Film: Snow White & The Huntsman

A young princess is imprisoned as her evil stepmother takes control of the throne that’s rightfully hers.

Charlize Theron’s performance as the wicked Queen dominates this otherwise lacklustre version of the classic fairy tale while man-of-the-moment Chris Hemsworth (quickly becoming typecast) displays little of the charisma shown in Thor as he attempts to protect Snow White.

All the essential elements of the story are here, the poisoned apple, the seven dwarves and the handsome prince all appear in some shape or form but as amusing as it was to see Bob Hoskins and Ray Winstone as dwarfs this packs little emotional punch.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.

Film: The Cabin In The Woods

Five friends head off to a remote cabin for a weekend break but all is not what it seems.

From the beginning the audience is made aware of the presence of people watching the group, the whole cabin is rigged with cameras and certain events are engineered, but their purpose is not clear.

This has been hailed as something special, it isn’t. What it is, is an interesting twist on a traditional lost in the woods type movie. For two thirds of the film I was annoyed by the presence of the watchers, I would have been happy with a Friday The 13th type scenario although I couldn’t help but groan when the “zombie rednecks” appeared. What saves this film is the fantastic gung-ho finale when all hell breaks loose, literally.

The cast all perform well and there is a surprising appearance by Chris Hemsworth, almost unrecognisable from his recent turns as Thor.

The Cabin In The Woods is silly and at times frustrating but it still manages to be good fun.

Ric’s Rating: Good