Of Swords and Parasols

First of all, may I just say that the new Brave trailer seemed to designed to make me NOT want to watch the movie, as most of the emphasis was on how Merida is Not Like Other Girls and is Super Special and doesn't get along with her mother because her mother wants her to be an icky proper lady and Doesn't Understand Her and her dad is just so much more awesome and approachable in her eyes? (I mean, I still intend to see it, but the trailers and such keep shoving that part in my face.) Also, apparently the movie got backburned for years because there was a female director who they had to fire because she kept putting in all these scenes between Merida and her mother that the Pixar dudes just didn't understand and were confident that women didn't interact that way but then eventually a dude came along and fixed all those scenes for them.

Anyway, I had not intended to watch Snow White and the Huntsman opening day, being rather allergic to crowded dark rooms full of people I don't know, but I may be doing a lot of overtime at work in the next couple weeks, making today possibly my last chance to catch a matinee showing for a while, and I didn't want to have to hide from chunks of the internet to avoid being spoiled.

In short, it lived up to my expectations and I loved it. It did several things I wanted it to do but thought it wouldn't, and fulfilled my quota for female centric heroic narratives, evil queens, costume and scenery pr0n, and "'grumpy loner x wee cute scrappy thing' MOST CONTEXTS ACCEPTABLE." The trailers and clips I watched made it pretty clear that they were going for a more mythic (as in "heroic epic") approach than a lot of fantasy movies seem to, and it really does, particularly when it comes to animal guides. I suspect some of it may be a bit too random/convenient for some (not helped much by the inclusion of a few brief bits that seem to be there mostly because they thought it'd be cool for the trailers), but it worked for me. The movie is also amusingly in love with its own epicness.

Actingwise, Charlize Theron unsurprisingly puts in the best performance. I haven't seen any other of Kristen Stewart's movies, but I thought she was pretty decent here. Not the best actress ever, but not bad either, and in terms of screen presence and appearance, I think she was an excellent choice for the role. (Let's give "No one would ever think Kristen is hotter than Charlize" a rest already. Yes, Charlize is a more conventionally attractive hot blonde. Get over it.) Thor did a pretty good job given that his character was drunk in over half his scenes. And may I just comment on his hilariously bad Scottish accent? Pretty much everyone else had a British accent, but for some reason, his was Scottish and not really good, as was immediately made obvious as he spent the first few minutes delivering a rather clunky narration. (Which would have worked better with Ravenna doing it than the huntsman, really.)

BTW, I know the huntsmans name is Eric, but I'm not sure if it's ever actually said in the movie. Also, there are fairies that somehow manage to be weird/creepy and absolutely adorable at the same time

A couple brief comments about 2 things that might be triggery.

( possible triggers )
Spoilery comments:

( spoilers )

New image from Snow White and the Huntsman:
 

So, if all the promotional stuff is pushing Snow White/Huntsman as a pairing to reel in as many Thor/Avengers, Twilight, and "Rebel Princess x Scruffy Badass Devoted Bodyguard" fangirls as possible and then makes it platonic in the movie, I expect the wank to be hilarious.  Except for the ones screeching about Snow being an idiot for not going after Thor because he's hot, but whatever.

TBH, it actually would be a good ploy, with 2 sequels planned:  annoy the fans by not giving them what they want/expect with the first movie but get them coming back to make sure The Right OTP is the canon endgame.  (Manipulative, but probably successfully so were they to do that.)

(Personally, i'm just sitting here, hoping it's good and that it makes a mint and helps spawn lots more fantasy/epic movies with female leads.  Between it, Hunger Games, Brave, and-to a lesser degree-Mirror, Mirror, my hopes are going up.)

160 x Pillars of the Earth (eps -1-4)
44 x Snow White and the Huntsman

  

icons @ my LJ

Chris Hemsworth's lack of chagrin about pretty much being taken out by girl half his size is rather endearing (It's about halfway through):



Speaking of Hemsworth, I did finally get around to watching Thor and Captain America recently-ish, though months after everyone else. I enjoyed them considerably given that I don't care one way or the other about Thor in the comics and don't care a lot for the Captain America concept despite being very fond of Steve Rogers and some of his supporting cast. Hayley Atwell continues to be the best part of everything I've seen her in and while I liked Loki, this is yet another case of my not getting fandom's overwhelming adoration for a character.

Also, getting my gallbladder out Wednesday and am putting together books (mostly lighter-looking YA and manga) and DVDs to rewatch (so far Cranford, various classics, Under the Tuscan Sun, the Kate Beckinsale Emma and the animated Wonder Woman movie) during recovery at my parents (though Dad said he's moving a recliner, TV, and DVD player into the guest room, so I might not need to focus as much on "things what will not shock/confuse your very conservative Southern Baptist parents who never watch anything that didn't originate in the US").

International Spanish trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman:

Unlike the other, it shows the dwarves, and the extra footage combined with the original trailer gives us a slightly better idea of how the plot will go, at least concerning the titular characters.

( spoilers for both trailers, just in case )