Recommendations: September 14

Liberal Arts - Josh Radnor's second take in the director's chair.  This time he plays a 30-something year old guy who goes to a party at his Alma matter and falls for a college student... I feel like I've already seen this movie based on that, but it has Zac Efron in it so who cares.

Finding Nemo - Okay, so obviously this is a re-release.  Everyone's favourite clown fish (Albert Brooks) and memory impaired regal blue tan fish (Ellen DeGeneres) are back, this time in 3D.  While I doubt the 3D will really add to Dory's ability to speak whale this is still going to be a movie worth catching.

The Master - This one's only on limited release this week (it comes out in full next week), but it looks really good.  Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman it's about a Naval veteran just home from war.  This movie is set to be the first controversial film of the year and is based in part on the foundation of Scientology.

Arbitrage - I saw the trailer for this the other day and it made me really want to see the movie.  Richard Gere plays a rich (or maybe formerly rich, but hiding that fact from his family) man who's in the process of selling his company when he gets into a car accident that kills his mistress.  A cover up ensues and, based on the trailer, his whole life starts to go to shit.

10 Years - Another limited release (that's 4 for this recommendation), this one's an indie take on the high school reunion.  To be honest, the only reason I'm really looking forward to seeing this one is because it's an on-screen reunion of real-life couple Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum.  I can be fairly easy to please at times.

Snow White and the Huntsman - Okay, so I know I'm lame, but I actually really liked this movie, even Kristen Stewart's role in it.  And now... well, hey! This is the movie that broke her and Robert Pattison up!

What to Expect When You're Expecting - The movie inspired by the book about pregnancy.  I wasn't really a big fan of this film, but it definitely had some good points.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - This movie is the reason people are afraid of clowns.  Or at least it should be.  One of those horrible B-movies from the 80s, Killer Klowns is now being released on Blu-Ray.  Which totally means you should check it out.

Wizards of Odd - A collection of stories edited by Peter Haining, this features fantasy works by Terry Pratchett, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, and others.

The Flying Sorcerers - The follow up to the above collection, The Flying Sorcerers collection of fantasy based stories featuring works by Terry Pratchett, Roald Dahl, Arthur C. Clarke, Angela Carter, and others.  You can't really go wrong there.

Recommendations: June 29

Magic Mike - I'm going to quote the Cineplex Magazine's description of this movie: "Based on Channing Tatum's real-life experience working as a stripper".  This is a movie about male strippers.  I'm going to say that again: it's a movie about male strippers.  Based on Channing Tatum's real life.  This could be absolutely horrible, and it'd still be worth seeing.

Ted - Seth MacFarlane's transition into the big screen, Ted is about a kid who wishes for his teddy bear to be real, then grows up.  I'm not really sure what to expect from this movie; I think it could be really good or really bad.  We'll definitely have to wait and see.

People Like Us - Starring Chris Pine, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Elizabeth Banks, People Like Us is about a man who finds out that his father had another family and that he has to give his previously unknown, half-sister $150,000.  I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie and have been since I saw the first trailers for it.  I'm interested in seeing the journey that these characters go on, from Pine's struggling businessman, to Banks' alcoholic, to Pfeiffer's grieving widow.

Take This Waltz - The second film from Canadian Sarah Polley, Take this Waltz is about a woman, Margot (Michelle Williams), who is in love with her husband (Seth Rogen), while attracted to her neighbour (Luke Kirby).  As Michelle Williams appears to be on a kick as of late, I'm certain this'll be a great movie, although I am a bit nervous about Rogen's part in it.  I usually enjoy his movies, but I don't think I've ever actually seen him in a drama.

21 Jump Street - An amazing combination between comedy and action, 21 Jump Street is about two rather failed cops who are sent to a high school to pose as students and uncover a drug ring.  I really enjoyed this movie, and recommend it to others.

The Artist - The 21st century's take on a silent film, The Artist is about a silent movie star who bemoans the coming era of talkies.  While I haven't actually seen this movie yet it was a huge success last year, winning 107 awards during the award season, making it the most awarded French film in history.  Definitely an artsy movie, this film is a must-see.

