Sunday, June 10, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman VS Mirror Mirror

i’ve only JUST seen these two competing movies that take on the classic fairy-tale ‘snow white’. ‘snow white and the huntsman’ and ‘mirror mirror’. each movie delivers fresh new interpretation of the tale – one i really, really like, and another one i really, really hate!

even from the movie posters we can see that the action-packed ‘snow white and the huntsman’ is a much darker version than the more light and upbeat adventure-comedy ‘mirror mirror’.

 

 

what i like : i was surprised that i would enjoy the movie THIS much. its grim and dark setting do have a terrifying effect on me, especially because of the deliciously wicked queen. from the great cast to the engaging script and most of all powerful visual effects, i was hooked. watch out for the evil army made of black shards of glasses. coolness.

what i really like : the huntsman in any snow white tale is depicted as a miniscule 2-minute character who’s job is just to take snow white into the woods, kill her and take her heart to the queen. this movie takes that character to a whole other level – especially towards the end when he became one of the most important characters in the movie…no spoilers from me! you just have to watch it!

what i hate : there’s only ONE scene where the huntsman went shirtless. tsk tsk. should have more shirtless scenes. right.

haha. i actually love the movie. it’s not the best movie ever, but it’s very enjoyable and very well-made. also, i would watch the movie again just for the huntsman…

 

 

* * *

 

mirror_mirror_poster1

 

what i hate : ‘mirror mirror’ is like a badly written school production. i was actually shocked. i didn’t expect it to suck this bad. from the script, to the acting and casting – everything does not impress, and is mediocre. the set looks cheap, half the cast can’t act and the comedy seems pretentious that it came off as unnatural. lawak dibuat-buat. nak gelak pun kesian. and what’s with the TOTALLY unrelated bollywood number at the end-credit? out of place!

what i really hate : i got bored throughout the first 10 minutes of the movie. i cringe everytime snow white opens her mouth to say something NOT funny, and expressionless. and with that caterpillar eyebrows. and i cringe a lot of times – it’s almost embarrassing to keep watching. there’s no chemistry between the actors – i don’t feel that the movie has convinced me that all the 7 dwarves care for snow white, and i don’t feel the romance between the two leads. no feel lah!

what i did like : julia roberts is the saving grace of this mediocre movie. she proves that no matter how bad a movie is, a star like her always shines through; in the way she delivers her lines and her expressions. sigh. how did she ever agree to be involved in such a terrible production?

also, the dwarves are not bad either. i kinda like them. but that BAD, BAD script!

probably the only two best things about the movie – julia roberts’ awesome regal gowns, and armie hammer’s perfectly cast ‘prince charming’.

 

 

* * *

 

two different movies, two different genres, the same main characters – how can i NOT compare and contrast them? now let’s get down and dirty with my take on the main characters of both movies!

 

 

the snow whites – adorably sweet lily collins in ‘mirror mirror’ and mysterious beauty of kristen stewart in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

 

lily collins – ‘snow white’ in ‘mirror mirror’

POSITIVE : mr. khairul said, she LOOKS like how a snow white would look like – fair-skinned, black hair, full red lips, and an overall adorably sweet face complete with a soft, feminine voice. pendek kata, she got the fairy-tale princess look.

NEGATIVE : to me she can’t act! seriously. and to make it worse, the movie has bad writing and bad direction. poor girl. also, i have never seen her in any other movie, so the first thing on my mind when i saw the trailer was – what’s with those eyebrows?! she makes a pretty snow white, but sorry those bushy caterpillar she calls eyebrows are distracting!

kristen stewart – ‘snow white’ in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

POSITIVE : she may be bogged down by the awful script in twilight, and people who critized her acting said she is an expressionless actress. however, i love her in this movie! i must say she makes a really believable snow white, despite mr. khairul saying she’s too HOT to be snow white! huh! i say that innocence, beauty and determination – she portrays it all in her snow white character.

kirsten stewart may not be the typical snow white that we grow up reading about, but then again, this version of snow white is not a typical one either…

NEGATIVE : i LOVE her in this role. period.

