Snow White and the Huntsman
Snow White and the Huntsman
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Snow White and the Huntsman
Snow White and the HuntsmanQuote: Snow White and the Huntsman is a 2012 British-American action fantasy film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm, directed by Rupert Sanders and written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Sun May 27, 2012 10:22 pm |
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Brian
Ocarina of Time
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:21 pm Posts: 7951 Location: Hyrule
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Lecter, when is your review gonna be out?
_________________ Most Anticipated 2023
1. Super Mario Bros Movie 2. Rebel Moon 3. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 4. Oppenheimer 5. The Flash 6. Elemental 7. Aquaman 2 8. Dune Part 2 9. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 10. Blue Beetle
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Sun May 27, 2012 10:28 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
BQuote: Snow White and the Huntsman is the second of the two Snow White-themed films to hit the silver screen within a span of two months. Inspired by the resounding success of Tim Burton’s fairy tale adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, both Snow White projects have been rushed into production with neither studio willing to give in and pull the plug on their film. While Mirror Mirror won the race to be the first out of the gate, Snow White and the Huntsman will most likely triumph at the box-office in the end. The question that is rightfully asked, however, is how this version compares to its entertaining, but ultimately forgettable predecessor. Beyond the basic characters constellation (Snow White is the protagonist and goes up against an evil queen), there are barely any points of comparison between the two films.
Tarsem’s Mirror Mirror is a very lightweight, colorful and harmless interpretation of the fairy tale aimed primarily at families. The marketing for Snow White and the Huntsman put a heavy emphasis on a darker plot and more fantasy action akin to The Lord of the Rings. We have been promised a strong, armored Snow White who leads an army into the battle against the black magic-powered legions of the Evil Queen. There haven’t been any hints of humor or lightheartedness in the trailers. The finished product tries hard to deliver on this premise, offering audiences a full-fledged large-scale fantasy epic. Unfortunately, first-time director Rupert Sanders just lacks the chops to deliver a very memorable cinematic experience.
The new take on the centuries-old tale treads familiar ground. Ravenna (Charlize Theron), an evil sorceress enchants a widowed king, marries him and them kills him on the wedding night, taking over the kingdom together with her obedient brother Finn (Sam Pruell). The king’s pure-hearted daughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart) is locked up in a tower. Several years later, Ravenna still rules the kingdom, but her seemingly eternal beauty seems to falter. In order to maintain her looks, she literally sucks the youth out of innocent young women. Through her magical mirror she learns that killing Snow White and consuming her heart would end her worries about aging for good. Snow White, now all grown up, barely escapes the clutches of Ravenna and her brother and runs off into the enchanted Dark Forest. A washed up and embittered huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who has ventured into the Dark Forest before, is hired with the task of finding Snow White and bringing her to the queen. However, once he captures her, he can’t bring himself to handing her over. Instead, he teams up with her and, later, with a band of dwarves as they embark on a quest to put an end to Ravenna’s evil rule.
It is clear that the idea was to give the Snow White legend a grand scope (there are already talks of follow-up films, turning this into a legitimate fantasy franchise), whereas Mirror Mirror wassatisfied with just telling the classic tale while using Shrek-styled self-referential humor. Completely different in style, scope and pace, Snow White and the Huntsman is nevertheless riddled with just as many shortcomings as Tarsem’s gaudi version of the fairy tale. The first-time screenwriter Evan Daugherty looked no further than the recent crop of fantasy films like Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia and, of course, Twilight with which Snow White and the Huntsman shares its leading actress. The plot is assembled out of different parts of those films, all built around the main elements of the Snow White story (an evil queen, a poisoned apple, dwarves, a magical mirror…). In turn, first-timer Rupert Sanders also doesn’t bother to give the film his own visual trademark (something Tarsem did with his Snow White rendition). He simply settles for the nowadays usual gritty fantasy look, borrowing visual elements from the aforementioned films. Hayao Myiazaki’s studio Ghibli films serve as a less apparent visual inspiration for this film that only shines through in a few scenes, but very impressively so. There are moments of Snow White walking through a magically enchanted part of a forest, full with fairies, moss-covered tortoises, flower-like butterflies and other fantastical creatures. It’s not only moments like these that make Snow White and the Huntsman resemble the first The Chronicles of Narnia film more than any other fantasy movie in recent years (albeit there are no talking animals). There is an odd religious streak going through the film. It starts with Stewart’s Snow White reciting “Our Father” in her tower cell continues to an Aslan-like magical deer (that apparently never shows himself to normal mortals, but appears to “bless” Snow White) to a certain turn of events in the film’s third act that I will not spoil here, but that are reminiscent of events in the first Narnia film. There is also the usual message of pure-hearted good defeating corrupted evil, but the religious touch goes a little beyond that. Though some might not notice it, I found it oddly striking.