Mirror Mirror - The year's first Snow White movie, Mirror Mirror was ridiculously overly sugary, but in a good way.  Something to check out when you're in the mood for some easy entertainment.

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle tells the story of Walls' childhood and family, both which could be described only as unconventional.  There's something about this book that just kept me reading, while also gave me the firm desire to yell at Walls' parents.

Let's Pretend this Never Happened - I haven't actually read this book yet, but Let's Pretend this Never Happened is getting a good reception and debuted at number two on the New York best seller list.  This is a memoir by blogger Jenny Lawson about the things that people like to pretend never happened.

Water for Elephants - This is one of the best books I've ever read.  By Sara Gruen Water for Elephants tells the story of Jacob Jankowski though two periods in his life; one as an old man, in a nursing home, reflecting on how his life has turned out, and one where he's a young man beginning to live said life.  At the start of the Depression, Jacob jumped onto a train that would change his life and, inadvertently, joined the circus.  If you have the time, check out this book.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Spruell, Sam Claflin
Director: Rupert Sanders
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Drama
Rating: B+

In my review of Mirror Mirror I predicted that, despite the fact that the film was predictable it was still probably going to be the best Snow White film of the year.  Having now seen Snow White and the Huntsman I must now do something that I don’t do very often and admit that I was wrong.  Snow White is surprisingly awesome.  Sure, there are points when the plot is a bit over the top and the acting isn't exactly the greatest, but this film is intense and, in my opinion, well put together.

The film starts with the usual Snow White set up: the wicked witch Ravenna (Theron) manipulates her way into the heart of the king of the land and, on the night of their marriage kills him during sex.  She then opens the gates to the castle and lets her army in, successfully taking over the kingdom.  The one loose string that she leaves is the king's daughter, Snow White (Stewart), who she keeps alive but locked up in a tower.  Ravenna manages to keep her power and beauty through the use of dark magic, but on the day of Snow White's eighteenth birthday her powers begin to wane; no longer the (legal age) fairest of them all, Ravenna must kill Snow and consume her heart in order to regain her supremacy and ensure that she will be powerful and beautiful for all eternity.  Her plan, however, goes to shit from there, as Snow manages to escape from her prison and flees to the Dark Woods.  Ravenna sends the Huntsman (Hemsworth), a drunk widower, and her brother(Spruell) into the woods to retrieve Snow White.

Snow White and the Huntsman is a lot darker than most Snow White films and as such has more of a connection with the original Brothers Grimm story.  People don't seem to realize that classic fairy tales were not about people finding love and defeating evil and living happily ever after.  I've been a fan of the darker, grittier stories for awhile now, so that whole aspect of this film is really what drew me to it.  I like that Snow White is able to kick butt, but I also like that even while kicking butt she still falls into some of the more traditional aspects of the story.  There's still the apple, there's still the kiss, it's just not exactly how you expect it.  I think my favourite part of this film was the way that it merges themes of Medieval England, other traditional cultures, and folklore.  There's fairies and dwaves (of the "heigh-ho" variety, not the little person variety) and a magical white elk-like creature, as well as folk-type songs and shield walls and European style castles.  There's even this whole part that takes place in what feels like a Chinese fishing village.  The attention that Sanders paid to the details of this film and the creation of this world is amazing.

There are a few moments in the plot that I didn't really like, such as when the Huntsman tells Snow to aim for the heart when trying to stab someone.   I wasn't overly happy with the dwarfs either; I liked the way that they were created and the fact that they're a separate race, but I thought it was a bit ridiculous that rather than hiring actual little people as the dwarfs regular sized actors had their faces digitally transmuted onto small bodies.  Doing that is an unnecessary extra expense and an outright insult to actual little actors.  I really liked Theron's evil queen, and I love the detail that they put into making her look old.  Her costumes in general walked a very fine line between being awesome and being over the top, and there were a couple that made me think the costume designer was a little too inspired by Lady Gaga.  The character in general, though, was totally one that you love to hate, as was Spruell's character.  There's something about him (or at least the way he was dressed in the film) that just screams creepy pervert, which given as that's what he was playing is a compliment.  Hemsworth, as usual, was highly enjoyable, both to watch and to listen to, and he portrayed a very convincing person.  I wasn't always sure what his motives were, but he won my heart in this film.  As for Stewart... what can be said about her?  So often she's criticized for being wooden and emotionless, and there is a lot to her Snow White that is wooden and a bit on the emotionless side.  We do see a lot of her trade mark dead pan, mouth slightly open look, but you also get to see her smile and at points even laugh.  I'm not sure how much of a range she has, but I think in Snow White she does broaden it more than she's done in some of her other, more recent works.  She's not the best actress, but in a work where she's given actual direction and has a good script, I'm of the opinion that she can be enjoyable.

