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Beautiful Creatures
Universal // R // October 2, 2001
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
An odd mixture of more recent crime dramas and "Thelma and Louise", "Beautiful Creatures" is a predictable and occasionally disturbing picture that fails on several levels. The film stars stars Susan Lynch as Dorothy and Rachel Weisz (who looks extremely different than she does in "The Mummy Returns") as Petula. One night, Dorothy comes across Petula being beaten and abused by her boyfriend, Brian (Tom Mannion). Dorothy comes to her aid by using the nearest available weapon, an iron pipe. Brian isn't dead right there, but next morning, he's no longer around.
The two girls don't think anyone would believe that they did it in self-defense and try to cover it up by coming up with a ransom scheme. The cops investigate the fact that Brian's missing and become further involved with the plot the two girls have come up with. Dorothy's drug-and-golf addicted boyfriend, Tony, also shows up to ruin things. You have to wonder why these two intelligent women are with these two awful men; the film never comes up with a reason. Thus sets in motion another dark crime comedy/thriller where the characters are not skilled at their task and find themselves in hot water, only this time, female characters are involved; even the female aspect was far better done in the Wachowski Brothers' "Bound".
The film's dark humour isn't at all successful; I found nothing remotely funny in the film. Director Bill Eagles doesn't have the same sort of sharp, clever comedic timing that director Guy Ritchie has infused in such crime comedies as "Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels" and even moreso in "Snatch". Ritchie really works well off the absurdity of the situations that he's able to build up, combined with the comedic timing of his often-skilled casts. The other difference is that Ritchie's films simply rip through. Visually electric and paced rapidly, Ritchie throws the audience into the scene. Eagle simply lets things play out indifferently, not really intensely staging any of the material, nor adding a great deal of energy in general.
The performances are decent, but unexceptional. Weisz was one of the best elements of "The Mummy Returns". She was confident, bold and well, beautiful. In "Creatures" she seems out-of-place, with a dyed-blond hairstyle that doesn't look too appealing on her. She's an otherwise terrific actress, able to be in the middle of a big-budget action spectacular or a dialogue-driven drama. I'll simply be looking forward to what she chooses next. Susan Lynch seems like an less interesting Andie McDowell as Dorothy. Neither are at their best, but Weisz certainly makes a better impression.
I found Weisz's performance respectable, but the rest of "Beautiful Creatures" wasn't too beautiful. An unpleasant picture that I found rather hard to sit through (even at slightly less than 90 minutes), it's really an unfortunate dissapointment.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Beautiful Creatures" is presented by Universal in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although much of the film looks respectably presented, there are some noticable problems throughout the movie. Sharpness and detail are fairly solid throughout the picture; only a few minor moments here and there seemed slightly on the soft side. Darker/dimly-lit sequences appeared fairly well-defined, as well.
Print flaws were the majority of the film's problems. Although a relatively new release, I saw quite a few instances of minor speckles and the occasional mark and scratch. None of these were really instances of major wear, but combined, they added up to being mildly irritating. The film also seemed occasionally grainy; there wasn't really a consistency about the grain - it sort of randomly appeared and gave the picture a rather rough look before dissapearing, only to pop up later on. A few slight traces of pixelation and edge enhancement were also visible.
Colors were generally subdued throughout the picture, looking natural, but otherwise unremarkable. Black level seemed solid and flesh tones looked natural, but a little pale. This is a decent transfer, but it suffers from some blemishes.
SOUND: "Beautiful Creatures" is offered by Universal in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. The film's audio experience is not a particularly ambitious one, but the addition of a DTS soundtrack is appreciated. The majority of the film's audio is rooted in the front speakers. Things open out slightly with the music, but the film usually then folds back into being dialogue-driven. The music is the only element that really uses the surrounds to any noticable level, as they occasionally provide light re-inforcement of the music. There were no concerns about audio quality, but there weren't any elements of the film's audio that were remarkable, either.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus that essentially use film-themed images and cover art.
EXTRAS:: The film's trailer (1.85:1/2.0) and production notes/bios.
Final Thoughts: A dark and unfunny attempt at a crime comedy/drama, "Beautiful Creatures" was unpleasant to watch and a definite dissapointment. Universal's DVD doesn't provide particularly strong image or sound quality, but viewers are given the choice between Dolby and DTS. Fans of Weisz may want to rent this as sort of a "double feature" with "Mummy Returns" (which comes out the same week), but others would be best advised to skip it.
