Brave- Review

Release Date: Jun 22, 2012; Length: 94 Minutes; Genre: Animation; With:Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson and Kelly Macdonald; Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures


Brave is the latest feature from Pixar, and we continue to be wowed. Brave is visually magical and original. It also continues with what seems to be a theme this year of gutsy heroines (Katniss in The Hunger Games and Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman).

Merida (Kelly Macdonald) is a princess who longs for adventure. She's accompanied by her three little brothers (who are nothing but trouble and comedy), her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thomspon) who is trying to prepare toward betrothal to the right lord. As any child would, she rebels and runs off into the forest - that is filled with legends she's told of and the magic she and her mother believes in - and comes a cross a witch that changes her fate.

It's a story about fate, but seems to be more about the relationship between mother and daughter. Brave delivers the emotion. Visually, it's breathtaking and Pixar never seems to fail in that area. It's funny, entertaining for all audiences and it's original but, although it is original, it's predictable.

We've heard this story many times in many ways. Brave takes off on a good start but never seems to fully satisfy. You hear stories of legends and magic (and fate, of course) and yes, Brave does deliver, there is legends and magic, but while Brave is off to a good start, it never fully satisfies. It's bark was bigger than it's bite. B

Snow White and the Huntsman- Review

Release Date: Jun 01, 2012; Genre: Action/Adventure; With: Chris Hemsworth, Kristin Stewart and Charlize Theron; Distributor: Universal Pictures

Rupert Sanders' adaptation of Snow White is a dark one no less. Snow White and the Huntsman has received a lot of attention for many reasons. No doubt going to be a blockbuster hit, we were teased with its beauty in the trailers, the mega cast (Chris Hemsworth, Kritstin Stewart, Charlize Theron and Sam Claflin) and the Lord of the Rings mixed with Alice in Wonderland (2010) take on the classic story. Let me inform you when I say Alice in Wonderland I don't only speak of its art direction and visual effects but also how disappointing it was. 

Snow White and the Huntsman is ravishing. The cast is one of the best parts of this fairy tale adaptation. Eliminating everything we know Kristin Stewart for (the Twilight saga), she did an exceptional job. From the beginning, her performance was the best I've seen and made it easy for me to watch her. Charlize Theron is one of the finest actresses of our time and pushes every performance of hers further than what we've seen before. Her first meeting with the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is a moment you wont forget driven by both their strong performances. 

Visually stunning, Snow White and the Huntsman will capture your attention and possibly keep you enthralled not only by the performances but the visual effects and makeup. These play one of the biggest roles in the movie being that its what got our attention from the start. As visually fascinating as this movie is, it was a miss.

With so much anticipation running through my mind, I never thought a wrong turn would have been taken. Although Snow White does have plenty in store that will leave a fair amount of audiences satisfied, I felt as if everything I was hoping for in the movie ended up getting cut and put only into the trailer. There was no chilling score (at least not one that I noticed) and the battle scenes seemed dull at times. I also felt as if Sanders got caught up in the blockbuster beauty and forgot about the story which is possibly one of the reasons why it ended up bland at times. 

In the (rushed) end, Snow White and the Huntsman was a fresh take and a beautiful vision for what could have been. A miss it was, but it missed in style. B-