 

* * *

 

snowwhite-front 

the gorgeous queens with awesome wardrobe changes and bad-ass attitude – julia roberts in ‘mirror mirror’ and charlize theron in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

 

julia roberts – ‘the queen’ in ‘mirror mirror’

POSITIVE : in some movies, villains have the most fun – and in ‘mirror mirror’, julia roberts gets the best lines. funny, engaging and amusingly evil.

NEGATIVE : no matter how much effort julia puts in her role, she falls flat when surrounded by mediocre performances of the rest of the cast. and since they spent all the witty lines on julia, the rest of the movie is just badly written.

kesian my gorgeous julia roberts kena berlakon dalam cerita bosan ni!

 

charlize theron – ‘the queen’ in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

POSITIVE : i absolutely LOVE her as the queen. she’s alluring, sensual and so gothic. she accentuates her line so hypnotically – “mirror. mirror. on. the wallllll. who. is. the. fairesttttt. offfff. themmm. ooool….” nice!

NEGATIVE : nope. she’s perfectly wicked!

(one thing is for sure : the wardrobe of both queens are amazing! the costume designers are so talented…)

 

* * *

 

 

prince charmings of the movies : handsome and dashing armie hammer in ‘mirror mirror’ and macho and rogue sam claflin in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

 

armie hammer – ‘prince charming’ aka ‘prince alcott’ in ‘mirror mirror’

POSITIVE : he’s the epitome of all that is princely and charming – tall, tanned and handsome, has a deep, manly voice and fights like a champ. he’s like all the yummy disney princes rolled into one.

NEGATIVE : it’s almost embarrassing to watch him trying to be funny. again i repeat – bad script, bad script, bad script! only an actor like brendan fraser can pull off that kind of handsome-goofy character!

 

sam claflin – ‘prince charming’ aka ‘william’ in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

POSITIVE : he’s cute! and his ruggedly handsome look suits well with this dark version of ‘snow white’. and that scene with the bow and arrow – “i said – do you need a bowman?” sexy!

NEGATIVE : sorry chap, you’re in a movie with the god of thunder THOR. good luck getting the girls’ attention!

 

 

chris hemsworth is best known for his role as the god of thunder thor. and now he’s the huntsman in ‘snow white and the huntsman’. perfect.

he managed to mix repressed anger and grief in the lost of his wife, the confusion of his role in the queen’s evil plan against the innocent snow white, and him being protective of snow white. handsome, tough and can be charming (the scene where he tore off snow white’s dress? “don’t flatter yourself!” haha).

he’s just the perfect huntsman. hey, you can hunt me anytime, dude!

 

* * *

 

so – long story short – i like ‘snow white and the huntsman’. i do not like ‘mirror mirror’. there.

what other fairy tales should be made into a movie? i would really like to see a really twisted version of ‘frog prince’ – perhaps the prince is a cursed zombie frog stalking the princess after the deal she made with the the evil frog prince…

(images are googled)

7 comments:

Affieza said...

Akak dh boleh jd pengkritik movie...hehe

Hidayah Ismawi said...

I totally agree with you about Mirror Mirror. Such a disappointment. Have still not seen Snow White and the Huntsman.

FN said...

haven't watched both.. and thanks for the review, i know which one i should watch first ;)

Syigim said...

>> affieza, sbb kak gile movie kan, jadi suka la jgk kritik2 hihi

>> hidayah, right on!!! i didnt expect it to be THAT bad! go n see huntsman if only to compare!

Syigim said...

fara, if i'm not being so mean, mirror mirror can be SLIGHTLy entertaining :P n huntsman is of course very enjoyable. go watch both to compare! :)

adyllbbs said...

what i like most is you compare the characteristic for every each of the character. suka la.

tak tengok lagi dua2 tu. cane? =D

Syigim said...

dylla, br perasan komen ni...so amacam? dah tgk ke both movie? ;)

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