Mirror Mirror

I admit I was not the most enthusiastic of fairy-tale-enthusiasts when I saw the trailer for Mirror Mirror, with its heavy dose of Julia Roberts (of whom I am not a big fan) and seemingly endless slapstick.



But my interest piqued when Once Upon a Blog: Fairy Tale News posted about a very different review that the film had gotten: one comparing the plot to the real life assassination of Indira Gandhi. Suddenly that outrageous swan dress didn't seem so off-putting, and Julia Robert's half-assed attempted accent was something I was just going to have to bear with.

So I coaxed (paid for) one of my friends to accompany me to the little local theater and we sat through the previews talking about how horribly wrong fairy tale adaptations could go. (I'm looking at you, Red Riding Hood.)

And honestly... I ended up really enjoying this film. If nothing else, it's worth going to see in the theater for the lush costumes and stunning set work.



Once I found out about the Indian ties (maybe the director's name should have been my first clue...) it was impossible not to see all the Bollywood Influence. (And I like Bollywood movies; if you're not a fan then I'm not sure how you'd feel about the movie, generally, but it's still interesting from a scholarly/cultural perspective -- always nice to see fairy tales that aren't entirely Western-cultural.)

I think the best way to describe this movie is... kind of cartoony. It's tongue-in-cheek through and through, with the prince even commenting on focus groups. It's hard to say it takes itself seriously, yet it drew me in enough to care about the characters (except the queen, and I'm not supposed to care about her anyway, right?), and I was impressed with the time spent to develop some of the secondary characters, like the dwarves and Snow's mentor Margaret. A lot of fairy tale retellings, especially in film, skim over secondary characters to the point where they are interchangeable.



For me, the biggest downfall of the movie was Julie Roberts, which is no surprise. But even my friend said the accent was pretty atrocious: everyone else seemed perfectly happy to just speak in their native accent but Roberts waffled back and forth between a vaguely British slur to her normal American vocalizations. And honestly I do not feel like the woman understands comedic timing or any of the other fine-tunings that come with getting a laugh out of an audience. If you are a fan of hers this might not be a problem for you so I'll leave it at that.

If you prefer darker retellings, this one won't hold as much appeal -- though I think that Indian Assassination angle is worth looking into (which I honestly haven't done, but hey I am a light scholar at best). Here is one other blog post, from pinayredeemed.blogspot.com, drawing the parallels between the political situation and the movie.

So should you see this? If you are a fan of the Snow White story, yes. This has enough of its own twists to be worthy of a viewing; Tarsem Singh does draw in the modern sensibilities of women rescuing themselves and in the end it's easy to cheer for this Snow White. Should you see this in the theater? I would encourage it -- like I said, the costumes are fabulous and the scenery is just yummy.

The Tempest

The Tempest. Starring Helen Mirren as Prospero (or Prospera). First of all, I have to say I love this concept. Considering how much Shakespeare tends to play with gender roles (literally and figuratively), this is a mild change, but I also love Helen Mirren, so I was eager to see this one.

The movie itself is pretty luscious. It was filmed in Hawaii, and they took advantage of everything from rich jungle to volcanic barren landscapes. The costumes were detailed and all of the era. The only thing that ever felt out of place was the occasional rock guitar riff.

The special effects were sometimes spot on and sometimes looked a little cheap. Don't get me wrong, they worked well enough that you can always tell what's going on. Just if you watch this brace yourself for the occasional wince at a corny special effect.

Still, it is Shakespeare, and the majority of the film is about the people and the language. And the casting in this is superb. There were definitely some faces that I would not associate with Shakespeare -- but I think a match up like that, when it works (and it does here) makes it all the better for being surprising. E.g.:

I was a little lost at first, as far as what was being said (in spite of having been in the Tempest at one point) but if you're having trouble at the beginning, it's just because there's, well, a tempest, and everyone is yelling -- give it another five minutes and I think even the casual Shakespeare fan won't have any trouble following the dialog.

