Snow White & the Huntsman

Charlize Theron. So mortifiyingly fabulous. Were there any other characters? Ok there were other characters. But what I loved about this movie was Charlize Theron, could you tell? And the darkness of it. She was the shining star, resplendent in her evilness. Perhaps it was cinematography, or art direction, or props, or MS Theron herself. Delicious. There is a scene, with a bird, and a metal device and MS Theron. Nuff said. So tasty. The movie itself is actually a very nice adaptation of Snow White. It is well thought, well presented, and entertaining. Art direction and cinematography (and CGI of course) is excellent. And the main actors did a fairly good job of portraying their roles. Snow White was brave, though, I would have preferred a little more character time with her to develop empathy, which was lacking. The Joan of Arc warrior type portrayal of SW is a twist, but, not one I like particularly, since it does not jibe with the original fairy tale and Germano/Celtic legends. Part of the reason I did not develop empathy is due to the short screen time with her, though SW's portrayal is also rather flat. The huntsman was also a nice touch because he is often omitted from SW films, though prominent in some of the stories. I had much stronger empathy for the huntsman. I was distracted on a couple of occasions by accents, which were inconsistent. On the one hand, if the actors had spoken in their native accents all the time, or if the actors all used some particular accent, it would not have been distracting. On the whole though, my enjoyment factor was high, especially because of the detail in development of the darkness. It would be nice to see perhaps 20-25 more minutes squeezed in to develop Snow White herself, and perhaps her rapport with the huntsman. Don't let this deter you from renting/buying this film though. If you like authentic and historical versions of fairy tales, the feeling of old Celtic and old Germanic fairy tales/myths is very rich in this file. Perhaps why I loved it. Or Charlize.

This movie isn't really for kids. It's dark and relentless and amazing. I had heard such bad things about it, and about Kristen Stewart, that I had low expectations. I am happy to report that they, and I, were wrong. It's great. First, Kristen Stewart is fine. I had only seen her in one film, Panic Room, and there she was a child and the role didn't require much. But here she is good. She registers a whole panoply of emotions from dread to ferocity to doubt to panic to despair to budding confidence to confusion to remorse to awe. Most surprising, she shows herself to be a great physical actor: her lunges and slides and tumbles are really good. Charlize Theron is good, too. After her horrid sleepwalking performance in Prometheus, I thought she had lost it. Not so. Here she is perfect. She even overacts, which is precisely right for the role. Chris Hemsworth is wonderful. He's not just a hunk; he can act. Even do humor. And the Seven Dwarfs are amazing. I could hardly believe my eyes. Ray Winstone???!!! Eddie Marsan???!!! And Bob Hoskins??????????!!!!! Terrific. I don't know how they made these guys into dwarves, but they are spectacular. And the whole look of the movie is great. Grueling and dark most of the time, then flowering into brightness in the land of the fairies, and glimmering toward the end. All of this is thematic, of course. The struggle of the Good Earth Mother/Life Force (Snow White) against the Evil Earth Mother/Vampire Force (Ravenna), bringing the earth back to life after a long period of death. And the bird-theme is brilliant. All in all a wonderful movie. Unlike any Snow White you've ever seen.

This was a great re-imagining of the Snow White story. the 4k transfer was great. A good fantasy film.

I liked this movie. I didn't watch the theatrical version but rather the extended version and thought it was very good. I have read reviews that said Kristin Stewart was horrible, and that Chris Hemsworth wasn't much better. Although not a Stewart fan for many reasons, I thought her portrayal of her character was very well done. Except for riding to battle in armor in which she looked cold and uncomfortable (and who wouldn't under the same circumstances) She came across as very believable to me. Watching the bonus features, I learned that she is NOT a horsewoman, so her acting in that very brief scene was also understandable. I also thought Mr. Hemsworth's acting was right on point for his character. In all, I really liked this movie. The other actors were well done, and believable, except perhaps for the brother, and even the Queen. I find characters who are so evil a bit hard to take, but then, that is just my personal opinion. The acting was well done in all cases. Now, on to the movie itself. I don't care for dark movies: meaning, scenes done in pitch black lighting. I can't see anything! Why directors feel the need to make things completely dark, so that only in a movie theatre can they be seen is short sighted. Even at night with all the lights out, there are many details totally lost to the viewer due to this fact. Also, and this may be due to my age, I really wish that moviemakers would take into account that "background" music and noise should be just that: IN THE BACKGROUND!!! Most movies these days feel that emotional music scores and sounds not related to actual actors speaking should be louder than the actual dialog. WRONG! If I can't hear the actors lines, how am I to understand what is going on? In some of the bonus features, I actually HEARD the lines missed in the movie because sound was not a major distraction in those interviews. So, except for some major problems with filmmakers, which has nothing to do with this movie specifically, this is a great movie to watch for general entertainment value. And that, for me, is the reason I watch movies: Entertainment. I don't watch to be `preached' to about social issues, or for the most part, to learn about history (although sometimes that is a benefit, since I realize movies that have historical background are usually full of inaccuracies, which I am also aware of, so that doesn't bother me). All in all, I would definitely recommend this move to others. It is great fun and well acted, in my opinion.

Problem: When one speaks of "beauty", people tend to forget that "beauty" is both external and "internal". Perhaps Snow White's purity created her overall beauty. Charlize is one of those rare women who seem to "glow" with little or no effort. There was one movie, she played a roadside pro, (maybe "Beast") in love with another woman... they had to go to great lengths to make her (Charlize) look that bad. Beauty is not skin deep. Perhaps Chalize's character realized that she did indeed, need both. Overall, anyone can pick at the little things "that annoyed them" about the film. And some insist on writng disertations. I wish people would only review the overall "quality" of the entire movie. Don't spoil it for others who have not seen it, by critiquing nearly all of the important (or not) scenes. It was an adventure and it managed to pull the more important emotions from me. That and it's quality, overall, made for an entertaining film. I would heartily recommend it to any adult. Enough so, that I will add it to my movie library. Opal

Ok I loved this movie! I think the queen was far more fair but eh it was still really good. It puts a nice twist on the original tale and is great for the whole family. For the ladies who need a new movie- ya can almost call it a chick flick. It has so many romantic parts and Liam! Ooo hes a handsome one. Not too much blood! For the men- seriously get over the fact its a princess movie and just watch it. All the guys I forced to watch it with me enjoyed it and you have the blonde queen chick who is pretty easy on the eyes. There is fighting and blood too. For the kids-Yes there might be a kissing scene but you'll grow up and kiss someone and discover its actually not that bad....most of the time...but yeah its a fun movie and has horses.

I have watched this move multiple times..........but only for the incredible acting on Charlize Therons part. She is everything I used to imagine the evil queen as being when I was little: coldly beautiful, incredibly intelligent and calculating, and chillingly vicious. Charlize Theron is, by far, the best Evil Queen I have ever watched. So if you only want awesome evil queen, this movie is great. Otherwise, no so much. Acting, scripts, just about everything else was ghastly. Costumes were pretty cool, and the imagery was lovely. But. Snow White basically looked lost and confused the whole time, and the Huntsman could have said nothing the entire movie (his lines added that much depth to the story).

Great movie, especially in 4k. Fair price.