Hey everyone, guess what? I got my first publication in a local newspaper (the Orleans Star) last weekend! I forgot to tell you are, so it’s better late than never. The review that got published is my review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s practically the same as my original review (if you missed it, click here), but she did change around a few things. But her edits made some of it a little better. This is the actual article. The editor also said that I may submit a review every two weeks, so this is going to be great experience.
Month: November 2012
November 23-25 Box Office Predictions
Plot: A love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho in 1959.
Hitchcock is the much anticipated biopic of Alfred Hitchcock that depicts his relationship with his wife during the making of 1960’s Psycho. Anthony Hopkins seems quite fitting and chilling in the role. It’s hitting sixteen theaters this weekend (I wish it would be coming to more!!) and it will be a treat for lovers of the masterful director and lovers of a good love story.
Hitchcock Prediction: $360, 000
Plot: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor … a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Ang Lee’s new feature, based on Yann Martel’s novel, seems visually beautiful and the story sounds quite intriguing. This time around, he’s directing an aggressive tiger, not a crouching one. This could very well be a frontrunner at the Oscars this year. It’s at 2700 theaters this weekend.
L.o.P Prediction: $28, 400, 000 (Wed-Sun)
Plot: A group of teenagers look to save their town from an invasion of North Korean soldiers.
This one has sat on the shelf since 2009, but now it’s finally here… To the sound of poor reviews. That won’t stop me from seeing it, though. Apparently the original wasn’t great, so maybe filmmakers could do it better this time. The original had an opening weekend to the sound of $8.23 million, but I’m hoping it’ll be much better this time around.
R.D. Prediction: $17, 200, 000 (Wed-Sun)
Plot: When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.
DreamWorks Animation is a very hit-and-miss studio. It’s had winners like the first two Shrek films, the apparently great How to Train Your Dragon, the pretty good Madagascar trilogy, and Kung Fu Panda. But, they’ve also had losers like Shark Tale and Over the Hedge. Guardians‘ story seems very intriguing and original. While it does seem a little odd, I really want to check it out. It looks like a great adventure with an awesome voice cast.
R.o.t.G Prediction: $59, 500, 000 (Wed-Sun)
Plot: Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali’s bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Rust and Bone is a foreign feature and is Jacques Audiard’s follow-up to the acclaimed A Prophet. It seems intriguing and I might want to check it out once it comes to town.
R.a.B Prediction: $175, 000
Plot: After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
David O. Russell brings us a potential Oscar contender with the anticipated Silver Linings Playbook. This is his follow-up film to 2010′s The Fighter (that opened to $12.135 million in its wide opening weekend), and he actually surprised a few people by not choosing Mark Wahlberg as the former teach Pat Solitano. Russell is often at his best while directing Wahlberg. Though, regardless of its main star, it still looks charming, funny and thematic. The cast makes the film look even more promising. S.L.P comes to 367 theaters this weekend.
S.L.P. Prediction: $5, 250, 000
TOP 10 BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS
TITLE/PREDICTION/STUDIO/ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE
1. Rise of the Guardians/ $59, 500, 000/ Paramount (DreamWorks)/ 76%
2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2/ $52, 000, 000/ Summit Ent./ 47%
3. Life of Pi/ $28, 400, 000/ Fox/ 86%
4. Skyfall/ $22, 800, 000/ MGM/ 92%
5. Red Dawn/ $17, 200, 000/ FilmDistrict/ 12%
6. Wreck-It Ralph/ $13, 500, 000/ Buena Vista/ 86%
7. Silver Linings Playbook/ $5, 250, 000/ Weinstein/ 91%
8. Flight/ $4, 300, 000/ Paramount/ 78%
9. Argo/ $3, 200, 000/ Warner Bros./ 95%
10. Taken 2/ $1, 500, 000/ Fox/ 21%
Are you any of you going to the theater this weekend?
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Director: Marc Webb
Stars: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans
Runtime: 136 min
Tagline: His past was kept from him. His search for answers has just begun.