That said the movie does not have the fun moments of Narnia. Snow White and the Huntsman takes itself very seriously, leaving barely any room for humorous moments (chiefly provided by Nick Frost and Eddie Marsan as two of the dwarves). This is a fantasy movie imagined in the way of what modern day audiences want to see – gloomy, hard—edged and humorless. The key for a good fantasy film, however, is to find the right balance. Even The Lord of the Rings, for all its epic scale, had its share of lighthearted moments. Sanders tries so hard to give Snow White and the Huntsman an ambitious scope, incorporating large-scale medieval battles, dark magic, a potential love story and some backstory for the villain, that the movie can barely hold all the strings together. Don’t get me wrong, despite the visual imagery being derivative, it still looks great and some visual effects work is just stunning. The film is fast-paced despite its 127-minutes running time and has its good share of action scenes spread throughout the film. The final confrontation between Snow White’s army and Ravenna’s forces is not nearly as epic as the marketing promises, though. In fact, a lot of the promotional material puts the emphasis on this movie having Snow White as an armored action-heroine, but she doesn’t put on the armor up until the final 20 minutes of the film and barely participates in the action at all.
Kristen Stewart’s Snow White is an underdeveloped character, but still more memorable than Lily Collins’ doe-eyed incarnation in Mirror Mirror which is just a testament to Stewart’s stronger acting. Once you buy into the conceit that Stewart is by any means better looking than Charlize Theron’s Ravenna, Snow White is a solid, if incredibly generic fantasy heroine. Theron on the other hand leaves a great impression as the constantly snarling, scenery-chewing vicious Ravenna. Unlike Julia Roberts’ version in Mirror Mirror, this film’s Evil Queen is given a backstory which explains her actions and gives the character just a hint of complexity and sadness. It also burdens the film with yet another message to deliver – the unimaginable pressure of good looks on women in order to achieve success. It is a noble endeavor, but there is too little and it gets lost amidst the effects-laden showdowns. Theron, as great as she is, is given a limited screentime as the film tries to juggle many characters at once. Julia Roberts’ interpretation of the character, though radically different, is no less memorable.
Sam Spruell as Ravenna’s creepy (potentially rapist) brother is barely seen in the marketing, but commands almost as much screentime as Theron does and serves as the reasonably effective, despicable, sneering antagonist to Snow White and, in particular, Hemsworth’s huntsman. Hemsworth stoically performs his heroic duties with his character stemming from the textbook of washed-up anti-heroes. This tone is set by his first scene that sees him drunk in a pub brawl. The inconsistent Scottish accent does the rest. The film’s band of dwarves is not particularly memorable, though it is interesting that the production went for known actors (like Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins and Ian MacShane) who have been digitally reduced in height instead of actual dwarf-actors. None of the dwarves particularly sticks out, even though Bob Hoskins gets to say the most ridiculous dialogue lines in the whole movie. Lastly, Sam Clafin as William, Snow White’s childhood friend and potential love interest is introduced as a great archer, but his character disappears for most parts of the film and seems to serve as an arbitrary element of a forced love triangle between him, the Huntsman and Snow White. However, the movie never bothers with even trying to explore the triangle. It is just briefly thrown into there and quickly forgotten without anything resembling a resolution. It seems like the only reason it exists is to evoke some kind of resemblance to Twilight. It’s absolutely throwaway and won’t satisfy young female audiences looking for another Edward/Jacob/Bella situation, but should serve as a relief to those not very partial of the Twilight films. The main focus of the film is individually on the Huntsman and on Snow White with Theron’s Ravenna getting less time on screen than she deserves and thus giving the final confrontation between her and Snow White little weight.
