Snow White(what to expect)
Scorecard, Meryl Streep, 🔺Dakota/Chris/Pedro
Spring has sprung, and the sun is out longer. Do you know what that means? It’s the perfect time to go sit in a dark, climate-controlled movie theater. What are you watching this weekend?!
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Concession Stand Scorecard: Snow White
Temp These Takes: Favorite/Hate it: Meryl Streep Movies
Watchlist Worthy: Celine Song is back with another love triangle
This week’s movie - Snow White
Letterboxd Description:
The classic tale comes to life.
A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as ‘the fairest in the land’, and Snow White’s beauty surpasses her own.
Best Watched With
Happy, Bashful, Doc, and Dopey. Leave Grumpy, Sleepy, and Sneezy at home.
End credit thoughts
Anyone willing to take on such beloved source material is always jumping into the deep end without floaties. Marc Webb was tasked to direct this live-action adaptation of Snow White, with Rachel Zegler leading the cast as the Disney Princess herself, flanked by Gal Gadot and Andrew Burnap. Does director Marc Webb sink or swim in these deep fairy tale waters?
The movie starts strong with a solid musical number that establishes this world. A tour of the kingdom shows us that the set design and costumes look and feel like Disney, grand and colorful. The opening song is a nice refresher of how Snow White finds herself orphaned and stuck with an evil stepmother and that magic exists and can be used maliciously. All of this gave us a glimmer of hope.
Zegler shines bright as Snow White. She has pipes, her choreography is natural, her spirit is charming, and her heart for others is radiant. She is by far the most believable character out of the bunch. She carries this movie, and it’s a shame she had to hold up the monumental weight of this story alone. Gadot’s Evil Queen did not work for us. Or maybe misplaced. Was it intentionally bad? Could it have been good if the movie had a different tone? We are unsure.
Some visuals and CGI moments were smooth and enhanced the scene, but these moments made us wonder why the rest of the CGI wasn’t of the same consistent quality. The CGI dwarfs also felt out of place, but we did enjoy that one of the dwarves had a sweet character arc (arguably the best one) that warmed our hearts.
Overall, the stakes felt low, and the risks weren’t risky enough to have us fully invested in the story. It felt like a microwaved TV dinner (time and place, they can be good) more than a slow-roasted supper. Zegler put the team on her back and soared like an eagle but, unfortunately, was surrounded by turkeys. Director Marc Webb didn’t fully sink, but he did struggle to wade the waters. If you’re family folk, try to catch a weekend matinee. This one could be enjoyed just as much on the couch at home.
Wait til streaming.
Watch the trailer here
Love It/Hate It: Meryl Streep Movies (a Meryl movie we love, and one we hate)
Eric
Absolutely love Little Women.
Absolutely do NOT love Mamma Mia!
Come for me if you must, but I sat through that movie while getting tattooed, and it was BRUTAL. Was it my artist’s fault? My fault? Alas - it was MERYL’S.
Josh
The Devil Wears Prada: Love it. Meryl plays one of the most vile characters, and yet her performance is one of the biggest reasons this movie is so rewatchable. Not many can do this with such beauty and grace.
Into the Woods: Hate it. I was invited to watch this at an early screening. Afterward, I realized why: I was one of the few who would watch this early for free instead of getting paid. A very forgettable movie.
That’s all.
New Mexico Drew
Love it: Fantastic Mr. Fox - could be the most underrated Wes Anderson movie in my own head. Meryl is the perfect voice for Felicity Fox.
Hate it: Don’t Look Up - not because of Meryl, this movie just sucked so much. Boring movie that left me so depressed.
What’s your take? Hit Reply or leave a comment below and let us know!
Materialists (2025) by Celine Song
I’m not sure why, but when I saw that this was an A24 production, and Chris, Dakota, and Pedro were the lead characters, I assumed this would be an unhinged, deranged sex movie (I think Colleen Hoover is ruining me). Shame on me for thinking that Celine Song (who broke my heart and melted my mind with her last movie, Past Lives) would deliver anything but a damn good looking drama/romcom (dromcom?). I would never leave my wife for anyone, but a billionaire Pedro made me stop and think about it.
-NMD
Letterboxd Description:
Some people just want more.
A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.
Also Directed by Celine Song:
Past Lives (2023)
Tune in next week for | Death of a Unicorn
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