Review: Once Upon A Time (Snow White and the Huntsman)

The story of Snow White is quite familiar to audiences: a fair-skinned princess is forced to fend for herself and her kingdom after the untimely death of the King and Queen. A huntsman is hired by the wicked usurper to kill the young maiden and she retreats to the forest. What lends initial promise to Rupert Sanders Snow White and the Huntsman is that the pieces of the story are thrown at the wall from the very beginning.

Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is much more than a witch who longs for the power of a Kingdom. Gaining the trust of the King, Ravenna poses as victim of a kidnapping. Once inside the hallowed walls of King Magnus' home, she violently overthrows the monarchy. Hours after a wedding ceremony, Ravenna takes her revenge on the more arrogant sex in the most intimate way. Her crazed rantings about the evils of entitlement suggests that Huntsman really could go somewhere rather than take the formulaic path of fable. Locked in the innards of the castle, Snow (Kristen Stewart) has been plotting her escape for years and, when given her chance, she takes it. Into the fearsome forest she goes.

Dozens of young girls have died to feed the evil Queen's addiction to youth, but only the heart of Snow White will sate Ravenna's thirst. She hires a drunken widower (under-utilized Chris Hemsworth) who serves all masters with his trade. Only he will enter the dangerous forest that Snow has escaped to.

A lush film visually, the gothic sets and cinematography suggests that Snow White and the Huntsman is a much better product than it actually is. For all of the differing takes that Sander's film takes, the story comes back to what has been seen before time and time again. When Hemsworth's Huntsman tries to teach Snow how to kill her opponent, she balks at his suggestion. Sixty minutes later she is aping Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, slashing, hacking and dismembering anyone who gets in her way of killing the Queen. Other distractions seem thrown in just for measure like a love triangle that no one would seriously debate over (Chris Hemsworth > Sam Claflin).

I suppose the problem with Huntsman is that the most entertaining aspect of the film is Ravenna herself. Theron is monstrously entertaining as she yearns for immortality. The writing is lesser but she revels in each bellow and gives this film a villain that it really doesn't deserve.

**/****

The Best of the Decade

Over the last ten years, the cinema has given us a great deal to be thankful for: a rebirth of the Batman franchise, a series of examinations of what it means to live in this particular decade, and a mass of character studies whether they be animated or popcorn thrillers. As much as I have enjoyed the offerings, a list must be culled together for the end of the year. Except this year is different, this year ten films must be selected from hundreds. Below are some of the best of the aughts. Enjoy! 10) There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus, a scathing look at extremism in America and the evils of greed and profiteering from religion. It also features the best performance of the decade with Daniel Day-Lewis as oil-man Daniel Plainview. 9) Up A beautiful tale that entrances all ages, Up managed to captivate children and tell a tale that adults cherish as well. 8) The Dark Knight Maybe just a comic book film, but it is the best comic book film

Paprika vs. Inception

Months before Inception hit the theaters forums were alive with rumors that Christopher Nolan either accidentally or intentionally stole some details from another film, the Japanese anime Paprika. The biggest point of comparison for some bloggers and forum runners was the fact that both of the films featured a device that allowed a person, or people, to travel into another’s dreams and delve into their subconscious. Minor points of comparison include scenes in Paprika where the character Paprika breaks through a mirrored wall by holding her hand to it, as well as a scene where a police detective falls his way down a hallway. Claims have been made that Inception abounds with imagery similar to or exactly like the anime movie, but with the recent release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and with Paprika available for several years now, an examination of the two plots can be made more fully. Let us begin with the primary claim— Inception stole the idea of a dream

Armond White or: How I Learned to Stop Caring and Ignore the Troll

Whether it is his glowing review of Norbit , his thrashing of Toy Story 3 , or just his general pompousness, you are aware of Armond White. His dismissal of Toy Story 3 came at a convenient time when the film was sitting pretty with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. "But Toy Story 3 is so besotted with brand names and product-placement that it stops being about the innocent pleasures of imagination—the usefulness of toys—and strictly celebrates consumerism." A claim that could have been taken at face value had he not followed it with this sentiment " Transformers 2 already explored the same plot to greater thrill and opulence." I am sure if one were inclined to interview Michael Bay at his most enlightened he would have never crafted an answer that insightful regarding hidden parables in his Transformers vehicle. White was at his most incensed when forced to sit down and type out his thoughts regarding Precious , but praised Norbit for its reflection o

Never Mind Pop Film

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