Snow White and the Huntsman: Movie Review

Snow White and the Huntsman: Movie Review

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Bob Hoskins
Director: Rupert Sanders

Honestly, you wait for one film and then two come along at the same time...

Earlier this year, we had a more family friendly (some would even say lighter comic) version of the Snow White story - with Julia Roberts and Lily Collins starring in Mirror, Mirror. (Get my take on this version with the Mirror Mirror movie review here).

In this somewhat darker version, teen fave Kristen Stewart takes on the role of the fairest in the land, who's imprisoned in a dark tower when the Evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) kills the King and takes control.

When the mirror tells the Queen that Snow White poses a threat to her, she decides to have her killed and promises Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman his dead wife back if he kills her.

But the huntsman is betrayed and the pair team up to rid the land of the Evil Queen once and for all...

So the question is - is this version of Snow white better than the earlier effort this year?

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Well the answer is: sort of.


This latest is a more adult, gritty and medieval take on the fairy tale with its opening portentous voiceover and is blessed with some stunning visuals and some impressive performances.

Charlize Theron's evil queen Ravenna is certainly impressive.  Despite bellowing a lot of lines, she gives us a damaged Queen, a Queen ravaged by the darkness of the magic she was exposed to as a child. Prone to menace in all of her scenes, Theron is certainly the star performance of the piece without straying too far over the top. It's interesting though that Hollywood doesn't just go for completely evil characters any more, preferring to give them a back story and history which prevents them from being down and out baddies.

Unfortunately, Kristen Stewart seems a little miscast as Snow White and in between her acting through half closed eyes most of the time and channelling that teen awkwardness that made her popular, her Snow is a little weedy and weak, spending a lot of her scenes looking pained and almost constipated.

Hemsworth is fine as the Huntsman (apart from an accent which is all over the place) - he's all boyish bravado despite a vulnerability and sadness lurking beneath the exterior - but the chemistry between him and Kristen Stewart is sadly lacking. And when they show, the digitally shrunken dwarves are a welcome respite from the long slow paced thematic darkness which precedes their entrance.

One major problem is that there's no real passion in this; it's curiously flat at times - in dialogue, story and emotion -and is lacking a central love story which is really the heart of this fairy tale.

Despite Sanders bringing some mightily impressive visuals to the screen (a sojourn to the Fairy Kingdom is beautifully realized with its lush verdant greens and colours in comparison to the nightmarish dark forest with its twisted trees and ghoulish spectres), he has a tendency to not rise above his commercials directing background. His over-reliance on slow-mo shots proves too much and his lack at propelling the narrative along in places is all too evident.

All in all, this version is to be commended for bringing some of the nightmares back into fables but it's hardly the fairest of them all.

Rating:

Safe: Movie Review

Safe: Movie Review

Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Robert John Burke, James Hong, Reggie Lee
Director: Boaz Yakin

In this gritty action thriller, The Stath is back once again to kick some serious bottom and punch some serious face.

When cage fighter Luke (Statham) doesn't throw a fight he's supposed to, he finds himself in trouble with the Russian Mafia.

Things get worse when Luke's wife is murdered by the mob and told he must spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, waiting for the bullet that will end his days.

Near the end of the line, and with nothing to lose, Luke is about to commit suicide on the New York subway, when he sees a young girl and maths prodigy Mei (Chan) followed by the mobsters who killed his wife.

Deciding to intervene, Luke grabs Mei and saves her life. But, things get worse for Luke when he discovers Mei is on the run from the Chinese Triads...and with corruption all around in the police, Russian mafia and Chinese triads, they soon discover nowhere is safe.

If you're looking for a film that pushes the boundaries and redefines the action genre, then Safe is not it.

If, however, you're looking for a film which adheres to the action formula and expands Statham's limited range as a UK equivalent of Bruce Willis / Stallone, then congratulations, Safe is for you.

With its "when you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose" mentality, it's really a case of formulaic action thriller with set pieces and smack downs. And to be fair to both Yakin and Statham, that's exactly what they bring through a series of quick cuts, action sequences and loud bone crunching beatings.

And yet, there's a reasonable enough bond between Statham and the young girl played by Chan that you feel connected to this - well, enough of a bond to put your brain on hold and sit through the unwinding cliched conspiracy and corruption yarn that unfurls in front of you.

Statham's carving out quite the celluloid career here in this genre and this latest will merely chalk up another notch on the action belt; he doesn't push himself and his director doesn't do the same; but each action sequence is well handled and smartly put together that it's never too overwhelming with bullets, fights and explosions.

With improbable twists, some relatively faceless acting from the supporting cast, Safe is a fairly solid, if relatively unmemorable and occasionally rough around the edges action thriller filler for a cinematic night out.

Rating:

Tortoise in Love: Movie Review

Tortoise in Love: Movie Review

Cast: Tom Mitchelson, Alicia Zawadzki, Tom Yates
Director: Guy Browning

Tortoise in Love is a remarkable affair.

Funded and put together by an entire village in Oxfordshire in England, it's one of those stiff upper lip UK feelgood stories both in front and behind of the camera.

