January 30th - Population 436 (18?)

Gotta love these straight-to-video films. No really. This was actually pretty darn good.

I'll give you 1 guess as to what Pop. 436 is about. Yep, you got it. A small, out of town town's population is 436 and never changes. NEVER!

Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto) is sent to investigate why the town's population hasn't changed for the past century and slowly discovers its gruesome secret. If anyone stays overnight, they become 'one of us' and someone has to 'disappear' to keep the numbers right. They do this by holding a summer fayre ordeal, with the 'host' being hanged as the main attraction. The story isn't anything amazing, it's your usual deep south town that keeps to itself, so the sets aren't anything big and clever; the cast are pretty convincing, even with having to switch between being nicey-nicey and eerily suspicious; and the scripting doesn't make anything sound forced. The biggest surprise for me was Deputy Bobby Caine. After only a few lines he became a very sincere and likeable character, and by the end of the movie, my favourite. But something kept making me wonder who he was. He seemed familiar, so after I'd finished watching I head over to IMDB to check him out. It turns out that he's none other than FRED DURST! Most singers that turn to acting can't quite hack it, but this was different. He was able to give the emotional range needed to pull it off that others lack. I'm not saying that he should become a full-time actor, but he should give the big screen a try, especially if his performance here is anything to go by.

The ending came as a shock to me, though looking back, I could have figured it out if I had played detective and analysed the movie instead of enjoying it. There is an alternate ending that I would very much like to see, but can't find it anywhere. So if anyone knows of it, let me know!

A movie that shows that not all staight-to-video releases are bad. - 4 tow trucks out of 5

Trailer --- IMDB

January 29th - Snow White and the Huntsman

If you don't know the story of Snow White, get out.

That's right.

You.

Go.

I kid, I kid. Y'all can stay. But if you don't know about Snow White, I recommend you find a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales and brush up on your knowledge pretty sharpish.

I very much enjoy re-imaginings of children’s fairy tales. The SyFy adaptation Alice, is especially worth watching, but maybe I'll save that for another day. This particular take on Snow White isn't that bad, but at the same time, it isn't the best. I guess I'll moan about it a little first, and then make up for it with what I enjoyed.

So. 8 Dwarves? If they were trying to distance themselves from the original by the Brothers Grimm, why this? In fact, if you are trying to distance yourself from an extremely well known tale, why even copy it at all? Anyway, why 8 dwarves? It served no purpose in the film to have an extra in the group, so why not stick to 7? Next, Kristen Stewart. I'm not going to comment on her acting skills as they are already quite controversial, but I will ask, why her? I would have thought the role of Snow White would have gone to someone like Lily Cole (who got cast as generic prisoner number 3) who doesn't look herp-a-derp when she smiles. This coupled with the constant crying whenever Stewart was on screen, leads me to think they could have done much better with the cast list. Finally, the whole film. This sounds bigger than it actually is, so don't fret. I couldn’t' really tell what I was was supposed to be thinking/feeling while watching. There wasn't much emotional attachment to the characters, so I can't say I was rooting for anyone to claim victory/survive. In addition, the film felt kind of flat, like a motorway that you've been driving on for 2 hours. There were no major action scenes, nothing to make you jump, or become excited about. This isn't to say the plot was lacking, just that I like to have my brain working while watching instead of sitting there, well, just sitting there I guess.

Now for good things!

8 dwarves! Yeah yeah, I know I've just slated it, but why not 8 dwarves? There's nothing stopping the writers adding extra characters into the mix. Like I said earlier, this is a re-imagining, not a replication. If it was exactly the same, nobody would watch it. Well, except for you. Yeah, you who doesn't know who the Brothers Grimm are. Speaking of the Brothers, what does Snow White do in their story after she comes back from the dead? Does she don mail and armour and take the fight to the evil Queen? No? Well she does here! Kick-ass princesses have become a mainstay in current-day media, and this is no different. Once again, this is a turn from the original that makes it worth watching as it provides a different view from the 'helpless damsel gets rescued and lives happily ever after'. Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Nick Frost as dwarves? Yes please. Although I do think that using CGI to change their appearance is a bit off, especially when there are plenty of actors out there that don't need computers to look 4'10”.

A children’s story not for children, but also not for adults. - 2 and a half apples out of 5

Trailer --- IMDB