"Beautiful Creatures" _ The genders have been reversed but the supernatural, star-crossed teen angst remains firmly intact in this drama that clearly aims to pick up where the "Twilight" franchise left off. Writer-director Richard LaGravenese's film, based on the first novel in the young adult series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, oozes Southern Gothic eccentricity and some amusing if inconsistent touches of camp. But a strong cast of likable and, yes, beautiful actors can only do so much with the formula in which they're forced to work. And, like the "Twilight" movies, the special effects are all too often distractingly cheesy. The setup breathes some new life into such familiar material, though, as co-stars Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert feel like actual awkward teens enjoying the fraught thrills of first love. Once the plot machinations start grinding in the second half, though, "Beautiful Creatures" as a whole grinds to a halt. Spells and scenery-chewing can be a hoot; watching other people sitting around scouring ancient tomes for clues, not so much. Ehrenreich plays a restless teen in small-town South Carolina who's smitten by Englert's mysterious new girl. Turns out she's a witch _ and she's probably doomed _ but could true love with a mortal save her? Emma Thompson, Emmy Rossum and Viola Davis co-star. PG-13 for violence, scary images and some sexual material. 123 minutes. Two stars out of four.
A new Disney princess has ascended to the box-office throne with a No. 1 debut for Pixar Animation's "Brave."
Feminist pop-culture monitors have been on high alert since learning that the heroine of "Brave," Pixar's first female protagonist, is - uh-oh - a fairy-tale princess, the most insidious archetype ever devised by the patriarchy for reinforcing traditional gender roles. The feminists needn't have worried.
Who else but Stephen Fry could write an autobiography - and a substantial one at that - all organized around the letter C? For this is not just some frivolity tossed off lightly with little thought or engagement. To a remarkable extent, it is a revealing look at a goodly slice of his life, from his school days, through university and into the world of theater, film and television.
"Lady and the Tramp," "Heaven Can Wait," "A Star Is Born" and "Gone With the Wind" are just some of the films perfect for a romantic evening this Feb. 14.
Thirty years after the PBS presentation of ITV's "Brideshead Revisited," an anniversary edition has been released in a packaged set.
Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson is writing a new "Peter Rabbit" story.
Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson is writing a new "Peter Rabbit" story.
A look at some notable moments from previous Oscar ceremonies.
