Review: Red Riding Hood

Synopsis: Young Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) feels torn between two men. She loves Peter, but her parents intend that she marry wealthy Henry. Valerie and Peter plan to run away together, but before they can put the plan into action, her sister is killed by a werewolf. The villagers call in Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), a famous monster hunter, to help, but when Solomon warns that the beast takes human form by day, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf is someone she loves. Source

Plot: Other than the Harry Potter movies, this is one of the few movies I've watched where I had not read the book. I was kind of upset at the book because it purposely didn't want to give the ending until the movie came out. I'm glad I saw just the movie though. Apparently, from my friends, the beginning was nothing like how the book was and some things were different. I was confused on some parts, like why everything had those little spikes on them. The movie was interesting though, you learned that someone in the village was the werewolf and much more. I was very impressed with Hardwicke with her use of the scenery and the actors were absolutely stunning. I was kind of disappointed in the climax and the ending. It was like an hour and half was spent with the villagers wondering who was the wolf and then at the end it's revealed who the wolf is and that's basically it. I wanted more action and more twists in the plot line.

Actors: Amanda Seyfried (Valerie)-I loved Amanda in here. She was just confused as I was on who was the werewolf because of one key trait and it seemed like EVERYONE around her had that same trait. She was on her defenses and still held her head up even when her village is against her. Amanda did a great job with Valerie and I'm glad she played the part.
Shiloh Fernandez (Peter)-Shiloh was great as his bad boy part. I loved him because he could be stern and scary, but at the same time, he was romantic and dreamy. However, he sometimes seemed like he was pissed off, even if he was looking at Valerie. I guess it's just his expression, but that's what scared me sometimes.

Poster: The poster is beautiful. I love how they made the poster stand out among the darkness. It also gives the movie a horrific tone to it.

Overall Rating: I give this movie a three out of four. It was good, but I wish that there was more action and less speculating. Hardwicke did a great job and the actors were great, so I would give this movie a try if you're considering going to see it.

Peace and Fangs,
Alisha