Snow White and the Huntsman
Director: Rupert Sanders
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Claflin
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Hot on the heels of Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror is yet another film inspired by Snow White. The first-time director Sanders made his name cutting trailers for computer games and his adaptation of this famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale reflects that. It's great on visuals but lacks narrative punch. It's like Tim Burton on one of his so-so days. Even the costume designer Colleen Atwood is a long-time Burton collaborator.
Going gung-ho for the same audience that made Twilight such a stellar franchise, it's no surprise that Stewart has been cast as Snow White. The stylistic influences also extend to The Lord of the Rings and the emphasis on the action often makes this feel more like a medieval fantasy role-playing game than a fairy-tale adventure. The prologue sets us up for the story: the wicked queen (Theron, the best thing in this venture) dupes the widowed king of England into marrying her and literally brings out the knives on the wedding night. In charge of the kingdom, her first act is to put his daughter in the dungeon.
One day, the magic mirror informs the queen that Snow White has matured into the fairest of them all and her fit of fury is quelled somewhat when she is told she can have eternal youth if she eats the heart of her stepdaughter. She hires a huntsman (Hemsworth) to do the job, which backfires when he takes pity on Snow White. While the huntsman raises some smiles, the lacklustre prince (Claflin) seems pointless. It takes too long for the seven dwarfs to enter the fray but the wait is worth it to see Ray Winstone and Bob Hoskins miniaturised.
Yet despite all its verve, this dark updating of the Snow White legend lacks a sufficient dose of fun. It's no Walt Disney cartoon.
artslife@thenational.ae
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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