An Unexpected Pleasure: Mirror Mirror

It's not so much my "softer side" writing this as my, "nerdy, inner child."

There are a handful of fantasy movies that I hold near and dear to my heart; movies that I could watch, marathon style, on an unending loop. Movies that I think of as "companion pieces" that boast similar sensibilities, senses of humor, and charms. These movies are among my favorites and if there's one in this bunch you haven't seen - I urge you to do so!

I'm always on the lookout for other movies that can fit into this group... And I may actually be adding Mirror Mirror to the bunch.

Let me explain:

If Snow White and the Huntsman was created for Twilight fans, Mirror Mirror was created for Buffy fans; that cheeky, post-modern, self-referential, slightly snarky nerd humor that powers nearly everything my generation is into completely permeates Mirror Mirror.

Snow White and the Huntsman tried to be an "action" movie while Mirror Mirror is comedy gold. If you'd asked me, prior to watching it, if I imagined Julia Roberts as "funny," I would have said, "not on your life." But lo and behold, she's kind of hilarious.

I'm loathe to admit how charmed I was by this movie after writing the following: fans of Joss Whedon will literally just cream themselves over this movie. It has all the trappings of his work: the snappy banter ("There's I'm in the same room as a prince crazy, and then there's good old fashioned plain traditional psycho crazy.... I fear she's the latter."), the faux empowered female lead ("...I read so many stories where the prince saves the princess in the end. I think it's time we change that ending."), the general reversal of social conventions (the queen isn't "evil" she's "insecure.")... it goes on and on.

But the true high point of the movie were the dwarves. Seriously. They were amazing. And the costuming choices made for them were simply superb.

So, imagine everything that Ever After wanted to be (but couldn't quite pull off). Got it? Mirror Mirror nailed all those things. And if that's not enough to win you over (what, is your heart made of stone?) than the visuals should seal the deal.

If you've ever watched any of Tarsem Singh's movies you know that they are opulent feasts for your eyeballs. You may not have known that your brain was starving for vibrant, surreal imagery BUT it was and Tarsem Singh's movies are exactly the meal needed.

In case you need a refresher, he's the man responsible for The Cell, The Fall, & The Immortals.

Everything that Tim Burton wanted to pull off with his remake of Alice in Wonderland, but didn't quite manage? You guessed it. Mirror Mirror nailed.

My only visual complaint? They really should have done something with Lily Collins' eyebrows; How in the name of the style gods am I supposed to believe she's the fairest in the land with those caterpillars on her face?! Why are eyebrows back in fashion? They're terrible, horrible, ugly things that must be beaten into submission, punished with wax and tweezers, and ultimately destroyed (if possible.) Please stop allowing celebrities and fashion icons grow them into shag carpets.

... Whew! Sorry. Got lost in my rant-centric head there for a minute.

Wrap up time.
You probably don't think that you want to watch Mirror Mirror but, you should give it a chance.

You can watch the Mirror Mirror trailer here:

And you can pick up a copy of Mirror Mirror for yourself here:

If, for some strange and incomprehensible reason you do not already own a copy of The Princess Bride, you can get one here:

Rebuttal: 17 Disturbing Horror Movies You Will Never Watch Again

When I'm not watching movies, I'm reading about movies. I stumble across all kinds of articles, blog posts, book excerpts, etc. in my quest to absorb as much movie knowledge as possible. Now, I'm snotty and loud-mouthed and opinionated but I'd never begrudge another human their opinion. Seriously. You're absolutely welcome to have any opinion about any thing you want. However, I must warn you, if I think your opinion is stupid, I'm absolutely going to say so. I've recently stumbled on an article completely brimming with so many idiotic opinions that I'm actually compelled to craft a response. Here's the gist of the original article: there are some horror movies out there that are so disturbing , you'll only ever want to watch them once. I've have taken her original list and refuted her claims without pulling her entire article over. You can read the original article here . Let's start at the beginning, with her opening statement

Escape From Tomorrow

I love creative people who are willing to take risks with their art. I appreciate the refusal to do things by the rules. I'm also terribly impatient with mediocrity. Enter Escape From Tomorrow . Created by a team of rogue filmmakers, the movie was shot in the video mode of high-end still cameras. Actors shared scripts and shooting locations across their smartphones. Shot on location at Disney World, the parks were completely unaware this was all going on right under their mouse ears. I wanted to love Escape From Tomorrow. More than that, I wanted to be completely taken with its ingenuity and creativity and - oh yes - its originality. And there is really a simple brilliance to their covert plan; all families are roaming around the parks, taking videos and chatting on their phones. Just blend the fuck in, act like you belong, and you won't get caught. Too bad the movie can be summed up as: ambitious but Rubbish. As you can imagine (or possibly know), there was a ton of con

Mother!

Alright friends and readers–this one is probably doubly filled with typos and grammar errors because I wrote it while angry. Good luck and happy reading. There are unpopular opinions in every realm. As a film student, you can truly strike a nerve when you say things like, "I fucking hate the self-indulgence of independent films and the way people idolize them." Or, you know, "Low lighting and slow pacing does not a good movie make." Or whatever. You can of course, objectively, understand how this happens. When you are creating art–when you are outside the system so to speak–you are free to explore things (subjects, techniques, etc.) that may need to be addressed and that freedom can become intoxicating and go to one's head. While it may seem only right or only fair to respect and accept each creative endeavor that every artist undertakes, it is unreasonable to believe that the world will remain forever patient with the self-obsession artists have. Th

i'm kael's ghost

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