"Blood and Chocolate" is a movie about werewolves that didn't do very well at the box office. It's clearly a low budget film with minimal special effects and no real big name stars. Although three of the main characters, Vivian, Aiden, and Gabriel, are played by actors with loads of big screen experience between them, none of them is really well known enough to draw in the kind of crowds that would have made it more of a success.
I wanted to see this movie for two reasons -- one, because it's about werewolves and two, because Olivier Martinez is in it. I've always been fascinated by movies about werewolves and vampires. They lead such dichotomous lives, and I find that interesting. My fascination with Olivier Martinez is obvious.
In "Blood and Chocolate," the werewolves or -- loup-garous as they call themselves -- are legendary creatures who "only hunt [men] to survive." In one scene -- designed to make the idea of having werewolves in the neighborhood more appealing -- Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), the leader of the pack and the only one who seems to be rich, has a conversation with a drug dealer who is later brought before the pack. You can guess what happens next. But this movie is about a young girl named Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) whom Gabriel has chosen to take for his own. According to "Gabriel's Law," it is customary for him to take a new wife every seven years. The trouble is, Vivian has her heart set on Aiden (Hugh Dancy), a young graphic novelist with a troubled past.
As in all movies of this type, there's a rebel in the pack. His name is Rafe (Bryan Dick). Rafe has a mini-pack that he travels with, terrorizing young female tourists or following Vivian around and, generally, making her life unpleasant. Rafe, Gabriel's son and heir apparent, scorns the laws of the pack, especially the one regarding the hunting of humans.
The tension between Rafe and Vivian, stems from Vivian's reluctance to embrace being a loup-garous. Furthermore, she has absolutely no interest in being Gabriel's latest seven-year-itch remedy. Perhaps that's why he chose seven years instead of ten or twenty. This very question is put to him by one of his former wives, Astrid (Katja Riemann), who he still visits for the occasional booty-call. Gabriel has the audacity to tell her, "we all grow old, and we need to learn how to do it gracefully." This from a forty-year-old man-wolf, who looks like a forty-year-old man-wolf, who is pursuing a nineteen-year-old girl who detests the idea of being his next "bride."
To make matters worse, Aiden manages to end up in the same predicament as the drug dealer. It's up to Vivian to save him ... if she can.
There are no surprises in this movie. The title "Blood and Chocolate" comes from something Astrid says to Vivian before a hunt. The only special effects are when the werewolves' eyes change color and when they transform from human to wolf. Don't expect to see the kind of transformations offered by such films as "American Werewolf in London" or "Underworld." The humans instantly become wolves as they leap into the air. All they have to do is think about becoming a wolf and it happens.
I've seen worse movies -- "Fair Game," "Most Wanted" -- that did better at the box office because of who starred in them. That's a shame because it wasn't a bad movie. It was pat and formulaic, but entertaining nonetheless. The Romanian location where the film was shot has some of the most beautiful architecture known to man. Another thing I liked was the use of free running -- a derivative of parkour -- as Rafe et al's method of getting around town. Vivian uses it, too. In one scene, she uses it quite effectively to elude Aiden.
"Blood and Chocolate" is not a must-see movie. It's rated PG-13 for violence/terror, some sexuality and substance abuse. There was refreshingly little swearing and no real gore. I give it a rating of *** because it's a nice, undemanding story with some good cinematography and halfway decent acting.
I wanted to see this movie for two reasons -- one, because it's about werewolves and two, because Olivier Martinez is in it. I've always been fascinated by movies about werewolves and vampires. They lead such dichotomous lives, and I find that interesting. My fascination with Olivier Martinez is obvious.
In "Blood and Chocolate," the werewolves or -- loup-garous as they call themselves -- are legendary creatures who "only hunt [men] to survive." In one scene -- designed to make the idea of having werewolves in the neighborhood more appealing -- Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), the leader of the pack and the only one who seems to be rich, has a conversation with a drug dealer who is later brought before the pack. You can guess what happens next. But this movie is about a young girl named Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) whom Gabriel has chosen to take for his own. According to "Gabriel's Law," it is customary for him to take a new wife every seven years. The trouble is, Vivian has her heart set on Aiden (Hugh Dancy), a young graphic novelist with a troubled past.
As in all movies of this type, there's a rebel in the pack. His name is Rafe (Bryan Dick). Rafe has a mini-pack that he travels with, terrorizing young female tourists or following Vivian around and, generally, making her life unpleasant. Rafe, Gabriel's son and heir apparent, scorns the laws of the pack, especially the one regarding the hunting of humans.
The tension between Rafe and Vivian, stems from Vivian's reluctance to embrace being a loup-garous. Furthermore, she has absolutely no interest in being Gabriel's latest seven-year-itch remedy. Perhaps that's why he chose seven years instead of ten or twenty. This very question is put to him by one of his former wives, Astrid (Katja Riemann), who he still visits for the occasional booty-call. Gabriel has the audacity to tell her, "we all grow old, and we need to learn how to do it gracefully." This from a forty-year-old man-wolf, who looks like a forty-year-old man-wolf, who is pursuing a nineteen-year-old girl who detests the idea of being his next "bride."
To make matters worse, Aiden manages to end up in the same predicament as the drug dealer. It's up to Vivian to save him ... if she can.
There are no surprises in this movie. The title "Blood and Chocolate" comes from something Astrid says to Vivian before a hunt. The only special effects are when the werewolves' eyes change color and when they transform from human to wolf. Don't expect to see the kind of transformations offered by such films as "American Werewolf in London" or "Underworld." The humans instantly become wolves as they leap into the air. All they have to do is think about becoming a wolf and it happens.
I've seen worse movies -- "Fair Game," "Most Wanted" -- that did better at the box office because of who starred in them. That's a shame because it wasn't a bad movie. It was pat and formulaic, but entertaining nonetheless. The Romanian location where the film was shot has some of the most beautiful architecture known to man. Another thing I liked was the use of free running -- a derivative of parkour -- as Rafe et al's method of getting around town. Vivian uses it, too. In one scene, she uses it quite effectively to elude Aiden.
"Blood and Chocolate" is not a must-see movie. It's rated PG-13 for violence/terror, some sexuality and substance abuse. There was refreshingly little swearing and no real gore. I give it a rating of *** because it's a nice, undemanding story with some good cinematography and halfway decent acting.
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