'Hansel and Gretel' and more fairy tales for adults

(Takashi Seida / Associated Press)
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'Beastly'

Familiar fairy tale characters: Beauty, beast, witch

Why it's not for kids: This modern retelling of the classic story of a recovering egomaniac with a semi-permanent disfigurement and a ticking clock demanding he find someone to love him despite his looks is set in the epicenter of vanity: a high school. It even works in the rose symbolism that was so central to the earlier tales.

Is it scary? Not as much as other films on this list. But it certainly isn't embracing any notions of dancing teapots or clocks that made small children like the famous Walt Disney version of this tale.
Jan. 24, 2013