Movie Review: If I Stay

After sitting through a so-so adaptation of City of Bones and a not-so-great adaptation of Vampire Academy, I was a little apprehensive about how the big screen version of Gayle Forman's If I Stay would go. I loved the novel as well as the sequel, Where She Went, and hoped that my last few experiences with YA novels-turned-films would not continue in the same vein.

The trailers for If I Stay did make me cautiously optimistic that fans of the book wouldn’t be let down. Of course trailers can be misleading sometimes, but I’m very happy to report that this was not the case here.

Where to start with how brilliant If I Stay was? Chloë Grace Moretz was simply perfect as Mia. Jamie Blackley was also a standout as Adam. Really, the whole cast was stellar, notably the actors who portrayed Mia’s parents and younger brother, Teddy. You truly got the sense of what a loving, close-knit family the Halls were, which made the tragedy that tore them apart even more devastating.

While there were certainly heartbreaking, sob-inducing moments throughout the film, they were well balanced with some lighter ones. This is an area where I thought the film really shone; the somber shadow that hangs over both the book and the movie can’t be helped, but it doesn’t dominate either of them. Mia’s flashbacks are full of many happy memories spent with her family and Adam. That’s another aspect of the novel that translated very well to the screen: the book’s narrative structure, which alternates between the present and the past. It’s handled seamlessly in the movie, and even having reading the book, I don’t think someone who’s unfamiliar with the source material would find the movie confusing to follow.

I have only glowing things to say about this film. It did not disappoint in any way, and although there were a few minor changes from the book, they were exactly that—minor. Unlike some of the other recent YA adaptations I’ve seen, this one did not make me want to scream, “But that wasn’t in the book!” The script was excellent, and the actors’ performances were all top-notch. Music plays such a central role in the novel, and its importance in the lives of both Mia and Adam is vividly captured in the film.

For anyone who hasn’t read If I Stay, you can feel confident that you’re completely fine if you see the movie first. But—please read the book! For those who already have read it, you can also feel confident that everything you loved about the novel has made its way to the big screen. I truly, truly hope that Where She Went gets adapted, too, because you just can’t leave Mia and Adam here . . . .

If I Stay Trailer

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I'm definitely going to need to keep a box of tissues handy for this one! I loved the book (yeah, I totally cried) and hope the movie does well because I'd love to see Where She Went adapted, too.

Movie Review: Vampire Academy

Ally, Melissa, and I finally went to see the big screen adaptation of Vampire Academy over the weekend, and though this post represents only my take on it, as a group, the movie left us less than impressed. All three of us have read the entire series and loved it, so naturally we had to check out the movie. We'd heard that the reviews had been less than kind, so we didn't exactly enter the theater expecting to be blown away. That still didn't lessen our feelings of being let down that yet another beloved book series of ours didn't translate well to the screen.

I understand that filmmakers have a bridge to gap between movie goers who've read the book and those who haven't, but I thought VA went overboard with the exposition. There was a lot of telling rather than showing; the opening scenes with Rose and Lissa in hiding were very chatty. When the differences between the Moroi, dhampirs, and Strigoi were discussed, each term flashed across the screen. If there were concerns about non-readers of the book grasping what was going on, I think those efforts would have been better directed toward making the story flow more smoothly. The movie felt choppy to me, which I suppose is a challenge that all book-to-film adaptations face: what to cut. VA, in my opinion, really could have benefited from keeping a little more material from the novel to assist in transitioning between scenes. For example, if I hadn't already been familiar with Ms. Karp's story from the book, I'm not sure her appearances in the movie would have made as much sense.

The dialogue in the film was definitely less than spectacular, which is such a shame because that is not at all the case in the books. There was an obvious attempt to keep Rose's wit, but the lines felt forced, not because of their delivery but because of how they were written. At least Rose called Dimitri "Comrade," which still makes me laugh.

Ah, Dimitri. I'm sorry to say that I found his screen counterpart disappointing. His role in the movie seemed a little downplayed to me; he just didn't command the presence he does in the novels. Christian probably had as much screen time as Dimitri did, which was fine because he was one of the better developed characters in the film. Mason was very sweet in his handful of appearances (alas, no Eddie), and I also thought Natalie was spot-on, right down to what happens in the end.

The action scenes were very good and the Strigoi suitably creepy, but there was also a great deal of emphasis on the school drama at St. Vladimir's, like Mia's efforts to turn Lissa into a social outcast. Yes, that's all in the book, but whereas the book seamlessly blends the school stuff with the paranormal stuff, the movie didn't pull it off as deftly. Overall, this was an underwhelming adaptation of an amazing book that I hope doesn't get judged too harshly by anyone who saw the film first.

