searchersd

This is definitely a C movie. Maybe even a D. Most of the acting is atrocious, often cringe-worthy, worse than you'd see in a school play. Ms. Bolen, however, has some skills and kept me interested, so I kept with it until the finale, even though one knows how it's going to end right from the beginning. I also loved the cute and witty grandmother, maybe the real reason I stayed. Kudos to this senior actress, or amateur?

The rest of this production appears sorely lacking, most notably in background music. Everything - direction, screenplay, camerawork - extremely amateurish.

I have no idea, however, why I liked it. Maybe all the above faults combined made it different and so fun to watch.

I actually stopped watching early in the movie - seemed too heavy for my taste. A sad story about a man unable to deal with his wife's death. I then decided to give it another chance because Daniel Gillies was in it and appeared to be doing an OK job so far as the stone-faced and emotionless husband.

The bereaved husband decides to follow his wife's written request to go to his aunt's house within a senior living community in the desert and build her a long ago promised porch. The aunt, Barbara Hershey, runs activities there, while also running a clinic on a Native American reservation. But all is not what it seems with her as well.

The movie picks up a lot at this point, and as you'd expect, things turn out more than good at the end. Gillies does an impressive job, as do Hershey and Ron Pearlman. And you'll love all the old ladies and their humor.

I felt like watching another version of Snow White, being that Disney's latest offering of the same tale has just debuted in the cinemas. I never saw this "Grimm" version yet, so was curious to see how their interpretation differed.

Granted, all the bells and whistles of a typical grand Hollywood production are definitely missing here, but this movie still grows on you. The scenery, the castles, and the dungeon all look authentic. The wardrobe department could have tried a little harder, though. And presumably there wasn't enough money to create, and, or improve upon the special effects, but I was able to better them myself with my imagination.

I thought the actors did a great job. I was never bored, I was on the edge of my seat at times, and tearing up at others. The final battle scene could have been staged a lot better, but again, corners had to be cut.

But despite it all, I actually enjoyed this different version of Snow White. It was fun and it had the expected, happy ending. Now on to read the actual Grimm fairytale.