“It’s remarkable that Emma Stone is entrancing and so is the movie as a whole. Filled with flavorsome performances. The film’s most powerful magic lies in its unquenchable playfulness. Think of it as a 97-minute séance that leaves you giddy with delight.”

-- Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT

Starring Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden,
Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone and Jacki Weaver

Available Dec. 2 on Digital HD, and on Blu-ray^™ and DVD Dec. 16

CULVER CITY, Calif. (Sept. 29, 2014) – Love is written in the stars, and the events are indeed magical in Sony Pictures Classics’ romantic comedy MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT, available Dec. 2 on Digital HD, and on Blu-ray^™ and DVDDec. 16 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.  Written and directed by Woody Allen, MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHTis set in the 1920s against the beautiful and opulent Cote d’Azur in the south of France, starring Colin Firth as an Englishman and master magician who helps expose a swindler, played by Emma Stone.

Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers called the film "The summer’s most beguiling romantic comedy. Colin Firth and Emma Stone make a magnetic pair of opposites. Emma Stone lights up the screen. Colin Firth is wonderfully appealing. The actors are a pleasure to be around." Additionally, The New York Observer’s Rex Reed considered it “A master stroke of enchantment from one of the few legitimate cinematic geniuses of the modern cinema.” The strong ensemble cast also includes Eileen Atkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney and Jacki Weaver.

Bonus materials for MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT include two all-new featurettes. “Behind the Magic” offers fans a peek inside the film’s production, while “On the Red Carpet: Los Angeles Film Premiere” features interviews with the film’s stars upon arrival at the Los Angeles premiere.

SYNOPSIS
Acclaimed magician Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth), has dazzled audiences across Europe with feats of supernatural amazement. But when it comes to explaining the inexplicable, Stanley is a dedicated skeptic. Enter Sophie Baker (Emma Stone), psychic, soothsayer, and stunning seductress. As Stanley and Sophie embark on misadventures up and down the French Riviera, will they discover proof of a world beyond the laws of physics or have they fallen under the sway of a more earthly chemistry? Woody Allen pulls the strings with masterful precision in this enchanting romantic comedy that explores the realm between what is understood in our minds and what is known in our hearts.

Blu-ray & DVD Special Features Include:           

·       Behind the Magic

·       On the Red Carpet: Los Angeles Film Premiere

MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT has a runtime of approximately 98 minutes and is rated PG-13 for brief suggestive comments and smoking throughout.

Visit Sony Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

“Academy Award^®” is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company.  Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go tohttp://www.sonypictures.com.

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BeautifulCreatures finally makes it’s way to DVD, and of course I have to pick it up. Am I a glutton for punishment? Not entirely. While I may have kinda ripped on the movie in my review, I did kinda like it. At the heart of the movie , is the story that I loved by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. But while the opening pretty much hit every button, it quickly goes downhill from there.

The just of the story remains true for both, Ethan Wate longs to escape his small Southern town of Gatlin. Mysterious new girl Lena arrives and the two are drawn together by turbulent elements, as they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town. But so much of their story is glossed over, that it leaves behind a unsatisfying one that feels a bit flat.

They only touch on the abuse Lena receives at the hands of her classmates for being Macon Ravenwood’s niece. Not to mention Ethan’s total abandonment by his basketball team. Both factors that helped reinforce their bond. Instead it plays out as a couple of random acts of meaness by the school’s queen bee and her lackey. Sure Lena is almost suspended from school after the shattering of a window, but really the girls are easy enough to ignore. They aren’t the same girls who form the Guardian Angels, or the ones who orchestrate a Carrie-esque soap dousing that ruins Lena’s first dance.

And those aren’t the only parts changed. Certain elements are altogether missing from the movie: the shadowing song, Lena’s family powers, Ethan’s mom, Marian. I could go on and on, but there’s really no point in it. Although some changes, like the color of Savannah Snow’s hair, didn’t impact the story, one most glaring spot involved the Curse. The curse was front and center, in both, but the movie omitted what would happen if Lena chose light or dark, as if being dark was the worse thing possible.

So what if Lena turns dark and all the casters after her are dark? Macon is dark, proving that you didn’t have to be a homicidal maniac if you were dark. You could chose to be good. And what about Aunt Del and Gramma? As women in the family they should be dark, and they seemed fairly normal. Oh right, that was a fact that wasn’t mentioned, they’re actually light, many family members are. But I’m getting ahead of myself. In the books Lena’s choice killed the entire other side of the family. Huh. That would make one think twice about choosing, and open up a whole other can of worms for the next movie.

It was the lack of foresight that had Macon sacrificing himself and Amma as the librarian, and Sarafine amounting to being barely a blip on the threat meter. Where were her fires, her knife. She comes off as whiny and childish, and that’s unfortunate. Beautiful Creatures had great potential, and a phenomenal cast, but not even they can save this sinking ship.

If you haven’t read the books, you’ll enjoy the movie. The actors did what they could with the script, and the special effects are really well done. See the movie long before you read the book, and you’ll have a more enjoyable experience. Beautiful Creatures came to DVD  May 21, 2013.

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Beautiful Creatures finally hits the big screen, and although its packed with a great cast, the movie fails to fully impress. It fails to live up to the book its based upon, but movies rarely manage to catch all of the feeling and magic that the book captured. On it's own it's not all bad.

Ethan Wate longs to escape his small Southern town of Gatlin. The first day of his Junior year, his entire world changes when mysterious new girl Lena appears. The two are drawn together by turbulent elements, and soon become inseparable as they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

New comers Alice Englert (Lena) and Alden Ehrenreich (Ethan) are endearing as the star-crossed lovers Lena and Ethan. Jeremy Irons plays Lena’s odd Uncle Macon, who’s hiding way more than what’s reveals, which is a shame since he’s not only a favorite book character but Irons is still a scene stealer, and I'll be honest, I needed more Macon. The man just knows how to command attention. Dropping breadcrumbs of Macon's and Ethan's mom knowing eachother is just a mean tease.

And the lack of character development doesn't stop there. Viola Davis is completely under utilized as Amma, Ethan’s Voodoo/Librarian Aunt. Emma Thompson is laughable as Link’s Mom and big bad host for Sarafine (Lena's mom). One of the biggest character tragedy is Emmy Rossum’s Ridley. She’s a caricature, whose cowardness bleeds all sympathy from her character. Sure Lena’s Siren cousin is suppose to be bad, but she should always sit on the brink of redemption. Ridley is a great and fun character, but she’s just badly written here.

What does work beyond Lena and Ethan's pairing is the special effects. Lena’s natural powers cause plenty of havoc, along with a caster battle that really isn’t warranted but is fun, and it does give the special effects guys plenty to do, and do well. The costuming department was pretty top notch as well. I'm not sure how historically accurate the period pieces were, but Genevieve looked amazing.

Overall, Beautiful Creatures wasn’t the movie that book fans deserved. It was fun, and sure I enjoyed it, but the threat felt forced, and well, not all that threatening. I'm not sure if Sarafine's power was to be a whiny manipulative brat, or what, but she herself was certainly no big bad wolf. Lena and Ethan’s love story, while well acted, feels like more of the recycled YA garbage that is out there, rather than the special bond that it is. I’m not expecting a sequel, and in this incarnation I’m not sad about that.

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