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner.
While inferior to Spider-Man 2 of the Sam Raimi trilogy, it’s vastly superior to Spider-Man 3, but it’s a little better than the first Spider-Man. It doesn’t have too many villains, and Marc Webb is a worthy enough director to reboot the great super hero. It doesn’t really ever reach amazing, as Raimi set the bar pretty high, but it is pretty awesome. Granted, The Pretty Awesome Spider-Man doesn’t have a good ring to it.
Peter has to deal with a few situations throughout the feature: some relationship problems, deaths within the family, a police captain, and of course, the Lizard.
Peter is having a few relationship problems with his new girlfriend Gwen Stacy, because he wants to keep her safe. Of course, super heroes are going to have villains. Also, one other relationship problem could arise because he’s never vibrantly exciting. He tells a few jokes, and he has that charming smile he’s always flashing, but that’s about it. Nothing else is virtually off about him, but there aren’t any other notable things about him. No one can forget the great Tobey Maguire, and comparisons between the two are inevitable. Garfield is pretty bland compared to Maguire. Gwen Stacy is a great love choice for Spider-Man. Garfield may be bland when he’s without Stacy (portrayed by Emma Stone), but when the two are together, they’re a pretty fine team. I really like Gwen Stacy, maybe even more than Mary Jane Watson.
Any of you who have seen the original Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, or are generally familiar with the story of Peter Parker, will know which family member of his gets killed off fairly early in the story. The death of this character brings on solid character development to Peter, as it fills him with a need for vengeance, a trait one would not think of when they hear the word: super hero; but that is one of the primary traits of Parker after this time. Parker’s search for this character’s killer is actually realistic. He goes through a countless number of thugs in search of a man with a star tattoo on his left wrist. This ultimately puts him in the path of a New York police Captain, and that said Police Captain thinks Parker is a vigilant menace, mirroring the character of J. Jonah Jameson.
Compared to Raimi’s first Spider-Man, there are some things this does better, and things it does worse. The introduction to Peter’s new found powers is better, and funnier. Sometimes, the things he does are cooler. Although, no one can forget those “Go go spider web!” or “Up, up and away! ” lines that Maguire uttered in the original Spider-Man. The search for his relative’s killer is more realistic in this, because he just doesn’t find the killer off the bat. Though, if he did find the killer off the bat, it would bring closure much earlier in the story, and Spidey wouldn’t be haunted by that unholy ghost called vengeance.
That whole sub-plot goes on in the first bit of the film, and the actual super villain (in the full Lizard state) doesn’t get fully introduced until after the one-hour mark. Dr. Curt Connors has motivations that are quite easy to understand. He only has one arm, so he has a raging jealousy of lizards because they can regrow limbs. His motivations are easy to understand, but his master plan… not so much. He wants to turn everyone into lizards. Sure, we’ll be stronger and faster, but everyone’s more content being human… We’ll have scaly skin, and even a year supply of hand and skin lotions can’t cure that.
While it probably won’t enter the reboot series status of something like Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, it still makes the sequels look promising. There are some great action sequences, dramatic scenes and plot development, and it’s a great introduction to a new Spider-Man series. Garfield may make for an often unfunny Spider-Man, as all the jokes are given to Police Captain Stacy, Gwen, Uncle Ben and Aunt May; but maybe the writers will give him a little more flare and heart in the sequels.
75/100
November 16-18 Box Office Results
If you missed any of my reviews of the movies in the Top 10 Box Office, just click the link on the title and it will lead you right to it!