Tom (Mitchelson) is just back from the big city, where he's failed to make it as a micro biologist or as a potential suitor for all the "hot women" his village believe live in the big smoke.

He takes a job as a gardener and immediately falls for a Polish blonde au pair by the name of Anya (Zawadzki) who's in he village looking after a local kid.

But Tom's a bit of a plodder - he's slow to make a move and the entire village decides this is the perfect pair to get together, so decide to lend a hand....will it end up as true love ever after?

From its English countryside opening, everything about this film screams slightly twee; its lead character has a remarkable resemblance to a young Hugh Grant (and as much of the dithering as Grant's based a career on) and there's a lot of poking fun at the stereotyped way of English life.

But with predictable humour and terribly corny gags (eg "There's plenty more fish in the sea" - to which a character replies "But I don't want to go out with a fish") it's a fairly unremarkable gentle piece of supposed romantic comedy.

At one point, I found myself wondering whether they were actually taking themselves seriously or if the whole thing was a tongue in cheek joke which wasn't very funny.

If it's a gentle whimsical piece you're after, then Tortoise in Love is for you - but be warned, the bland sweetness on display in this rom com flick may be so much that you need to head to the dentist straight after to get some work done before a rot sets in.

Rating: 

Dredd trailer - coming this Friday

First look Dredd trailer - due this Friday

WATCH THE FULL DREDD TRAILER 

<<UPDATE >>

At about 2min 50seconds in on this video from Machinima.com you can see some of the first look at the new Dredd trailer




Word has reached us that the first look trailer at Karl Urban's Dredd is due to release this week.

The Dredd Facebook page says the trailer will arrive on Thursday. We're pegging that that'll be a UK time or even US time, meaning that the Dredd trailer will hit on Friday.

I'll bring you it as soon as we have it.

It follows a recent hive of Dredd related activity after relatively little about the cinematic version of the 2000AD character.

We've had the Dredd NZ poster and you'll remember I brought you a couple of new shots from Dredd, the upcoming film with Kiwi Karl Urban and the Dredd poster.

Here is the localised teaser poster for Dredd and thought I should share it with you by Grud.

Dredd hits NZ cinemas October....so lawgivers at the ready.

We've already brought you the first look here at Karl Urban as Judge Dredd and now, we're finally getting to see a first international poster for Dredd.

The film's due to hit New Zealand in October...

Here's the UK poster for the Pete Travis directed flick, based on the comics of 2000AD.

"The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets.  The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner.  Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed. 

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation.  A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan.  When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire.  With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.

The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and director Pete Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film.  Filmed in 3D with stunning slow motion photography sequences, the film returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip."

Brave Movie Review

Brave Movie Review

Cast: Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane, Billy Connolly
Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman

For Pixar's latest outing, it's off to the Highlands of Scotland we go....and into a time of myths and legends.

Kelly Macdonald is Princess Merida, a young girl who's grown up under the watchful eye of her mother, the Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) and King Fergus (Billy Connolly).

Merida's a free soul; she defies all that tradition would request of her as a potential queen. Daily, her mother tells her "A princess does not" and lectures her so much so that Merida feels overwhelmed by the overbearing nature of her daily life.

So, when the four clans of the highlands come together to seek Merida's hand and to unite the regions, it's the final straw as far as she's concerned. Heading off in a rage, she ends up deep in the forests nearby and upon meeting a witch, unleashes a curse which will have far ranging consequences for her family and the clans themselves.

Brave is not the knockabout film that perhaps some of the earlier teaser trailers and clips suggested it may be - and it's great to see some of the central plot has been left for the film to reveal rather than endless trailers.

It's a dark adult tale, likely in parts to terrify some of the younger end of the audience. It's also a tale of family and of a strong bond (or reaffirming thereof) between mother and daughter.

It's also gorgeously animated - from the opening sequences in the forests of the highlands, the cameras swoop and sweep through the landscapes and ramparts of various structures in the land with visual aplomb (perhaps a little too often do the directors rely on this eye popping trick).

Once again, the Pixar animation is truly technically marvellous to behold - from the aforementioned landscapes through to the mesmerising way each of Merida's curls of red ginger hair bounce around her head, this is once again, world class animation at its absolute best. Macdonald gives Merida a touch of feistiness but it's a petulant beast that comes to the screen and one who merely fights until she gets her own way. Thankfully, pairing her up with her Clydesdale horse, Angus, gives a little comic relief here and there.

So, it's somewhat curious to say that this occasionally nightmarish film with its overbearing adult themes is a little lacking in plot in places - there's scant little peril facing Merida until the final portion of the film as the effects of the curse really start to take hold and then the danger becomes real. The male characters in the film are really secondary to anything other than buffoonery as they fight and brawl.

It's not to say that Brave is not enjoyable, it's just that this tale of a mother and daughter essentially rediscovering their bond is not up to the usual high standards of what Pixar tends to proffer up for our enjoyment.

All in all, Brave is to be applauded for blazing the trail of feminism and providing a strong animated female lead for its audiences; but its middling story and lack of real adventure unfortunately leaves this visually impressive tale with a reliant on magic ending that is rushed, muddled and confusing.