Nevertheless, the movie is still serviceable entertainment. It’s a visual treat with make-up effects on Theron and the visual rendition of the Dark Forest being the standouts. The action is mostly engaging and the main characters solid enough to carry the picture. In fact, during the film’s first hour Sanders nearly achieves that magical feeling of a fully realized rich fantasy world (as redundant as it might appear). However, the films second half is mostly undone by too many characters, contrived plot developments and some cringe-worthy dialogue. This is good enough to pass two hours, but for truly good fantasy just rewatch The Lord of the Rings or stick to Game of Thrones. http://www.worldofkj.com/article.php?i=732
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Sun May 27, 2012 11:01 pm |
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Mr. Reynolds
Confessing on a Dance Floor
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:46 am Posts: 5567 Location: Celebratin' in Chitown
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
As long as its dark and visuals are as awesome as they appear to be... I'm a fan.
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Mon May 28, 2012 12:14 pm |
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snack
Extraordinary
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:18 pm Posts: 12159
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
this is honesly one of the least appealing movies ive ever seen a preview for.
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Mon May 28, 2012 12:17 pm |
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Riggs
We had our time together
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am Posts: 13274 Location: Vienna
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
There was not much to like about this one. I could have cared less about any of the characters, none of them really worked and it wasn't nearly as epic as I hoped it would be. I'm usually a sucker for these type of movies but this was just not very good. D+
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:51 am |
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2001
Another You
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:38 am Posts: 4556
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
The set pieces and visuals are quite awesome, not so much for the characters (except maybe for the dwarves). All in all, it's passable entertainment.
B-
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:49 am |
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Brian
Ocarina of Time
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:21 pm Posts: 7951 Location: Hyrule
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
To the ones who have seen it, which one do you think was better, SWATH or Alice?
_________________ Most Anticipated 2023
1. Super Mario Bros Movie 2. Rebel Moon 3. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 4. Oppenheimer 5. The Flash 6. Elemental 7. Aquaman 2 8. Dune Part 2 9. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 10. Blue Beetle
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:58 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Equal for me.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:03 pm |
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trixster
loyalfromlondon
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:31 pm Posts: 19697 Location: ville-marie
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
This must be truly awful, then.
_________________Magic Mike wrote: zwackerm wrote: If John Wick 2 even makes 30 million I will eat 1,000 shoes. Same. Algren wrote: I don't think. I predict.
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:57 pm |
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SolC9
Forum General
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:11 pm Posts: 7172 Location: Wisconsin
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
I give this a C+, mainly for visual effects and good casting.
The highlights were definitely the makeup on Charlize Theron and the visual effects of the dark forest. Personally, I thought the casting of Stewart, Hemsworth, and Theron was spot on. For my taste, Theron and Stewart are among the fairest of Hollywood actresses, and I'm a fan of Thor, so no complaints in that department. They just weren't used right.
The script is awful, I just didn't care what happened by the end. No matter how decent to good the acting was, I never really cared about any of the characters because they were so poorly written. The movie was also in serious need of humor. The few late attempts with the dwarves were way too little too late.
I don't think this will have good WOM at all. My audience didn't seem very into it anyway.
