Snow White and the Huntsman

Darkness has overcome the land as an evil queen has taken control of a nation and enslaved its people. The queen, who's name is Ravenna, is a sorceress who is searching for the secret to immortality with the help of her brother. Ravenna also enlists the assistance of a magical golden mirror, begging with it daily to tell her that she is the fairest in the land. The golden mirror continues to reassure her until one fateful day it informs Ravenna of another woman who is more beautiful than her. A woman called Snow White, whose skin is white as snow, hair as black as a raven, and lips as red as blood. The golden mirror prophesies that in order for Ravenna to achieve immortality and youth she must devour the heart of Snow White. After learning her fate Snow White escapes and takes shelter into a nearby enchanted forest. Ravenna then calls for the help of a drunk huntsman who agrees to go after Snow White in exchange for Ravenna to revive the huntsman's wife from the dead.

If you go into Snow White and the Huntsman assuming that this is going to be similar to the widely known and well loved Disney movie filled with seven dwarves who sing "Hi Ho! Hi Ho!" as it's off to work they go, or with a main character who can't fend for herself so she has a knight in shining armor come to her aid and rescue her, then be prepared to be sorely disappointed. This tale is darker, more sinister than the popular Disney movie. It does have elements of the original story, such as the seven dwarves, the poisoned apple, and the whole 'true love's kiss' storyline involving the huntsman; however it also has a main character who acts more like a savior or hero rather than a helpless little girl, an evil witch who makes the original witch look like a saint, and the dwarves themselves aren't as innocent. Parents of small kids should hesitate and see the movie themselves before taking their young kids. It does have some good lessons to teach such as standing up for what you believe in, but you have to dig deep to find these messages. It is a good film with great acting (even from Kristen Stewart who plays Snow White which is a pretty big surprise), fantastic cinematography and scenery that somewhat reminded me of a cross between The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, but some of the creatures found in the forest may or may not scare little kids. If you have young kids then exercise caution in letting your kids see it. Otherwise I recommend seeing Snow White and the Huntsman.

People Like Us

Sam is a shady business dealer who specializes in bartering goods and services to different companies. He's become quite good at it, but unfortunately not good enough to evade the curious eye of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is looking into their company due to complaints about illegal methods of business. To make matters worse, as Sam is dealing with the FTC he gets a call saying that his estranged father has passed away. Sam hasn't seen his father since he was a young adult so going back home is not that appealing. Sam plans on just getting to the funeral, getting his inheritance, and getting out so he can keep the painful memories at a distance for as long as possible. When Sam arrives back home to attend his father's funeral he gets the shock of his life. It seems that his father had a second family that he visited often during Sam's childhood. His father's last wish is for Sam to take a bag of $150,000 to a woman who Sam finds out is his sister. Sam must figure out a way to balance his legal troubles with the FTC and fulfilling his father's wish.

People Like Us is a very sweet, moving film that I initially was not expecting to like very much. From the previews it looked like a cheesy "chick flick", one that a guy like me who is more into action movies than dramas would not like. I was pleasantly surprised. Chris Pine gave a fantastic performance as Sam, Elizabeth Banks was great as Frankie, and Michelle Pfeiffer was also great as Sam's mother named Lillian. I also loved the fact that People Like Us stressed the importance of family, love, and forgiveness. One of my favorite scenes is when Frankie finds out about a few things that Sam has been lying to her about. She asks him how she's supposed to be able to trust him again and he replies: "...because we're family, and family makes mistakes...let me be your brother." By no means does it excuse the fact that he lied to her, but it does show how we are only human and we make mistakes; it's what we do and how we learn from those mistakes that make us who we are.

People Like Us is not for young kids due to the fact it's PG-13, but I most definitely recommend it for 13 and up.

The Amazing Spiderman

Peter Parker is an outcast in high school, a science geek who is constantly bullied at school and is always getting into some kind of legal trouble. We first meet Peter as a young kid who seems to have a happy childhood until one night when his parents cart him off to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May's house and leave him in their care. The mystery surrounding his parents' disappearance haunts Peter all throughout his childhood and into his teenage years. Fast forward to Peter's high school years: One night while helping Uncle Ben fix a leak that caused the basement to be flooded Peter comes across a briefcase that belonged to his father. Peter searches through it for answers that might lead to the cause of his parents' disappearance; the clues lead him to Oscorp where his father worked and to a former co-worker named Dr. Curt Conners. It is during his visit to Oscorp that a genetically altered spider bites Peter, turning him into your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

Originally when I first heard that the Spiderman series was being rebooted I was a little mad because I greatly enjoyed Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi's take on the famous web-slinger and 10 years seems a little too soon for a reboot. After seeing it though with my dad I was impressed with how well it was done. It felt like there was better character development within the story, and the story itself was a lot better written. I do think this series is in good hands if this is the direction they are planning on going in with sequels. My only problems were: Andrew Garfield, who played Peter Parker/Spiderman, was a great Spiderman but not that great of a Peter Parker. He had the sarcasm and the recklessness that I felt was key to the character of Spiderman, but as Peter Parker Andrew Garfield didn't seem to be nerdy enough for me. If they had combined somehow Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker with Andrew Garfield's Spiderman then that would have been perfect. Also, I really don't know why they felt it was necessary to go through the whole beginnings story again since everyone knows how Spiderman received his powers. Otherwise The Amazing Spiderman was well done.