The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Country

USA

Cast

Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, Rob Brydon, Alexandra Roach, Sheridan Smith, Sope Dirisu, Colin Morgan, Christopher Obi, Madeleine Worrall, Sam Hazeldine, Sophie Cookson, Liam Neeson, Conrad Khan, Niamh Walter

Storyline

Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and fellow warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain), raised as members of ice Queen Freya's army, try to conceal their forbidden love as they fight to survive the wicked intentions of both Freya (Emily Blunt) and her sister Ravenna (Charlize Theron).

Opinion

I wasn't crazy about "Snow White and the Huntsman" so I clearly didn't have high expectation for this one. And I'm glad I didn't because I would have only been disappointed.

Wonderfully packaged with beautiful visuals and a stellar cast, "The Huntsman: Winter's War" is a dull and entirely unnecessary prequel/sequel that is a mess from start to finish.

While its predecessor featured a spectacular performance from Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen, so great that it's worth watching the film for it, this film has nothing great at all. First of all, it has been pitched as a prequel when it only spends 15 minutes before the story of the original, and the rest of the film - a never ending hour and a half or so - takes place after that.

And the after is another huge problem. The story seems really forced, and it's made completely uninteresting and uncompelling by some awful storytelling. Not to mention all of the discrepancies between the past in this film, and how that past has been told in "Snow White and the Huntsman". Same facts, like the death of the huntsman's wife, different story behind it.

To top that mess, the film also features two royal sisters becoming estranged, with one of them causing the kingdom to fall into a never ending winter - doesn't that remember you of another film? Something called "Frozen" maybe?

But the film did not just steal from one movie. The "victims" are indeed many, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games series.

And then comes the cast. Sure, it's stellar, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. For some reason, Chris Hemsworth plays a complete different huntsman than before, and this version is not very likable. Jessica Chastain is completely wasted to play that shallow character. Emily Blunt gives a lifeless performance as Elsa. Oops, I meant Freya. And Charlize Theron, oh poor woman, she does her best, but one person alone can't save a mess of a film.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Rupert Sanders

Country

USA

Cast

Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Vincent Regan, Lily Cole, Noah Huntley, Liberty Ross, Christopher Obi, Rachael Stirling, Hattie gOtobed, Greg Hicks, Peter Ferdinando, Anastasia Hille, Raffey Cassidy, Izzy Meikle-Small, Xavier Atkins, Elliot Reeve

Storyline

In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) ordered to take Snow White (Kristen Stewart) into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen (Charlize Theron).

Opinion

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Ravenna/Charlize Theron without any doubt. She is the only reason to watch "Snow White and the Huntsman", this fairy tale adaptation whose potential has been completely wasted.

Once upon a time there was a fairy tale named "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Ever since it has been twisted several times, and I don't mind the twists at all. What I mind instead is the poor execution of this film.

The storyline is still the same, the one everyone knows, the one I'm kind of getting sick of seeing on screen. The problem is the plot. It is extremely weak, and it certainly does not have enough content to fill 127 minutes, minutes that don't really seem to pass at all.

What this film lacks also is a fairy-like, magical atmosphere. It does not have the magic of Disney 1937 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", it does not have the aesthetic beauty of The Lord of the Rings series, or "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". It does not have beautiful special effects. But most important, it does not have the beauty of Snow White. At first, she is so passive, she almost looks dead, then, all of a sudden, she becomes super-angry, super-aggressive, super-brave, super-ambitious. She completely lacks charm, she does not look sweet at all. And who is to be blamed? Kristen Stewart and the people who cast her. I was getting used to seeing her acting that I totally forgot how bad she can be. This is the Twilight saga all over again. All she does is whispering and looking kind of afraid all the time, and none of her facial expressions look convincing.

But thank god there was Charlize Theron. As days pass by I am more and more convinced that she is a goddess. Despite the awful script she had to work with, she gave yet another great performance that not only makes the film tolerable but almost watchable. 

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Genre

Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Tim Burton

Country

USA

Cast

Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Frances de la Tour, Leo Bill, Marton Csokas, Lindsay Duncan, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Barbara Windsor, Paul Whitehouse, Timothy Spall, Michael Gough, Christopher Lee, Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Frank Welker

Storyline

Nineteen-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's (Helena Bonham Carter) reign of terror.

Opinion

I didn't like Alice very much growing up. Having said that, what Tim Burton and Linda Woolverton did here is unforgivable for the simple reason that there is nothing wonderful nor enchanting about his Alice in Wonderland.

The film is visually stunning: everything visual is rich in details, CGI effects are quite well done, costumes and set design are excellent. 

But appearances can be deceiving, and behind all that beauty is hidden the screenplay. An atrociously written, boring, banal screenplay that makes no sense whatsoever. Woolverton just took fantastic source material along with a lot of liberties that do not improve the story in any way, put everything in a box, added clichés, a tedious and predictable plot, bland characters and shaked the all thing. No wonder something did go wrong.

Still, the first person to blame is Tim Burton. He is the main reason I decided to give this film a try, and he is the one that disappointed me the most. The best call is to stop watching it as soon as you find it intolerable so to keep the illusion Burton still is a visionary genius, able to transform beauty in something ectatic, evil in something sublime. The Tim Burton we all know would have made a masterpiece with this material, and yet he did what he did.

Neither the performances can save it. Helena Bonham Carter is slightly overdoing it as the Red Queen, but hers is arguably the best performance in the film. Mia Wasikowska does a fine job as Alice, even though I was expecting something more from her. The voice cast also does a great job, especially Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar, but Johnny Depp is not good at all. He looks like he has just woken up from a hangover, which is basically how he looks in every role he has played recently.

I just wonder how come this film was nominated for Best Musical or Comedy at the 2011 Golden Globes, when all it got is hate. Hate from both critic and public.

Maleficent (2014)

Genre

Fantasy

Director

Robert Stromberg

Country

United States

Cast
Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Hannah New, Isobelle Molloy, Michael Higgins, Ella Purnell, Jackson Bews, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt

Plot
An elderly narrator tells the story of Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), a powerful fairy living in the Moors, a magical realm bordering a human kingdom. As a young girl, Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy) meets a young human boy, Stefan (Michael Higgins).

Their friendship, as they grow up, blooms in what Stefan calls "true love". 

When Stefan (Sharlto Copley) has the opportunity to become king, he doesn't hesitate to betray his beloved, unleashing her anger and plant for revenge. After baby Aurora, daughter of King Stefan and Queen, was born, Maleficent hurls the prophecy: on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora (Elle Fanning) will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, which will cause her to fall into a deathlike sleep. 

Opinion
First of all it must be said that this is not the tale of the Sleeping Beauty, but that of Maleficent, though the narrator is Aurora. Cinematography is visionary and breathtaking. The director Robert Stromberg did an impressive job, reflecting the scenery with characters' emotions. Music is spot on special effects are wisely used.

Quotes
I will not ask you for forgiveness. What I have done is unforgivable. I was so lost in hatred and revenge. I never dreamed that I could love you so much. You stole what was left of my heart. And now I've lost you forever.

Rating
7.2/10