Mirror Mirror

Movie: Mirror Mirror

Genre: fantasy comedy

Synopsis: The King (Sean Bean) is a widower with a young daughter, Snow White (Lily Collins – daughter of Phil).  The King gets remarried to the beautiful Queen (Julia Roberts).  When the King mysteriously disappears, the Queen’s true colors come out.  She banishes Snow White to her room and begins taxing the people of the kingdom mercilessly.  When Snow White manages to escape the castle for a visit to the village, she meets ends up with a handsome prince (Armie Hammer) who had been waylaid by seven bandit dwarves. The Queen decides she wants to marry the prince – and orders Snow White to be killed to eliminate the competition.  Of course, she ends up with the dwarfs.   

My two cents: This was a delightful movie.  Julia Roberts was spot-on as the over-the-top evil Queen.  Everything in the movie was just right.  Any adult with a sense of humor should enjoy this movie – and the dwarfs should be enough to keep kids happy.

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The Deep Blue Sea

Movie: The Deep Blue Sea

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Set in 1950, Hester (Rachel Weisz) is married to Sir William Collyer.  She falls in love with Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), an RAF pilot.  She leaves her husband to be with Freddie, even though she knows he is never going to really love her as she loves him.  The film follows this less-than-ideal relationship through the years.

My two cents: I love Rachel Weisz and she played a good role – but I really did not enjoy this movie.  Part of the problem is that I am always really annoyed at movies with female characters who throw themselves at jackass men who are so undeserving of their devotion . . . and Freddie certainly filled that bill.  I also could never quite figure out the direction of the movie – what it was trying to achieve..

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The Hunger Games

Movie: The Hunger Games

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Set in the future, North America has been decimated by both natural and human-induced disasters.  The remains of the continent were consolidated into 13 districts ruled by Panem.  74 years ago, there was a rebellion that resulted in Panem completely destroying the 13^th district.  As a punishment for the rebellion, once a year each of the remaining 12 districts must send two children to Panem to participate in the Hunger Games.  The Hunger Games are held in a huge high-tech outdoor arena filled with booby traps.  The game continues until only one child is left alive.  The movie follows 16-year-old Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) who is selected to be in the 74^th annual Hunger Games.

My two cents: This was a great movie based on a great book.  The bleakness of the 12 districts is overwhelming – especially contrasted to the opulence of Panem. Jennifer Lawrence was great as Katniss.  I also loved Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, the person in charge of prepping Katniss for the Games. There are a lot of big names in this movie, including Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland and Toby Jones.  This is one movie adaptation that you should definitely read the book before seeing.

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Movie: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Genre: Romantic comedy

Synopsis: Harriet (Emily Blunt) works in London for a wealthy Arab - Sheik Muhammed (Amr Waked).  The Sheik is a fly fishing enthusiast and decides he wants his Yemeni countrymen to be able to share his past-time.  In an effort to make this happen, Harriet hires Dr, Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) - a British government fishing expert – to come up with a plan to import salmon into a river in Yemen.

My two cents: The movie sounds crazy, but is actually quite good.  The sheik is quite a philosopher and is really intent on bettering the lives of his countrymen.  Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor were both great in their roles.  I especially loved the dry sense of humor Ewan McGregor’s character had.  If you like romantic comedies, this one will not let you down.  Definitely one of the best movies of 2012, in my opinion.

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Casa De Mi Padre

Movie: Casa De Mi Padre

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: This was a strange one. It guess “tongue in cheek” kind of describes it.  The movie is entirely in Spanish.  It is set on a ranch in Mexico.  The patriarch is Miguel Ernesto (Pedro Armendariz Jr.)  He has two sons: Raul (Diego Luna) who has been living in the city, but has now returned to the ranch; his other son is Armando (Will Ferrell)  - loyal but incredibly naïve (and stupid?).  The two brothers end up in a war against Mexico’s biggest drug lord.  Through into the mix Armando falling in love with Raul’s fiancée (Genesis Rodriguez).

My two cents: I am all for off-beat comedies – but this one was just too far out there for me.  I would love to have sat in on the pitch that convinced someone to put up the money to make this film.

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