All things considered, I found this to be a very enjoyable and interesting take on one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I hope you'll check it out.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen is one of my favorite Faerie Tale Theatre episodes. It follows the original Andersen storyline fairly closely, with only a few simplifications (such as Gerda runs into the robber girl but never meets the rest of the robbers). For all the FTT had a small budget, they did a good job with the sets on this one, giving viewers some really rich scenery in the endless summer garden and the Snow Queen's palace.

And check out that dress! There were a couple of costume pieces in this one that made me waaant -- especially Gerda's deliciously snuggly shawl.

This story has enough complexity to hold older audiences' interest as well as the appeal to some of the younger fairy tale lovers. As I said, it's one of my favorites, and if you aren't sure about how much you want to watch these, it's a good one to try individually.

You can watch it for free on hulu.

The Secret of Moonacre

Have you guys HEARD about this MOVIE? It is AMAZING.

I spotted it at the library and thought it looked like it might be worth a go... although I was afraid it might also be really cheesy. I think it was the holographic cover that had me worried. But never fear! It turned out to be AWESOME.

I'll compare it to Stardust or The Golden Compass as far as quality/special effects/fantasy movie, though the plot is not anything like either of them. This is about a newly orphaned girl, Maria Merryweather, who goes to live with her uncle at Moonacre Manor. Her only legacy from her deceased father is a book which tells the ancient story of the Merryweathers and the De Noirs, two families that have been feuding for years.

Naturally, she, a Merryweather, has continuous run-ins with this scoundrel, Robin De Noir.

As she spends time at Moonacre Manor, she quickly comes to discover that all is not as simple and mundane as the life she is used to. The stars on her ceiling move, strange creatures appear and disappear, et cetera. She unravels the mystery of Moonacre, and discovers that there is very little time to save it and the people she has come to know.

The plot is solid, but this movie is worth it for the costumes alone. I had complete and utter dress lust after watching this movie. I mean, LOOK:

There's a romantic sub-plot, a handful of fun and eccentric characters, and a typically wonderful performance by Tim Curry as the bad guy. My only real problem with this movie was the occasional feeling of things being rushed--which isn't a problem so much as it makes me want to read the book the movie was adapted from, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. (It's on my library list, so we'll see about a review in the near future....)

Definitely check this out if you like fantasy movies; it's really well done.

The Fall

The Fall is a strange and beautiful movie. Although it's definitely its own thing, you could compare it to Pan's Labyrinth or The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, or other mind-trip films with gorgeous cinematography.

I can't believe I never heard of this until a few weeks ago. As soon as I heard the premise, then saw the preview, I had to see the movie. And it's well worth it, for the imagery alone.

The story itself is of two people who meet in a hospital: a little girl, Alexandria, with a broken arm, and Roy Walker, a movie stunt man who has seriously injured himself and is now contemplating suicide. They meet incidentally, and he begins to tell her a vast fantasy story, partly to entertain her and partly to manipulate her.

The fantasy story is the richer, less coherent part of the film, although it fits as it is mutable and involves a lot of input from Alexandria, whose expression of interest or boredom often influences the direction of the story. Roy's cruel streak is balanced by Alexandria's optimism, and the story and reality conflate toward the end of the film.

The movie ends on a wistful, bittersweet note. The fairy tale/mythology motifs are subtle but present. And as I said, the film is worth watching for the cinematography alone.

Narnia Week: The Life and Faith of C.S. Lewis

The Life and Faith of C.S. Lewis: The Magic Never Ends is another one I spotted incidentally at the library, and as I have been going through a bit of a Lewis phase lately, reading his work more widely than I have in the page, I thought I'd check it out. Also it's only an hour and twenty minutes, so I didn't think it could be that much of a waste of time.

Well, it wasn't THAT much of a waste of time, though frankly, I was pretty disappointed. This movie is like... for Christians who have never heard of C.S. Lewis? I guess? I'm not really sure what they were going for here, although maybe they weren't sure, either, and that's why the video was so generally disorganized. It skipped around through time AND theme, not really settling on anything long enough to be interesting. The interviews with people who flinched away from the details of Lewis's life were actually embarrassing after Laura Miller's direct and respectful analysis of how his personal life influenced his fiction.

