RavenGlamDVDCollector I absolutely adored Kristin Kreuk in her story arc on CHUCK, and though I never watch actual television, sneaked regular peeks away from DVD on the channel that was airing SMALLVILLE. That led to BEAUTY & THE BEAST, which I enthused about at the beginning, but... okay, that's another story. But as the magic fizzled out of BEAUTY & THE BEAST, I longed for Kristin back in her heyday, so I did some research, Wikipedia, IMDb, and found SNOW WHITE, a Canadian TV movie, so, some trepidation there, and I couldn't find a trailer. But I took the gamble on Kristin, she had to have been a pretty kid, glam-wise the movie was sure not to disappoint.Turns out I was quite right. Kristin, with her luminous eyes, porcelain-white skin, raven-black hair offsetting those gold star jewelry, makes a wonderful Snow White, certainly she is an excellent choice. On Wikipedia, described as 'doe-eyed' yeah, exactly! Notice that she also got criticized, dismissed as 'bland' to which I feel obliged to point out that the script follows the current trend of highlighting the Evil Stepmother, whether she be Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Sigourney Weaver, or in this case, Miranda Richardson. So don't blame little Kristin, who, anyway, was a kid back then. Yes, her part should have been more active, but then again, as for the one of the multitude of SNOW WHITEs that I also saw, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, which deteriorated into a militant Joan of Arc display that completely overthrew the original fairy-tale, surely I don't want anything like that, thank you very much, but no thank you. You have to be a kid for this, so be warned, people. But toddlers might be too frightened to go to bed alone after seeing the Satanic messenger I have since learned is called The Green-Eyed One. Yet older children won't bother with this. Moms watching it with their kids might like it, though, it is truly charming, holes and all. Me myself I collect stuff like this, early appearances of stars, so okay! but I do groan every time there's a gooey-sugary dwarf face on the screen, Vincent Schiavelli excluded. A whole lot of work went into this. Magical bedazzling color, a lot of charming animals, all in all, for a TV-movie with a limited budget, these guys elevated themselves onto a next plane, so I have to let them have it: You came close, yet you went and screwed it up in many ways. The whole thing is quite uneven, we have kind of a new take on the original, yet we go through a bit of a bumpy ride along the way, you kinda feel like a fool for watching at times, then it rights itself again, then the cart tips over again...Miranda generally gets rave reviews, but I think she's kinda corny, just a big gutsy performance, but totally unpolished, just, like, here I am, I give a whole lot to the part, I'm really at it, film me, there it is, you got it. But the real (and major) surprise is Vera Farmiga, an unexpected appearance, I'm not going to say too much, 'cause I don't wanna carry Spoiler Alert labels, but this very pretty young lady, wow, that was some hectic performance, and she goes around looking like Sarah Jessica Parker but is almost scary!A drinking game for toddlers: (mugs of cocoa) Drink one every time there's a fade-out. Gee, the director must have been impressed with his new camera's fade-out functions. Action, fade- out, something happens, fade-out, another thing, fade-out, revelation, fade-out. Poor little toddlers will be so fulla sweetness in next to no time they'd fall into bed without a nighty night. I repeat, for a Canadian TV movie, lots more than you'd expect. I can see why it was released on DVD, it's got a lot of potential, even though it ultimately fell short of its own potential.Yet I'm going to feel like a louse if I give it only a 6. Ah, let's just call my 7 actually a 7 Minus, OK?

Leofwine_draca Those reliable guys at Hallmark Entertainment are behind this cheapjack adaptation of the classic fairytale, filled with cheesy special effects and familiar faces. It's often an example of so-bad-it's-good entertainment, with plenty of overacting and bizarre situations to take your mind off the shortcomings of the script and set-up.Certainly compared to the recent likes of SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, SNOW WHITE: THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL is a cheap version of the tale. Rubbery masks are used for some of the characters, and the CGI effects that do occur are, well, rather cheesy. The acting is hardly of a high standard either: as Snow White, Kristin Kreuk (the world's first part-Chinese Snow White?) is pretty but wooden, while Miranda Richardson can't resist but to ham it up terribly as the evil Queen.Still, there are better actors in support, and these include Clancy Brown who looks fantastic underneath some truly 'Grimm' make-up. Warwick Davis unsurprisingly appears as one of the dwarfs, and there's a nice comedic turn from the underutilised Vincent Schiavelli. Watch out for Vera Farmiga in an early turn.

Dan Phillips Snow White has a few nice turns of dialogue, a plot that feels heavily padded, a few competent actors (Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, Warwick Davis), one or two decent effects -- and almost no life at all.Maybe the movie should have been named "Sleeping Beauty," as it features some nice sets and locations, but they are inhabited by actors who intone their lines almost expressionlessly in an almost stationary, dreamy, sleepwalking fashion.The only actor who seems to be having any fun is Vera Farmiga, and she dies in the first five minutes. She reappears playing Miranda Richardson being her -- again, for about five minutes. She can't save the movie.The dwarfs are lifeless and uncompelling. They haven't much to say or do except look uncomfortable, say silly (not funny-silly, but dumb-silly) things, and occasionally participate in a very awkwardly-done special effect (Director: "Everybody crouch a little, then stand up and lean left together; they'll turn you into a rainbow later. It'll look cool, I promise!").My advice: unless saying "Huh? Okay, whatever" for ninety minutes is your idea of fun, don't bother.

screenhound22 SPOILERS within--be warned.Okay, y'know how you sometimes hear from people "This movie is horrible. It's so bad it's funny!"? I never really understood what that meant until I saw this telefilm. This was broadcast in 2001 but it was filmed in 2000 (I think) because it was supposed to be Kreuk's very first starring role. There are some familiar bit players as dwarfs and wannabe dwarfs, but the only serious player in the whole company is Miranda Richardson. Suffice it to say, everyone took a break but managed to collect a paycheck. The script is absolutely horrible, the key to what's wrong with everything else. Nobody gives a quality performance and none of the characters are even likable. Richardson can't save the project on her own and this is Kreuk giving her most bland, raw delivery--and that's saying something.I have no clue where they got the idea to make Snow White's father an ordinary man who was made into a prince by a jinn (a rather demonic Western genie who looked like he'd have been more at home on an episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) or why they made the wicked Queen a hag sister of the jinn who spent her days turning unsuspecting dwarfs into lawn figurines, but really just wanted to be beautiful and adored. However, it was very jarring, silly, and unconvincing. Also, the character of Snow White rails at being labeled beautiful but is trapped and suffocated by what amounts to an enchanted shawl while doing chores in the forest because it catches her eye and she comments "How beautiful!"There is only one scene in this mess which is absolutely priceless. Richardson's wicked Queen, having disposed of Snow White through the suffocating shawl--or whatever it's supposed to be, retreats to her room of wall-to-wall magic mirrors and with the source-mirror in her hand asks a variation on her famous question"Mirror, mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?"She's asked the wall question twice (that we've been shown) and been given two answers. The mirrors illustrate each answer so that if things work out the way she wants them to, she'll be surrounded by sentient reflections of herself gesturing, smiling adoringly, and saying "You are" over and over again--quite the booster for her fragile ego. When Snow White outshone her, she was instead surrounded by magic reflections of Snow White repeating "I am."What's funny about this scene is, after a hard day's work of evil magic to get rid of her rival, the Queen reclines and asks the mirror in her hand (the source-mirror) the famous question, and a living reflection of Snow White pops out of the mirror--says "I am" and gives the Queen a quick kiss on the mouth before disappearing back into the mirror. The Queen shrieks in horror, rage, and agony--the emotions I felt as I sat through this telefilm.