Top 10 Box Office, The Results (Estimates)
1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2: $141, 300, 000
2. Skyfall: $41, 500, 000
3. Lincoln: $21, 000, 000
4. Wreck-It Ralph: $18, 312, 000
5. Flight: $8, 615, 000
6. Argo: $4, 070, 000
7. Taken 2: $2, 100, 000
8. Pitch Perfect: $1, 260, 000
9. Here Comes the Boom: $1, 200, 000
10. Cloud Atlas: $900, 000
My Box Office Predictions (Title/Prediction/Off by(+/-))
1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2/ $147, 480, 000/ (+) $6, 180, 000
2. Skyfall/ $62, 000, 000/ (+) $20, 500, 000
3. Lincoln/ $17, 250, 000/ (-) $3, 750, 000
4. Wreck-It Ralph/ $21, 442, 000/ (+) $3, 130, 000
5. Flight/ $10, 000, 000/ (+) $1, 385, 000
6. Argo/ $3, 800, 000/ (-) $270, 000
7. Taken 2/ $2, 750, 000/ (+) $650, 000
9. Here Comes the Boom/ $2, 000, 000/ (+) $800, 000
10. Cloud Atlas/ $1, 400, 000/ (+) $500, 000
Other Predictions
14. Silver Linings Playbook/ $1, 878, 000/ (+) $1, 420, 000
16. Anna Karenina/ $450, 000/ (+) $135, 000
I was off by a grand total of $38, 720, 000.
My reviews of other films in theatres
House at the End of the Street
Lincoln (2012)
Lincoln
Release Date: November 16, 2012
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn
Runtime: 149 min
Lincoln is a film that is much easier to respect or admire, than it is to enjoy and be thoroughly entertained. While it does have sparks of humour here and there, it goes more for fascination than anything else. Speaking of the humour, it is quite impressive that the writers threw that in because of the serious subject matter. Lincoln follows Abraham Lincoln’s endeavours, during the American Civil War, to pass a constitutional Amendment to free the slaves. The performance by the great Daniel Day-Lewis adds layers to Lincoln. His reserved and kind voice makes him seem quite real – and he is. The relationships he has with everyone are all very kind, and he even treats his enemies with respect. He’s the sort of guy one would want as a neighbour, or maybe even the president of the United States of America. Oh wait, he was.
The cast is great (especially Day-Lewis, Fields, Tommy Lee Jones and Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the cinematography is great, just about everything that is done here is impressive. Steven Spielberg feels like a director, at this time that is not interested in directing blockbusters like Jaws or Jurassic Park, but ambitious biographies like this. With past works like War Horse, Schindler’s List, or Munich, it is evident that he [Spielberg] possesses a flaring interest for history. Though, those audience members who don’t share at least a small interest for history, may not like this all that much. It is impressive, but at times it is difficult to grasp the events that are unfolding. In that way, it’s a film better watched in a home setting – so one could pause the film after most scenes, and absorb and make sure they can comprehend the information that was just told to them. Monologue after intelligent monologue just gets packed on, and sometimes they can be hard to follow. There’s a bunch of movie buffs out there, but there may not be as many history buffs. That’s why this is quite the impressive achievement that shall be an Oscar front-runner, but it simply may not be the right choice for a casual moviegoer. Make sure your mind is fresh before you see it, and be open to having two and a half hours of information intricately thrown your way.
80/100
Trilogy Review: Harold & Kumar
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Release Date: July 30, 2004
Director: Danny Leiner
Stars: John Cho, Kal Penn, Ethan Embry
Runtime: 88 min
Tagline: Fast Food. High Times.
An Asian-American office worker and his Indian-American stoner friend embark on a quest to satisfy their desire for White Castle burgers.
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle brought on one heck of a comedy trilogy. It has quite a few things to its advantage: sexy women; two great primary characters that one can really relate to; hilarious antics and a bunch of laughs; a great adventure; a simple but extremely effective plot; and lots of marijuana. It does have its fair share of stupidity, but there’s a lot to like. One thing that’s great is its cameo from Neil Patrick Harris. The film never really drags on, and you want these characters to fulfill their wicked hunger. It also may make the viewer quite hungry. Unlike some films like Beerfest, that deal heavily with drugs and alcohol, you won’t have to be under any influence to actually have a good time with this.
80/100
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Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Release Date: April 25, 2008
Director: John Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Stars: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
Runtime: 107 min
Tagline: This time they’re running from the joint.
