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Reel to Real: The Art of Realism in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’

It is hardly a novel concept to bring up realism when talking about animated films. From noting the “fingerprints” on the toy-based characters of The Lego Movie (2014) to remarking upon Pixar’s advancements in replicating hair and clothing, popular criticism of computer animated movies are as apt to discuss advancements in realistic CGI as they …

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‘Ender’s Game’ – If You Silence A Bad Message, Is It Still Censorship?

I don’t remember when I’d first heard about the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Y/A sci fi novel, Ender’s Game – a few weeks ago, a few months – but despite all the talk about the book being some sort of cult fave which has sold millions since it’d first been published in 1985, …

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Amazing Stories – Literally: Nolan, Kubrick, and the Puzzle of Puzzle Pictures

The Sixth Sense has come and gone as has its (alleged) twist ending. It’s hard to categorize The Sixth Sense but like The Shining or Inception I shall dub it as part of the puzzle picture genre that keeps appearing then disappearing only to come back. At first sight, the very existence of puzzle pictures …

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‘Blancanieves’ Image Gallery

Director Pablo Berger started off his directorial career with the short Mama in 1988, and later directed the award winning Torremolinos 73 in 2003. Blancanieves, his follow up, was in development for eight years, but the long wait is well worth it. The black-and-white, silent reinterpretation of Snow White topped Spain’s 27th Spanish Academy Goya …

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‘Blancanieves’, a must see for any fan of silent cinema and Snow White

Blancanieves Directed by Pablo Berger Written by Pablo Berger 2012, Spain The German tale of Snow White was published by Grimm brothers Jacob and Wilhelm in their Hausmärchen collection in 1812. Considered to be the most famous fairy tale worldwide, Snow White has been adapted to the big screen numerous times by the likes of …

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João César Monteiro’s Snow White (2000)

Branca de neve (Snow White) Director: João César Monteiro Portugal, 2000 João César Monteiro ’s interpretation of Snow White is clearly meant to incense and challenge our understanding of storytelling and the cinematic medium. Running little over an hour, the majority of the film’s running time is series of dialogues against a black screen, occasionally interrupted by breaks …

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Once Upon A Time, Ep. 1.21, ‘An Apple Red As Blood’ Regina steals the show and everything else

Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 21: “An Apple Red As Blood” Written by Jane Espenson & David H. Goodman Directed by Milan Cheylov Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC This penultimate entry builds for a jam-packed finale by gathering all the characters together in both worlds. In Storybrooke, Emma tries to kidnap Henry, …

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Once Upon A Time, Ep. 1.18, “Stable Boy”: Performance-heavy, light on magic

Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 18: “The Stable Boy” Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz Directed by Dean White Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC Note: Contains Spoilers Regina takes main stage this week in “Stable Boy,” her origin story that explores the Evil Queen before she earned that name. As a …

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Once Upon A Time, Ep. 1.16, “Heart of Darkness”: Cold Snow

Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 16: “Heart Of Darkness” Written by Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg Directed by Dean White Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC This week is, yet again, another Snow/Charming episode. The couple has stalled the season with their seemingly irrelevant love story, but this week they both find greater …

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Once Upon A Time, Ep. 1.14, “Dreamy”: Stealthy’s back

Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 14: “Dreamy” Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz Directed by David Solomon Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC This week continues the “Lost” tradition of examining the backgrounds of minor characters. This time it’s Grumpy, one of the seven dwarves, also known as Leroy in Storybrooke. The …

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The Women of Downton Abbey: Downstairs

**Spoilers ahead** While class separates the women upstairs from the women downstairs at Downton Abbey, and this class difference intersects with gender in various ways, they ultimately do share a common gender. Such is the uniting potential of shared social and political disadvantage that often it breaks through the other barriers between people. The first …

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Once Upon A Time, Ep. 1.13, “What Happened To Frederick”: Show’s gold standard for melodrama

Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 13: “What Happened To Frederick” Written by David H. Goodman Directed by Dean White Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC There are no huge surprises this week as Once Upon A Time settles into soap opera territory with “What Happened To Frederick,” another episode exploring the strained relationship …

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Once Upon A Time, Ep. 1.10, “7:15 A.M.”: So that’s what happened to Stealthy!

Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 10: “7:15 A.M.” Story by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz Written by Daniel T. Thomsen Directed by Ralph Hemecker Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC Another week devotes itself to the story of Snow White and Prince Charming. In the real world, we see Mary Margaret pine after …

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Strangest & Most Controversial Moments In the History of the Academy Awards (Pt. 2)

Strange Win – Albert Lamorisse’s exquisite The Red Balloon remains one of the most beloved family films of all time. Weirdly, the 1956 film won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar = despite being a 35-minute French movie, and despite having no dialogue. Lawsuit – In 1988, the Academy itself managed to anger Disney over the …

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