Posts tagged the Queen
“Snow White and the Huntsman” an Expensive Piece of Nothing
Jun 9th
“Expensive Piece of Nothing”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Snow White and the Huntsman is the second movie about Snow White to come out in two months, and the title indicates that Hollywood is running out of variations on how to make each one different.
Instead, the filmmakers should be concerned about how to make each one better, because this one isn’t.
This time, the evil Queen is played by Charlize Theron, and she even gets a name, Ravenna.
The Huntsman is played by Chris Hemsworth, whom you will recognize as the actor playing Thor in some other action movies, but he doesn’t get a name, just a back story.
And the grownup Snow White is played by Kristen Stewart, whom you will recognize from a lot of other movies.
Once again, we see how it all began, and after Ravenna becomes the stepmother of young Snow White, Ravenna tells her, “I could never take your mother’s place.”
And once again, Snow White is placed in prison by the Queen, high up in the north tower of the castle.
My comment was “Boring!” even before the movie got one-third of the way through.
So, the variation this time is not that the Queen has the Huntsman take Snow White out into the woods to kill her, but Snow White escapes from the castle and the Queen has the Huntsman go into the woods to find Snow White and bring her back.
Now, Charlize Theron chews the scenery as Ravenna, the evil Queen, and that is not easy to do when the scenery is made out of stone walls.
By this time the movie has become a swords and sorcery story, and the woods contain all sorts of menacing things and even a monster.
Finally! About two-thirds of the way through, the dwarfs show up, but right away you notice that there is something strange about them, and the camera doesn’t stay on all of them long enough for you to count them.
Sure enough, you were right, and later in the story an explanation solves the mystery.
Another weird thing about the dwarfs, however, is that you get the nagging feeling that when they are shown in closeup, you think that you recognize the actors playing them, but those actors aren’t actual little people.
Snow White and the Huntsman is an expensive piece of a nothing movie.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Mirror Mirror” Is Surprisingly Excellent
Apr 14th
“Surprisingly Excellent”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Mirror Mirror is the most recent Hollywood version of the fairy tale about Snow White, another version is even being released later this year, but you just might be surprised at how well you enjoy this one with Julia Roberts starring as the evil Queen.
In fact, at the beginning in a voice-over by the Queen as she narrates the background of the story about Snow White, the Queen says, “And this is my story, not hers.”
Snow White is played by Lily Collins, the daughter of seven-time Grammy winner Phil Collins, and we are told that she was left under the care of the Queen when the King disappeared mysteriously, and under the control of the Queen, the once prosperous kingdom has now become close to destitute.
The people in the kingdom don’t sing and dance like they used to, and shouldn’t it be called the queendom now, anyway?
At any rate, Snow White has been confined to the castle by the Queen all these years, and when she is 18, Snow White sneaks out of the castle to see for herself what has been happening in the queendom.
While she is in the forest, Snow White rescues the charming Prince Alcott, played by Armie Hammer, who, along with his companion, has been robbed by a gang of seven thieves.
Well, you can pretty much guess the rest, can’t you, but I’ll bet you can’t guess the names of the seven dwarfs, who here have been named Napoleon, Half Pint, Grub, Grimm, Wolf, Butcher, and Chuckles, and who live in the woods because the Queen had all the “ugly people” banished from the village.
Another change to this version of the classic story is the addition of Brighton, who is unofficially called the Queen’s Executive Bootlicker and who is played by Nathan Lane.
Also, the order of some of the events that we are familiar with from previous versions of the story have been turned around, but again, because Julia Roberts is the bigger star and because she said so at the beginning, this is a story more about the Queen than a story about Snow White.
However, when it reaches the part in the story where “they all lived happily ever after,” both the Queen and the audience might be surprised.
Mirror Mirror is surprisingly excellent.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Mirror Mirror – Movie Trailer
Apr 12th
One of the most beloved stories of all time is coming to life in the motion picture event for the whole family, Mirror Mirror. A fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend, Mirror Mirror features breakout star Lily Collins as Snow White, a princess in exile, and Julia Roberts as the evil Queen who ruthlessly rules her captured kingdom. Seven courageous rebel dwarfs join forces with Snow White as she fights to reclaim her birthright and win her Prince in this magical comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer as the Prince, and Nathan Lane as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.