Follows the cross-country adventures of the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun idiotic authorities (mostly the over-the-top Rob Corddry) who suspect them of being terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board their flight to Amsterdam.
It’s a little bit sillier, a little bit longer, and a little bit cruder. It is inferior to the first, but it’s nonetheless still enjoyable. It drags on in a few areas and it’s more of the same ridiculous antics, and there’s a really ridiculous antagonist, but H&K are still the characters we know and love. Layers are given to the character of Kumar by bringing in an ex college girlfriend. We can now see Kumar as even more real, and relate to him the same way we do with the more ordinary Harold. The one thing that’s funnier than the first is NPH’s extended cameo, where we learn that NPH isn’t an acronym for Neil Patrick Harris, but an acronym for Neil Poon Handler. I guess I’ve been saying it wrong all these years…
68/100
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A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Release Date: November 4, 2011
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Stars: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
Runtime: 90 min
Tagline: Christmas comes prematurely
Six years after their Guantanamo Bay adventure, stoner buds Harold Lee and Kumar Patel cause a holiday fracas by inadvertently burning down Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree.
The stoner duos are back… but in unnecessary 3D! Seriously, the effects are quite gimmicky – it’s just stuff getting thrown at the screen. That aside, this is actually quite hysterical and it returns it to the great quality of the first flick. The audience hasn’t missed much of their relationship since Guantanamo, because their friendship ties were cut for quite a while. As Harold and Kumar rekindle their friendship, the audience is joining in as the peanut gallery and watching them go back to their usual hysterical antics. There’s more drugs, some more sexy scenes, and it’s funnier than the second. There’s a sweet claymation sequence that had me laughing quite hard. The 3D is pretty lame, and Harris’ cameo this time isn’t amazing, but it’s still pretty good. There’s a poor scene here and there, but most scenes are grand. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to be silly and it has a few great homages to A Christmas Story. It restored my faith in the trilogy, and I certainly wouldn’t say no to a fourth installment.
75/100
Three months of Daniel’s Film Reviews
The title says it all, my blog has been around for three months now. I’ve gotten a solid following so far, and I thank you all for sticking around with me so far. You may have only discovered my blog today, or you may have been there since the beginning, but I thank you all the same. I’ll be sticking around for a while. It’s just awesome that some people want to read what I have to say, and then actually come back for more… I am truly grateful. I’ll throw some blog statistics, now.
Blog posts per day average: This is my 146th post, and my blog has been functioning for 92 days. That’s an average of 1.59 posts a day. Also, there has been 93 reviews, so that’s an average of 1.01 reviews per day.
Blog views: 5,123 hits. THANK YOU.
Number of comments: 327 (Average of 3.55 comments/post). Even though half of them are mine…
Followers: 46 WordPress followers, 2 Email followers (Thanks, Mom and Aunt Monica!), 5 Tumblr followers, and 106 Twitter followers (click here to follow me).
Number of likes: 361 (Average of 3.92 likes/post).
November 16-18 Box Office Predictions
Plot: Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.
Tom Stoppard is adapting Leo Tolstoy’s flawless novel for the big screen. The Joe Wright-Keira Knightley team is back, as they have worked together for Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. This seems like a great old-fashioned drama that is only making it to 16 theaters in its opening weekend. It isn’t the most anticipated of this weekend’s releases, but it seems sort of promising for its target audience. The supporting cast includes the great Jude Law, Kelly Macdonald, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
A.K. Prediction: $450, 000
Plot: As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated biopic of Abraham Lincoln is finally expanding after its initial limited release. It earned a great $900, 000 at just eleven theaters this weekend, and it is now expanding to 1500 theaters.
Lincoln Prediction: $17, 250, 000
Plot: After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
David O. Russell brings us a potential Oscar contender with the anticipated Silver Linings Playbook. This is his follow-up film to 2010’s The Fighter, and he actually surprised a few people by not choosing Mark Wahlberg as the former teach Pat Solitano. Russell is often at his best while directing Wahlberg. Though, regardless of its main star, it still looks charming, funny and thematic. The cast makes the film look even more promising.
