Stewart, Theron, Reign Supreme in Medieval 'Snow White' Tale

No longer the damsel in distress, Snow White becomes a warrior princess to take back what is hers.

If you’re feeling fairy tale déjà vu all of the sudden, you’re not alone. Less than three months ago, director Tarsem Singh traded his stylistic vision of mythological gods and titans for a more family friendly take on the classic Snow White tale in Mirror Mirror. And that was all fine and great for its targeting its youthful demographic, but Rupert Sanders too has his own Snow White tale to tell, one treading the same mature waters as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

Snow White and the Huntsman conveys the most consistent plot points found in any interpretation:  a princess who’s fairest in the land, a vain usurper queen challenged by the beauty of said princess and a supporting cast of seven dwarves, a conflicted huntsman and the iconic magic mirror (or in Huntsman, a faceless mirror man).  Where Huntsman zigs where other interpretations have zagged shines in its encompassing gritty and medieval vibe, in which Snow White assumes the mantle of the kingdom’s savior, a warrior princess leading her army into battle against a psychotic seductress, who has stolen everything that is rightfully hers. 

Third 'MIB' Outing Ends Series on Weakest Note

After a decade-long hiatus, the MIB franchise goes in a brand new direction - back in time.

Men in Black 3 was simply doomed from the start, desperately attempting to reacquaint moviegoers (or more-so subject moviegoers) to what was already an outdated and lifeless franchise. Times have certainly changed since the late 90s as has the quality of cinematic competition. Will Smith just doesn’t have the star power that he had a decade ago with his trio of revolving summer blockbusters: Independence Day, Men in Black, and Wild Wild West.  

And Tommy Lee Jones is no better off, straying from his slew of Oscar-bait performances for the sole purpose of revisiting campy nostalgia. Back as MIB Agents J and K, Smith and Jones once again don their signature black suits and Ray-Bans ready to take down intergalactic criminal, Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement) hell bent on altering the space time continuum. So far, the plot doesn’t sound too bad, a bit derivative, but surely not dreadful. After all, Back to the Future and Austin Powers are deep in the time-travel genre and look how it enhanced those franchises.

Retro 'Shadows' Thrills as a Jagged Supernatural Ride

Director Tim Burton tackles the soap opera drama of Collinswood Manor with his usual crew.

Tim Burton is one of those directors who can’t shake himself out of his comfort zone of being predictable. His past several films all seem to have the same recurring elements, namely the ever-quirky performances of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as well as haunting scores from Danny Elfman, which serve as the ideal complement for the consistent dark cinematic themes. To some, the constant repetition of the same collaborators over and over may seem like taking the easy way out, yet we don’t criticize Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan for being equally guilty of reusing talent. 

Simply put, Tim Burton retaining his predictable state functions as the best outcome, not only because it has worked time and time again, but we go in knowing exactly what to expect from him as a filmmaker. With Dark Shadows, Burton takes the 1960s supernatural soap opera with the same name and revises years of canon to ultimately match his peculiar style and fit within a constrictive two-hour timeframe. Bogged down in gothic undertones and vengeful tendencies, Dark Shadows is right up Burton’s alley, who alongside Johnny Depp were both fans of the original show.

'Avengers' is Marvel's Newest Definition of Super

Marvel's superhero "dream team" defend New York from the villainous forces of  Loki.

Very few films have been able to come close, let alone match the hype factor that’s been gradually brewing throughout the past four years for Marvel’s superhero dream team to assemble onscreen. Since 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel has systematically been laying their cards down one by one, revealing subtle clues about what Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury describes as the Avengers Initiative. Die-hard comic book fans know exactly what’s about to happen and if you’ve seen Iron Man or Thor or any of Marvel’s other recent superhero movies in the theaters and you’ve seen moviegoers glued to their seats during the credits, they’re just anxious for the next little piece of the greater picture.

In The Avengers, the world is threatened by the devious Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the exiled prince of Asgard who’s driven to redeem his defeat in last year’s Thor by conquering Earth once and for all. Loki isn’t alone in this conquest; this time he commands an army of Chitauri, a formidable alien force with its own agenda. Being that this is humanity’s largest threat to date, Fury assembles the Avengers composed of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to defend Earth.

Stop-Motion 'Pirates' Plunder in a Visually Stellar Playground

Aardman returns to theaters, but not with their signature team of Wallace and Gromit.

It was just a mere six years ago when pirates were seemingly relevant; plundering and pillaging amidst a revival of classic iterations of operatic swashbuckling fests. Granted since then, Disney’s staple franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean is nearing its end after a decade and interest in a good old-fashioned high seas adventure has waned in the past few years. Yet that hasn’t prevented Aardman Animations from staying faithful to what they do best – mashing groundbreaking stop-motion with quirky British humor and ultimately tying it all together with a hearty thematic tale of excitement and camaraderie. 

After spending several years unsuccessfully branching out into the realm of CG animation, Aardman finally returns to its roots with The Pirates! Band of Misfits. This adaptation, loosely based on the first two Gideon Defoe books, follows the voyages of the ambitious Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and his loyal ragtag crew with one goal, taking home the Pirate of the Year Award, which will in turn earn the respect of their fellow sea raiders. It doesn’t make matters any better when a pirate-hating Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) and then-nobody Charles Darwin (David Tennant) complicate the situation.

Vibrant Visuals are No Match in Disguisng a Green 'Lorax'

The latest Dr. Seuss adaptation does very little to hide such an obvious environmental message.

Though the previous three theatrical adaptations of Dr. Seuss classics have lacked the ability to come close in doing justice to such beloved source material, there still remains something that resonates with audiences of all ages that only a new interpretation can offer. The Lorax is no exception, transforming Seuss’ downer of a modern fable, predominantly consumed with pitting industry against nature, into a brighter, bubbly, yet denser canvas that challenges audiences with a duality of entertainment and lecture. 

The Lorax bundles together a pair of closely tied narratives detailing the consequences of the industrial-driven Once-ler, who tore down a forest full of colorful cotton candy-like Truffula trees to manufacture a multi-purpose product, the Thneed. As a result, the citizens of Thneed-Ville have been subjected to decades of an isolated, plastic state where evil business rules their daily lives. But that doesn’t stop Ted (Zac Efron) from venturing beyond the constraints of Thneed-Ville to find out from the now recluse Once-Ler where he can find a living tree to impress the girl of his dreams.

'Man on a Ledge' Leaps From Absurdity to Intrigue

Sam Worthington must be thinking about the sequel to his 2010 remake Clash of the Titans.

Whatever happened to Sam Worthington? The star of 2009’s box-office smash, Avatar, was supposed be the “next big thing” in Hollywood, but since his journey to Pandora, what was a potentially bright future stalled minus one exception, the remake of Clash of the Titans. But even combating lackluster mythological beasts simply wasn’t adequate enough for Worthington to make a name for himself. Enter director Asger Leth who takes his first crack at directing besides a 2006 documentary with Man on a Ledge. 

Man on a Ledge distances Worthington from the conventional action role we’ve been accustomed to for the past several years, depending on a more serious role where he is nothing more than a diversion to a much larger picture. After a daring prison escape, ex-cop Nick Cassidy (Worthington) checks in at a hotel deep in the heart of Manhattan, only to momentarily step out onto the building’s ledge and threaten to jump to his death unless persuaded otherwise by police. The situation is nothing more than a ruse to gain the undivided attention of the New Yorkers below, while his brother and his brother’s girlfriend attempt to seek revenge on a businessman who framed him for the theft of a multi-million dollar diamond.