An odd mixture of more recent crime dramas and "Thelma and Louise", "Beautiful Creatures" is a predictable and occasionally disturbing picture that fails on several levels. The film stars stars Susan Lynch as Dorothy and Rachel Weisz (who looks extremely different than she does in "The Mummy Returns") as Petula. One night, Dorothy comes across Petula being beaten and abused by her boyfriend, Brian (Tom Mannion). Dorothy comes to her aid by using the nearest available weapon, an iron pipe. Brian isn't dead right there, but next morning, he's no longer around.
The two girls don't think anyone would believe that they did it in self-defense and try to cover it up by coming up with a ransom scheme. The cops investigate the fact that Brian's missing and become further involved with the plot the two girls have come up with. Dorothy's drug-and-golf addicted boyfriend, Tony, also shows up to ruin things. You have to wonder why these two intelligent women are with these two awful men; the film never comes up with a reason. Thus sets in motion another dark crime comedy/thriller where the characters are not skilled at their task and find themselves in hot water, only this time, female characters are involved; even the female aspect was far better done in the Wachowski Brothers' "Bound".
The film's dark humour isn't at all successful; I found nothing remotely funny in the film. Director Bill Eagles doesn't have the same sort of sharp, clever comedic timing that director Guy Ritchie has infused in such crime comedies as "Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels" and even moreso in "Snatch". Ritchie really works well off the absurdity of the situations that he's able to build up, combined with the comedic timing of his often-skilled casts. The other difference is that Ritchie's films simply rip through. Visually electric and paced rapidly, Ritchie throws the audience into the scene. Eagle simply lets things play out indifferently, not really intensely staging any of the material, nor adding a great deal of energy in general.
The performances are decent, but unexceptional. Weisz was one of the best elements of "The Mummy Returns". She was confident, bold and well, beautiful. In "Creatures" she seems out-of-place, with a dyed-blond hairstyle that doesn't look too appealing on her. She's an otherwise terrific actress, able to be in the middle of a big-budget action spectacular or a dialogue-driven drama. I'll simply be looking forward to what she chooses next. Susan Lynch seems like an less interesting Andie McDowell as Dorothy. Neither are at their best, but Weisz certainly makes a better impression.
I found Weisz's performance respectable, but the rest of "Beautiful Creatures" wasn't too beautiful. An unpleasant picture that I found rather hard to sit through (even at slightly less than 90 minutes), it's really an unfortunate dissapointment.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Beautiful Creatures" is presented by Universal in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although much of the film looks respectably presented, there are some noticable problems throughout the movie. Sharpness and detail are fairly solid throughout the picture; only a few minor moments here and there seemed slightly on the soft side. Darker/dimly-lit sequences appeared fairly well-defined, as well.
Print flaws were the majority of the film's problems. Although a relatively new release, I saw quite a few instances of minor speckles and the occasional mark and scratch. None of these were really instances of major wear, but combined, they added up to being mildly irritating. The film also seemed occasionally grainy; there wasn't really a consistency about the grain - it sort of randomly appeared and gave the picture a rather rough look before dissapearing, only to pop up later on. A few slight traces of pixelation and edge enhancement were also visible.
Colors were generally subdued throughout the picture, looking natural, but otherwise unremarkable. Black level seemed solid and flesh tones looked natural, but a little pale. This is a decent transfer, but it suffers from some blemishes.
SOUND: "Beautiful Creatures" is offered by Universal in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. The film's audio experience is not a particularly ambitious one, but the addition of a DTS soundtrack is appreciated. The majority of the film's audio is rooted in the front speakers. Things open out slightly with the music, but the film usually then folds back into being dialogue-driven. The music is the only element that really uses the surrounds to any noticable level, as they occasionally provide light re-inforcement of the music. There were no concerns about audio quality, but there weren't any elements of the film's audio that were remarkable, either.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus that essentially use film-themed images and cover art.
EXTRAS:: The film's trailer (1.85:1/2.0) and production notes/bios.
Final Thoughts: A dark and unfunny attempt at a crime comedy/drama, "Beautiful Creatures" was unpleasant to watch and a definite dissapointment. Universal's DVD doesn't provide particularly strong image or sound quality, but viewers are given the choice between Dolby and DTS. Fans of Weisz may want to rent this as sort of a "double feature" with "Mummy Returns" (which comes out the same week), but others would be best advised to skip it.
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