Beautiful Creatures

Based on the first in a series of popular boy-meets-witch books, Beautiful Creatures is perfect filler for teens left bereft by the end of the Twilight films. Alden Ehrenreich (Stoker) plays bored teenager Ethan, who falls for Lena (Alice Englert), the weird new kid in his Deep South home town. Turns out Lena's a "Caster", a kind of witch, and will come into full possession of her powers on her 16th birthday. But the youngsters' budding romance runs awry when feuding elders Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson start battling to determine whether Lena's powers will be turned towards good or evil. The two young leads are terrific. So, too, are the smartly written early scenes of small-town conservatism and awkward boy/girl smoochy stuff. The script is by the film's director, Richard LaGravenese, who also wrote The Bridges of Madison County and The Fisher King, so it should be good. In fact, it's almost a shame when Irons and Thompson pop up, and campness and Caster stuff kick in. However, though the film's second half doesn't quite cast the spell of the first, this remains decent teen entertainment.