Red Riding Hood

So I had wanted to see this movie when I first saw the previews and realized it was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, which overcame my first reaction when I heard the title. The movie opened up about three weeks ago and took the number three spot. It's brought in about $46 million so far, just creeping past it's $42 million budget.

The movie supports a well rounded cast, with Virginia Masden, Amanda Seyfried, Billy Burke,  Julie Christie and Gary Oldman to name a few. The movie takes a spin on the famous fairy tale and is apparently adapted from a book of the same name. It's about a village cursed with a murderous wolf and how they deal with the problem.

There's nothing new or interesting about this plot; it's been done countless times before. It's a whodunnit at heart. The characters weren't dynamic and the only proof of the relationships between any of them was simply exposition informing the audience of their background. It was as if the plot didn't know whether it should focus on the action or the characters and tried to strike a balance between the two. The plot was fairly believable and the ending was appropriate. The dialogue was very generic and ho-hum. Luckily, some of the actors were able to pull off some of their lines without feeling extremely sappy, but it wasn't always successful.

The cinematography was in keeping with Hardwicke's style, which I enjoyed. Again, I'll mention anything with blue filter strikes a chord in my heart. The sweeping panoramics were beautiful and the score was in keeping with the suspense in the movie. The set decoration seemed a little 'too perfect' and it didn't really create the sense that we were really in a period piece.

The actors did a fine job. Amanda Seyfried was good as usual. Virginia Masden believably, although she's hard to envision as a lowly peasant mother. Billy Burke, was a little off in the movie in my opinion. Otherwise, everyone was decent.

Overall, the movie wasn't spectacular nor was it horrible. It was entertaining for the time spent on it. The ending was appropriate and the characters kept the plotline somewhat interesting, even if their relationships and motives were a little stretched. This definitely wasn't Hardwicke's best work, but given that it was based on a fairy tale, it wasn't hokey - more or less. "I'll do anything for you. -- I thought you'd say that" - Red Riding Hood.