Review of Beastly (2011) by Noah N — 02 Jan 2012

There were a few scenes that were shot so poorly, I felt like I was watching a low-budget B-movie or a television show and then there were other scenes that felt like I was watching a Blockbuster. They really should have have kept the scenes consistent and maintained the same level of CG and cinematography throughout.

I think the acting was decent. Mary-Kate Olsen definitely could have done a better job if they gave her better lines and more stage business. Vanessa Hudgens did the best she could with the script given to her. I think the majority of the redeeming lines were probably taken verbatim from the book (which I never read but imagine was probably way better than the film.).

Overall, it wasn't a bad movie and in fact I found it rather cute. There is so much that could have been improved though if I were the one directing it. The funniest thing about this movie is that when Kyle turned back into his old self my first thought was that he looked better bald with no eyebrows. I guess it's because that's how he looks when the audience learns to love him and then suddenly he appears again the way he did when he was a selfish jerk. I thought similarly with Disney's Beauty and the Beast when I first saw it. "Ewww! He's got looong blonde hair. He looked better as the beast.".