Blood and Chocolate

Agnes Bruckner Oliver Martinez Hugh Dancy

2007
MGM

Did it want to be Underworld? Chocolat? A little of both perhaps?

Hmm - it was by the producers of Underworld, so they probably like that type of tale - the heroine works in a chocolate bakery, but those scenes are too rare to make any sort of real connection with the plot - which gets mired down in the montages of her falling in love with the handsome starving artist (graphic novel artist, that is!) while they go dancing through the fountains of Budapest.

Actually, it's not that bad a movie - a little slow in parts, but its actually not as graphic as we've come to expect, which is actually refreshing (come on, now people, tell the truth! Aren't you getting just a little tired of watching blood spray into your face from every single movie you see!)

(if you're not, then you're getting desensitized. Go get help.)

All in all, though, again I'm back to my old theory that the movie would have worked better as a novel, because in that venue we could be treated to more information about the history of the werewolf clan, and glean a better understanding as to how truly important it is for the survival of the loups that this girl marry the leader and not run off with some filty human boy. Maybe in a novel we could also be treated to luscious descriptions of the chocolate (a la MFK Fisher - and if you don't know her writings, boys and girls, go to your local library and look her up) - because as it is, this movie does leave you wanting more - not a sequal, mind you, but more story to think about, because it doesn't feel as though there's enough there.

And that's about the best I could put it.

VG