Lifetime's 'Petals on the Wind'.

As i've already said, i was willing to watch Lifetime's adaptation of 'Flowers in the Attic's sequel 'Petals on the wind', but only having in mind that it was not going to be something really great. I mean, both tv adaptations have been entertaining but it's frustrating to see how much potential these stories have and how cheap the results look.

Anyway, as a novel, 'Petals on the wind' lives up to the hype of the story of 'Flowers in the Attic', of course it's not as good but stands out from the rest of the follow up novels. In Lifetime's adaptation, they speed up time and you don't get to see how the three remaining Dollanganger dolls, Chris, Cathy and Carrie, manage to survive after leaving the attic for good. I think that was a huge mistake because that was an important part, how they met their guardian Paul and how he provided for them and almost marries Cathy to the dismay of her loving brother.In fact, if i'm not wrong, they get married at the end of the book so he doesn't die in the beginning as the Lifetime movie shows (even though, he dies towards the end of the novel).

Another thing that was wrong in the tv adaptation was how Cathy entered the ballet company, it wasn't thanks to Julian but because she was good, and also, he's involved in a car accident but Cathy is not with him in that moment. And most importantly, he doesn't die because of his injuries, he commits suicide because of them and because he won't be able to dance again, which is a really dramatic chapter which has been lost in the adaptation. I really missed that part because even though he was pretty abusive towards Cathy, i liked that story and wish they had been faithful to the book.

As many of those who have read the novels know, i could go on and on about how it wasn't well adapted, but those two parts are the ones that i missed the most. And as if that wasn't enough word is out that both follow up novels 'If There Be Thorns' and 'Seeds of Yesterday' will have its adaptation as well, but not 'Flowers in the Attic's prequel 'Garden of Shadows', which tells the story of the evil grandmother from her youth and why she becomes as mean and cruel as she is later in life. Which i think it's a mistake because it's the most interesting novel after 'Petals on the Wind' and you get to see the beginning of it all and know a few more family secrets.

Also, another one of V.C. novels' 'My Sweet Audrina' is going to be adapted as well, book which i've just read, and good lord how are they going to adapt such a strange story. I didn't like it as much as the 'Flowers in the Attic' saga, i really thought it was just ok, but as with all the other adaptations coming from Lifetime, i will watch it, i don't know if it will talk about them here, though. Anyway, enjoy Lifetime's fuckfest with these novels and take them lightly, such a shame they weren't adapted to the cinema by a good director because the story was really worth it.

sources: ibtimes

'Petals on the Wind'

Soon after the 'Flowers in the Attic' TV remake was filmed, it was announced that its follow up novel 'Petals in the Wind' would get an adaptation as well. Which, even though the first adaptation was kinda a mess, is good news because if you liked the first book, you also loved 'Petals in the Wind'. The sequel takes place 10 years after the events of 'Flowers in the Attic' so it will focus on the second part of the book so that's a good thing because it's the one i loved best, and because of that both actors playing Chris and Cathy (Mason Dye and Kiernan Shipka) have been recasted by Wyatt Nash and Rose McIver (who you can see in the pic above practising ballet).

Of course, it will be another messy adaptation but such a guilty pleasure to watch. You can take a look at the trailer below, it's kinda spoilerish but i can't wait to watch the whole thing, now knowing not to expect too much of it:

sources: flowersintheatticblogspot & youtube

'Flowers in the Attic' (2014).

I've always wondered why someone didn't remake 'Flowers in the Attic' properly, the 80s movie version felt so outdated and it left out some of the biggest twists from the popular novel. But this new tv version... well, let's say it could have been a lot better.

I was excited about the cast, Ellen Burstyn is a magnificent actress whose performance in 'Requiem for a Dream' remains one of my favourites, but here she wasn't on point. The grandmother is supposed to be really mean and evil in the book but in this adaptation she was kinda soft in comparison. Which was a huge let down because Burstyn could have done so much better (not that it was her fault but the direction they gave her). Heather Graham was simply ok and Kiernan Shipka more of the same, no stellar performances here. It felt like if everything was low budget, no extra efforts were being made and it felt all so cheap.

(Spoilers)
As for the plot, yes, they included the incest between brother and sister but they romanticised it way too much. The first time they had a sexual encounter it was rape, Chris forced his sister and she eventually let him do what he had to do, but didn't agree to that. I'm guessing that was way too much for the network to show, but if you're going to adapt something twisted like this novel, do it right. Another key element was the reveal of the doughnuts towards the end. Halfway through the book you know that the grandmother is powdering them each day with what it seems sugar but it's really arsenic, and more importantly, later it's their mother doing that as well, so revealing that at the end, without the anticipation of knowing that the kids are eating them and getting sick day by day, was also a mistake in the adaptation.

Other important things were left out as well, and it makes me wonder if the news of adapting the sequel 'Petals in the Wind' is a good idea but i have to admit i will watch it no matter what. That second book was flawless as well, and while it's less twisted, maybe this time they will do it right. Still, one can dream of a 'Flowers in the Attic' movie version directed by Sofia Coppola (as the book is one of her favourites) which would include everything but oh well, we'll always have the novel to re-read and still get twisted by all the darkness it contains.

sources: tilty

'Flowers in the Attic' remake trailer

The long awaited (at least for me) 'Flowers in the Attic' television movie remake has finally a trailer out, and i'm not sure what will come out of this but so far it looks, accurate.

The story is about a recent widow who goes back to her strict parents' house with her children and has to hide them in the attic in order to make amends with her father who has no idea of the children's existence. This book has a lot of twisted plots and it seems this new television adaptation is including them all – unlike the 80s movie adaptation that kept the incest out– and while the trailer looks like a hot mess, i'll watch it no matter what, because i loved this series of books. 

The television movie has a really nice cast with Ellen Burtsyn as the evil grandmother, Heather Graham as the mother of the kids and Kiernan Shipka as Cathy and i can't wait to watch it. It will premiere sometime in January 2014 but take a look at the trailer, kinda spoilery if you aren't familiar with the story, but well:

sources: ew & youtube

'Flowers in the Attic'

'Flowers in the Attic' is one of those books i've always loved, the story of four kids forced to hide in an attic locked away from the world by their very own mother, so twisted. My mom had all the books and i remember seeing the (lame) movie adaptation when i was little, but so much was lost in that movie from the book, mainly all the dark and twisted stuff that happens. i've always wondered why there wasn't a remake in the making for this book, out of all the unnecessary remakes that take place in Hollywood, this one should be taken into account; and i've always imagined that the perfect director for it would be Sofia Coppola, a story so similar to 'The Virgin Suicides', with kids trapped in their own homes (in this case, an attic, hidden from the outside world). She's even a book lover herself after making the shortfilm 'Lick the Star' all around the book, so it would had been perfection.

But now, Lifetime has announced the TV Movie adaptation of the book, starring Heather Graham as Corrine, the lousy mother, and Ellen Burstyn as the evil grandmother and this second casting choice is perfect. Burstyn was more than flawless in 'Requiem for a Dream', as well as in her complete filmography, but i've always loved that performance better, and i'm really excited about this TV movie. It would had been great if it had been a series of episodes because there's so much to the story but let's hope this turns out nicely. It won't air till next year so in the meantime, i'm posting Sofia Coppola's 'Lick the Star', her first try as a director, not a bad thing at all. Kill the rats:

sources: thewrap, youtube & lostinsofia