Wait...what?

This is actually entertaining?

What a surprise! I carefully avoided this film when it came out because of the negative reviews. Today it popped up on TV and with nothing better to do I decided to watch it. And that's the type of film it is, an inbetweener. If you're looking for an entertaining diversion, this fits the bill perfectly.

Based on Darren Shan's book series (of which I've only read the first one), this film clearly betrays its youth literature roots. It is aimed at teenagers, has larger than life characters and wraps it in a 'horror light' aesthetic. It is perhaps a bit darker than similar films and that is what surprised me somewhat. The characters are…

Fantasy films can often come unstuck with who exactly they're aimed at. This film adaptation of Darren Shan's Vampire Blood series of books does suffer from that dilemma, but somehow it works. A film that for me felt like it was marketed at the under tens, this is surprisingly enjoyable even for an old man like me and I'd love to see a sequel regardless of the lukewarm response from critics and a disappointing box office return.
Darren Shan and his best friend Steve Leonard end up in hot water when they visit a travelling Freak Show. Darren is obsessed with spiders and Steve with vampires, unfortunately for them the show has both and one thing leads to another as…

Film # 21 of Scavenger Hunt 3!
Task # 14 A Film About/Featuring a Circus

letterboxd.com/bree1981/list/scavenger-hunt-3/

Too be honest I don't think I've given this film a fair shake, I really struggled to get into it and it took me 3 sittings to get through, this might be because I'm choked up with the man flu or it may be because the film just isn't very good but I'd be willing to give it another shot down the road when I'm feeling a bit clearer headed.
Chris Massoglia stars as Darren Shan, a fairly ordinary teenager, he goes to see a travelling freak show one night along with his reckless best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), here he meets vampire Crepsley…

I should have been able to tell by the title but as soon as Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant started, I knew it was an adaptation from a young adult novel, it just has that feel to it. It didn't take much talking into for me to watch it, all my husband said was "it has John C. Reilly" and I said "okay." (Needless to say Reilly was the best part of the movie.)

The movie was surprisingly watchable with one major issue, I couldn't stand the main character and I don't think it was the way he was written either, I think it's the actor Chris Massoglia. There is something incredibly artificial and smug about him that I…

I feel like giving this 2 stars is a bit too generous - but despite all the awfulness showcased within, there are a few redeeming factors? John C. Reilly is a decent Crepsley. Michael Cerveris is great as Mr. Tiny. The make-up and costumes are neat. I did chuckle maybe once or twice? There’s a huge ensemble cast, and everyone does the best they can.

The source material isn’t the best to begin with. I remember these books from when I was much younger, and they started off great but quickly dissolved into a frustrating, hot mess. I never went back. 

Attempting to combine 3 books into 1 movie is never a good idea. Darren is insufferable - and the…