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:19 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:21 pm |
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Libs
Sbil
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:38 pm Posts: 48626 Location: Arlington, VA
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Perhaps expectedly, Snow White and the Huntsman is like no version of the tale you've seen before. It's dark, grim, and often joyless, three words not usually associated with whistling while you work. However, it works for the most part. As directed by Rupert Sanders, the film is visually dynamic and consistently entertaining. Kristen Stewart, away from the atrocities of the Twilight films, is actually credible in the role. It's not a great performance but certainly a serviceable one, and she (with her British accent) does not embarrass herself. Chris Hemsworth is also solid, easily managing to come across as a different character than Thor. The acting is owned by Charlize Theron, who delivers a ferociously over-the-top and menacing portrayal of the Queen. The character may have been unintentionally funny in the hands of a less talented actress, but Theron is on her game. While a project of this scope likely had the capacity to be great instead of being merely good, let's be thankful it didn't turn out to be a total disaster like last year's Red Riding Hood. B
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:25 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
It's too joyless a lot of the time. A film can be ultra-macabre while still suggesting there was joy in its creation (Sleepy Hollow, for example).
The cast and designers have tons of fun here, but there's a mechanical, cynical core undermining their efforts.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:30 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
"Ha! You fool! My sister can't revive the dead! The minute you hand over Snow White, we're going to betray the shit out of you! Ha ha! Ha ha! Evil plan alert. High five!"
"You're going to die, Snow White. But I want to let you know, if you had played your cards differently, you were the only one who could have destroyed me. With your flesh and blood and whatnot. Oh, shit, people are coming to interrupt my pre-murder monologue. Forget everything I've said, Snowy!" *turns into crows*
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Sat Jun 02, 2012 12:56 am |
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Mannyisthebest
Forum General
Joined: Wed May 10, 2006 3:53 pm Posts: 8636 Location: Toronto, Canada
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Going to watch this home for sure...
Wonder what film will drive me to theaters.
ASM if its good, TDKR for sure...
_________________The Dark Prince
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Sat Jun 02, 2012 1:09 am |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Mannyisthebest wrote: Wonder what film will drive me to theaters. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Sat Jun 02, 2012 1:17 am |
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RainyMoon
Speed Racer
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 2:40 am Posts: 102
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Visually stunning at times, however, I agree with those that said that the characters weren't very interesting.
C+
_________________ "Truth is truth, even if no one believes it. A lie is a lie, even if everyone believes it."
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Sat Jun 02, 2012 2:07 am |
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Riggs
We had our time together
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am Posts: 13274 Location: Vienna
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
It get's worse every time I think about it. This could have been so so much better.
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Sat Jun 02, 2012 12:55 pm |
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Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am Posts: 6245
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
It was really decent, people are being harsh to me. The earnestness was preposterous, some plot points were simply moronic, but there was some pretty dazzling visual flair and great fantasy elements, the fairies, the sanctuary, ten minutes of awesome film right there. The religious touches annoyed the hell out of me when they appeared, but were minor and brief enough I got over it. Stewart was mostly ignorable till the last 20 minutes, the rousing speech anyway which was rofl, Hemsworth was decent, Theron was pretty ridiculous/awesome.
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
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Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:01 am |
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Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am Posts: 6245
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
Also you can see where the money went. The CGI construction of creatures and landscapes, not to mention the sheer volume of large, dramatic visuals is quite impressive to me.
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
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Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:04 am |
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matatonio
Teh Mexican
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:56 pm Posts: 26066 Location: In good ol' Mexico
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
I did not care for it at all. Visually great and thats pretty much it.
C+
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Mon Jun 04, 2012 2:38 am |
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Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am Posts: 6245
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
BMP wrote: To the ones who have seen it, which one do you think was better, SWATH or Alice? SW considerably. It wallowed on some of the fantasy convention, but nowhere near the simplistic, cardboard, infinitely cliche extents of Alice. SW had some life, some imagination, Alice just devolved into nothing and was corny in the worst way in the process.
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
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Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:01 am |
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O
Extraordinary
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 1:53 pm Posts: 11640
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
This wasn't nearly as bad as people seem to be implying here. I think generally people just get annoyed by Stewart. Visually its great. Theron is fantastic.
B
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Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:30 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Snow White and the Huntsman
I love Kristen Stewart.
But this movie is mediocre.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:47 am |
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