'MIRROR,MIRROR'

'MIRROR,MIRROR' (PG) (2 STARS)

Marc Klein and Jason Keller based on stories by the Brothers Grimm
Directed by Tarsem Singh
Actors: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer,Nathan Lane, Sean Bean

'Mirror, Mirror' looks glorious, beautiful and enchanting but the movie itself is not enchanting or charming, just stale and dull. I just have to mention "The Princess Bride" and I rest my case. This is a "Bride" wannabe with jokes that are corny and dated. The attempts at slapstick are lame, clumsy and geared towards five years and younger. If the movie didn't look so great this would be one of the worst movies of the year. There is a trend of movies that look glorious but whose stories fail them because of weak writing and "Mirror" is one of them.

Julia Roberts is the evil Queen and she has fun with the role but I am afraid she comes off as a second rate vaudeville comedianne. That would be great if this movie came out in the 50's but now it seems out of place. There are movies like "Despicable Me" and "The Lorax" that do a much better job with the pop culture references. "Mirror,Mirror" looks like director Tarsem concentrated too much on visuals and didn't realize his story sucked.

The movie is based on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and it follows it closely and doesn't offer anything new or fresh. Snow White is played by Lily Collins and after watching Jennifer Lawrence in "Hunger Games" Collins tries to play a strong female heroine but falls on her face. Collins is okay but she comes off stiff most of the time and becomes a dull character. It doesn't help that the Prince looks like he is 29 and Snow looks like she is 16, pretty uncomfortable. Armie Hammer is fine as the Prince but he gets kicked, slapped around a lot and made the butt of lame jokes that are done better in "Jackass".

You know you are in trouble when the great, funny and energetic Nathan Lane comes off as dull and unfunny. This movie just goes through the paces and then ends. It is a highly forgettable movie and I think only five years and younger will find it interesting and cute. I guess some kids and families will like it but is this the kind of fluffy, dumb stuff that should be force fed on kids? There is imagination in the look of the movie but in the writing and acting it is simple and very boring. It is better to plop the kids down at home and pop in "The Princess Bride" which this movie resembles but in no way reaches the fun of that movie.

I might be questioned as to why I would unfairly compare this movie to "Princess Bride", a classic? Well there was a recent fairy tale adaptation "Alice in Wonderland" that was just good but is "The Wizard of Oz" compared to "Mirror". The jokes fall flat, the actors look bored except for Roberts and the story would have been stale back in the 50's. Director Tarsem Singh is a great visual stylist but he has not even come close to the greatness he showed in his first movie, the awesome serial killer movie "The Cell". He has the chops but he picks weak and unchallenging stories. "Mirror,Mirror" looks beautiful so kids will be happily distracted but older kids and adults will want to run screaming from the theatre. The dwarfs were kind of funny though.

For better movies than "Mirror,Mirror" check out "The Princess Bride", "Despicable Me" and "Alice in Wonderland" and speaking of Tarsem, check out "The Cell" which is pretty original and haunting. Also watching the trailer for the other Snow White movie "Snow White and the Huntsman" I am convinced it has to be way cooler and better than "Mirror".