Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Gretel and Hansel


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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see.  I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future).  You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Gretel and Hansel                                                       EH/OK
Unless you were born yesterday (or not that long ago) or live a very sheltered existence, I assume you know the traditional story involving the titular siblings?  If not, a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel wander into the woods and end up at a house wherein a cannibal witch resides.  In most versions, the kids end up defeating the witch by pushing her into the oven.  There have been so many variations of this tale, there’s Google and Wikipedia among other ways if you want to know them all (I’m not going to list them), but this is the first time I recall Gretel’s name being listed first (she is the older sibling here after all).  This recent version does contain two siblings (a boy and girl) that venture into the woods (due to rather depressing circumstances) and come across a house containing a witch.  I won’t disclose whether the conclusion remains traditional in case you want to watch, even though I personally don’t recommend it.  I have no problem with old stories being fleshed out as long as they’re (somewhat) unique and/or interesting.  Stylistically, this film passes, enough.  Script-wise, not so much.  I felt this could’ve gone to much darker places at times and I often felt teased.  By the film’s end, I was more unsatisfied than not, as well as disappointed.  5/5/2020

Other movies and TV show(s) I’ve seen and their ratings (see above):

By the Grace of God  >>>OK

First Love (2019)  >>>OK/G

Get In (Furie)  >>>OK/G
            (Netflix; In French with subtitles)

The Half of It  >>>EH/OK
            (Netflix)

Never Have I Ever:  Season One  >>>OK/G
            (Netflix)

---Sean O.
5/6/2020

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