Snow White & The Huntsman – as reviewed by M 

When I saw the first preview for this movie I actually moved to the edge of my seat on the couch and made audible “ooohs.” The costuming, cinematography, and sweeping scenery shown in the previews gave my imagination all it needed to create an amazing world of anticipation. This movie was MADE for the big screen.

The film is cinematically gorgeous. The locations, lighting, and set dressing of this film are undeniably mesmerizing. The costuming is, well, visually orgasmic. The characterization is well done, and I have to say I love that they made Queen Ravenna so deliciously evil with a delightfully sympathetic edge.

At first I got a little irritated by the blatant use of fantastical elements as plot devices, but my movie-going companion was quick to soothe my ire by simply saying, “It’s a fairy tale, remember?” And, because I go to the movies to be entertained, I relaxed and let the story unfold and entertain me.

I was pleased that the dwarves (there were 8, instead of the usual 7) were used in a more reverent way than is typical in tellings of the Snow White story. They weren’t comic relief, although they were humorous, and they weren’t portrayed as half-effective half-men as they often are, but rather integral members of the party and their size and peculiarities were used to an advantage.

The director used the CGI budget well, in that he got quality graphics that were well blended. I felt that some of it was over-the-top and unnecessary, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. While it was obvious what was real and what wasn’t (based on my experience of living in reality), I was able to easily forgive and just wish such things actually existed. The troll, in particular, was stupendous.

Charlize Theron completely owned this movie as the evil Queen Ravenna. And, while I found her name to be a bit too literal, she was so carefully created and portrayed that I found myself wishing the movie was about her so she could be in every scene, and not just because she had, by far, the best costuming in the entire film. The Queen, as she is shown in this movie, is a deeply disturbed, oddly enchanting creature. She is the stuff nightmares are made of.

I could go on and on about the costuming, specifically the queen’s outfits which are so gorgeously morbid with their memento mori themes and rich fabrics, but you really must see them to fully appreciate them. I was glad to see them use real armor pieces for Snow White’s outfit in the battle scene, it definitely gave her a harder edge that allowed me to accept the strong princess ideal that is creeping its way into modern fairy tales. It seemed to me that the costume designer took the time to match the clothing to not only the character but also the actor portraying the character, which went a long way to creating the right atmosphere for the film.

There are a few plot twists and some fair license taken with the traditional storyline, but they work and I liked being pulled out of my own assumptions of “oh, I know what’s going to happen next, because I know the story.” It isn’t your average Snow White tale. She isn’t just a princess of royal blood needing saving. The story actually seemed to lean a bit more towards it being a tale of The Huntsman and his journey toward salvation.

Lest it not be a complete and thorough review without a critique of the lead actress, here is all I shall say on the matter: Kristen Stewart is not a stellar actress, but she didn’t annoy me in this as much as I expected. Partly because she really didn’t have that much dialog, but mostly because I was too busy enjoying everything else in the movie to notice. Her accent was spotty, and her tendency to always look like she is sneering was rather unsettling, but there were times when she smiled or closed her mouth completely and just reacted to the story being created around her that turned my general dislike down to an ambivalent acceptance.

Last, but not least, I would like to give due respect to James Newton Howard for his orchestral scoring of this movie. The music was brilliant and well crafted for this movie. I could feel the story through the score and it was an added layer of immersion that let me get lost in the land of Once Upon A Time. I used to buy a lot of movie soundtracks and haven’t done so in a while, but this one is going on the Must Own list.

I will definitely be purchasing the DVD of this movie and will probably spend countless hours freezing the picture on shots of The Queen to ogle her spectacular clothing. I really hope they include special features that include a spot on the costuming and design. I desperately want to make something with feathers and animal bones now!

 

Creepy Cute Cthulhu – “M actually follows a pattern” or at least she tries to.

I’ve had a copy of Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden for quite some time now, but only recently attempted to make a creature from the patterns included in the book. My boyfriend requested a Cthulhu and I decided to give it a whirl the other day when I needed to create something to get my creative self back on track.

I have made several amigurumi critters in the past, but none this small, and none from a pattern. I usually just make them up as I go. I tend to look at the yarn options in front of me and let it tell me what it wants to be. Sounds so cliche, I know, but it has worked out so far.

Being familiar with the Magic Ring technique for starting and with all the stitch abbreviations made following the instructions much easier for me. I have never been able to read the diagrams before, but gave it the good ole college try with this pattern and was surprised to find how simple it was to decipher when I actually paid attention and didn’t panic and revert to the text directions.

The body instructions were simple to follow and very straightforward. I found the head directions less so and always ended up with too many stitches in my round at the end of each row. I didn’t want to spend two whole days making a 4 inch tall doll so I ditched the bulk of the head directions and just made sure to have the right number of stitches and to leave spots to add the tentacles.

The arms and tentacles worked out well by (mostly) following the directions. The wings, however, did not turn out right and never came out looking similar enough to each other. It might be that I tend to crochet looser than the designer and they got a bit amorphous, but I again had to ditch the directions and make them up using the triple crochet stitch recommended, but in my own sort of shell stitch pattern.

I stitched all his pieces/parts together using waste yarn and opted to “embroider” his eyes on with yarn instead of using felt as directed. I have “a thing” against using glue on fiber projects if there is a stitching option that will work instead. (But that is a personal preference, not a judgment against the use of felt.) I stitched on black yarn eyes, surrounded them with white yarn stitches and then put a little eye glint on the black eye with a single white stitch.

I recommend picking up a copy of this book if you are just starting out in amigurumi and like creepy yet cute monsters because the basic shape is the same for many of the monsters and you just add the extra bits to make them unique. It is also a great source of inspiration and refresher methods for the more advanced stitcher.

I took some photos to prove his existence (and share here) and then placed him atop my boyfriend’s computer where he would be easily spotted when he came home from work. Cthulhu was well received and spent a bit of time being floated around my living room, growling his supremacy, and threatening to devour my world. He is a bit too cute to instill too much fear in my heart, but he definitely seems to have secured me a place in my boyfriend’s.