Red Riding Hood

Bella and Edward look on...

I grew up wanting this film. Not this film, strictly speaking, but what this film could have been. I've often said that the most important part of film criticism is to not judge what could have been, but what is, and simply that. I know that I was a fan of the fairy tale from a young age, even to this day. And I know that the film I always wanted to see what more The Ghost and the Darkness (a truly terrific and terrifying film) and less Twilight (which I enjoy, for what it's worth). But, what we got was Twilight and not The Ghost and the Darkness. 

What sets them apart is this - Red Riding Hood could have been a film about a wolf hunt, about the strength of family, and a feminist's wet dream. Red Riding Hood wound up being a film about a teenage love story between an outsider and the pretty girl, and a whodunit about a werewolf. Careful distinction - Little Red Riding Hood is almost exactly like the former, and Catherine Hardwicke's version is exactly like the latter. Remember that Catherine Hardwicke gave us the first Twilight. She almost ruined that, and she did ruin this. Beyond repair. 

More after the cut --

In Theaters This Weekend

Back in full swing. Finger is healed. All is right with the world. Except, of course, that Catherine Hardwicke has released another film.

The week we've experienced has been met with tragedy, and a sense of hopefulness the world over. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan has left families across the globe fearful and worried for those they can't contact, and it's important for all of us to realize the fragility of human life. My thoughts and prayers go out to you, them, and theirs.

In San Francisco, local news kept saying, and I mean kept saying that "this isn't like the movies". Personally, I'm a bit offended by those remarks. As someone whose life is completely inundated with film and effects and stories of tragedy brought to us by the silver screen, I find it redundant and psychologically fanatical to remind your viewers that they are watching something real. I hope, and fully believe, that we as a people have the intelligence to distinguish a film like 2012 from a real life disaster that claimed real lives. In all fairness, this reporter wasn't speaking to me personally, but to me as a collective viewer. A child might not understand the difference. But, a 24 year old with a high school diploma who works in the real world and who is effected by the real world everyday certainly would. Any of us over the age of ten presumably would. Obviously, I don't expect any sort of apology, but I do expect more care and candor from any sort of news team. Less callousness and condescension, in effect.

That's all I have to say about that.

More after the cut --