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170 comments in total

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49 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
Mediocrity at its finest., 28 January 2007

Author: Phillip from Colorado

Well, it was neither the worst nor the best movie I've ever seen. It was a testament to movies that you should watch as a last resort when browsing your rental place. Parts of it truly bugged me, like the unparalleled clarity to the viewer of what any rational human being would do, but, if you're fairly consistent about ignoring rationality, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm told that this movie didn't follow the book (the friend who accompanied me rather vehemently pointed out differences). It's hard to really point out what was wrong with this movie: the acting wasn't terrible, the characters were fine (albeit a little weak), and the story was sound. However, it just leaves you unsatisfied at the end, and you find yourself chuckling at some of the effects. It was nothing special, but it's not the worst movie either.

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49 out of 81 people found the following comment useful :-
better than expected, 29 January 2007

Author: georgebush from Antarctica

we went into this film because everything else at the theater seemed boring. The name blood and chocolate almost made me miss it. I expected some Spanish arty film with that name. IMDb writers said enough to make the idea of seeing this film especially since most of the academy award nominees seem like freak show films.

The era of classic vampire and werewolf movies has been over for over 20 years. Since than, we have seen a few, but those films were parodies or desperately tried to be different. This film is more a throwback to the old werewolf films. It is set in Bucharest, so the scenery is terrific. Nothing is too graphic. Many old classic, Gothic buildings and rainy Romanian nights are shown. The special effects are good when people turn into wolves, we see real wolves. The wolves are not that scary unless they growl but the situations are tense at times. Silver is still the main protection against werewolves.

The idea that the wolves hunt in packs add a new tense dimension to wolf man movies.

The 3 lead actors are fine. The first ten minutes with dance club scenes seem as if this film may be a cheap sleazy type film but it quickly veers into a film with a story full of Eastern European atmosphere. The major complaint by viewers seems to be that it was not like the book. This was also the complaint for Eragon. For viewers who had not read the book, this would not be a problem. This is not a film that pushes tolerance or some morality issues. It is just a werewolf film and the werewolves are not entirely bad. The film obviously is not a major classic like the old Hammer American International films but it is worth a look! Is destiny or personal decisions the main point? Perhaps one says one thing but the evidence contradicts the statement.

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15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly Good, 11 July 2007

Author: sewiltz from United States

"Blood and Chocolate" is a surprisingly good movie. I was expecting it to be some terrible, low-budget horror-wannabe movie in the vain of "Dracula II: Ascension," "The Prophecy: Uprising," and "The Prophecy: Forsaken". Instead, "Blood and Chocolate" was a well-done film. This movie was nearly pitch-perfect. The acting, set design, score, cinematography and story were nothing short of wonderful.

Olivier Martinez gave an outstanding performance in what could have been a clichéd role. His portrayal of Gabriel was multi-dimensional and none of his screen-time was wasted. He brought all of the elements together as leader, father, and lover (even though there are no sex scenes, he is constantly smoldering with an animal rapacity). He gave a credible performance, especially in light of Gabriel's fate. (I also enjoyed his commentary on the DVD. He is a very thoughtful and funny person.) Agnes Bruckner's portrayal of Vivian was well done. Her acting was not robotic. Vivian's nature is pent-up and bland; she has no outlet for her inner turmoil other than running, and according to the rules of the pack, she must not form close relationships with humans. It is important to remember that this character is not the same as Selene from "The Underworld" series who seethes with vengeful ferocity even while she's strapping up her bustier. Hugh Dancy was adorable and believable; which is always a difficult feat in the role of romantic interest. Also, in the character of Aiden, the filmmakers were able to acknowledge their respect of the loup garoux storyline; they were practically screaming, "This is not some cheesy werewolf story!" Katje Riemann and Bryan Dick also gave nuanced performances as Astrid and Rafe. (The movie suffered from trimming Astrid's storyline. I strongly recommend watching the deleted scenes on the DVD. I think the fate of Astrid's storyline was the result of studio executives wanting to focus on the two younger characters more, but ultimately that decision hurt the overall movie.)

The soundtrack was nothing short of amazing! In my opinion, it suited this movie perfectly. The percussion was not overdone, nor were the synthesizers. Each drumbeat not only heightened the excitement, but also helped to intertwine the dual nature of the loup garoux (human and wolf). I felt it as if it were the quickening pulse of the loup garoux giving in to their wolf nature. I think the decision to stay away from gypsy music (which I love) was a good one. The synthesized music was good and helped to the ground the story in youth and freshness, rather than some overwrought Romanian folklore manner.

