Snow White and the Huntsman
Dir: Rupert Sanders
2012
***
I'm not much of a fan of Fairytales, I find modern adaptions a bit samey and a bit cliche. Snow White and the Huntsman has many of those cliches but it also has a few positive surprises. Kristen Stewart wouldn't have been my first choice of actor to play Snow White but steering clear of anyone that could resemble Disney's version was a good decision. Charlize Theron I thought was a bit wooden and a bit obvious in her role as Ravenna, as beautiful as she is, her performance was evil queen acting by numbers and is a blotch on the film. It's hard not to see Chris Hemsworth, the Huntsman, as anybody other than Thor - I tried really hard but no, he's Thor without the hammer. My favorite surprise was the Seven Dwarfs. Now I think it's a bit unfair not to hire real little people especially as Terry Gilliam makes so few films these days and there are plenty of talented ones out there, but when there are now eight of them and they include Ian McShane, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost and Bob Hoskins (in his last ever performance) I'm certainly not complaining. They are easily the highlight of the film, that and the special effects which are impeccable. Certainly one of the best modern fairytale adaptions in recent years.