"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Directed by Rupert Sanders, written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini, starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron - Rated PG-13

This film just wasn't dark and action-packed enough for me. 

Snow White is suddenly a hot property in Hollywood as not just one, but two new films about the fairy tale have been released in recent months.  I skipped out on Mirror Mirror because it simply didn’t interest me and appeared to be going with a safe, family friendly tone (no offense to safe, family friendly movies, but those types of films don’t appeal to me).  The second film, Snow White and the Huntsman, appeared to be geared more towards my demographic with its action packed previews and dark tone.  While I’m sure that this film is more enjoyable than Mirror Mirror, Snow White turned out to be overlong, a bit boring, and just underwhelming in general. 

You should know the story by now, but even if you just remember the bits and pieces of it (like me), then you still probably know what to expect from this film.  You have the princess (Kristen Stewart) and the evil queen (Charlize Theron), the seven dwarves, a talking mirror, a magical forest, a poison apple, a love story, etc.  The whole point of this incarnation is to be darker than the cartoon version most know.  As far as that is concerned, Snow White is a success.  The kingdom in this film is truly miserable as dead bodies are caged up in the streets and young women are taken from their homes never to return.  The two standout dark elements are the drug-trippy forest featuring truly grotesque images and Theron as the evil queen who engages in Elizabeth Bathory-like (Google it) antics to retain her youth.  Those elements account for the best parts of the film.

The rest pales in comparison or consists of misfires.  First off, the film attempts to inject action into the fairy tale and there are some action sequences, but they are incredibly dull.  The action is chaotic and hard to follow and is simply not interesting.  It’s just a bunch of arrows and sword slashes and people falling down.  Some supernatural action elements start off promising (like the troll), but fizzle out quickly. 

The titular Huntsman raises some issues as well.  Nothing against Chris Hemsworth, though.  His performance was fine and he is one of the more interesting characters in the film.  But his inclusion creates this love triangle issue between him and some duke’s son (who is pretty much a non-character).  I can’t remember if there was a love triangle in the original story, but regardless it just made this film more bloated than it needed to be.  Does Kristen Stewart always have to have two men vying for her?  Is it in her contract or something?  It felt tacked on and pointless in this film.  This could have been easily fixed had the Huntsman and the duke’s son been condensed into one character. 

Screen time that was wasted on the duke’s son could have been used on the dwarves.  I don’t want to waste time listing all of the actors’ names, but they all deserved so much more screen time and they seem to appear as an afterthought in the film.  If they had been introduced early on, the film would have benefitted greatly and there could be more character development with at least a few of the brilliant actors portraying them.  Instead, they serve as awkward comedic relief in the third act. 

Snow White and the Huntsman just has a bit too much going on and is unable to focus on anything for too long for it to become compelling.  If some cuts in the right places had been made, perhaps the running time could have been cut down (it clocks in at over two hours) and more deserving elements could get some attention.  It seems as if someone wanted to make a Lord of the Rings film out of the Snow White tale and that’s all they were worried about. 

Think about it: they have true evil in Theron (Sauron), there are dwarves (hobbits), and there’s a long journey to save a kingdom (Middle Earth).  The long journey is the worst part.  There are so many scenes of walking and campfire chats in this film.  That just isn’t good cinema; especially when you don’t care what the characters are talking about and you are 99% sure the characters will end up where they need to be. 

Snow White and the Huntsman is a film that is all over the place.  Some of the movie works, but far too much of it seemed pointless to me.  It is not an unredeemable film, though, and there will certainly be fans (and probably a sequel).  If it works for you, fine.  Me?  If I want to see Lord of the Rings, I’ll just watch that instead.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I know it's a fairy tale and all, but how in the hell did Snow White learn how to handle a sword?  She was locked up for a decade or so with nothing but weird little stick dolls, yet when she gets released she can take down trained knights.  It doesn't help that it's Kristen Stewart, who looks like she should collapse under the weight of her armor.

Anyone else notice that the love triangle was just swept under the rug by having Hemsworth smile at her at the end?  What was that?  I know the movie was too long and an extra scene wrapping that story up would just be too much, but why even throw in that aspect if you can't finish it?  Just have the duke's son wake her up with a kiss if you can't devote time to the love triangle part.  Would it be so bad for the Huntsman to just help out and continue to grieve for his dead wife? 

Seriously, you get Ian McShane, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, and a few other lesser known actors and you don't have them show up for an hour.  And then you just use them for weak jokes and an odd death moment?  That death meant nothing, by the way, because we barely saw the character before he died.  Oh no, I can't believe they killed off that dwarf that had just been introduced ten minutes ago?  How could they kill off...wait, which one was he?

I know it's a fairy tale, but the actual fairies just looked stupid.

"Young Adult"

Directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, starring Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, and Patrick Wilson - Rated R

The Kurgan is starting to forgive Diablo Cody for "homeskillet."

Diablo Cody is a polarizing figure in the screenwriting world.  Some loved the quirky dialogue of Juno while others (me, for instance) were completely annoyed by phrases like “home skillet” and “honest to blog.”  Her next effort, Jennifer’s Body, was an enjoyable, though less successful, attempt at comedy/horror.  With Young Adult, it appears that Cody has matured into a screenwriter who can show off through characters and situations rather than one-off phrases that will become annoying before the film is out on video. 

