{A Kelly M Review} My Very Truthful and Spoilery Review of the City of Bones Movie

Movie: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Rated: 4/5

Viewed: Three times.

Okay so I am finally writing my review for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie. Let me tell you that for most of the movie I am actually really happy with what they produced. It was very well done. The special effects and the world creating really blew my mind. The acting really was superb in my opinion. I will give you guys my thoughts on most of the actors, so forgive me if it gets boring but as you all know, this is my favourite book series, so I like talking about everything pertaining it!

Let’s start with Clary. Lily literally embodied the character of Clary. She did such a spectacular job and really honed in on what Clary really is about, even to the last minuscule expression. I see people complaining about the hair colour and Lily’s eyebrows and I’m just here like, seriously? Get over it people, there is nothing wrong with her eyebrows. I LOVE that she embraces who and what she is and does not try to conform to what society expects her to look like. She is such a wonderful role model for younger girls and all of us should strive to accept ourselves like she has accepted herself. As for Clary’s hair colour, everybody has their own vision, personally, I liked this look better and it is what i normally imagined when reading, but that’s just me. Hair colour does not equate acting ability, remember that folks.

Jace Wayland. Can I just say, BY THE ANGEL (yes I am very geeky, but I think we all are). Jamie is Jace in every way possible. It was like he was born to play this role. The sarcasm, arrogance, everything just seemed so natural and the fact that he did all his stunts himself, that just screams Jace. So when I still see people saying that he is too ugly or he wasn’t Jace at all, it seriously leaves me dumbstruck. Yes Jamie isn’t your normal type of good looking but come on people, the dude is not ugly. He might not be your Jace but he is the one chosen to portray him. None of these actors are the characters I imagine in my head and they never will be, but as long as they do the essence of the characters justice, then I’m happy.

Simon. I loved Robbie’s portrayal of Simon, it really was done perfectly. His facial expressions when he was around Jace was simply golden, they cracked me up every single time. Oh and the scene where he tells Clary he loves her, almost brought me to tears, I was like, “AWWWWWWWW poor baby!!!!” He did the role of ‘confused mundane’ justice. I literally could not have asked for a better Simon. But am I the only one who would have been okay with the fact if Robbie just kept his accent and made Simon Irish, because sweet Lord does he have a yummy accent.

Alec. Okay so I am willing to admit that I was not on board with the whole Kevin Zegers as Alec thing. He just seemed too old and just didn’t scream Alec to me. Boy oh boy did I eat my words. I didn’t like Alec from the start and I still do not like him, I know shoot me, and Kevin just reinforced my dislike of the guy. He did Alec so perfectly, even though he didn’t say much. Now that to me is acting. If you can bring a character to life by only body language and facial expressions, then I shall bow down to your awesomeness. The one thing I did not like though was the fact that Alec didn’t try to hide himself from everyone because honestly he is so afraid of people noticing that he is gay, that he hides behind his clothes and his hair. He tries to make himself seem very ordinary. I did not get that.

Isabelle. We haven’t seen much of Jemima because she had been filming other movies during the promotion so I didn’t get a real feel for her but when she walked into Pandemonium I was entranced!  The confidence and the whole “using her beauty as a whip” really showed. She literally embodied bad ass femaleness. I was so wowed by her. PERFECTNESS PERSONIFIED!!!!

Magnus. Okay people might not like this but I was not wowed by Godfrey’s portrayal of Magnus. It lacked so much. He just seemed like a normal dude. There was no oomf, no pazazz, no flamboyance, no sass. There just was no Magnus. He wasn’t sarcastic at all. His acting was good but his understanding of Magnus as a whole just fell short. Magnus is one of my ultimate favourite characters of all time, so I was so disappointed. Oh and he should have kept his accent. It would’ve added to Magnus’s exotic ambience.

Valentine. THE HAIR, OH MY GOD THE HAIR!!!!!! Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a great actor and very very yummy looking but even though he seemed dangerous, it didn’t feel like Valentine to me. Firstly, Valentine’s hair colour is actually part of the plot of the movie because how are they going to do the Sebastian thing? I don’t get it, and what was up with the Jamican weave? Valentine is poised and stylish and calm and cool and collected. He isn’t like BOOM IN YOUR FACE crazy you know? His crazy is on the inside, not for the world to see. So I didn’t much care for his portrayal of Mr V.

Jocelyn and Luke I’ll do together since we didn’t really see that much of the. I thought they did the roles justice, although I didn’t feel a connection between them. Jocelyn was seriously fierce with the whole kitchen fighting scene, just wowza and I loved the part where Luke fights the demons in the in the institute. It showed his old shadowhunter abilities.

Hodge. He was done splendidly by Jared Harris. I really felt for him and the curse and he appeared as the Hodge I saw in my head. The way he observed Clary and the way he was with Valentine, he really showed that Hodge honestly is afraid of Valentine and that’s why he did what he did.

Pangborn and Blackwell. They were really funny but sometimes I felt they went a bit overboard you know? They didn’t seem menacing enough in my eyes.