Movie Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Ally and I did our Shadowhunter duty on Sunday and went to see The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. We both had somewhat mixed feelings going in because 1) we're much bigger fans of The Infernal Devices series than TMI and 2) we haven't been blown away by most of the YA book-to-movie adaptations we've seen. But, we couldn't pass up the chance to see Shadowhunters on the big screen, so off we journeyed to the movie theater on Sunday afternoon.

I'll start with the biggest question that had been on my mind—could Jamie Campbell Bower pull off being Jace Wayland? I was definitely one of those people for whom the actor didn't fit the image of Jace that was in my head, but I really tried to give him a fair shake at the role. I think he tried to give Jace a dry sort of wit, which wasn't a bad approach, but our Mr. Wayland is also a seriously arrogant young man, and I felt that side of his character didn't come across enough on the screen.

I've never been a big Clary fan, so I felt neutral about her onscreen counterpart. Movie Clary has about as many mini-meltdowns as Book Clary does (AAH! I spent all night plastering my walls with drawings of the Angelic Power rune! AAH! There's some strange blond guy stalking me!). I just waited for them to pass. I loved Simon—perfect casting there, and I loved that he and Isabelle shared some scenes, even going up against some demons together (Sizzy foreshadowing? Yes, please!). Alec's character was also very true to the books, especially his blatant dislike (um, that may be phrasing it mildly) of Clary.

Ally wasn't too impressed with Magnus Bane, but I thought he was okay. With so many characters to introduce, he didn't have a whole bunch of screen time, and I missed that he didn't really get to show off his snarky side. I had a total Infernal Devices moment during the party scene when Magnus made a comment about Alec's eyes . . . .

One character who really surprised me was Clary's mother, Jocelyn. I've never had a lot of sympathy for her in the books, despite her having to run away from a psycho husband (more on Valentine in a minute), but I found her a much warmer figure here. Lena Headey (Cersei from Game of Thrones—YEAH!) was just awesome in the part, and she fought like a badass. When Valentine's henchmen turned up demanding the Mortal Cup and Jocelyn showed off some mad skills beating the crap out of them with a frying pan, I couldn't help thinking, I bet Cersei's always wanted to do that to Joffrey!

Jonathan Rhys Meyers made a suitably insane Valentine, but what was UP with his hair? It didn't bother me that the color didn't match Valentine's in the books, but the stuff hanging out of it did. Was his do some sort of homage to those little braids Jedi apprentices wear?

I normally don't geek out over special effects, but I must say that these were very well done. The demons were quite terrifying and didn't look cheesy at all. The Institute, both its exterior and interior, looked amazing. The library in particular was breathtaking. In general, I thought the movie did a great job bringing the Shadowhunters to life; the runes looked fantastic, and you even saw some of the older ones in the process of fading, like they do in the books. The fight scenes were incredible, especially the one with the vampires at the Hotel Dumort. You really got to see the Shadowhunters' enhanced agility and badass fighting skills in action.

My favorite scene was Jace and Clary's trip to the Silent City. The atmosphere was perfectly creepy throughout, and the Silent Brothers were as mysterious and eerie as they are in the novels. I wasn't too keen on the effect used for Brother Jeremiah's voice, but it didn't detract from the power of the scene.

If you've read City of Bones, then you know all about the crazy ending. It was slightly altered here, though its essence remained the same. I must be getting used to movies taking creative liberties with the books they're adapted from because the changes here didn't really faze me.

While there were a few wince-worthy lines of dialogue and I'm not sure how easy the movie would be to follow for those who haven't read the books, I quite enjoyed this. Definitely worth the movie ticket and repeat viewing on Blu-Ray/DVD when it becomes available.

Cousinly Conversation Vlog: Our Thoughts on Les Misérables

Ally and I went to see Les Misérables and gush about it in this vlog. Melissa was kind enough to hold the camera for us and makes an audio-only appearance towards the end.

Cousinly Conversation Vlog: Our Thoughts on Breaking Dawn - Part 2

We saw Breaking Dawn - Part 2 this week and recorded a short vlog to share our thoughts on it.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Teaser Trailer!

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Oh. My. God. How INCREDIBLE does this look?! And it's just the teaser trailer! Needless to say, August 23, 2013 can't get here fast enough!