I wouldn't recommend this unless you are a huge Lewis fan, and if you are a huge Lewis fan, this video doesn't have anything new. There are interviews with both his stepsons, which was interesting for a moment. But every time they started to get past the basic plot of one of his book, or talk about a little more detail of his life, the video veered away into the next topic, and I'm sorry, but I just don't need you to tell me the plot of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

I say this AS a Lewis fan, but honestly, the best parts of this video were the harp music in the menu, and Ben Kingsley narrating.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers

Taking the prize for longest title in the Faerie Tale Theatre series is "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers," which has some alternate titles like Fearnot or The Story of the Youth who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was. (Personally I have always gravitated toward "Fearnot" as it's the shortest one to write.)

This is the story of a young lad who has never been scared of anything, growing up in a culture of superstition and fear. Finally his happy-go-lucky ways are too much of an embarrassment to his family, who live in proper fright, and his father sends him away. The lad, not at all discouraged, is determined to discover what the big deal is before he returns home.

He doesn't travel far (in this version) before he comes upon a haunted castle that everyone is afraid of. He agrees to spend three nights there; if he can live through all three nights he is offered a reward of money and a princess, but he is more interested in the idea of being frightened for once than he is in the reward.

Naturally the things that frighten other people have no effect on him, but he does spend three nights making friends with a range of ghouls and ghosts.

With Peter MacNicol as the titular character and Christopher Lee in a supporting role, this is one of the most enjoyable episodes of FTT. (Of course it's also one of my favorite stories, so that might have some impact on my opinion.) And the twist at the very end of the story did make me chuckle.

You can watch the episode for free on hulu.

Red Riding Hood, 2011

I starting watching this, not expecting much after the other reviews I have seen and heard. And, well, I can't say I entirely disagree with them. This is a pretty film, no doubt, but it had some of the most stilted dialog and wooden acting I've seen outside of a Mystery Science Theatre episode.

And a lot of Amanda Seyfried looking lost, confused, concerned, or bewildered:

As far as the story, though, I was actually okay with this retelling. It uses the elements of the old story, including some of the lesser known details like eating grandma. Well sort of. And there's lots of werewolf mythology thrown in: blood moons and silver swords and holy ground. Oh, and a weird elephant torture device from Rome.

Man, I want a weird elephant torture device from Rome.

Gary Oldman plays the slightly insane priest who lost his wife to werewolves, Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons face off as the love interests, and Billy Burke reprises his role as the Dad in Twilight. (har)

I am really not sure why this movie didn't work. It really isn't good, but sometimes I can get past that, and just tell myself, "Okay, this is going to be silly, but just enjoy it!" and this was one of those cases. The elements seem like they should work: decent story, decent actors, but they don't add up to a good movie in this case.

In spite of that, I think if you're a fairy tale lover, you will find some things to like about this. The three little pigs have a moment, there are subtle and direct references to old, old versions of LRRH, and, well, it is a darn PRETTY movie:

So if you've been afraid to give this one a chance, I say go for it. It's not going to be your new favorite movie, I don't think, but it definitely has its moments and I don't feel like I need my two hours back.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Snow White

I think deep in my psyche, this is what "Snow White" means to me, more than the Disney version, which never really sank in. No wonder I always forgot about the poison comb: it's not in the FTT version, which only had time for tight ribbons and an apple. (Don't they know that fairy tales work by threes?)

Vanessa Redgrave plays the queen, and Elizabeth McGovern plays Snow White. I have to admit, seeing Rex Smith as the prince was a highlight for me (I am a Pirates of Penzance fan).

It was rather amusing to come straight off Thumbelina's: "Will you marry me?" "I have to think about it," to Snow White's: "Will you marry m---" "YES." Where's the message, Ms. Duvall??

