Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Title: Snow White and the Huntsman

Series: Snow White and the Huntsman

Director: Rupert Sanders

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron

Rated: PG-13

Released: 2012

Personal Rating: 2.5/5

Oscars: Nominated for 2

Plot: In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
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Leaving Out Kristen Stewart
The low rating I have given this movie isn't due to Stewart. Yes, Stewart is a horrible actress that only has an expression and a half in her arsenal. But she doesn't make this movie horrible. The job of making this movie horrible doesn't lie solely with her or even mostly with her. In fact, I was looking over Stewart and the movie was still horrible.

Glaring Plot Holes
I was talking to my Dad about some of the prominent plot holes in this movie and he replied with, "It's just a movie." No, no, and no you don't defend a movie by saying plot holes are okay because it's just a movie. A movie has to make sense within its own universe. With this movie all the plot holes take away from the wonderful graphics (and they are easily the best part of the film) and the otherwise decent plot. I say a decent plot because it's simple and nostalgic (princess is a 'chosen one' who has to save her kingdom from a great evil). The first question that nagged me from beginning to end was "Why did Ravenna allow Snow White to live?" On imdb the question is answered (on the FAQ) by saying that Ravenna wanted to suck the beauty out of Snow White. This doesn't make sense due to Ravenna having a whole kingdom of pretty girls and to allow Snow White to mature (in this film the evil queen can only suck out beauty when a girl is physically mature) gives her time to cause problems. And, hey, that's what ends up happening. Listing all the plot holes in this film would be a blog post of its own.

Things Aren't Stated Clearly
Snow White is supposed to be deciding between two potential lovers: the Huntsman and William. However, this isn't clearly shown throughout a good majority of the movie. While Chris Hemsworth is a good actor, Kristen Stewart's expressions can't show any subtlety of a possible relationship. Besides that, the whole basis of Snow White being loved by the audience is stated by basically saying 'she good character, you likey'. And the last one that I will mention here: the kiss. Those familiar with the fairy tale will know that true love's kiss would wake her from the spell. But the movie DOESN'T STATE IT! You instead get the two 'love interests' just kissing her. I'm not saying people won't figure it out for themselves, but is it too much to ask for just ONE line saying what's going on? It doesn't need to be described in depth (due to everyone most likely knowing about the fairy tale and cliche), but the movie not saying what's happening is just lazy.

Final Thoughts
I wanted to like this movie. I really did. I was excited to finally see it even though Kristen Stewart was in it. She's just one actress in the movie. But there were just too many plot holes. Then there's the fact that you never really get to know the characters. You see them and spend time with them, but you never really get to know them. This is especially bad with Snow White who is the main character and the one we're supposed to be rooting for. By the end of the movie I was rooting for Ravenna (the Evil Queen) which shouldn't be the case in a good movie. Why? You're supposed to root for the good guys and wish damnation upon the bad guys. Besides the graphics (which are very well done) the song at the end of the credits ('Breath of Life' by Florence and the Machines) are the two things of this movie I enjoyed without question.

Brave (2012)

Title: Brave

Director: Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman

Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, and Emma Thompson

Rated: PG

Released: 2012

Personal Rating: 3.5/5

Oscars: Nominated for 1

Plot:  Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.
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Different From Trailer
Now I  am not the first to say so but I must: the trailer is highly misleading. When I saw the trailer I thought that it would be about a princess going on an adventure through a faraway land because she is making her own fate. Luckily I did listen to reviewers (and people who had seen the movie) so I knew that the trailer was wrong. I heard something about going on an adventure with a bear. So how does this affect my view of the movie? It made me disappointed but I didn't take off any marks because the trailer was different from the movie.

A Twist That You Can See Coming
If you can even pay a little attention during the movie, you can figure out who the demonic bear is. I don't know whether to be mad or happy that I guessed it. I'm happy because I figured something out but mad because usually the stuff I do figure out any idiot can do the same. I watched this movie with my Dad and I usually remain quiet (in such situations) because he doesn't seem to like me talking to the movie (which I actually like to do). However, when Merida figures this twist out I yelled out, "No shit!"

A Female Protagonist
Let me start off with saying that I am glad that this movie featured a female in the lead role. However, she was still not that strong of a character. Part of it was that she was a little annoying and the other part is that she didn't do that much. The biggest thing she did was give some half-assed speech about letting children decide their own fates and it didn't make sense why everyone quickly agreed to this. Maybe I am being a little harsh as she did also manage to turn her mother and brothers back into their normal selves. No matter how little she did, I am glad that she learned a little humility by the end.

Final Thoughts
This movie's uplifting tone and happy conclusion were good to me. This being due to me finishing The Casual Vacancy (by J.K.Rowling) around a week before and I wanted to see something uplifting. That being said, since I knew it was going to end happy I wasn't tense during many scenes. And when I was tense I wasn't as tense as I should have been. However, this doesn't make the film bad. It's just the type of film it is. But if you want a tense and gripping tale, this isn't the movie for you.

S&N: The Rule of Logic and Playful Battle

I talk about The Rule of Logic and give a little Sneak Peek into Playful Battle.

The Casual Vacancy (JK Rowling)

Title: The Casual Vacancy

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: 2012

Rating: 6/5

Basic Plot: Barry Fairbrother dies in the town of Pagford. This sweet little town's darker side is shown.
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This Ain't Harry Potter
For all those who haven't yet heard: This is not a kid's book and far removed from the world of Harry Potter. The language used in this book includes harsh swearing as well as words you need a dictionary for. As well as a more adult tendency for the words, the situations reflect what the intended audience can handle. Among other things in this book: drug, sex, and rape are all shown. Though there is only one rape scene near the end of the book to the character who least deserves it. All I mean to say with this is that if you're a Harry Potter fan it doesn't mean that this is a book for you. Also, if you're a kid with a love of Harry's wizarding world: that hopeful magic isn't in this book.

Three Dimensional Characters
These aren't black and white characters. There are those who appear good at first glance but there is always some dirt hiding under their masks. The one character that I loathed (and didn't mind if anything bad happened to him) was Stuart "Fats" Wall. Besides him, every character had at least one good characteristic about them. It's almost scary with how realistic characters are portrayed (I'm talking more about their three dimensionality more than anything else) and made me disturbed every time I picked up the book. I must congratulate Rowling with this superb feat.

The Dark Tone of the Novel
This novel isn't happy. By the end there are a few 'happy' ends to a few subplots, but the majority of them don't have overly happy outcomes. Besides the ending (which I recommend getting a few million tissue boxes before you read), the novel is very dark in tone. Andrew (aka Arf) is the son of an abusive father; Samantha is married to a man she has lost sexual interest in long ago; Stuart (aka Fats) believes in doing what he wants over what is decent; and a character gets raped. So if you're looking for a feel good story: stay far away from this book.

Final Thoughts
I picked up this book because J.K.Rowling wrote it. I wasn't pretending to myself that this book would be like Harry Potter, but I wanted to see if Rowling was just a one hit wonder. While reading this book I could hardly believe Rowling wrote it because of how different the tone and feel of it was. I had heard that it was a sad book but I didn't realize how sad it would actually be. Maybe something is wrong with me because I like books/movies/comics that make me hurt, but I don't care. This book made me hurt so bad but the journey it gave was very much worth it. I would highly recommend this book to any mature person that wants to see how three dimensional characters are written. Finally, the book is a little hard to get into, but once you get past the beginning stage you'll be pleased you stuck with it.

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