Veronica Mars (2014) Review

Veronica Mars

In the arena of moviemaking, the “Veronica Mars” film is something of a game-changer with it being the first feature-length film to be funded by Kickstarter. Less than a day after it went live, the page for the cult television series follow-up had met it’s goal of $2 million and eventually nearly tripled that number by the time production went underway. Now almost a year later, the film has made it to a limited number of theater screens alongside video-on-demand outlets for those who would prefer to watch at home. Those are the facts of the case. Looking at the film on its own terms is a whole other matter.

As her 10-year high school reunion approaches, Veronica Mars is in no hurry to return to her California hometown of Neptune as she gets ready to take an attorney job in New York City. She wants nothing to do with the place, and seems to be happy living with college boyfriend Piz. But trouble comes a calling when her old flame Logan is accused of murdering his singer girlfriend, and Veronica is pulled back into the seedy world of Neptune.

What’s most apparent from the start of “Veronica Mars,” after a quick recap of the basic story beats from the show, is that Kristen Bell’s talents have been totally under-served in the years since the show ended. Returning to the character that made her famous does wonders to show off her range as she effortlessly balances sarcastic wit with more dramatic situations. Underneath her miniature stature and good looks is a force of will ready to bring the claws out if necessary.

Seemingly everyone with a major role on the show returns here also, with some exceptions. Enrico Colantoni provides further proof of the unbreakably heartfelt bond between Keith Mars and his daughter, while Ryan Hansen’s Dick Casablancas is often around the corner to provide a good laugh. Given the story, Jason Dohring expectedly gets the most to do of the supporting cast. Logan has always been an enigma, someone who has a short fuse and keeps his motives close to the chest, and Dohring’s internalized performance holds that cloud of mystery.

It’s a shame that the actual mystery doesn’t carry the same weight. Series creator Rob Thomas and frequent writing partner Diane Ruggiero can spin a good yarn as it moves along, punched up by their snappy dialogue. However, the seams begin showing as Thomas indulges in character cameos, with the most egregious being a subplot for Weevil that is simultaneously rushed and awkwardly scotch-taped into the film to leave threads dangling for a sequel.

Giving old favorites their due is fun and all until it begins to get in the way of the important stuff, leaving the mystery resolution flat even as it serves up a tensely directed final encounter. More interesting is how the film handles Veronica’s character arc and how that fits into her larger story. As a narrative that takes place nearly a decade after the show ended, the film ends up feeling more like a return to the status quo than it does a full-on advancement.

However, a big part of Veronica is her addictive personality, always needing to scratch that itch fed by helping people out with their problems. Even when her actions turn self-destructive there’s an innate compulsion to dive back into a hairy position. The “Veronica Mars” movie generally feels like it’s dealing with a similar problem as it serves the fan desires that pushed forth its creation. Sometimes what a fan needs is more important than what they want, and Thomas often finds himself favoring the latter.

2.5/4

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) Review

Snow White and the Huntsman

Movies like “Snow White and the Huntsman” are the toughest to come to a decision on. There’s nothing overtly bad about them and quite often, as in this case, there are multiple things about them that make it recommendable. What these movies are the kind that rest in the nether region between good and enjoyably flawed. After immediately coming out of “Snow White” I thought, “Nice, I enjoyed that more than I expected.” After being able to mull over my thoughts for a while (and checking back with my ratings criteria page), I’m going to end up going slightly lower than the initial impact.

Despite being updated with an epic fantasy tone complete with dark visuals and elaborate special effects, the plot remains much the same as the story everyone knows so well. The magic mirror says Snow White is fairer than the evil queen, the queen wants the huntsman to cut out Snow White’s heart, the huntsman changes his mind, Snow White eats the poison apple, etc. It follows that basic through-line but with some tweaks to shake things up. The biggest change is the fleshing out of the huntsman character, who now joins Snow White instead of just refusing to kill her. He’s complete with a more detailed backstory, and Chris Hemsworth channels much of his burly “Thor” charisma that makes him such a commanding screen presence.

The evil queen also gets her fair share of extended screen time, and Charlize Theron chews up every piece of scenery and dialogue with icy cold glee. She was the driving force behind the movie’s marketing, and sure enough is absolutely the best thing going on. Whenever she shows up you can practically feel the movie spring more to life. One issue though is that the filmmakers wanted to add more character development to who is essentially a pure evil villain, but couldn’t find an organic way to do it. The two scenes in particular, the milk bath scene that is also in the trailer and a flashback to her childhood, are either weirdly unnecessary and strange (milk bath) or awkwardly shoved in between the Snow and huntsman adventure (flashback).

Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart has a lot to go up against when it comes to sharing the movie with Hemsworth, Theron, and the wide variety of great British actors playing the dwarves. If nothing else, this movie proves that Stewart is in fact a decent actress when not restricted by the melodramatic and stilted writing of her “Twilight” role. She’s definitely trying much more than I’ve seen her do recently; her problem is the same problem with Taylor Kitsch in “John Carter.” They both put in fine performances that get the job done, but are so overshadowed by everything else around them that the main character is comparatively boring. It also doesn’t help that the Huntsman and the queen get more screen time than her, often shoving Snow White to the sidelines in her own story.

Almost everyone I’ve talked to has complained about the pacing and that it should have been tightened up. There were definitely places where it slowed down in the second half, especially once Theron is offscreen for a significant portion, but there was never a point where I thought things should have been cut. The real issue is that the first half is packed with so much action and plot that when the characters finally get to spend real time with each other and interact in the second half, the second half feels slow when it actually hits about the right balance. The first half should have focused on less sword fights and chases and more on getting us engaged with the story.

That said, to first time director Rupert Sanders’ credit, those action scenes are really well executed. Every action bit with the Prince character contains some of the coolest choreographed archery work I’ve seen in a long time. The multiple entanglements between the queen’s creepy brother and the Huntsman have dynamic swordplay, and Sanders’ visual effects department fills out this fantasy world with some very creative designs. The sections in the forest strike the right chord of dark and creepy fantasy that the original Grimm’s fairy tale evokes in its story.

The real issue with “Snow White and the Huntsman” is that, despite all these admirable things to say about it, it never fully leaps to life. Sanders is clearly a decent director, but he’s the kind of director that needs a strong script to carry him through the movie, and “Snow White’s” script is merely adequate. The drama written in to fill in between the action and special effects is serviceable, nothing more. It doesn’t help that there are at least a couple scenes that are blatantly and laughably ripped off from both “The Neverending Story” and “Princess Mononoke.” If a derivative story can make me care about the characters and absorb me into its unique variation of that story, then I could look past that, but “Snow White and the Huntsman” never quite reaches that marker.

2.5/4   Ratings Criteria