On the dual nature of the loup garoux, the transition from human to wolf was beautiful. I loved the notion of the "leap of faith" involved in the transformation and the mythical element of that transformation. Also, the coloring of the loup garoux eyes were spot on. The respect of the transformation from human to wolf translated to the great execution of this premise. The entire story could have been a cliché since the story is mostly "Romeo and Juliet" for the loup garoux set, but it was well-done and well worth watching.

"Blood and Chocolate" had a few missteps. Nothing in the movie makes this title appropriate, other than a short, barely-audible line by Astrid. Not until visiting this web site was I aware that the movie was an adaptation of a book. Whatever occurred in the novel to make "Blood and Chocolate" a suitable title was omitted from the screenplay and the movie suffered for it. As I have stated, Astrid's storyline should have remained intact in the film. My final criticism is that the story is so well-done, I would have liked to have seen an R-rated version of the movie. Meaning, I would love to have seen an even more serious treatment of this story. My understanding is that the novel is geared toward pre-teens which explains the light treatment of the storyline.

I highly recommend "Blood and Chocolate" to anyone looking for an interesting and well-crafted film.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
S10 Review's Blood and Chocolate (2007), 26 November 2007

Author: suspiria10 from The Void

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Blood and Chocolate (2007) ® D: Katja Von Garnier 3 of 5

'Blood and Chocolate' is an adaptation of a young adult's book that dusts off the old forbidden love story line and gives it a fine lair of fur.

Vivian (the cute Agnes Bruckner) is a young woman who loves to run and be free. But her simple life has hides a secret, one that will come into play later. Aiden (Hugh Dancy) is a graphic novel artist roaming Romania searching for art inspiration. Their paths cross in an old church and Aiden immediately becomes smitten with her. After finally getting in the proverbial front door, Aiden soon realizes that Vivian comes from an ancient line of loup-garoux. Secretly through the years the werewolves have ruled Romania after being run out of many other countries. Vivian was promised to the leader of the pack Gabriel (Olivier Martinez) something which she doesn't desire of course. In time Vivian falls for Aiden but the clash of their two worlds and Gabriel's refusal to let her go leads to the final confrontation that just may extinguish the loup-garoux forever.

I can't compare the book and the film but I imagine that things were changed and redone. That's the nature of the beast so to speak. 'Blood and Chocolate' isn't a bad film per se. it just seems to cover the same ground that dozens of other films have tread. Think Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' but with fangs and fur and you have a broad but accurate idea. Two young people involved in forbidden loves while their families, cultures or fate attempt to tear them apart. Been there and done that. Using Romania as the backdrop certainly makes the film more visually pleasing but not enough to move the needle too much higher. The direction is solid but derivative. The acting is adequate. The two leads do a good job as the cursed lovers. The music (a big film component for me) was ultimately transparent and unremarkable. I liked the more magical approach to the transformations (even though it doesn't translate as well as it could) but the script in the end is the big crutch that the film relies on and fails.

In short 'Blood and Chocolate' is a decently acted film that is hindered by its clichéd script and adequate but bland direction.

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52 out of 97 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't immediately dismiss this movie. It is surprisingly well done., 26 January 2007

Author: dog_luver12

I have to admit, I didn't walk into the theater with high hopes. All the talk about it not being close to the book creep-ed me out and I braced myself for disappointment. But it didn't come. The movie did have some down points that could have been avoided, but that wasn't enough to make it bad.

Hugh Dancy's acting was great, and he was unbelievably cute in the movie. Agnes Bruckner was not much to watch. She didn't really bring anything special to the screen, and her acting was very robotic. The rest of the cast was awesome.

I think the best part about the movie was the Cinematography. I really enjoyed the effects and the camera movements were highly skilled and a joy to watch.

Now the bad part. For all the people out there that have read the book(which includes me) and liked it, you could be in for a wild ride. They made drastic changes to major parts of the book, one would be the removment of Vivians Mother, Esme, which through the movie off balance for a bit. It does, however, pick up the pieces and comes off with a very interesting story instead.

One other thing I didn't fancy about the movie was Rafe and the Five. The fact that they ended up to be Vivians cousins, or at least Rafe, which takes away another good story found in the book. Gabriel certainly isn't like his character in the book and that really saddened me. Out of all the characters, he was very one dimensional.

