Film Feature: Beastly

Beastly by Alex Flinn is one of those books which sounded interesting, and which I have been meaning to read for ages, but never picked up. When I learned that it was being adapted into a film I knew that the countdown had begun and I was recently sent a copy which I just read in time to see the movie!

Beastly is the retold fairytale of Beauty and Beast, set in modern times and featuring the cocky and good looking Kyle Kingsbury who gets transformed into a beast so that others can see how ugly he is on the inside. He only has two years to get a kiss from a girl that he loves, and that loves him, if he wants to be changed back. In the movie this is altered into one year.

The film Beastly features Alex Pettyfer as Kyle, Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra the witch, and Neil Patrick Harris as Kyle's tutor, Will. The girl Kyle begins to notice when he is no longer so focused on looks is Lindy, played by Vanessa Hudgens, who gives him his chance to prove that "love is never ugly". Personally, I'm not too familiar with any of these actors, except Harris, who I love in How I Met Your Mother. Pettyfer is also staring in the book to movie adaptation I Am Number Four, and he looks perfect for Beastly. I'm unconvinced about Hudgens- Lindy is a redhead with crooked teeth in the book- but hopefully she does an okay job.

 

Even though I enjoyed the book, I actually think Beastly is one of those cases where the film might be better, or at least more believable. The most significant difference between the two is that in the book Kyle really is beast-like, an animal covered in hair, whereas in the film his ugliness is more subtle. I appreciate this because I don't think a live-action version of involving a very hairy man with claws would have had quite the same impact. It does feel like the movie, at least from the trailer, maintains the romance and supernatural twist that Flinn's book is so well known for.

 

Of course, to go along with the upcoming film release there is a new edition, Movie-Tie In of the novel featuring a cover from the film poster.

Here's the film trailer:

Have you read Beastly? Are you planning to see the film or read the book?  If you have read the book, are you looking forward to the movie adaption?

Film Feature: Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged is a book I read about half of after loving The Fountainhead in high school but got distracted and never managed to finish. With the trailer for the upcoming film, part 1 of 2 that will are based on the book and from what I can determine follow the storyline pretty closely, just released I have an even bigger reason to finally dig into this tome. The film Atlas Shrugged stars Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggart and although I have only seen Schilling in the television program Mercy, she looks like she'll do a good job. I believe the movie is fairly low budget, and it is the director's first full length film, but the trailer has me hooked.
If the film has peaked your interest or you're just looking for an opportunity to read a little Rand, Allie over at A Literary Odyssey is hosting a readalong of the book for March-April; perfect timing for seeing the movie! Click here to sign up.

Film Feature: Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants is an extremely vivid book by Sara Gruen which tells of Jacob Jankowski who ran away after his parents died and joined the circus as a vet, meeting a colourful cast of people along the way including the beautiful (but married) Marlena.

In August, I read and reviewed the book, loving Gruen's language but often wishing that the characters went a little bit deeper (click for review).  I am curious to see how their portrayals transfer onto the screen, because I do think the right actors could bring them to life in a way that was slightly lacking on the page, taking them out of the realm of stereotype and into reality. In my review, I expressed doubt at the ability of Robert Pattinson to pull off the role of Jacob, but from my initial viewings of the trailer it seems I may be mistaken.

Reese Witherspoon plays Marlena in the film, and although she is slightly older of an actress than I would have expected for the role, I certainly think she is capable of pulling it off. I do hope that the elephant in the circus, Rosie, who is basically a character in the book maintains her central role in the film as Gruen has a unique and beautiful way of humanizing animals in both Water for Elephants and her latest novel, Ape House.

Crucially important to the success of the film will be the chemistry between Pattinson, Witherspoon, and Marlena's husband, August, who is played by Christopher Waltz. The movie is certain to have drama, as director Francis Lawrence is best known for the epic I Am Legend. The film adaption of Water for Elephants is set to be released April 22nd, 2011.

Of course, the novel is available in most bookstores and online but I have included the trailer for the film below:

Are you planning to see Water for Elephants? If so, did you read the book, and how do you think the two will compare?

Film Feature: Red Riding Hood

When it comes to fables like The Little Mermaid, the Disney version of the story most children are familiar with is rarely the real one. Most faerie tales were originally dark and gruesome, and so it is not surprising to see an adult take on Little Red Riding Hood drawing on these themes. The film features Amanda Seyfried (From Big Love and Veronica Mars) who I absolutely love and that was what initially attracted my interest. I was also interested to learn Red Riding Hood has been directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who is responsible for an extremely successful book to film adaption- Twilight. Before that she also directed Lords of Dogtown and Thirteen though, so if you don't like Twilight (I don't), then try not to hold that against her.

I haven't read any of the original versions of Little Red Riding Hood, such as the one written by the Brothers Grimm. However, I think it is obvious from the trailer that the film is a very loose adaptation, perhaps taking advantage of the current interest in paranormal and creatures like vampires and werewolves, especially considering the love storyline, which I suspect was not in the original. 

Overall, however Red Riding Hood has definitely caught my eye and I am curious to see how it turns out. Maybe before I watch the film I'll read the Grimm tale, just to allow for comparison. The film is due to be released March 2011.

And a new edition of the fairytale is being released in conjunction on January 25th 2011 by Collins Design (HarperCollins).

Trailer for the film, isn't the music perfect?

Does Red Riding Hood have your interest? How do you feel about adult takes on classic stories? Are their any adult films based on classic fairy tales you recommend?