Mirror Mirror (2012)

Stars: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Jordan Prentice, Mark Povinelli, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba, Ronald Lee Clark, Mare Winningham, Sean Bean
Director: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Rating: B-

The first of the two feature films on the legend of Snow White, Mirror Mirror is an attempt to reimagine the story in a feminine world while remaining child friendly.  This whole idea, or at least the reimaging portion of it, is a common theme in current retellings of Snow White, to the point that it’s pushing becoming a cliché (and will definitely achieve such a status by the end of the year, what with the two Snow White movies coming out and the Snow White television show on ABC).  My problem with Mirror Mirror is that in its reimaging it really loses elements of the original story.  I like the idea of an action girl Snow White, who is as eager to fight the evil queen alongside her prince and the dwarves, but I still want the poison apples and true loves kiss and what not.

The story is such: Once upon a time there was a young girl, Snow White (Collins), who had a wonderful father, the King (Bean), but no mother.  One day her father marries again, so as to give his daughter a mother.  But the new Queen (Roberts) is somewhat of a wicked stepmother; more concerned with maintaining her beauty and power than anything else.  The King eventually goes off to fight a great evil, from which he never returns, leaving the power to rule in the Queen’s hands.  She essentially locks Snow up in the castle, forbidding her to leave, and taxes the country into destitution.  Snow finally comes to her senses and realizes that she should stand up for her people… causing the Queen to get a henchman (Lane) to kill her; he fails to do so, and Snow ends up moving in with seven dwarfs (Prentice, Povinelli, Gnoffo, Woodburn, Saraceno, Klebba, and Clark), who teach her their banditry ways and provide her with room and board, in exchange for her far superior cooking.  Oh, and also, there’s a Prince (Hammer), who is being pursued by the Queen despite his strong attraction to Snow.  Sound familiar?

The highlight of this film is the dwarfs, which I think is a bit typical of a Snow White film.  They don’t sing and dance, but they do provide a good comic relief for the film.  They are, if not in name than in essence, Teacher, Grumpy, Weird, Gay (or European?), Pervy, Hungry, and Giggles.  Each one is a very unique character and while they don’t really get much individual development in the film they do more than just push the plot forward.  Even during the obligatory montage they interact with Snow in a way that is unique unto them.  It takes awhile for Snow herself to become a strong character, but as she begins to escape from the Queen’s hold she begins to show her independence.  She never descends into the damsel in distress category, even when she is in a distressful position.  The Queen is far less evil than in other depictions, although she is a bit flat.  Her motivation really is the desire to stay beautiful, and the way in which her magic works isn’t really explained.  The world that she travels to in order to get to her magic mirror is cool, as is the being inside of it, but the whole aspect isn’t really developed.  The consequences of her using magic aren’t fully explained either, just ominously threatened.  The idea in itself, however, is rather clichéd, so I guess it doesn’t really need to be further developed.  In some ways, the Prince is more villainous than the Queen.  Like Snow he has to go through some development, but in the beginning of the film he is pretty much everything that you would expect of a fairytale Prince Charming: attractive, daring, charming, conceited, and totally sexist.  He does grow and realize the error of his personality, and it is that development that is one of the few surprising moments of the movie.  That being said, however, while Mirror Mirror is a bit predictable, and doesn’t fully embrace the elements of the classic story, it is still a fun movie and, I suspect probably the best Snow White movie to come out this year.