Genres

Visitors Review

Scarecrow-88 2012-05-25 17:31:07

Red Riding Hood

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) directed this take on the fairy tale,Little Red Riding Hood, catered to the teen audience of the Twilightfilms, starring the gorgeous Amanda Seyfried as Valerie, daughter to animpoverished family and promised (against her will) to a more"prominent" (as you can be in an isolated village in the middle ofnowhere) son of an ironsmith, Henry (Max Irons), although she lovespoor woodcutter, Peter (Shiloh Fernandez; Deadgirl). Meanwhile, awerewolf attacks and kills Valerie's sister, spurning a hunt for thebeast responsible. The young priest in the village (Lukas Haas) callsfor a well renowned werewolf hunter, Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), tohelp rid them of the werewolf in their midst. Believing they killed thewolf (an ordinary gray wolf), the town, at first, doesn't feelSolomon's services are required, but, boy, are they mistaken…Sumptuously photographed by Mandy Walker, with picturesque locations inBritish Columbia, Canada, featuring snowy mountains and wintry forests,"Red Riding Hood" is definitely aesthetically pleasing on a visuallevel, and Hardwicke utilizes the red of fire in lighting wood housesparticularly well. And the color red (as it works in concert with thewhite winter backdrop) is a visual Hardwicke never fails to exploit ona stylistic level, mainly when Valerie wears the titular hood (whichseems to extend several feet), dragging it or bowing to the ground (youcan see Hardwicke takes special care to have the hooded garment unfolda certain way for optimum effect). Yes, the plot is a soap opera forthe Twilight crowd, but I would lie if I said the film didn't capturemy attention through its handsome production and art design. I washooked by the look, even if the plot did nothing for me. Seyfried, likethe location, envelopes me; I adore this young woman and the cameraworships her.The plot is basically of the "ten little Indians" variety where thegreat mystery is the identity of the werewolf. We learn that thewerewolf wants Valerie to come away with him so it could be Peter,Henry, or any number of possible suspects. At first an innocent isthought to be the wolf (just because he has a deck of cards and knows atrick, Solomon thinks he might be of the devil), a mute village idiot,punished by Solomon for not telling him who the werewolf is. SoonValerie (after hearing the thoughts of the werewolf, his actuallyspeaking to her does tell us that something is unique about Valerie asit pertains to the creature) is suspected as a witch and used bySolomon as bait for the werewolf. Her men will attempt to rescueValerie—but can anyone save her from the werewolf? The film even castsdoubt towards grandmother, when Valerie has a spooky nightmare utteringthe familiar dialogue, "What big eyes you have. What big ears youhave…" not to mention a certain exchange between her and Henry thatoffers her as a suspect. Peter is obvious from the get-go a suspect,but anyone with half a brain will consider him too easy a red herring.Henry basically is under a cloud of doubt due to Valerie's sister'sdeath and his own desire to have her for himself (and the fact that heis gallant and cares deeply for her, enough to let her free from havingto marry him). Of course, Gary Oldman is sadly a cliché, the religiousfanatic who waltzes into village with an intimidating entourage ofsoldiers in armor, an elephant cast in silver for prisoners that mightbe suspected as werewolves (or know who a werewolf is), and willing todo whatever it takes to "kill the beast", in the name of the GreatAlmighty. I don't think anyone will mourn his fate, because he casts atyrannical net around the village after a werewolf attack during acelebration allows him the reason to do so. Essentially the plot has aromantic entanglement as Valerie is desired by two young hunks and awerewolf; she is the central focus of the plot and her safety is alwaysin peril (or is it?). A major point of this film is that everyone hassecrets, forced marriages absent love, the knowledge that your lovedone is a werewolf yet you keep it hidden, etc...the dangerous threat ofthe film derives from how all these secrets matter in regards toValerie.

Jim Lane 2012-05-25 05:27:03

... hilariously awful ...

Jeffrey Chen 2012-05-24 00:03:19

Like Twilight, makes the shallow desire to run away with a boy the heroine's main concern.

Gerardbutlerlady 2012-05-23 17:36:01

Not bad, Hardwicke

I've always been a fan of Amanda Seyfried. She has always been diverseand amusing. I was rather cautious before seeing this film though.After Hardwicke's directing job on Twilight, I was pretty put off. WhenI saw this film, I was absolutely blown away. The costumes wereoutstanding, the actors mesmerizing, (i don't think I could evercomplain about Shiloh Fernandez) and the plot throwing twists all thetime. By the end, I was completely shocked about who the wolf reallywas. The only problem I had with the film was obvious modern dialog(Like the word okay, which wasn't used until the 1800's, though thefilm claimed to be set in the 1300's.) Other than that, the movie wasgreat. I'm a 17 year old girl, so I don't know if middle aged men wouldenjoy it, but it makes my top 25 favorite movies!

Jordan Hoffman 2012-05-23 17:19:12

I saw Red Riding Hood with a theater full of high school girls. I think they liked it, because there were whole three minute stretches when they weren't texting.

manRAD 2012-05-22 21:10:19

Make an adult version of a kids story for early teens and no one benefits.