Now, the movie is nothing like the book except for a few major details and the producers added there own twist to them. If you ask me, lots of the changes were un-called for, but you just have to look past them. If you put the book out of your mind when you go to see it and try not to compare (which ended up to be very easy since the movie is so different you can't even tell it was based on the book) then I think you will enjoy this. You have to to try to like it for what it is and not hate it for what it should be. Oh, and don't bring you little kitties to this. There are a few gore scenes(not to explicit but enough) and some mature content. I wouldn't have categorized it as horror, but it does have a certain atmosphere that gives you the chills. I highly recommend this movie for it is the best werewolf movie you will probably ever run into. I rate it 9/10, and that is only because it is not enough like the book that is should be.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Old school werewolf, 3 September 2007

Author: flingebunt from Harbin, China

The Matrix has a lot to answer for. Post Matrix every vampire or werewolf movie (Van Helseign, Underworld, Blade) seems to involve copious amounts of special effects, Martial arts and the main character decisions being whether they kill the bad guy with a gun, sword, falling building, poison that makes people explode, or giant stake improvised from the radio antenna on top of the Empire State building.

Blood and Chocolate follows the traditions oh movies from the 1980s (The hunger, Wolf, Cat people and even The Lost Boys).

Characters are not fighting over whether to enslave the human race (if vampires planned to enslave the human race, wouldn't it be easier to let everyone know, and 1.3 Billion people versus a few thousand vampires or werewolves will be a very short battle indeed).

Blood and Chocolate tells the story of a teenage werewolf who wants to escape what she is being told she should be and a young American writer/artist who has already escaped from his domineering ex-ranger father).

In this story, werewolves are blessed, not cursed, they are the best of man and the best of beast. Though perhaps that is what they should be, and some of them are the worst of both.

This is a human story at the human level. Some of the characters merely tend to turn into wolves. The movie is more about mood and excitement and action. The action is realistic, not modern son of Honk-Kong martial arts over the top stuff. I loved it, even though I also love the modern effects driven movies. In fact the special effects are so bad, it is likely that was a conscious choice (I think the transformation is a homage to Cat People).

If you like this movie, check out the old stuff from the 80s.

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11 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Not entirely true to the book, but still an engrossing experience, 15 February 2008

Author: ema8705 from United Kingdom

I Read the book for this a long time ago, it was given to me by a friend and while it is not the sort of book I would usually buy while browsing for a new read I was enthralled by it and read it in one sitting (its not that big anyway) and then again the next day.

Knowing this I watched this movie with some trepidation, I was expecting the usual rip off (ala Lord of the Rings, Narnia etc.) with too much special effects and most of the story missing including some of the most important/memorable parts.

Now while there is a fair bit of the book missing here and a few changes, I was very pleasantly surprised, This film does manage to portray the storyline very well, the acting is believable and the characters look right. they also hit the nail on the head with the wolf side, These are not giant monsters who could tear a man apart with one hand they are wolves, pure honest to god wolves. It makes such a refreshing change to see a werewolf film these days that does not rely on special effects and all out action, One that tells a story and tells it well.

I finished watching this movie with a sense of satisfaction that the job had been done properly, this is the highest praise I can give those involved in this film. it will be added to my collection asap and watched many times.

I cannot say whether I prefer the movie or the book as I feel that both stand on a par, the book fills out the world and the movie brings it to life. So if you've only read the book OR seen the movie, then do the other as they stand better together

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Hmm, 12 April 2008

Author: Vladimir Zhupicov from Norway

The movie was great, and not like those other kind of werewolves movie where the creatures looks like masculine gorillas. But this showed another nature of werewolves, as well how wolves behave. And just using real wolves gives this movie a plus.

The acting wasn't bad at all, and i was glad this wasn't a typical werewolf movie where the main female (Vivian) is just some pro-ana matrix woman who kills everyone in matrix style, and can carry big guns, just like in the Underworld movies. I was also glad to see Aiden wasn't some superhero who suddenly become a strong guy and kills everyone in some awesome way. Thru out the movie he showed he was weak, but had courage.

The romance was cute, and it showed how the relationship was developed between Vivian and Aiden. It wasn't like "I hate you because you're human" then suddenly the both persons screws each other and suddenly loves each other which makes it epic.

It also showed the werewolves just wanted to survive, and could be friendly than just the kind who hates everyone and want to take over the world.

