When I was finished with “Beautiful Creatures” I was surprised to learn that it wasn’t that bad of a movie. Surely, it takes a while to start up, and the mythos behind the Caster family is somewhat hard to follow, but once you manage to catch up, “Beautiful Creatures” manages to be an entertaining fantasy romance. Normally I detest fantasy films aimed at the only the female crowds, but “Beautiful Creatures” could be for everyone. It has some interesting performances, a great storyline, and some truly creative special effects I had a blast with. There’s even a scene involving two casters doing battle as an entire dining room spins like a top. It’s damn fun, if you’re in the right mindset for this big screen adaptation.
I can see why Guillermo Del Toro would be attracted to a film like “Mama.” While it is a horror film in nature, deep down it is a tragic drama about the power of love and the lengths we’ll go to preserve it. “Mama” is the first fantastic film I’ve seen in 2013, a film about spirits and how immense love can be. After their dad murders their mother in a murderous rage, sisters Lily and Victoria are taken to an abandoned cabin where their father looks to mercifully murder them. There, they’ve found something that is not only intent on keeping them safe, but in maintaining their innocence. Years later, the daughters are discovered much older and in a feral state, clinging to a presence they call Mama. Their uncle Luke and aunt Annabel seek to take them back home and establish a life free from the pain of their original lives. But the girls find it impossible not only to adjust, but to display physical affection toward the young couple. Jessica Chastain gives a strong performance as the unkempt Annabel who finds her loyalties lying with her husband Luke when he fights to take care of his nieces Victoria and Lily, and transforms in to a bonafide mother figure of their very own.