Hansel and Gretel

[mrlich]

Yeah. So I broke down and watched Hansel and Gretel tonight. What can I say? I'm a sucker for fairy tales - especially bad remakes.

In this case? Really bad.

Most of you know me well enough to know that my taste in movies is such that you can be sure when I say that it's really bad that puts it into its own special category of Holy Jebus How Did This Film Get Made?!

I do try to see the silver lining in all the things, so here it is for this movie: This is the first action movie that I think I've ever seen where the co star / co hero female lead isn't really just eye candy wrapped in a couple pro-women quotes. Strip away all the awful special effects and the completely anachronistic (not in a good way) weaponry, and our heroine is STILL equal in every way to her brother. She's a warrior - and not the "slit up the side of the dress so she can stay more agile" type of warrior.

She dives into hand to hand combat with a physically superior foe wrapping a chain around her hand in one scene.

Leave it to the shit films to get one element really really right.  

Comments

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Funny you should say that. I just happened to walk in on my daughter watching Buffy, and in that scene Buffy is frustrated by a conservative skirt she wore to the bank when she realizes she can't kick demons in it. Of course she borrows a letter-opener and fixes said problem.

[mrlich.livejournal.com]

You're not wrong. I think that Buffy was great for strong female leads, but even they cashed in on 'sexy' in a way the H&G didn't. To their credit, Buffy did it on both sides of the fence - everyone was made sexy at some point or another.

[xtingu]

Speaking of fairy tales and goofy movie adaptations thereof:

There is an adaptation of Cinderella that came out in 1977 that is not only a musical, but also softcore porn. It sounds ridiculous (and it is), but you can't help love the movie because it's really got heart. The story is great, the acting is solid, the humor is campy-tastic, the porn is cute and tasteful in that 70s soft-focus way, and the music is actually pretty great. The actors are having a genuinely great time (and not just because they're doin' it); you can tell they're just happy to be there. Here's a (mostly work-safe, there's just a teeny nip-slip) clip. The guy is a thief who pretends to be a fairy godmother.

HB has been wanting to cover one of the songs from that movie for a while. It's be fun to see who (if anyone) recognized the tune. :)