Okay so now I will talk about what I didn’t like. Let me start with the soundtrack, though the actual score was Harry Potter quality in my opinion, the actual soundtrack was seriously horrible. It did not give the feel of this dark shadowhunter world. I’m sorry but I just do not imagine pop songs when I read the books. It has more of a rock, darker feel to it. They shouldn’t just create a soundtrack because it is mainstream and then more people will like it. It should capture the feel of the story and it just didn’t.

The script...yeah um Jessica Postigo really did a poor job with the script. None of the mythologies, except the existence of shadowhunters, were explained. She didn’t explain the Silent Brothers or the Downworlders, the Accords, the weapons, anything really. And honestly that would’ve maybe added like 20 minutes to the movies. It isn’t that much of a time issue to have a 2h30min movie. My biggest issue was the fact that Madame Dorethea didn’t turn into Abbadon, I mean honestly? That was such a major part of the book and it was awesome! That scene wasn’t nearly as dire as it was in the book and THEN SHE WALKED OUT INTO THE SUNLIGHT!!! WHAT THE HELL!! The other thing I didn't like, the institute was built around the portal...oh really? I thought Henry created the portal with Magnus. That was just so inaccurate. I didn’t appreciate that. And Clary has the cup in the end, not Valentine...um that is the plot of the whole first three books completely done away with. The last thing was the fact that Valentine almost killed Jace. Valentine is supposed to try and get Jace over to his side, not make it so that he hates him to the point of no return?

Please don't take my review as something bad or negative. I loved the movie, I really did. I just had a few issues, but those really were the only ones. The rest of the movie I really loved, and though, those issues are present it din't take away from me loving the movie.

Other than these few issues I really did love the movie and I am so grateful that it was made. Now,SS I just hope we get City of Ashes. If we do not, I will go into a serious state of depression.

{Movie Review} The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Wowza! I just got back from seeing "City of Bones" and I'm still thinking about that last scene. I want more. Now. Seriously.

First of all, for all you guys who read my blog (laughs hysterically), the movie is 90% action and 10% love story... if that much. Now girls, don't worry, you still get the greenhouse scene, but guess what, you're boyfriends will love the movie too, so get them up away from the X-box or whatever other video game they're playing and make them take you to the movies. (Hey, girls are taking a lot of flack for being interested in YA literature and their movie adaptations, isn't it fair that we generalize guys in the same way? NO? You're right, so girls, get your guys from whatever they may be doing... reading, watching TV, playing football, studying, or relaxing with their friends and get them to take you to the movies.)

Now, this isn't going to just simply be a review, because there's a ton of controversy flaring around this movie and I'm going to address them from an adults perspective and tell you, that if you even remotely believe the poppycock about "City of Bones" being comparable to "Twilight" you've neither read the books or done any fact checking whatsoever, and you probably shouldn't be critiquing something without any facts to back up your opinion, because at that point, it becomes exactly that... AN OPINION.

I think it's important to note, first and foremost, "City of Bones" is about way more than a girl falling for a boy. In fact, I'd say that's the least important factor in the movie.

Those of you who have read the book know that the true importance lies with what Clary's mom has been hiding from her, from others around her, and especially from Valentine. Clary's not spending her time fawning over any guy, she's much too busy trying to save her mom and understand her newly found abilities. She's kicking ass, and taking names. Lily Collins does an excellent job of bringing Clary's super strong heroine to life.

Jocelyn, Clary's mother, has been taken by Valentine who needs something valuable from her, only she's not talking. Literally. She put herself in a coma to hide the Mortal Cup from her ex-husband. With both sides so desperate to conceal or find this Mortal Instrument, the thing must be pretty darned special. Only one other person might have a clue where the cup is, but her mother has made sure her childhood memories were blocked. Every supernatural thing Clary sees, slips past her as if she saw nothing. Her true identity, hidden. But the memory block is wearing off and Clary begins to draw designs she's never seen before and she sees invisible people fighting and killing others. And all sorts of foul demons are coming out to play. Fortunately, she runs across Jace who has some answers and is willing to share. But Clary's secrets bring danger, and even injury, to the other Shadowhunters, making her less than desirable to, oh... let's say Alec. But since Valentine won't be stopped, he's going to just have to deal.

Jace, AKA Jamie Campbell Bower, I suppose, could be the quintessential bad boy, though I give little credence to that theory since he's not out drinking, doing drugs, and womanizing. He does dress in all black, because as the saying goes, "'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234," but I'm not sure that makes him bad, especially since he's hunting down demons and protecting humanity from the things that lurk the streets at night. He's a Shadowhunter after all, half-angel, half-human - it's his responsibility. And NO, by demons, I'm not talking about vampires and werewolves, can't we all just move on? Sure there are some of both in the movie, but we're not talking "Twilight" or "Vampire Diaries" here people. It's a whole new ballgame, and we're talking weapons and magic, not fangs.