S.L.P. Prediction: $1, 878, 000
Plot: After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.
Finally. Finally, it’s here. The end of the series, I mean. I have no interest in seeing this. I got you there for a second, didn’t I? It seems like a nice movie for its target audience, but I can’t see the entertainment value. Oh, there are vampire villains after us, and we need to protect our child. Now, Bella’s turned into a vampire. Is she going to sparkle in the night, too? The whole vampire premise has been worn out by this. Throw in that lame ass teen romance “dilemma”: Should I pick the vampire? Or should I pick the guy who turns into a big dog? Decisions, decisions, decisions… One thing will keep me content: None of these films will ever get nominated for an Oscar. At least, I hope not. Otherwise, it will be duly noted in my suicide note. Teenagers and others who actually like this sort of premise, enjoy. It will unfortunately make a lot of money this weekend, much to my dismay.
T.S: BDP2 Prediction: $147, 480, 000
TOP 10 BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS
TITLE/PREDICTION/STUDIO/ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE
1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2/$147, 480, 000/ Summit Ent.
2. Skyfall/ $62, 000, 000/ MGM/ 91%
3. Wreck-It Ralph/ $21, 442, 000/ Buena Vista/ 85%
4. Lincoln/ $17, 250, 000/ Buena Vista/ 91%
5. Flight/ $10, 000, 000/ Paramount/ 77%
6. Argo/ $3, 800, 000/ Warner Bros./ 95%
7. Taken 2/ $2, 750, 000/ Fox/ 21%
8. Here Comes the Boom/ $2, 000, 000/ Sony/ 40%
9. Silver Linings Playbook/ $1, 878, 000/ Weinstein Company/ 86%
10. Cloud Atlas/ $1, 400, 000/ Warner Bros./ 64%
Are you guys going to the theater this weekend?
November 9-11 Box Office Results
Skyfall raked in a majority of the dough this weekend, with $90 million (including Thursday’s earnings)! It so deserved it, too, because it’s just about one of the finest action films of the year, and it is generally one of the best of the year as well! And Lincoln took in an impressive $900, 000 at eleven theatres this weekend. Also, at least surprising to me, Pitch Perfect sneaked into the Top 10 this weekend at #8, but that’s pretty sweet for it! Well, now to the numbers!
And, if you missed any of my reviews of the movies in the Top 10 Box Office, just click the link on the title and it will lead you right to it!
Top 10 Box Office, The Results (Estimates)
1. Skyfall: $87, 800, 000
2. Wreck-It Ralph: $33, 056, 000
3. Flight: $15, 100, 000
4. Argo: $6, 745, 000
5. Taken 2: $4, 000, 000
6. Here Comes the Boom: $2, 550, 000
7. Cloud Atlas: $2, 525, 000
8. Pitch Perfect: $2, 504, 000
9. The Man with the Iron Fists: $2, 490, 000
10. Hotel Transylvania: $2, 350, 000
My Box Office Predictions (Title/Prediction/Off by(+/-))
1. Skyfall/ $85, 000, 000/ (-) $2, 800, 000
2. Wreck-It Ralph/ $42, 800, 000/ (+) $9, 744, 000
3. Flight/ $19, 000, 000/ (+) $3, 900, 000
4. Argo/ $8, 500, 000/ (+) $1, 755, 000
5. Taken 2/ $5, 000, 000/ (+) $1, 000, 000
6. Here Comes the Boom/ $2, 250, 000/ (-) $300, 000
7. Cloud Atlas/ $4, 200, 000/ (+) $1, 675, 000
9. The Man with the Iron Fists/ $6, 200, 000/ (+) $3, 710, 000
10. Hotel Transylvania/ $3, 100, 000/ (+) $750, 000
Other Predictions:
11. Paranormal Activity 4/ $2, 800, 000/ (+) $780, 000
15. Lincoln/ $328, 000/ (-) $572, 000
I was off by a grand total of $25, 634, 000.