There isn't a lot I can say about this as far as quality: it's standard FTT fare. But it might make a nice alternative to the Disney version if you want something new for the kids. Written with plenty of humor, especially among the dwarves, it's quick enough to keep adults entertained as well.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Thumbelina

Thumbelina is a messed up story. It has always bothered me. Also I think that's why I like it.

So I give Faerie Tale Theatre major props for their retelling of Thumbelina, for managing to cut out two of the major problems I have with the story.

Carrie Fisher stars at the title character. Golly, she is cute. And she goes through all the trials and tribulations of being Thumbelina with spunk. The writing in this episode isn't as funny as in some, but the performances gel together really well, making this overall a strong episode.

And as she goes from being kidnapped to be a bride for the frog, to rescued by the fieldmouse only to become a bride for the mole (and hello heavy patriarchic, female helplessness symbolism), out comes one of my favorite lines in all of FTT history:

"It's just that I'm... always the bride, never the bridesmaid...."

Then onto the fairy prince... err, flower angel. I don't know why the fairies were renamed for this story. It's one of the only fairy tales with actual fairies already in it... so why change the name? But we still get the idea.

And Thumbelina says she cannot marry anyone without her mother's consent, and the... flower-angel prince agrees to find her mother. Thereby neatly solving two of the bothersome issues of the story: Thumbelina and the prince actually get to know each other, making it NOT yet another forced marriage proposition, and she gets reunited with the discarded mother. (Not that the mother-figure in a fairy tale is necessarily as important as a real mother, but that has always bothered me.)

You can watch the episode for free on Hulu.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Pinocchio

This is honestly one of my least favorite episodes of Faerie Tale Theatre, ever. Paul Reuben's laugh is just pitched to a place that screeches through my brain and soul, sending me into a spiral of despair and loathing. It's not his fault. It's just how my eardrums work.

I can't even say he does a bad job, and I'm sure at the time, the Pee-wee Hermanness of the character would have resonated with the intended audience. Watching it now, though, there's nothing enjoyable about the high-pitches shudders of laughter.

Pinocchio is one of my least-favorite fairy tales anyway, and all the problems with it are condensed in the FTT episode. The idea that you can't make a mistake even once without horrible disfigurement has always bothered me, and Pinocchio getting in such deep and lasting trouble for going a little off track on his FIRST DAY ALIVE distresses me deeply. Parents are supposed to teach their children, not let them wander off to get into trouble and then blame them for it.

But that's a separate issue than the episode itself, which is technically impressive as far as the low-budget but effective special effects. If you can get past the Pee-wee laughter and the hokey Italian accents, it's not a bad episode.

It is also still available to watch on hulu.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Princess and the Pea

Ahhh, Liza Minnelli. Throughout this episode, I couldn't help but hear Judy Garland in her voice. (No singing, unfortunately.) This is one of the episodes that follows the original story closely, although the writing added some character development for the queen, prince, and princess. And the jester, for some reason. (Actually, the dynamic between the prince, princess, and jester was pretty fun.)

The best part about this was the chemistry the actors bounced around; upon reflection, there wasn't much else about the episode that stood out for me. It did seem a bit thin; the character development was attempted but felt enough like Once Upon a Mattress that it wasn't original enough to make an impression.

Still, it's a solid episode, if somehow a little rushed.

You can watch it for free on hulu!

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

This is one of my favorite Faerie Tale Theatres AND one of my favorite Goldilocks...es... in terms of how much was added. Goldilocks by itself isn't much of a story--well I suppose it depends on if you go for the happy or the tragic ending. There's a rich grounds for symbolism and metaphor, but the story alone is simple (which leaves a lot of room for interpretation).

Instead of the normal FTT, straight-up retelling, the actual bit about the finding the house and eating the porridge, sitting in the chairs, and sleeping in the beds is a pretty short part of the episode. Much more time is spent on Goldilocks's shenanigans and fibbing. Tatum O'Neal does an impressive job of being a bouncy little girl.

I really like this interpretation, from the Ranger's back-country narration to the bear's failing scheme to give away honey to the wild stories Goldilocks comes up with to try to get out of trouble. The writing is sharp and witty, getting more chuckles out of me than your average... bear.

