Snow White and the Huntsman - Review

Today, by lucky chance, I managed to see the latest addition to the Snow White canon in the form of Rupert Sanders' Snow White and the Huntsman. Here are some thoughts....

This iteration of the Snow White fairytale is, interestingly, the second of the year after the much maligned Mirror Mirror (presumably someone, somewhere, has made a big mistake). Yet SWH is decidedly different from the above Julia Robert's vehicle, this ones an all-together darker beast. Its also an all-together good one.

The Huntsmen (Chris Hemsworth - Bizarrely Scottish in this?), after having been ordered to execute Snow White (Kristen Stewart), has a change of heart and suddenly becomes her protector against the forces of darkness marshalled by the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron). This twist of the legend means that the film turns into a Star-Wars style, must fight against the evil emperor, fantasy romp. And that's just fine.

Rupert Sanders is on direction duties and, no doubt due to his advertising background, his prowess at creating stark imagery elevates the whole show. Early on our villain bathes in some sort of milky substance in order to enhance her skin? Her powers? We are never sure, but the image is striking. As is the darkness of the script, the relationship between Ravenna and her brother (Sam Spruell) has incestuous undercurrents that will sail over youngsters heads but, for the adults, makes their relationship   beyond creepy.

It doesn't all work, Stewart leaves a lot to be desired - she can't play Bella forever. And the dwarfs (played by an amalgam of top British actors, Bob Hoskins and Ray Winstone among them) are just plain jarring and unnecessary. Also, let's be honest, it has a middle act that's saggier than the evil Queen's face. But its still enjoyable because you totally believe in the world that Sanders and his team have created and, in terms of fairy tale movies, that's the fairest factor of them all.   

London Boulevard - Review

London Boulevard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One night last week, some friends and I decided to put a film on. Some fool (me), suggested London Boulevard. I was wrong; heres why........

In a nutshell, its all over the place. Oscar winning screen-writer William Monahan (The Departed) makes his directorial debut here and, unfortunately, he fails to bring any of his previous work's cohesion to this Brit-gangster pic. The film follows the comings and goings of ex-con Mitchell (Colin Farrell) as he struggles to go straight. Soon after his release from prison, Mitchell is hired by a celebrity named Charlotte (Kiera Knightley) to protect her from the paparazzi. Mitchell's attempts to stay on the right side of the law and his association with Charlotte leave him out of favour with local ganglord Gant (Ray Winstone).

If that plot summary seems to lack a narrative drive, its because that's exactly what the film struggles with the most. Watching a former criminal go straight is a good start, but there needs to be more to it than that. Michell's relationship with his sister (Anna Friel) is boring and lacks focus, while David Thewlis' stoner is bearable but given little to actually do. To go with his poor story, Monahan also wastes his enormous - it must be said- talent pool. Winstone is the only highlight of the film and he fails to make an appearance until fairly late in proceedings, despite being crucial to the story. Actors like Eddie Marsan and Stephen Graham are given such little time its a miracle they even appeared on set. And Kiera Knightley manages to make her performances in the Pirates of the Caribbean series look award winning.

Wasteful scripting and direction, then, turn London Boulevard into a loss for Monahan, hopefully his next will see him return to The Departed style form.

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Sexy Beast

Sexy Beast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Having only ever seen Ray Winstone in bit-part American roles, in which he's always very good, I decided now would be the time to take a look at some of his back catalogue. Sexy Beast seemed the most appealing place to start so here are some notes from my first viewing....

Quick plot summary, Ex-con Gary Dove (Winstone) is living a life of paradise in sunny spain with his wife (Amanda Redman) when its all disturbed by Don Logan (Ben Kingsley). Logan insists that Gary does one more job, Gary doesn't want to. That is pretty much the plot, wafer thin some might say, but director Jonathan Glazer manages to draw an excellent hour and a half out of this well-worn Gangster movie device. Ever seen Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels? Felt that it was all style no substance? Well, see Sexy Beast to have this confirmed. At its most basic level the film is an entertaining Brit Gangster romp, with Winstone practically born to play the gruff ex-con. But what sets it apart is that its trying to say things about temptation and desire and consequently its characters are more than the one note bores that populate all of Guy Ritchie's films.

Special mention needs to be made of Ben Kingsley here, though. His Don Logan is a force of nature,  so loaded with expletives that he hits this movie like a train and never lets go. I said above that he insists Gary do this one job and boy does he; every second he's on screen is both uncomfortable and exhilarating at the same time. Logan represents the temptation here, he shows how it can attack us all in places deep under our skin.

Brief word on the direction here; brave. Glazer clearly isn't afraid to task risks, take note of his tunnel digging exit. But occasionally his showmanship becomes a bit too much. For example, does the camera really need to go with the revolving doors as they swing round? No, it doesn't, but Glazer does anyway and in some sense that's to be commended. If only he could have reigned it in a little bit then this would have been a much more even picture.

No matter, the end result is as stylish as they come and, if the ship ever shows signs of sinking, its quickly re-anchored by Kingsley and Winstone.