PCP in Theaters - Snow White & The Huntsman

For today's hit of PCP I'll be writing about the recent fantasy film Snow White & The Huntsman.  I saw this with my wife on June 15th, 2 weeks after it was released in theaters, as my wife wanted to see this over Prometheus.  Although I was disappointed to not see Prometheus at the time, at least this movie turned out to not have been a total waste of time and it was actually quite enjoyable.  One thing that worried me was the size of the audience.  We caught this in a matinee on a Friday, two weeks after it was released, and we were the only two people in the theater.  When we caught Avengers three weeks after it came out on a Friday matinee, the theater was still packed.  Fortunately, despite that bad omen, the movie wasn't as bad as I feared.

Snow White & The Huntsman - 2012, Rated PG-13. 127 minutes.  Starring:  Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, & Charlize Theron.  My rating:  7 out of 10.

Snow White is an old tale that is familiar to all of us thanks to it being previously told countless times to children growing up all over the world. I've never seen a version of the story that is as dark as this one though.  SW&TH goes back to the dark origins of the Snow White story by the Brothers Grimm, bypassing the comedy and heart of the Disney version of the tale, and going even darker than the original Grimm story.  The movie expands the small role of the Huntsman into a major character who has a ton of screentime.  This has been a good year for Chris Hemsworth, as this is his 3rd movie this year, with the Red Dawn remake still to come in the winter.

The story is nothing really new, as by now everyone already knows the story of Snow White, unless they've been living under a rock their whole lives.  The only thing the film can do is tell the story in a new and exciting way.  In that sense, the film succeeds.  Visually, there are some sequences in this film that are quite amazing and thrilling, and in a couple cases very visually inventive.  I liked the way that the magic mirror melted and took the form of a person, and also how the troll under the bridge was actually camouflaged to look like the bridge itself.  That was a great little detail. 

Kristen Stewart is not terrible in this movie, although her performance wasn't phenomenal either.  She had the same blank expression for most of the film that she does in the Twilight series, so at this point I'm starting to wonder if she is even capable of facial expressions or not, having not seen evidence on film to the contrary.  She's severely upstaged by the very entertaining performance of Charlize Theron as the evil Queen Ravenna.  She hams it up in the role, and it is quite enjoyable to watch.  Also, she is stunning, because she's Charlize Theron.  The script of the film had to point out that the reason that Kristen Stewart was considered to be "the fairest of all" was that it included inner beauty as well, because in reality there is no way Stewart is winning that comparison.

In short, I liked this film because of some of the new twists it had on the Snow White story.  It found a way to tell that story that wasn't boring or a total rehash of all the other versions of Snow White that have come before. It had some cool visuals and decent action sequences.  Apparently, the studio has already greenlight a sequel, but I don't think I'd have any desire to see it if Charlize Theron's character doesn't return.
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Trailer Hitch - These were the trailers attached to SW&TH and my thoughts on them

Katy Perry: Part of Me - I tend to avoid concert movies because they are rarely good. Despite the turmoil in Katy Perry's life in the past year, I don't have any desire to see that drama play out behind the scenes of her concert tour.  I'll pass.

Total Recall - I like the original version of this film, and the remake looks visually amazing.  I'm rather excited for this one, I hope they pull off a good job.  The last Colin Farrell remake, Fright Night (my review here), turned out to be an unexpected surprise, so I'm hoping lightning will strike twice.  I'll definitely be seeing this, and hopefully in theaters.

House at the End of the Street - This movie seems so much like so many other horror films I've seen before that I don't particularly feel the need to rush out and see this one.  I'll pass.

Les Miserables - It has a great cast, and it is a great musical, so I know I'll be seeing this eventually.  It comes out the same day as The Hobbit though, so I'll be seeing that first.  I'll probably catch this on DVD.

Ice Age: Continental Drift - Aside from the horrendously awful science this franchise teaches to impressionable youth (having the Dawn of the Dinosaurs come in the 3rd movie), I doubt I'll see this unless I catch it on DVD years from now when my son is older.

Bourne Legacy - I've enjoyed the Bourne series up until now, and nothing I've seen in this trailer makes me think this outing will be any different.  The film series continues to be wildly different than the books, but it is nice that they are having their own take on the character.  I'll probably catch this on DVD.