Did any of you get to the theatres this weekend, or have any time to watch any movies (in general)?
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My reviews of other films in theatres
House at the End of the Street
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I’ve been putting these reviews at the bottom of my results article because I’m trying to get a little bit more traffic for them (in case you readers missed the reviews). And I, just now, realized by revealing the scores, it isn’t any good at getting more traffic. Who wants to read a review when they already know the score I gave it? I don’t think I’d do very well working in advertising…
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Snow White and the Huntsman
Release Date: June 1, 2012
Director: Rupert Sanders
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron
Runtime: 127 min
Snow White, the daughter of the late King, escapes from the clutches of the wicked Queen Ravenna after years of imprisonment. She has just escaped when the Magic Mirror informs Ravenna that Snow is the only one who could defeat her, because of her innocence and purity. If the Queen obtains and eats Snow’s heart, she won’t have to feed on any being’s life source ever again, and she will achieve immortality. The Queen sends a squad of men, led by the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), into the dark forest to get her back. When the Huntsman learns he is being played like a fiddle, he turns against the Queen’s men and teams up with Snow in the process. Meanwhile, Snow’s childhood friend, William, learns that she is alive and he sets off on the road to find her and offer some assistance to the situation.
Ah, Snow White and the Huntsmen, you fulfill your purpose, and you do it well. Snow White’s purpose is to offer a nice twist on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale, and it does just that. Almost so well, that I forgot what happened in the general source material (but that may because I haven’t seen it for a while), and this became a film of its own. It’s so convincing, that this may as well be the source material itself.
The character of the Huntsman is okay, because one could understand his motivations, but he wasn’t anything special. He was pretty sweet in war, and he’s likeable enough that one would be upset if he died. Hemsworth offers an okay performance at the same time, and says, “Hey! Forget Thor’s hammer, I’m pretty good with an axe, too!”
Ughck, why couldn’t the filmmakers have found a better person to cast as Snow White? Oh yeah, that’s right, Sanders wanted a good candidate to sleep with after the film finished. Seriously, Stewart is such a boring screen presence. As for the looks, she’s pretty fitting as Snow, but as for the acting skills and presence, not so much. What happened to her potential flare in 2002’s Panic Room? She has gotten so boring since that time, and she really should not have had the chance to be in another potential teen franchise. Please, Bella, stop it, and no one believed that phony accent (whatever the Hell it was) for a second. It’s sad that I liked her best when she was sleeping. Two battles were being fought in this one: the obvious one, Ravenna’s forces vs. King Magnus’ forces; but, there was also a not-so-obvious battle between Kristen Stewart and Sam Claflin (William), entitled “Who’s Going to End up Being more Boring?”[.] I think Claflin won, but not by much. That one scene where it was just those two, I almost fell asleep. The real person who truly shines through is the always-fantastic Charlize Theron. She’s just great and sometimes truly eerie as the wicked Queen Ravenna.
Most of the characters are just okay for me, Ravenna is the best. Snow White in the source material is great, but she isn’t as good now, mostly because Stewart is the face of her. The dwarfs were pretty great. There’s a number of known actors as the little people (like Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, the great comedic presence Nick Frost, and Toby Jones). It was sort of cool how they made them look so small, too. I like the characters of the dwarfs, but I wasn’t a fan of the appearances. I just couldn’t help but pick on their hair. As a kid, their parents must have given each of them a bad haircut. And to add onto that, they went to Kindergarden class and a class bully took safety scissors and thought they were a hairdresser, and he made the hair even worse, and it never grew back. At least, that’s my theory.
Snow knows where it’s going, but at times it feels like it’s a struggle getting there. It does get there, but after some effort. I must add, the finale was great. It’s a little better than that battle scene of Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but it pales in comparison to any battle scenes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The make-up is great, the finale is great, and the characters were just okay. The action, when it comes, is purely great, and the human Mirror thing was actually very cool. Charlize Theron steals the show, and at times, she’s almost as ugly as she was in 2003’s Monster.
70/100
