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Notes:
A supernatural love story set in the South that tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers: Ethan, a young man longing to escape his small town, and Lena, a mysterious new girl. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.
Fantasy Romantic - Based on a popular young adult fantasy/romance novel series, this
film adaptation is very much one targeted toward teen and young adult
girls. The more familiar cast members such as Jeremy Irons, Viola
Davis, Emma Thompson, and Emmy Rossum have smaller supporting roles to
the unknown leads, Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert. Some scary
images and moments make this inappropriate for young children.
PROFANITY: 6 S-words; 1 GD; a number of others. SEX/NUDITY: Brief clothed sensuality. VIOLENCE: Shootings and fights with magical powers. DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Some alcohol. ACTION: Fights with magical powers. COMEDY: Some comic lines.
Berardinelli, Internet CriticFull Review Above Average Beautiful Creatures starts out strongly but loses steam as it progresses.
Roger EbertFull Review Above Average 'Beautiful Creatures' has a much better sense of humor about itself than the 'Twilight' movies, with most of the grown-up actors delivering performances leaning more toward the devilishly campy than the straightforward and dramatic.
USA TodayFull Review Below Average Though not enchanting, Beautiful Creatures qualifies as an entertaining guilty pleasure.
Washington PostFull Review Average Wow. Just wow. That pretty much sums up my reaction to "Beautiful Creatures," a movie so schizoid in its extremes of pleasure and pain that it's hard to know how to weigh its contradictions, or even where to begin separating them.
Note: The rating
above is our interpretation of what the critic would give this movie based on
their review. We are not affiliated with these critic's in any way.
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DETAILED OPINIONS
The positive and negative comments made by moviegoers are very
helpful when selecting a movie that's appropriate for you and your family.
OPINION OVERVIEW The following is the original "What's Worth
Watching" write-up for this movie.
Moviegoer Opinions:
Based on a theater exit polling of 35 moviegoers:
TEENS:The lone male loved "Beautiful Creatures" as did most of the ladies. Only one female rated it an average movie.
TWENTYSOMETHINGS:The one male loved it as did all four of the females.
ADULTS:These are some pretty mixed reviews. About two-thirds of the males loved it but the remaining third only rated it as an average movie. The female reviews are very similar. Just over half loved it with a few rating it above average. This left about a quarter rating it average.
Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich), 17, has had the same recurring dream for months. A mysterious young girl is waiting for him on a Civil War battlefield. Ethan desperately wants to be with her, but there is an unknown danger -- and each time a lightning bolt cracks like a gunshot, killing Ethan before he ever reaches the girl.
The danger of this strange dream world, however, is preferable to Ethan's waking existence in Gatlin, South Carolina, a small, conservative Southern town that hasn't caught up to the 21st century, where nothing ever changes and nothing ever happens. Trapped at home with a father who has completely withdrawn since the sudden death of Ethan's mother, Ethan yearns for a life he can only read about in books.
But Ethan's mundane world is shaken up with the arrival of Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), the beautiful and enigmatic niece of Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons), the reclusive owner of gothic Ravenwood Manor. Ethan finds himself immediately drawn to Lena, even though destruction seems to inexplicably follow her and it becomes apparent that she is a Caster, with powers beyond her control. The town, led by conservative Mrs. Lincoln (Emma Thompson), wants her banished. Even Gatlin's all-knowing librarian, Amma (Viola Davis), is afraid history may repeat itself --a history of family secrets and a curse that looms for Lena as she approaches her 16th birthday. It is that time when a Caster is chosen by the forces of either the Light or the Dark.
But Lena's fate may already be sealed by the curse that draws both her and Ethan into a tangled web of spells and peril from which there may be no escape.