Although if you're a typical sci-fi Gothic nerd who just want a movie with sexy slim tomboy girls, large gorilla looking wolves and feminine vampires which hates each other and fights just like how they fight in the matrix movies. Then this movie ain't for you. I then point at the Underworld movies.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Torn Between Infuriated & Content, 5 February 2007

Author: nature_girlie2007 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

First of all, Blood and Chocolate is one of my all-time favorite books. Therefore, when I saw that they were making a movie based on the novel, my first thoughts were "Finally! I get to see how the author saw it in her head!"

Sadly, this was completely untrue. It seemed that "based on the novel" means, we took the very very VERY basic storyline and added our own twists and revisions in Hollywood lingo. First of all, in the book, they were still in high school...it's how they met. And Astrid was so not Vivian's aunt! Aidan was a hippie-wannabe kind of, Rafe was NOT her cousin (Ulf was Astrid's son), and Gabriel was only 24 (and he'd never been married before!!). Also, Vivian's father was the only family member she lost in the book, not her mother too. I don't know, it seemed that the movie strayed so far from the book that it lost the meaning of Blood and Chocolate all together.

But if you step back and forget the book, it was a pretty decent adaptation of the werewolf myths and legends...

So, my final words of wisdom: *If you haven't read the book, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. *If you have read the book, don't spend the entire movie comparing the two or anticipating things to happen like I did. Just sit back and watch the movie as just that: A movie.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Outstanding Werewolf Romance - Beautifully Directed Worth a Look, 19 November 2008

Author: czarnobog from United States

Let me preface by stating that I grade my movies against their genre peers, not across the board. Ten stars for a Fellini film and 10 for BLOOD & CHOCOLATE translate into two different animals. For a modestly budgeted, PG-13 supernatural thriller, B&C ranks high in its class.

That is not to diminish the directorial skills of Katja von Garnier, who also directed the quirkily charming, award-winning BANDITS. Thanks to her very capable hand, BLOOD & CHOCOLATE joins the ranks of recent memorable movies (THE HOWLING, WOLFEN, GINGER SNAPS, American WEREWOLF, CURSED) in a generally anemic sub-genre.

BLOOD & CHOCOLATE is less of a horror film (splatter addicts will hate its lack of gore and nudity) than it is a supernatural romance, lush with gorgeously photographed Medieval locations, a sensual soundtrack, and beautiful actors in every role.

The international cast is led by rising American starlet Agnes Bruckner, perfectly cast as the Juliet to Hugh Dancy's star-crossed Romeo, caught in a deadly interspecies tryst. Olivier Martinez and Brian Dick are superb as "homo lupine" royalty.

Subtle attention to costuming enhances the characterizations. In his black leather jacket and tousled hair, Martinez's dominant scent practically wafts off the screen. Dick plays his son and heir apparent, a snidely confident Brit preppie leading a pack of hormonally driven young followers.

Katja Riemann is the lean, sexy MILF of the pack, which is made up of dozens of hot young Romanian actors who perform their minor roles with vigor. It's nice when even the background players take their roles seriously and contribute greatly to the atmosphere, and too rare.

The one area I could quibble with is the special visual EFX, but I won't because the single faulty effect is very minor, the kind that turns up frequently, even in big Hollywood blockbusters. Garnier makes effective use of action and stunts coupled with some great animal casting. The animals, by the way, are excellent actors as well.

Blessedly, she forgoes the slash-and-burn digital editing effects so popular among lesser directors who rely on it to disguise their lackluster direction. She actually knows how to drive an action sequence without digitally blurred swishpans and chopshots that break the narrative flow to remind you how clever the filmmaker is. Instead she frames her shots masterfully, gets plenty of coverage, and uses traditional cross-cutting to add dynamism and suspense.

The cinematography and production design are topnotch, taking full advantage of the architectural treasures of Romania, from palatial mansions to grungy industrial cellars. The soundtrack is excellent, the music hip but not obtrusive. The sound efx are rich and clean.

The screenplay is by Ehren Kruger (THE RING, BROTHERS GRIMM, SKELETON KEY) and Christopher Landon (DISTURBIA, and son of Michael!). Their screenplay is pretty straightforward, ticking along like clockwork. It's based on a novel by Annette Curtis Klause, who's written some interesting, off-the-wall novels. Not having read her book BLOOD & CHOCOLATE, I can't comment on any possible differences, but the screenplay is well-crafted and the characters nicely drawn.

Based on a book by a woman and directed by one, this is a great movie for couples or family viewing, with a good story told well, plenty to like, and nothing too exploitive or controversial. Its sexiness is very low-key but I suspect it would be a good tool for seduction. When the werewolf king flashes his wolf eyes, I'm sure hearts will melt and knickers will get misty.

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