Monday, April 1, 2013

The Host

I will admit, the only reason I read The Host is because Stephenie Meyer wrote the book. The book was a little slow getting started but I really enjoyed the characters. Most of the book has an internal struggle between Melanie and Wanderer. I didn't know how the book would transfer to film. I must say that I was very impressed. I think I might even have liked the movie more than the book!

The Host takes place in the not so distant future. An alien race comes to earth with the goal of taking over the bodies of the people and creating peace and order. A girl named Melanie is part of a small group of human runners trying to stay safe. Melanie is played by Saoirse Ronan and she does a great job playing a duel role. Melanie is running with her brother Jamie, played by Chandler Canterbury and her boyfriend Jared, played by Max Irons. One night Melanie is caught by a Seeker played by Diane Kruger. Melanie jumps out of a window instead of being taken. She survives and the aliens put Wanderer inside Melanie's body. Melanie is still fighting from within. The director did a great job of having Melanie's voice over be in a different accent than Wanderer's.

Melanie talks Wanderer into going into the desert to find Jamie and Jared. Melanie believes that they are hiding with her Uncle Jeb somewhere. Uncle Jeb, played by William Hurt finds Wanderer and decides to take her with him. Jared and Jamie are there and do not believe that Melanie is still alive. Then we meet my favorite character, the charming and lovely Ian, played by Jake Abel. Ian is conflicted because he hates the aliens but Wanda, as they start to call her, is not like the others. I should stop there because I could ruin the whole movie for you.

This movie has a little bit for everyone, it has action, science fiction, and romance. One thing I will warn  you is it is 2 hours and 5 minutes long. There is a small moment in the middle where the movie gets a little slow but give it a minute because it picks up again. The same thing happened in the book too.

Saoirse is fantastic as always, this girl is an amazing actress. She is able to play two people in one body and it makes total sense. She bring a purity and grace to Wanda and a ruthless never ending need to survive in Melanie. Max Irons does a smashing job of playing the sexy yet conflicted man. Most of the movie he is angry and confused about Wanda. Max does a great job of making you hate him one minute and then feel sympathy for him the next. William Hurt is the perfect Uncle Jeb, he brings this sense of compassion and open minded spirit to the group. He is willing to take a chance on Wanda and has faith that something good can come out of all the chaos. My favorite character is by far Ian and Jake Abel is fantastic. Ian is a character that learns to love a person by who they are and there actions. He is willing to keep an open mind and allows himself to feel for an alien that everyone else sees as a murderer. It also helps that Jake is very easy on the eyes. He is more than that, he is full of compassion, love, and pain. Jake is going to have an amazing career ahead of him.

Over all I loved this movie a bunch, I really want to see it again. I know it will for sure be apart of my vast DVD collection. If you feel like Science Fiction and a splash of romance, this is a great movie for you. Make sure you enjoy every minute of Ian on screen because he is MY FAVORITE!!

Over All B+