| News Items: |
| Headlines |
| News Briefs |
| Stories |
| Movies |
| Word To Life |
| More News: |
| Vatican |
| Africa |
| Special Sections: |
| 2006 in review |
| Inside the Curia |
| Archives: |
| Vatican II at 40 |
| John Paul II |
| Other Items: |
| Client Area |
| Links |
| Origins |
| Movie Review |
|
Blood and Chocolate By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- The disposable "Blood and Chocolate" (MGM) is your standard boy-meets-girl tale about American comic book artist Aiden (Hugh Dancy), who romances pretty expatriate chocolatier Vivian (Agnes Bruckner), while researching Slavic folklore in Romania. There's just one problem: Vivian, it turns out, is a werewolf -- in local parlance, a "loup garoux" -- who, like the rest of her shape-shifting clan, can turn into a snarling beast at will. (No full moons necessary, though silver bullets still prove effective deterrents.) Hiding her secret from Aiden, Vivian desperately wants to escape her lycanthropic fate, unlike her insolent cousin Rafe (Bryan Dick), who can't wait to replace his glowering father, Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), as leader of the pack. In keeping with werewolf custom, or so we're told, Gabriel gets to choose a new mate every seven years, and guess who tops his list? Predictable hairy situations ensue. What making chocolate has to do with werewolves, incidentally, is anyone's guess. Never mind that Gabriel sounds Spanish, while his son has a British accent. While relatively restrained in terms of sex and gory violence, director Katja von Garnier's "Lost Boys"-with-fur doesn't work as a love story or a thriller, and despite its nocturnal Bucharest backdrop and some modestly stylish sequences the overall effect is bland. The actual werewolf transformations are hokey and the script is saddled with corny dialogue like, "Ask the animal that's inside you; she will teach you." It's enough to make Lon Chaney Jr. howl ... with laughter. The film contains some violence, a few bloody images, erotically suggestive dancing, fleeting glimpse of a nude photograph, drug references, sexual innuendo, as well as sporadic crude language and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. END Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
| FIND A MOVIE |
|
Looking for a movie review? |