It's available to watch on hulu now.

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Hansel and Gretel

Faerie Tale Theatre's version of Hansel and Gretel had me worried, because Hansel and Gretel is one of those fairy tales that I tend to think of as being so straightforward and uncomplicated that I couldn't figure out how to get a full fifty minutes out of it. However, there is enough story there to make it happen, and although the writing on this one wasn't particularly sparkling with wit, the kids are cute enough that the episode worked.

Joan Collins as both the mother and the witch was a nice touch. Although FTT doesn't take the idea anywhere, it's definitely suggestive in the story concept: the threat to the children comes from an older female. And the step-mother's unexplained death at the end of the episode certainly parallels the witch's death. Since nothing is explicitly stated, my interpretation is that FTT decided to add an extra layer to the story, for those grown-ups who may be watching. I certainly don't remember catching on that the witch and the mother were the same actress when I watched it as a child.

This is one of the few episodes where FTT really goes above and beyond to make this ending happier than the original tale. Not only do Hansel and Gretel escape, and find their father at home, but all the children who the witch had previously eaten were restored from their gingerbread forms.

The complete collection is pretty reasonably priced at this point, just about $30 new.

You can also watch the episode on hulu.

In weird juxtaposition news, as I was watching this I was in the middle of rereading Little House on the Prairie. As the step-mother complained that if father didn't sell his wood, they wouldn't have any bread to eat, I couldn't help but think: "Start a garden, woman! What are you doing all day?" (Well, eating gingerbread children, perhaps.)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)

My first thought was to wonder why Alice's dress looked so much like Alice's dress in the Disney version. A quick date check revealed that this came out just over 20 years after the Disney version. So the question is... did William Sterling's version deviate in any OTHER ways from the Disney film?

Well... it's live action. And the frame story involves Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) taking three little girls out for a picnic, where he tells the story of Alice in Wonderland. Which... I have to admit, turned me off of the film right away. More for the creeping staring than the content, although in context it's not very reassuring, either.

Aside from that... call me a product of my era, but I found the pacing extremely difficult to deal with. This film sticks pretty close to the original story, which is to say--all the cruel nonsense is present. But this Alice laughs through the whole thing, so at least she's not scared....

This movie is almost more worthwhile for the antique special effects. If you enjoy that kind of thing, this is one to check out. And if you like the pure nonsense of the book, this is a respectable version. Otherwise, I'd pass it up for something else.

You CAN watch it for free, on hulu, and the bright costumes and music might appeal to children more than they appealed to me.

Sleeping Beauty by Cannon Movie Tales

Another entry in the Cannon Movie Tale collection, Sleeping Beauty takes a loooong look at the difficulties of giving birth to a princess. In fact, the buildup to the princess being born, and the Christening/gift-bestowing, take up the majority of the movie, leaving about 20 minutes for Rosebud, age 16, to prick her finger, fall asleep, and get rescued.

The Queen (Morgan Fairchild) is so sad that she can't have a child, until one day an troublemaking elf, determined to redeem himself, conjures up a fertility potion (which the King almost drinks because the Queen won't tell him what it's for). After much rigmarole involving the gathering of ingredients, and with a nod to Rip Van Winkle and other fairy tales, the princess is at long last born. The King and Queen invite everyone in the land to come celebrate their daughter's birth, but when the cook goes to prepare the meal, he discovers that there aren't enough golden plates for all the fairies, so they knock the Red Fairy off the list (cause nobody's ever heard of her).

Everyone gathers, as you would expect (except the wisdom fairy dawdles for some reason, which of course turns out to be for the best). I have to say--the wealth fairy? What a rip off. The King and Queen are already rich. That's the fairy they should have dissed.

So then the Red Fairy shows up, all fiery and devil-like, and curses and cackles. Then the White Fairy gives her gift, the modification of the curse, and takes off without answering any questions, in spite of the king calling after her for help. The elf who helped the queen get pregnant whispers to her to burn all the spinning wheels. Which they do, in the hope that it will help.

