Sarah “Belle” Hales

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For this book, I was intrigued when I saw that this novel is based on an actual murder that did take place. I hoped onto Google and did my homework when it came to the actual event. It certainly is a mystery, because to this day, it isn't quite known why this couple is murdered. I was interested in the story, and the fact that this was a fictional take on an event that happened. What I did not completely enjoy was the multiple short chapters that focused on the same thing. For example, during the trial section of the book three chapters, (that are all 2-3 pages in length) are given to the POV character's testimony. These three chapters could have been combined into a slightly longer chapter and still conveyed the same amount of information. All in all, the premise and action is interesting, but the format and character development need a bit of work.

I have seen this movie a couple of times and have to be honest and say that I don't like it. 1. The songs: While in the original, I found I could/can sing-a-long and enjoy the music, with the remake I find it isn't the same. In the remake the fact that Autotune is relied upon so heavily is not good. The cast, some of which can sing, are drowned in layers of autotune to the point where I can't tell if the actor actually has any sing ability at all. 2. The acting: While it's not all the time the truth, there are times where a good actor can give a bad performance. This movie is good example. I normally think Emma Watson is a pretty decent actress, but in this she seems flat, and has no expressions. Dan Stevens, who is pretty decent himself is terrible here. However, his might be because he was forced to act in a ridiculous mocap suit, and any facial expression he might have made are covered up by a CG monstrosity. The side characters are way more interesting than the main characters. I found that I was more drawn to seeing the Wardrobe, Credensia, and others on screen than I was to caring about Belle and Beast. 3. Random changes to the plot: While I am normally fine with expanding a story and plot elements in an adaption of a story, the changes made in this movie make no sense. First, the town: In the original animated film, the town had no connection to the castle, and the viewer assumes that the village came long after the curse. In this version, some of the characters from the castle have connections to people in the village. The witch who created the curse lives in the town for some reason, and has simply made the towns people forget they ever had family and friends in the castle. I'm not sure why this complicated plan was necessary as it doesn't make any sense. Second, the monarchy: The witch in this version seems to have somehow completely taken out the French monarchy for what seems like decades. With this point so focused on, how did the country of France function without a monarch? Third, the castle characters tell Belle their plight:This was the part that annoyed me the most. For some reason there is a scene inserted into the film where the object characters in the castle tell Belle all about the curse, and that if the Beast doesn't find someone to love him, that they and the castle will all die. Why was this inserted?! Including this scene/explanation it seems, at least story wise, that the objects have somehow put into Belle's head that she has to fall in love, or they'll all die. Yikes.