Movie Night - Snow White and the Huntsman

I adore our new house and living with Tim is making me so happy, but I really miss having Angel around all the time. There is something between best friends that just can't be recreated between partners. Maybe it's that we're both women and she understands the nitty gritty stuff. Maybe it's that we've been friends for almost ten years and she's been there for me through some of the most formative moments of my life. It could also be that Angel is one of the smartest, nicest, most supportive people I've ever met and having her in my life makes me a better person. But whatever it is, there are so many moments when I wish she was in the house and I could just yell some inane comment down the hall. 

Impossible, unfortunately, and it's only going to get worse if/when she moves to Dubai. So for now I just have to make the most of the moments we do have. Besides reading and food, Angel and I both really love movies. Especially fantasy-based movies, although it could be argued that dance movies trump that. But we knew we both wanted to go see Snow White and the Huntsman. 

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read below the jump if you are planning to watch this movie and don't want to know details about what happens.

Angel, of course, wanted to watch it because it has Chris Hemsworth in it and he is SOOO dreamy. Seriously, he was born wearing a little sign that said dark and brooding. I don't know how many blond men could pull it off, but he just smolders. I don't know what this says about me, but I was more excited about seeing Charlize Theron. HUGE girl crush!! Neither of them disappoints. Kristen Stewart was a bit meh for me. Better than her acting in Twilight, but I think I'll forever be prejudiced against her *because* of her acting in Twilight. Just brutal. And for someone who is supposed to be fairer than Charlize Theron's character . . . sorry. No dice. 

The storyline is really interesting - quite the twist on the traditional Snow White tale. Charlize Theron is the evil queen. She was charmed by her mother as a young child because their village was invaded and she was kidnapped by a king. The king used her until she killed him and took his kingdom. The charm allows her to use magic as long as she is the most beautiful woman in the realm. The magic or the abuse or the charm itself makes her a bit batty and power hungry. She winds up marrying Snow White's father, who is the king, and killing him to assume the throne. Snow White (Kristen Stewart) grows up to be more beautiful than the Queen is (ha!) so the Queen's magic starts failing her. To fix the spell, she needs to eat Snow White's heart. Snow White manages to escape and join the rebellion, and then to kill the Queen. 

The cinematography is gorgeous. Moody, dark. It matches Charlize Theron, who plays the Queen as alternately haughty, terrified, and completely mad. Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman character has a really dry sense of humour, especially once the dwarves come into play. They play down the love interest between him and Snow White, which I found to be a little disappointing. All in all, though, very entertaining movie.