Fast forward 16 years (at an hour into the production) and Princess Rosebud is in the garden, singing about flowers. Her nursemaid comes and finds her and lets slip that although the kingdom is in tatters now, they used to make cloth! For some reason, nobody has the idea to trade for any kind of clothing until Rosebud suggests it. So the king and queen go off on an expedition for cloth, leaving Rosebud alone with her nursemaid and all her guards and the elf to watch over her.

She immediately gets into all kinds of trouble:

And pricks her finger, falls asleep, the White Fairy puts the castle to sleep, and a random wandering prince shows up and rescues her, 100 years later. The end.

I had, ahem, a couple issues with the pacing of this version of Sleeping Beauty: a whole lot of build-up for very little character development, particularly of Rosebud and the... prince... Prince... somebody. Even so, it's good light entertainment if you want something to watch with the kids or something that doesn't require your entire attention. It's fun to watch for the occasional reference to other fairy tales, and although none of the musical numbers are particularly strong, they aren't bad, either.

The DVD isn't currently available in Region 1 formatting, although you can get it in Region 2 formatting on amazon. However, you can watch it for free on hulu, and most things are worth watching at that price!

Suckerpunch

I went to see Suckerpunch this weekend. I have been excited about it for some time now, and from the trailers I thought it had a certain "Alice in Wonderland" quality to it. Don't you think so?

And I have to admit, it's been buzzing around my literary-analyst-brain ever since the end of the movie, when I sat in open-mouth shock and watched the credits.

I almost hesitate to recommend it, because I want to go into such depths of analysis that there are sure to be spoilers, spoilers, spoilers involved. But I also want all my fairy-tale-fan readers to go see and so we can DISCUSS it.

If you liked Watchmen AND Kick Ass, I would recommend this. I will say a few things more below the next picture, so if you are wary of spoilers, I'll see you next time!

First of all it occurred to me: action girls in miniskirts: really feminine empowerment? Yet I think this one fits the bill--it certainly passed the Bechdel test. In fact there are almost no "good" men in the movie. The one male helper fits the role of fairy godmother or even more the "old woman helper on the road." This is a movie about women, and while I have to say that the characters didn't reach new levels of depth in movies, it IS an action movie, and I don't ask for every male action hero to be stunningly characterized; it would be unrealistic to think that every action movie featuring women would have 100% humanized, rounded characters.

Having said that, each of the women in this movie DO have distinctive personalities, and while they may lean toward stereotypes, there are none that can simply be categorized (as, for example, "the love interest") and dismissed.

One of the things I found most compelling about this is the concept of the hero's journey and how well it fits Babydoll's experience. (Ha. Yes. The names. That's a whole different thing, but anyway.) Her "journey into other" is very much internal, but no less awesome, and her "return to aid" is completely concrete, as we see at the very end.

Thinking of Babydoll in terms of a Superhero is what makes the whole story work for me. It could be a tragic "suckerpunch" if you will, but I think we have a tendency to give our superheroes unrealistically happy endings in many cases. Here we have a bittersweet ending: there is success but it is mixed with sacrifice. As is hinted at in the movie--it's not a surprise except that in all the excitement, Babydoll and her audience forget that she was warned of the fifth thing, a mystery, a sacrifice that pays for all.

And I loved the parallel between Babydoll's sister and Sweetpea's sister. These two have experienced such a similar thing in regard to their younger sisters, and to me, that makes the ending all the more satisfactory. It's hard to explain without getting TOO specific, but the parallel between Sweetpea and Babydoll justified the ending: by saving Sweetpea, Babydoll saves herself.

The imagery was phenomenal: WWII meets Steampunk meets Lord of the Rings. (I seriously thought they just borrowed some orc costumes from Peter Jackson at one point.) It's worth seeing for the cinematography alone (although I suppose if you aren't interested in the movie at this point, you can just look up pictures online).

Like I said, I hesitate to unreservedly recommend this. However, I loved it, and I hope you'll give it a chance, free of expectations.

Beastly Movie review

So I've had some time to mull over Beastly, and I figure you've either seen it by now or you're still trying to decide if it's worth seeing in theaters. And my thought on that is... meh. Aside from the rather remarkable makeup job (not necessarily as grotesque as they'd like to think, perhaps, but certainly impressive) there isn't a lot about this movie that screams "must see on big screen!" to me. It's a fairly typical paranormal romance, some of the sharper points in the book dulled down a bit.

Your story, of course, is Beauty and the Beast from Beast's perspective. He's a jerk, but we feel sorry for him because his father is even more of a jerk. He tries to pull one over on Kendra, but surprise! Those rumors about her being a witch: totally true. (It wasn't just a euphemism for a word that rhymed! Who knew?)

So suddenly he's all icky. He has a couple run-ins with Lindy both pre- and post-uglification, and the camera is definitely zoomed in on his affection for her. (HE IS ADMIRING HER AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN NOTICE! HOW ROMANTIC!)

Then, and here's where you can tell the marketing went "Well, what worked in Twilight?" he stalks her a bit, following her around town and watching her read at her window. Through his stalking, he is able to intervene when her father gets tangled with some drug-dealers, taking her away to his outside-the-city house for her protection. (I believe in the book, he had the traditional magic mirror on his side, making his stalking more of a mystical nature. I'm not sure that's better, but I had more trouble believing the chain of events in the movie than I did when I read the book.)

Neil Patrick Harris is definitely the highlight of the film. Every time he was on screen there was something to laugh about. From a blind guy throwing darts to he's caustic but useful advice, as far as I'm concerned, he was the star of the show.

The rest of the acting didn't hold up so well, and though it's always hard to say what's the acting and what's the directing, none of the three main characters (Mary-Kate Olsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer) pulled off anything spectacular or... believable.

For my money, if you want a supernatural romance, I'd check out I Am Number Four at the theater, which at least has the special effects to be worth the big-screen ticket (and I liked it a lot better in the end--it caters much more to the sci-fi/action crowd than the Twilight crowd), and save Beastly for your home system. And as for this story, if I care to revisit it, I will go by way of book, and not the movie.

Edit: Here is a really nice blog entry by Alex Flinn, with thoughts about the movie vs the book, and her excitement at the premier. Well worth reading!

SyFy's Alice

Imagine a science fiction made-for-tv movie about a weird portal that takes you to a place where humans are harvested for their emotions. Add a whole bunch of Alice in Wonderland motif and imagery, and you have a good idea of what you're going to get with SyFy's miniseries, Alice.

The action begins when Alice's (Caterina Scorsone) not-very-longterm boyfriend (Philip Winchester) tries to give her a ring. She freaks out and he leaves, but when she finds that the ring was slipped into her pocket, she follows him to give it back and talk. Just in time to see him dragged away by some goons with white rabbits on their lapels.

Next thing she knows, she's through a looking glass and into a strange and very vertical world, where she's tagged as an "oyster" and boxed up. But being a savvy girl, she makes a quick escape, and finds possible help in the form of Hatter (Andrew Lee Potts).

(If only that was a blue police box instead of a red phone booth, they'd be fine.)

Hatter and Alice continue to make their way through Wonderland, meeting a cast of familiar yet slanted characters, from the White Knight (Matt Frewer) to the Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates).
Above, check out the Happy Hearts Casino, where humans go to win big all the time! And as they win, their feelings get drained away. Or something nefarious and questionable.

The imagery was very cool, and of course I love spotting the references. It's not a straight up Alice in Wonderland retelling, but I'm not sure that could work in a sci-fi film. However, most of the elements are here, and seeing how they show up is half the fun.

I enjoyed this at least as much as Tin Man, so if you liked that, here's another one to check out. There are a bunch of special features on the SyFy site, so you can get a more in-depth idea of the imagery and the storyline over there.

Red Riding Hood, 2011 Released Today

Don't forget, Red Riding Hood is in theaters today! Go see it and support Fairy Tale movies!