Vampire Academy, the Movie

Well, I can safely say that someone definitely read the Vampire Academy books before turning it in to a movie. So this past weekend, I dragged my roommate to the movies (under the pretense of a super fun girls' night) to see VA and it really filled all my expectations. Then again, my expectations weren't super high considering that nothing can come close to the perfection of the books.

What I liked: Well, it followed the book pretty well and included all the extremely important plot points. They also did a good job of explaining the world so that if you hadn't read the books, you kind of knew the difference between Moroi, dhampirs, and Strigoi. It was funny and it was cute. Rose's battle cries during surprise attacks against Dimitri were hysterical and just how I pictured them in my mind. The casting of Rose, Lissa, and Christian was perfect. I seriously can't see anyone else doing such a great job and my love for Christian just exploded in the best possible way.

What I didn't like: Let's continue on the casting decisions... Oh Dimitri. I had a couple of problems with Dimitri. He looked exponentially older than Rose, and I know the age difference is a thing and all, but it was a bit too extreme. Also, Rose and Dimitri didn't have that beautiful unspoken connection like they did in the books. This could have been a great opportunity for fans to see that love first-hand as it develops, but it fell flat and I didn't feel any real emotion between them. The movie itself was the ultimate cheese fest. It seemed like they made some of the jokes much cornier than they were supposed to be. It also moved really fast, with no time to process anything that happened. I totally get that, it's hard to smash that many pages full of non stop action into an hour and forty five minute movie. It just felt really rushed sometimes and that made me a bit sad.

Overall, it was enjoyable despite it's flaws. I still recommend it. After all, if you want to see more YA book/movie adaptations, you have to go see the YA movies that are out now. If you've read the book, you'll know what's going on, and if you haven't, you'll probably figure it out. Take it lightly and be ready to giggle, and just have fun watching Vampire Academy!

Next week, I'll be reviewing Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (synopsis from Good Reads).

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.


-Annie