***Side note - While I had my reservations about Jamie being cast in the role of Jace, I left the theater pleasantly surprised. The trailers had been bringing me around, but the movie made up my mind, Jamie is the perfect Jace for the movie.***

Simon, played by Robbie Sheehan, is Clary's best friend, and though many will say there's a love triangle here, I'm going to disagree, specifically for "City of Bones." For there to be a love triangle, the heroine has to be pulled toward both men, and Clary's never thought of Simon as anything other than a friend. So, yes, he has romantic feelings for her, but they are unrequited, so one side of the triangle is broken. So again, enough of the comparison nonsense. The movie overall is very intense, keeping your neck muscles strained and your fingers gripping into the armrests, so Simon's comedic lines give you a couple of seconds to collect yourself, relax, and then... think WTH just happened. Robbie Sheehan does and excellent job of playing both sarcastic and witty scenes, as well as the serious and strenuous ones.

Alec was everything Kevin Zegers described him to be in several interviews. I swear the temperature dropped 30 degrees every time he came within ten feet of Clary. He's protective of his family, almost overly so, but I won't be the one to tell him so. He's arrogant and rude, and so much fun to hate.

Magnus, while my favorite character in either The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, plays a relatively small role in the movie. I liked what I saw of Godfrey Gao, but I look forward to seeing more of him. I will say that I wish there had been more to his party, a little more of what we got in the book, but I understand things have to be shortened and some of the fluff removed, but I thought his party sort of set the tone for his character.

Jemima West rocked as the take charge Isabelle. Her entrance into the club scene entranced me. Each step she took demanded attention and reeked of danger. She fought alongside the guys with fierce beauty and deadly accuracy, then nursed wounds when the battles were finished. I really want her whip!!! All ladies should have one. She's domineering and demanding, and I loved her all the more for it. No stepping around the truth, she said what she thought and made no excuses.

Okay, I saved the best for last, and of course this is my opinion. Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Valentine. Un-freaking-believable. I swooned at his entrance, because come on - he is the ultimate bad guy. Honestly, there's nothing redeemable about his character, not in the books, not in the movie. His mind is set on creating a "perfect breed" and he'll lie and manipulate everyone to do it. His whole life has been building for THIS moment, and you could be his daughter, his son, or neither. He really doesn't care, YOU ARE SIMPLY HIS PAWN. And Jonathan was brilliant. I found myself shrinking back into my seat during a couple of his scenes, afraid he'd jump right out of the screen and make us all his evil minions.

To say I simply loved the movie would be an understatement. Changes and all, because we all knew there would be changes, I thought the movie rocked. So much so that I'll see it a couple or three more times before it's out of the theater.

Now... as I wrote this, I thought about all the ways I could compare "City of Bones" to "Twilight" as many others have found numerous ways to do so, but other than saying it's a movie adaptation of a Young Adult, paranormal novel, I just can't find a way. The main characters aren't vampires, werewolves, or mere human girls hunting for romance. They're Nephilim on a mission to protect the human world, and their own world. None of their characteristics match up to those of the "Twilight" characters. OH... I forgot, Jamie Campbell Bower played in both series. Yep, that totally makes them exactly the same. NOT!

I have no problem with pure romance stories, but "City of Bones" is about more than romance. Everyone will take from it what they will, but hey, these guys are protecting those who can't protect themselves. They're fighting evil. We're all tired of the young adult female population being belittled and more or less told they're stupid for being drawn to YA literature.

And ladies, if you're feeling bullied, stop. Make a stand. Go see "City of Bones" as many times as possible, drag your parents, your friends, anybody who will go. Many of these men writing nasty, hateful things about your beloved characters and books haven't picked the darn thing up to read it. And most likely if they do, they'll be too dense to understand the many coming of age themes buried in the pages. Keep reading, keep going to see the movies, and most of all... spread the word. Because in order to change the world, whether it be Hollywood or Washington DC, your voices MUST be heard. Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook... tools of a new generation. There's NO reason not to be heard, the technology is at your fingertips, as the saying goes. Use it.

Also, this comes from another post I saw on Twitter, though I don't know the original source, the username is PRINCEVERMIN, and it's not a Twitter account, but I think it speaks a good amount of truth and I wanted to include it... if you know who wrote this, please let me know so I can link to their article. I have searched and searched... and I want to give the proper person credit.

"Our books did not teach us to wait in a tower for our prince to come or to commit suicide when things didn't work out between us and our boyfriend. Our books taught us to stand up and fight no matter how scary something is. No matter that someone told us it's too dangerous - like Clary, we've learned to pick up whatever weapons are available to us and fight the hordes of monsters in front of us until the bitter end.

We were not taught to lay down and die when a boy did not like us back. Like Simon, we were taught to look for the best in every situation - even when things were at their worst." PRINCEVERMIN via BreathesWords on Twitter.

***While I didn't make direct references between "Twilight" and "City of Bones" to PROVE my point, I can. So feel free to start a CIVILIZED discussion in the comments section below. All hateful, tasteless comments WILL be deleted.***