, 2011