FC Barcelona Sport

I had another round of remote roulette – it’s been a strange day. This time I spotted a strange little movie I’d seen only once before, Snow White: A Tale of Terror.

I am a person that love mythology and fairytales in all shapes and sizes, but let me tell you this one is a little too dark and strange for me – and I am a person that loves the Grimm brothers gothic tomes. But when they made A Tale of Terror they not only made Snow White dark, but they changed elements of the story and I both applaud the filmmakers for this and question it.

In Snow White: A Tale of Terror Snow White is a noble woman (not a princess) named Lilly, the dwarves are gone and replaced by dirty miners, and the prince is not a prince but an arranged marriage, and the real “prince” is actually one of the miners. But by far the strangest thing in this version of the tale is the “queen” played by Sigourney Weaver. Weaver plays her well, but this version of the character is twisted, into the dark arts, and mentally deranged. There is also a strange sexual theme running through this whole movie that just doesn’t seem to fit. I understand that the original subtext of the Grimm story does have some sexual subtext, but this is downright overt.

I suppose I recommend that you catch this one if you are into fairy tales, but other than that this film can be forgotten.

Director: Michael Cohn
Writers: Thomas Szollosi & Deborah Serra
Lady Hoffman: Sigourney Weaver
Lord Hoffman: Sam Neill
Lilly Hoffman: Monica Keena
Will: Gil Bellows

Lady Hoffman: You seem quite alive, for a little wench who's been rotting in the ground. I felt you stir. The moment you took your first breath, it was like a knife in my heart.
Lilly: You have no heart.
Lady Hoffman: That's too simple.

While You Were Sleeping is a silly little movie but I love it. I think it’s a great combination of holiday movie, romantic and screwball comedies. In a way it reminds me of the cute, light comedies of Hollywood’s golden age and I make sure to watch the movie at least once every holiday season.

If you’ve never seen While You Were Sleeping the plot can be quite confusing on paper. Lucy works at the L and sees Jack every day when he commutes to work. On Christmas Day he is mugged and thrown on the train tracks unconscious, Lucy saves him from an incoming train and accompanies him to the hospital and he lapses into a coma; at the hospital a nurse makes the mistake of thinking she is Peter’s fiancée and informs Peter’s family of such. Having grown distant from Peter his family goes along with the assumption and welcomes Lucy into open arms giving Lucy a family for the first time in years, the only problem is though Peter is Lucy’s dream man his brother Jack is the man that Lucy is finding herself drawn to and she can’t do anything about it as she is supposedly Peter’s fiancée.

What I love most about this movie is Peter’s grandmother Elsie; the woman is opinionated, senile and quirky to the T. Elsie has some of the best lines in the film not only based on her delivery of these lines but on how she is randomly inserted into conversations with no idea what people are talking about. It really is just like that relative we all have that feels the need to be in everybody’s business. The fact that Glynis Johns who plays Elsie was also Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins is another great bonus.

This film is airy and light but it is everything it advertises to be. Unlike the popcorn fluff that usually gets made now a days there is actually enough wit and grace to this film that it is safe for the whole family and can be enjoyed on multiple viewings.

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writers: Daniel G. Sullivan & Fredric LeBow
Lucy Eleanor Moderatz: Sandra Bullock
Jack Callaghan: Bill Pullman
Peter Callaghan: Peter Gallagher
Ox Callaghan: Peter Boyle
Midge Callaghan: Micole Mercurio
Mary Callaghan: Monica Keena
Saul: Jack Warden
Elsie: Glynis Johns
Joe Fusco, Jr.: Michael Rispoli
Ashley Bartlett Bacon: Ally Walker
Jerry: Jason Bernard

Lucy: If I tell Jack I lied to his family he will *never* speak to me again. And Ox and Midge and Mary and Saul.
Jerry: Saul? Who's Saul?
Lucy: The next door neighbor. But you know what? Actually, he knows.
Jerry: Lucy, you are born into a family. You do not join them like you do the marines.
Lucy: So what should I do?
Jerry: Pull the plug.
Lucy: You're sick.
Jerry: I'm sick? You're cheating on a vegetable.