Greetings movie lovers, it's time to take a look at what the cinema has in store for us this weekend.

Photo: Contributed - Universal

     Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen. Unable to tolerate the insult to her vanity, the evil queen decides that Snow White must die, so she sends a huntsman to kill the fairest of them all. However the huntsman finds himself unable to murder the innocent young woman, and instead ends up training her to become a warrior capable of threatening the queen's reign.

     My Take

Even though this is yet another revisionist take on the famous Grimm's fairy tale there is something about it that intrigues me. Perhaps it's the fact that it looks much darker in tone to its predecessor of two months ago, Mirror Mirror, which also dealt with the tale of Snow White, albeit in a much more jovial and comic fashion.

From what I can tell the set design and atmosphere reminds me of films like Excalibur, Labyrinth and Legend as it appears to deal with knights and magic.

Directed by first time filmmaker Rupert Sanders, the film stars Charlize Theron as the evil queen, Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman and Kristen Stewart as Snow White. There seems to be a lot of negativity directed towards Ms. Stewart which I don't really get. Yes, I know she stars in the awful Twilight series and perhaps that has skewed people's perception of her, but she has also done some pretty solid work in films like Adventureland, Into the Wild and The Runaways. I can't wait to see how they handle the dwarves as they have cast some amazing British actors to play the roles such as Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan and Toby Jones.

I think that anyone looking for a good fantasy adventure with plenty of swordplay and magical creatures will probably want to check out Snow White and the Huntsman this weekend. I know I will.

Box office note: Hollywood is now expecting a more-than-expected $50+Million finish through Sunday. Snow White And The Hunstman‘s midnight screenings in 1,092 theaters grossed a promising $1.383M Thursday night.

     The Hunter

The Hunter is the story of Martin, a skilled and ruthless mercenary sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger's genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing. Usually a loner, Martin becomes increasingly close to the family; however, as his attachment to the family grows, Martin is led down a path of unforeseen dangers, complicating his deadly mission.

     My Take

This is an Australian eco-thriller starring Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill and Frances O'Connor. I haven't seen much of anything in the way of a marketing campaign for it so I can't give you too many details about it. Having seen the trailer, however, I can say that it looks like a very interesting drama/mystery that has a definite man vs. nature element to it. I suspect that it will be a slow burn character driven piece and might even be a bit arty. That's okay in my book as long as the story is compelling. The Hunter has me curious to find out more about it. This could be a sleeper.

     Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

This is based on the true story of a WWII vet and family man turned bank robber in postwar Toronto. Disillusioned by his circumstances, Eddie Boyd is torn between the need to provide for his young family and an unfulfilled dream to head to Hollywood to become a star. He discovers a way to do both, robbing banks in full Hollywood style makeup, but his dream leads him down a path of danger and tragedy.

     My Take

I love true crime dramas, and this Canadian production from first time writer/director Nathan Morlando looks like a good one. Scott Speedman stars as Edwin Boyd and Kelly Reilly plays his wife Doreen. The film also features some fine character actors such as Brian Cox, Kevin Durand and Tom Cruise's cousin, William Mapother. I've heard of the famous Boyd gang before and how their notorious exploits captivated our nation in the early fifties, so I am very interested to see how the film portrays these events. It should hopefully be some really gripping stuff.

If you're interested in seeing this true crime tale then head on down to the Paramount Theater to check it out. I think it will be worth it.

     Six Degrees of Chuck Norris

Kristen Stewart from Snow White and the Huntsman was in Into the Wild (2007) with William Hurt, who was in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) with Haley Joel Osment, who was in the Walker, Texas Ranger episode entitled Lucas (1997) with Chuck Norris.

Willem Dafoe from The Hunter was in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) with Barbara Hershey, who was in Boxcar Bertha (1972) with David Carradine, who was in Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) with Chuck Norris.

Scott Speedman from Citizen Gangster was in The Strangers (2008) with Liv Tyler, who was in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) with Christopher Lee, who was in An Eye for an Eye (1981) with Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris Fun Fact:

Chuck Norris has a grizzly bear carpet in his room. The bear isn't dead, it is just afraid to move.