Beastly

OK this is the prime example of why upon reading a movie i want to see and it's poor reviews i just see it anyways so i can judge with my own eyes. Beastly in my opinion was no where near as bad as a lot of the critics panned it. It was a good modern tale adaptation of the Beauty And The Beast story that director Daniel Barnz totally put his own panache on it. And thats what i like to see. I don't want a director per say to take for example Disney's version of the tale and do it word for word, i want his own vision. And that's what we got here. Newcomer and heart throb Alex Pettyfer plays Kyle Kingston a very popular student in his school (who also due to his looks and popularity is also very conceited) Upon winning school valedictorian and announcing that he is there for the better looking people of the school, he mistakenly takes it upon himself to centre out and make fun of an outcast Kendra (played very well by Mary- Kate Olsen) in front of everyone pretty much announcing to everyone how ugly she is and then apologizes only to invite her to the school dance, which in turn only to make fun of her once again. This in turn causes Kendra to announce "That was your second chance" and unbeknowst to him being a witch she casts a spell on him casting him with hideous facial features and scars. This turns Kyle's world literally upside down! She also tells him that he has a year to make himself a better person and make some girl say i love you (and mean it) or else he will be stricken with those looks for the rest of his life. The rest of the film we see if Kyle can turn himself around and find love. I thought this was a great take on this old tale joined with the fact of a modern soundtrack the two added together make what i thought to be an modern romance flick.The moral here is don't always believe what you read!

"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.

The plot was great, being though it was the modern take on beauty and the beast. However, the script was terrible. Everything seemed so rushed.

Kyle wasn't even arrogant long enough. He made one or two rude comments and next thing you know he turned beastly. In fact I didn't realize he was being rude until like seconds to minutes later. That's how cheesy his lines were. And on top of that, he started falling in love with her before he was turned beastly which totally contradicts the whole point of him being that way. He's supposed to be ugly inside and out.

Liddy or, whatever her name is, wasn't turned off by him like Belle was in the animated version. She couldn't stand him whereas Liddy liked him from the beginning. She called him a jerk once but that didn't even sound convincing. So corny. The fight scene where Kyle calls himself saving her was so bad I was nearly in tears from laughing. What a shame because the concept of the movie was so awesome and this could've been a really great movie.

Bottom line, it was a waste of money, gas and time. I could've waited until this came out on Netflix. Sorry but this movie was just terrible!

This is one of the cleverest adaptations of a classic fable since "The Nutty Professor" (Jekyll & Hyde). Here in "Beastly" we have an adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" set in contemporary New York and revolving around the image-obsessed youth of a fashionable High School in the trendy urban district. I know, right? Awesome premise. The execution may not be quite as awesome, but ultimately I think it's a great flick to watch when you're in the mood for a creative morality play.

What makes it work is the depiction of the "Beast". I won't ruin it for you (if the movie posters haven't already), but here, unlike other tellings of the tale which portray the Beast as a majestic animal, we get a Beast who is not only "ugly" in terms of scars and bad skin, but more importantly he is made to look like an outcast. He doesn't look like a literal beast/monster, but instead he looks very human but the kind of human who would make you cross the street to avoid.

In that respect it turns the microscope on ourselves because we the audience are repulsed without any justification. I thought this was a fantastic starting point.

The rest of the film may feel sort of like a predictable teen romance, without much tension or or peril, but it keeps our attention and gives us thoughts which we can apply directly to our lives, unlike typical enchanted fairytales which we approach as pure fantasy.

Beyond the predictable, there's one character who really livened things up and I wish there were more of him: "Will" played by Neil Patrick Harris (yes! Doogie Howser M.D.). Will plays the role of the Beast's sarcastic, wisecracking teacher. This gives the story an element of humor and wisdom at the same time, as Will is sort of the Beast's "Mr. Miagi".

"Beastly" is mostly family-friendly (PG-13 due to some violence and a bit of crude language, though I don't remember hearing any outright profanity). So don't expect a harsh, gritty drama. This film is definitely on the lighter side. Movies I would compare this to include: Penelope (2006) starring Christina Ricci as a girl with a pig snout, or maybe something like Practical Magic (1998) starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as two witches looking for love in a small town. If you like breezy supernatural romances, definitely check this out.

I was so looking forward to this movie and was so sad that I was disappointed it wasn't quite up to expectations. I did not read the book but I saw the trailer for this a few months back and Beauty and the Beast had always been my favourite Disney movie. A modern retelling, good-looking leads, gorgeous cinematography and Neil Patrick Harris? Perfect ingredient for a good old romance movie, I'd say.

But I was wrong. The movie even started on the wrong foot, with Alex Pettyfer's dismal acting. Maybe he's been doing so many action movies that putting on the skin of a romantic lead was a little hard. His portrayal of the vain, selfish and mean lead was unconvincing at best. Now, the best part of Beast's transformation was the coming-of-age of the spoiled 'prince' into a rage-filled beast and finally into a selfless man transformed by love. None of that were evident in Kyle Kingson. He was a brat, then a whiny stalker, and finally an emo dude.

Vanessa Hudgens also gave a cringe-worthy performance. She was so flat and void of personality that it was painful to watch. Beside the bad acting, the plot was also a little draggy, lacking in climax and real emotion. You don't feel drawn to the characters, you don't feel convinced by the emotions and you will cringe at the incredibly cheesy lines. In fact, my sister and I kept mumbling 'Don't say it! Don't say it!" throughout the movie because a clichéd one-liner is always around the corner.

The one saving grace was Neil Patrick Harris, but that's only because he brought his 'Barney Stinson' persona into the movie. Though I absolutely adore Barney, it would be nice to see NPH bring something different to the plate.

All in all, I'd say watch this movie if you're looking for style, but don't go looking for substance. There's not much to be had.