Young Adult shows the maturation of a screenwriter and that is fitting since it is also about the maturation of its main character, Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron).  Mavis, the ghostwriter of a once-popular series of young adult novels, is in a funk.  Recently divorced, Mavis spends her days drinking, playing videogames, and occasionally eavesdropping on tweens for writing material.  When she finds out her high school sweetheart has just become a father, Mavis decides to head back to her hometown to break up his marriage and win him back. 

The plot of Young Adult alone makes it a difficult movie.  It’s hard to root for a character whose sole goal in the film is to break up a happily married couple.  Mavis can be funny and it’s even understandable why some characters would be friends with her and give her a break, but essentially she is a selfish, despicable person who only interacts with others when she has something to gain from it.  The film works, however, because it is not a dark character study of Mavis.  Young Adult is all about her, sure, but it’s not so serious that it becomes depressing to watch her act so badly.  While the film isn’t an all out comedy, it certainly doesn’t qualify as a straight up drama, either.

The comedic side of Young Adult is its saving grace, but the humor only works if you’re okay with a laughs with a mean edge.  Mavis is funny, but at the expense of everyone around her.  But just because she’s mean that doesn’t mean she isn’t right and/or funny at times.  Part of the appeal of Young Adult is the question, what is happiness?  Is it having a decent job and a family in suburbia, eating at franchise restaurants and drinking domestic beer?  Mavis is definitely against that possibility because she is of the city and everything is better there because everyone is above these lame, middle-class dreams.  It’s her constant condemnation of all things small town that may rub people the wrong way.  But once you realize that she is much more miserable than any of the “simpletons” around her, it is easy to laugh at some of her awkward and mean interactions.

The best of these interactions are with Matt (Patton Oswalt), a former classmate who was left disfigured after a hate crime.  Matt forms an unlikely friendship with Mavis and their conversations form the backbone of the film as it is only with Matt that Mavis drops her guard at all.  It also helps that Patton Oswalt holds his own against the immensely talented Theron.  Theron’s performance carries the film, but it is Oswalt that gives the film its much needed heart. 

Young Adult also works as a lost soul film, which seems to be director Jason Reitman’s area of expertise after Juno and Up in the Air.  The problem, once again, is that Mavis is not as likeable as the characters of those other films, but that makes Young Adult stand out.  As for Reitman, he is an able filmmaker who always gets great performances from his actors, but his style is insignificant for the most part.  The only visual elements of the film that show the director’s hand are a series of close up montages of Mavis getting ready for the evening.  They don’t really add anything to the film.  It simply doesn’t make sense to have a close up montage of Theron getting a pedicure.  More importantly, these moments are not aesthetically interesting, either.  In fact, they feel downright lifted from Edgar Wright films. 

Another element that is unnecessary in Young Adult is the way the theme of the film is handled.  Based on the title alone, you can pick up on the idea that this is a film about how some people don’t mature mentally into adulthood.  Mavis’s actions and words show this to good effect.  But Diablo Cody didn’t have enough faith in the audience because she has characters flat out say the theme to Mavis.  Not a major problem, but it’s never good to insult your audience’s intelligence.

Montages and overstatement of theme are small problems, though.  Young Adult, if witnessed in the right mindset, is a funny, sad, and ultimately rewarding experience.  It’s not getting the attention most people expected from a Reitman/Cody team-up this awards season, but many should find it to be just as good as, if not better, than Juno or Up in the Air.  I know I did.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

Okay, the ending.  I am not sure if I love it or hate it.  On one hand, it's kind of refreshing to see a static character.  Mavis's delusions were exposed and she got naked figuratively and literally with Matt.  So lesson learned, right?  No, instead she gets a pep talk from a woman who still wants to be part of her high school clique and she ends up convinced that she is right and everyone else is wrong.  The scene plays out almost like a hallucination.  Perhaps that's the point, but there is no definitive evidence that Mavis is dreaming or making this stuff up herself.  Maybe another viewing is warranted.  It's hard to swallow that this character is truly that lost and it leaves the film with an overly bitter conclusion.  I'm not saying that she should embrace the lifestyle she had been mocking the whole time, but at least have her accept that some people can be happy in small towns and others can be happy in cities.

Speaking of small towns and cities, as a small town man I connected more with that aspect of the film.  Part of me got angry with Mavis's treatment of small town folk, but part of me identified with her.  It's hard not to see the more interesting places in the world and not feel a little envious at times.  But I don't feel that the film is a condemnation of small town lifestyles.  It's just another aspect of her that can potentially cause viewers to hate her.

I loved the Mos Eisley joke.  "Most Easily?"

I didn't mention Patrick Wilson in the main review.  This isn't because he does a bad job.  It's just that he's done this before.  Wilson seems like the go-to actor for "Midwest family man." 

I dug the J. K. Simmons voiceover cameo.  After True Grit, this makes two uncredited voicework jobs.  It's a good job for him.  He has a humorous and distinct voice.

Of course, Cody couldn't resist some witty phrases and names.  It's not in-your-face, though.  And I actually though "KenTacoHut" was funny.