"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" & "Snow White and the Huntsman"

Seeking A Friend For the End of the World

Starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightly

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%

My Grade: B-

Seeking A Friend for the End of the World is basically two films in one. Both don't work so well separately but when meshed together, I actually found it to be a sweet, somber, entertaining piece of movie. The first half of this movie plays out like a buddy road trip comedy. Two unlikely people set across the country to find the things they have been missing and the things they want to spend the rest of their lives with (which just so happens to be about two weeks as the world is literally going to end). It's funny, and we get a slew of great cameos. Carell and Knightly are wacky pairing to be in a film together, but it worked well. The initial story was very charming and quirky at times. Then the second half of the film takes a pretty sudden turn. It goes from happy go lucky to downright dark and depressing. But I applaud this movie for doing this. Because while it's fun at first, this is a movie about the end of the world, and there has to be elements of fear and sadness. The second half becomes real, and the two leads bond and find that maybe what they were looking for is each other. If the world wasn't ending, this coupling would probably never happen in a million years, but they are there for each other when no one else would be. It becomes an odd little love story. And if you are looking for a happy ending...look elsewhere. It is happy for the characters, so to speak, but...well...this is a movie about the world ending. Put two and two together there folks. Overall, the movie was fun. The drastic tonal shift however jolts the movie out of sync and might leave an audience a bit overwhelmed. Personally the change in pacing could have been a little smoother, because it took me a bit out of the "moment". But once you get used to it, when the dust settles, Seeking a Friend is a very sweet film. Flawed, yes. I wish they would have kept even a LITTLE bit of comedy in the second half, but they don't. It's downright serious, and that was a bit bothersome. But Carell and Knightly turn in some really solid performances, and all the cameos are fantastic and are in the film for the exact amount of time they should be. I'd say this is a great one time viewing.

Snow White & The Huntsman

Starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 49%

My Grade: C

I was never really truly excited to see this film, and maybe that ruined my overall perception of it as I watching the movie. Here's what I liked: I was a fan of the very dark tone of a story that is usually very vibrant and chipper and colorful. We have kind of been bombarded with Snow White over the years, especially as of late. There are only so many versions of the story that can be told before it gets to be incredibly redundant and boring. I definitely appreciate the creepy atmosphere, and the overall epic grandeur of the set pieces. I enjoyed the few battle scenes (which is new to the story, at least in the versions I've seen), and the visual effects were top notch. Everything about the look and feel of this movie was absolutely stunning. My problem lies in the fact that the story itself doesn't take that much of a leap. I know you can't really take liberties with a classic story, but I just kind of got bored with it. I also, like a lot of people, have a general bad taste in my mouth for a one Kristen Stewart. Look, I know the movie was intended to be dark, but Snow White has always been a vibrant character with charm and some form of appeal. Dear God, Stewart has a complete inability to show emotion. She is statue in all of her roles, a brick wall. Can she even smile? I think if she tried, she might perish, I don't know. Her performance really brought the movie down for me. I wish they had someone with more charisma play this role. The best performance I thought was Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. She was superb and stole the show from everyone. I would love to see a movie about her character...a prequel or something, I don't know. So for me, this movie wasn't a dreadful piece of garbage, but it was entirely forgettable. I think it's a decent one time viewing in a theater, but this is not a movie I could ever be excited to watch again.