The Host

Hello again!  I'm going to begin with a review of a movie which came out a couple of years ago.  Although many people have probably either read the book or seen the film and know exactly what it's all about, I decided that as a first time viewer of the film and, not having yet read the book, to review it.  So, without further ado, the first film that I have chosen to review is....

Based on the book by Author Stephanie Meyer, who also wrote Twilight, comes a completely different concept from it's predecessor i.e. taking out the vampires and replacing it with Alien-infested humans with very bright eyes.  I thought the concept was good, as it's something that we have never seen before film wise and the actors carried the film pretty well, however I feel that like any film adapted from a book, the film will always lack some important parts which could be vital to the book.

Luckily, I have never read the book, which gives me a bit more lee way to be less sceptical about this film.  Sometimes, I felt like there were parts of the story which was missing while I was watching it.  More of that later, but for now, lets focus on the main character or should I say characters which are Melanie/Wanderer.  Both characters are played quite well by Saoirse Ronan.  The two characters are in themselves the opposite to one another.  While Wanderer (who is the soul that takes refuge inside Melanie's body) has only known to be truthful and trustworthy with her fellow souls, Melanie is a very strong character who, when being used as a host, doesn't back down like she should have done.  Together, they find the will to survive, and eventually find Melanie's Uncle Jeb and her boyfriend Jared played by William Hurt and Max Irons respectfully.  

As I expected, they took in Wanderer for what she is, however what I liked about how they did it, was at first they rejected her regardless of it being Melanie's body or not.  The only thing that I did find a little bit odd that for a 'teen movie' the kissing scenes were a little bit TOO heated.  In a way, I'm not really sure that that is the right message to teenage girls watching this movie should receive. And also for the fact that Melanie/Wanderer ends up kissing two guys in the space of 30 seconds.  I was watching it thinking to myself  "Yes, I know there's 'two of you', but please just choose one guy and be done with it!"  I just found that a little too weird for my liking.

Back to earlier, when I said that I felt that the story was missing.  There were elements of flashbacks which was a recurring feature throughout the film.  Yes, I know that Wanderer can delve into her hosts memories etc, but I think that some of the flashbacks should have been developed to be put into the film properly.  The reason being is that you only see Melanie and Jared meet and then the next flashback is a kissing scene.  What I would have liked to have seen is a scene or two where you actually see their relationship move from a friendship to a romance, rather than two mini scenes which don't really show you anything.  I understand that for the hosts purposes of giving the information to the seeker is why they did it that way, but that is only my opinion.

Overall, did I like the film?  I can actually say that regardless of the bad reviews on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, I did actually like the film.  I like how it's a new concept and not a reboot of a series (which in my opinion is just stupid)  I also like the actors who played the characters, especially Saoirse Ronan, who in playing two different characters and integrating that into scenes, did especially well.  I must admit, that I bought this DVD on a whim, but I don't regret doing it, because although there are some flaws with this movie, I would watch it again.

Well, that's my first review done. I hope you like it! 

Until tomorrow, 

Jodie x

 Disclosure: No one asked me to review this film.  All opinions were my own. 

Also, if you haven't yet seen the film, and would like to, I have posted the trailer for it below. I would recommend watching the trailer on the computer as it doesn't seem to work on mobile for some reason, but I just thought I'd give you a heads up :)