Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

I was really skeptical about watching this movie. I always like watching a good fairy tale, but Kristen Stewart... not so much. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised, though not completely proven wrong on the Stewart front.

The story is pretty much your classic Snow White story. Girl grows up with loving parents, mom dies, dad remarries witch, witch tries to kill her, she escapes, etc. They didn't really change the essentials of the storyline much, but they did change the roles of the characters slightly.

Snow White was given a harder edge in this story. Instead of living a comfortable life until her attempted homicide, the queen locked her in the castle prison for years and the first visual we get of her after she grows into a young woman shows her to be an unwashed, grimy, sheltered creature. She doesn't stay that way for the duration of the film, but she does have more of an impulse to stand and fight when danger arrives than do some of the other Snow White renditions. She also rouses and leads an army to fight the queen in a Joan of Arc like charge.

There is also an increased sense of an everyday magical world. That magic is normalized in this world, still to be wary of, but a normal occurrence. The queen is a witch of sorts. She made a sacrifice in her youth and must suck the life force out of young women to stay beautiful and powerful. Despite her girl hunt however, it is not this fact that she wants Snow White... or I should say not the only reason. Snow White is said to have a purity and a strength that is the only thing that could stop the queen from achieving true power and is what makes her weak, so she wants to consume Snow White to ensure her power doesn't wane. Snow White's ability is not as manifested as the queens, but she seems more to have a oneness with nature, to be the physical representation of life, and this is demonstrated in her interactions with non-human life forms.

What is really enjoyed about the film was the visual landscape of the forest. It was very magical and lush at times, and held that latent expectation and light. I thought that overall the characters were well cast as well. The queen was glacial, but you could see how someone would submit to her. The huntsman was running from his own demons, but was strong enough to put them aside to do what needed to be done. The only character I didn't enjoy was Snow White herself. I wasn't bothered enough not to enjoy the movie, but her voice showed too little emotion and was almost flat at times when emotion needed to be shown. Also, she does not seem to be able to display more than a handful of facial expressions, which really limits the character development and believability.

Aside from that however, I enjoyed this film. It was a pleasure visually and the storyline was gripping, as well as were the rest of the cast.

 

The Town (2010)

This is the story of a robber who falls in love with a girl who witnessed one of his jobs. The guy is a part of this group who have been on the wrong side of the law for almost their entire lives, just like their parents. They're also professionals in the field and leave no traces for the cops to find. Well, on one job they rob a bank, and they end up taking the bank manager with them for security, an attractive, young, female bank manager. Well our guy follows her one day, is kind of captivated by her, and begins seeing her on the sly. Eventually his 'work associates' finds out he's dating her, and use her safety as blackmail when he tells them he doesn't want to steal anymore. The FBI is also getting closer and closer to catching them, making each job they do more risky than the last. Will they be able to pull off this last big job? And will the guy ever get to be with the girl?!

This movie was actually better than I initially thought it would be. There was a lot of action and suspense, but it wasn't cheesy or overplayed. Overall, I'd probably watch it again.

 

The Adventures of Tin Tin (2011)

The story opens with Tin Tin at a bazaar and he happens to spot and purchase an old model ship. Soon after he does so, two strange gentlemen approach him, one offering to buy the ship, but he disregards them both. Instead he becomes more interested in the ship itself and begin to research the reason behind why it seems to be so sought after. The ship has a clue on it, which falls out when a cat knocks it over, and the previous would-be-purchaser has stolen the ship from Tin Tin in hopes of obtaining this clue. Tin Tin is then caught up in a tumultuous adventure/ mystery involving an old sea-captain and this mysterious man who seems so keen on obtaining this clue.

I've been into the comics and haven't seen an episode of the tv show since it was on tv, so I probably wouldn't consider myself a Tin Tin fan, but I did enjoy this film. First off the animation is better than anything I've seen yet. To an untrained eye, this film might look like a live action, if it weren't for the some of the mispositioned features of course, but that ties in with how the original characters were drawn. Some of the expressions look really life-like and the backgrounds are really well done. The good thing about animation in general is that it allows for anything to happen. Since the creators aren't limited to real life and budget restrictions, there are no limits. The good thing about this type of animation is that it's so close to live action, and it was really effective in this movie because while a live action version would have catered to the true fans, who are all grown up now and would probably appreciate live action more than cartoons. It also is great for this kind of movie because it would have been really expensive otherwise... what with all of the things they destroyed... and the crane fight.

It was high action and high adventure. Tin Tin is a clever protagonist who uses his head to get out of scrapes, of which he gets into plenty. It's been a while since I've seen a movie like this in theaters. It's worth the watch.

The Woman Thing

A collection of films featuring women who defied stereotypes and limitations, whether those limitations regarded politics, education, occupation, social order, etc. I always love finding these films because so often stereotypes are supported, not fought or deconstructed. It is more common for women to be weak-willed, whiny and always needing to be saved, more often seen as a love interest rather than a protagonist. It's nice to see main stream culture embrace alternative and stronger pictures of femininity every so often.

A League of Their Own

Mona Lisa Smile

Whale Rider

Iron Jawed Angels

Charlie's Angels - The Complete First Season

Little Women

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider

Kill Bill

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Pride and Prejudice

Road to Avonlea: Season 3 Specifically episode 6 "Aunt Janet Rebels" of this season, but overall this show has very strong female characters.

Coco Chanel

Erin Brockovich

Shakespeare in Love (

Wonder Woman

Elizabeth

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

This book about about a girl who was born with the mark of a god on her and the story basically follows her life and the trouble she faces because of this mark.
 
The girl is intelligent and she uses her intellect as her weapon. I'd classify this series as an adventure, but Phedre doesn't 'fight'. In fact when she's in physical trouble someone has to go save her and she can't really help herself, but that's not to say that she's a wilting heroine. She earns her own respect by acting on her own and overcomes situations by using her brain. quite the odd heroine by the norm's standards.
 
The author's pretty good with words and has done a bit of research (winning combination). Many things in the novel have a real world reference.
 
It's adventurous, erotic and suspenseful, and I'd say one of those stories you'd call epic. It's around 900 pages, but you'll get through it and be grateful you went through the trek.