(Thankfully though a little light shines through this dark tale with the opening short, La Luna - this tale of a life on the moon is well worth your time so make sure you're there on time for the film to start)

Rating:

The Ides of March: Blu Ray Review

The Ides of March: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Fans of the Gos, stand by - he's back on the small screen.

And for all the ladies out there, it's a double whammy as he's on screen with Gorgeous George too.

Gosling is Stephen Meyers, an idealistic campaigner and second in command for Democrat hopeful Governor Mike Morris' (Clooney) push for the White House. Meyers believes deeply in the cause, the man and the mission to get Mike into the presidency.


However, in the crucial push in Ohio to secure the party vote, everything changes for Meyers; he's met by the opponent's campaign manager Tom Duffy (an ever brilliant Paul Giamatti) and offered the chance to switch sides before Morris's campaign takes a dive. Plus the Morris quest to secure the vote of a crucial senator (Jeffrey Wright) and his supporters hits a snag - and Meyers also ends up in a romantic relationship with young intern Molly (Rachel Evan Wood) which causes all kinds of issues.

Suddenly Meyers' world is mired in underhand politics, blackmail and mistrust - will his idealism help him make the right choices or will he become a casualty of the campaign?

The Ides of March is a loss of innocence tale in many ways; it's Gosling's performance which anchors this flick - but it's strong and assured supporting turns from the likes of Hoffman and Giamatti which give this a bit of edge. 

And that's something which is sorely needed on this frankly unsurprising story of dirty politics and politicians. Every twist can be seen ahead of their appearance on screen - but it's the good solid cast performances which make it watchable and make it worthy of your time. Granted, it lacks the political edge, sizzle and incisive banter that we've come to appreciate as fans of The West Wing but it's still an interesting look behind the scenes at a campaign - and you get the feeling that it's probably quite close to reality in some moments.


Gosling's acolytes (Ryanites? Goslites?) will enjoy it and frankly, Hollywood's latest morsel du jour is impressive as he goes from the campaign master of spin to a steely glass eyed politician backroomer who realizes the game needs to be played dirtily to get what's needed - not necessarily what he wants to do. The fall from grace from the big man on campus as he deals with one upmanship and backroom deals and dirty politics is well conveyed by Gosling, who opts for moodiness and glares to get the inner turmoil across as the steely veneer begins to slip and the reality sets in.

But at its heart, it's really an ensemble piece which really helps it to soar above the predictable script as the drama unfolds and the ethics of betrayal, ambition and the fallibility of man are exposed. 

Extras: A good solid bunch, the cast investigated, commentary, a look behind the scenes on what political candidates do

Rating:

Safe House: Blu Ray Review

Safe House: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Director: Daniel Espinosa

In action thriller Safe House, Reynolds plays CIA low level agent Matt Weston, who's been based at a South African safe house for over a year and never seen any action.

Desperate to move on and join his girlfriend who's being transferred to France, Weston is waiting for his time to come - despite secretly longing to see some serious CIA kick ass action.

And he gets that wish one day when ex CIA agent and general all round intelligence trader, Tobin Frost (a grizelled Denzel Washington) walks into an American embassy to avoid being killed by a group hunting him.

Unaware of his motives, CIA bosses Catherine Linklater (Farmiga) and David Barlow (Gleeson), transfer Frost to Weston's safe house with instructions to guard him - and wait for the powers that be to turn up and find out exactly what Frost wants.

However,when the safe house is breached and all the agents bar Weston and Frost killed, it's upto this rookie wannabe to safe guard Frost and get him to safety....

But, as ever, not everything is what it seems and soon Weston is out of his depth and fighting for his life.

Safe House is an unusual film - on the one hand, it's got car chases and plenty of (very loud) gun fights and measured chase sequences - but on the other, it's got some pretty impressive performances.

Primarily from a never anything less than edgy and calm Washington as the agent who's playing all sides but never prepared to show his hand and to a lesser degree, Reynolds, who manages to pull together a role of uncertainty, fear and blustering bravado - as well as show he can act when he needs to. Unfortunately, while Gleeson gets a little time to shine as well, Farmiga is a little underused and overshadowed in this - which is a real shame.

Safe House is a thrilling, adrenaline pumping film but it's also restrained at times with director Espinosa opting for realism rather than explosions and body parts flying all over the place. The shoot outs are short, violent and gritty - and the hand to hand fights (particularly with Weston) are desperate, realistic and painful.

It's this touch which makes the occasionally predictable film so watchable (how many times can the bad guys be the people you suspect they are) - plus with a South African setting - slums, streets and stadium - for the lion's share of the action, it looks a little different.

Throw in the odd couple pairing of Washington and Reynolds and Safe House is a bit of a crackling and sizzling cat-and-mouse but occasionally formulaic ride which will tick all the action boxes but not leave you feeling like your brain's leaking out of your nose due to too much of a lack of stimulation.

Extras: An hour of behind the scenes stuff - from making of, behind the action, inside the look, - fairly standard stuff

Rating: