The Huntsman: Winter's War
First film to watch was Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's debut feature film The Huntsman: Winter's War.
What first struck me about the title of this movie was that it really looked like it was a sequel or at least the start of a new series. Turns out I was correct - somehow, somehwere along the way I'd missed Rupert Sander's (also debut feature film) prequel back in 2012 - Snow White and the Huntsman. So as I haven't seen that film so I've no idea if it was any good but clearly it was successful enough to have a sequel made, and a sequel that easily stands on its own as I enjoyed it immensely.
I can also declare to you now that I'll be watching out for future films from Cedric - he's a visual effects man and he worked on Maleficent and Sander's prequel as a Second Unit Director as well as Visual Effects Supervisor on Snow White and the Huntsman. Listed first and foremost on his CV are Cedric's visual effects work so you get the idea that this is what people come to him for and boy can you really see that a man such as this directing own debut movie has really been able to communicate his vision so wonderfully to the team.
Witches fighting - oh! so flamboyantly splashing their magic across the screen is certainly something to behold, as are the goblins who are truly terrifying in all their apish goat-like glory! Everywhere you look the visuals never fail to deliver themselves with pure fantastic joy. This is a great fantasy adventure.
As for the story - this is a fairy tale so don't expect the most intricate of plot details. I was impressed at how Cedric managed to get his sequel to be a prequel to Sander's film (with hindsight I can see where his movie slots into the timeline). The first half is the Huntsman's genesis story and along the way we're introduced to Sara (played by Jessica Chastain) who is actually the Huntsman's long lost love. Jessica does a fantastic job at this, but this is not really her movie at all. Nor is it the Huntsman's, the title is quite misleading - sure it pretends to be about Helmsworth's and Chastain's characters but this is a story about the witches and it is their actions and desires that drive and motivate every other character in the story.
Ian at work asked me if it was "Frozen" for grown ups. I have to admit that it very much is but the effects are just ding dong divine and there's no Idina Menzel overplayed karaoke classics to accompany you through it. Charlize Theron plays Evil Queen 101 and adds an almost salacious seductive touch to it all that she easily steals every scene she oozes into.
Emily Blunt plays the younger sister's fragility so delicately you can feel the eggshell foundations crumbling every time Theron's dominating older sister so effortlessly smashes her flat. When Freya becomes the Ice Queen and begins to show that wonderful quiet confidence through the raging barely contained madness she becomes quite demonic but all the time, like Vader's little spark of goodness that saves the day at the end of it all, Emily never fails to show us Freya's mother love within. She may steal children and turn them into ruthless killers to conquer all the realms surrounding her kingdom but by golly does she love those children once they become her own!
The last time I checked, IMDB gave it a score of 6.2. I rarely disagree with an IMDB rating, I'd easily give it a 6.5 (add a couple of more points if you love the Fantasy genre). This one is definitely worth taking the time to watch on a bigger screen.
This is not a children's movie, you shouldn't (as one woman did) take in a child under 12. Not unless you want them to see people get impaled and some damn scary monsters to give them nightmares for quite a while afterwards, that is.
What first struck me about the title of this movie was that it really looked like it was a sequel or at least the start of a new series. Turns out I was correct - somehow, somehwere along the way I'd missed Rupert Sander's (also debut feature film) prequel back in 2012 - Snow White and the Huntsman. So as I haven't seen that film so I've no idea if it was any good but clearly it was successful enough to have a sequel made, and a sequel that easily stands on its own as I enjoyed it immensely.
I can also declare to you now that I'll be watching out for future films from Cedric - he's a visual effects man and he worked on Maleficent and Sander's prequel as a Second Unit Director as well as Visual Effects Supervisor on Snow White and the Huntsman. Listed first and foremost on his CV are Cedric's visual effects work so you get the idea that this is what people come to him for and boy can you really see that a man such as this directing own debut movie has really been able to communicate his vision so wonderfully to the team.
Witches fighting - oh! so flamboyantly splashing their magic across the screen is certainly something to behold, as are the goblins who are truly terrifying in all their apish goat-like glory! Everywhere you look the visuals never fail to deliver themselves with pure fantastic joy. This is a great fantasy adventure.
As for the story - this is a fairy tale so don't expect the most intricate of plot details. I was impressed at how Cedric managed to get his sequel to be a prequel to Sander's film (with hindsight I can see where his movie slots into the timeline). The first half is the Huntsman's genesis story and along the way we're introduced to Sara (played by Jessica Chastain) who is actually the Huntsman's long lost love. Jessica does a fantastic job at this, but this is not really her movie at all. Nor is it the Huntsman's, the title is quite misleading - sure it pretends to be about Helmsworth's and Chastain's characters but this is a story about the witches and it is their actions and desires that drive and motivate every other character in the story.
Ian at work asked me if it was "Frozen" for grown ups. I have to admit that it very much is but the effects are just ding dong divine and there's no Idina Menzel overplayed karaoke classics to accompany you through it. Charlize Theron plays Evil Queen 101 and adds an almost salacious seductive touch to it all that she easily steals every scene she oozes into.
Emily Blunt plays the younger sister's fragility so delicately you can feel the eggshell foundations crumbling every time Theron's dominating older sister so effortlessly smashes her flat. When Freya becomes the Ice Queen and begins to show that wonderful quiet confidence through the raging barely contained madness she becomes quite demonic but all the time, like Vader's little spark of goodness that saves the day at the end of it all, Emily never fails to show us Freya's mother love within. She may steal children and turn them into ruthless killers to conquer all the realms surrounding her kingdom but by golly does she love those children once they become her own!
The last time I checked, IMDB gave it a score of 6.2. I rarely disagree with an IMDB rating, I'd easily give it a 6.5 (add a couple of more points if you love the Fantasy genre). This one is definitely worth taking the time to watch on a bigger screen.
This is not a children's movie, you shouldn't (as one woman did) take in a child under 12. Not unless you want them to see people get impaled and some damn scary monsters to give them nightmares for quite a while afterwards, that is.