I'm sure i would love this if I was a twelve year old girl.Unfortunately I'm not and was bored for the majority of it. What is themystery in this? Its 'everyone is a suspect' doesn't last long, the redherrings come thick and fast but any logic applied to it reveals thebig twist around twenty minutes in. Yeah it looked pretty, the colourand sets are everything you expect from a big budget preteen horror andthe wolf was good for a completely CGI villain. The one thing i alwaysjudge a werewolf film on is the werewolf transition. and this justbitched out completely. There just wasn't a transition from man towolf. Leaving absolutely no room for in camera special effects and thechance to do something memorable in this otherwise forgettable film.Hollywood keeps telling me to find Amanda Seyfried attractive but Ijust don't. I'm sure I will once she acts enough to impress me in afilm. But Gary Oldman kicks ass, his character makes the movie for me,because my dream job would be mythical beast hunting in Medieval Europeand because its Gary Oldman... C'mon. The film was dark enough to makeit interesting but their need to keep it in the PG13 bracket made itsuffer in serious creative restraint. Make an adult version of a kidsstory for early teens and no one benefits.

Raul Faust 2012-05-22 02:34:18

Post-village

I can't deny this film remembers 2002's "The Village". People living ina mysterious community, the red color, the strange monster and theurban legend. In both movies we have surprises and beautifulscreenplay. Okay, enough with this comparison. Other thing I have tomention is that I agree with many people that stated this is muchsimilar to "Twilight"-- even thought I haven't seen that one yet. Thebeginning of "Red Riding Hood" is kinda slow and is hard to believeit's going to get better after some while. I know it's a fantasy moviethat wasn't meant to be scary, but I got scared in some scenes,specially when that creepy grandmother recited the wolf's questionsfrom the little red riding hood story. It's obvious that none of theclues the film gave was going to make the spectator discover who thewolf really is-- just like in the most whodunit thrillers. I rememberlistening to an interview with this film's director and I remember shesaid this was an adult version of the child story; and I have to prettymuch agree with that, it is indeed an adult version of that fairytale.Congratulations for the good directing, and the big chemistry betweenValerie and Peter-- I could swear they were really in love with eachother. Also, congratulations for the BEAUTIFUL ending that bothphotography and cast were able to give us.

2012-05-21 08:04:02

Peter and the Wolf

Red Riding Hood, 2011 filmThe story begins in a mountainous area in winter. A young girl carries a bucket down the lane to fetch a pail of water, but is distracted by a young boy. "You do it." Ten years pass. Peter's axe is taken away as a tease. A girl is promised to a rich man. What is the alternative? They hear the alarm - "the wolf"! Her sister Lucy is the victim. [Note the black clotted blood.] Those hay stacks seem to be too close together. We hear about an arranged marriage. Can they hire a man to kill the wolf? A poor woodcutter wants to marry Valerie, but her mother has other plans. The villages decide to hunt down and kill the werewolf. [They wear no hats in the cold and possess no spears or other weapons.] Valerie is given a red riding hood by her grandmother. The men search in the dark using torches. They split up. There is a scream in the dark. Later the men kill a wolf, but have a casualty. Valerie learns a secret about life in a small village.A coach with armed men arrive to kill the big bad wolf. The hunter tells about killing a werewolf; when dead it returns to its human form! The significance of a "blood moon" is explained to the villagers, and where the lair of the werewolf is! The villagers celebrate that night. [Is there a clue to the identity of the werewolf?] A conflict attracts attention. Later Valerie and Peter meet in private. The celebration is ended by the arrival of a big black wolf that attacks the villagers and gets away. "I warned you!" The wolf speaks to Valerie and asks her to go away with him. The morning light reveals more victims. "Look for the signs." Everyone's homes will be searched, the innocent have nothing to fear. [No Sixth Amendment.] There is danger from a live victim of the werewolf. Peter wants to leave the village with Valerie. Valerie's mother was clawed by the werewolf. Henry breaks their engagement. A boy is found in hiding, what does he know? Can they make him talk? Can his sister save him? Valerie is accused of being a witch. Does she know a name?The people are told to go home. Can Valerie be saved? Will she be punished for her good looks? Can the witch escape? The big black wolf shows up again to kill and threaten the villagers. Another survivor of the attack is given his due. Later Valerie has a nightmare that involves a relative. The next morning the villagers go to hunt the werewolf. Valerie goes to visit her grandmother in the woods and finds a big surprise! "Then it all made sense." The mystery is revealed at last. "It's a gift." There is another surprise to end the story. "I'm so sorry." A man is given a proper burial. "I'll wait for you." The villagers still lived in fear. Valerie moved into the forest, she no longer feared a werewolf.This is one example of what could have been a good movie damaged by a poor story. It is funny to have white stuff on the ground while people are not dressed for cold weather (no breath showing). It seems like a 45 minute story padded out to a full-length movie. You can compare it to the much better 1941 "The Wolfman". Some years ago I read an article on werewolves. Two professors researched the old legends and found they followed an outbreak of rabies. A man bitten by a rabid wolf turns into a rabid creature who attacks other people. They must be destroyed by a bullet to prevent their blood from infecting their slayers.

Matthew Turner 2012-05-20 08:52:03

Red Riding Hood is a fantasy fairy tale with a twist of Twilight, but it doesn't quite come together, despite some striking images and a strong performance from Seyfried.

ThreeGuysOneMovie 2012-05-19 12:26:38

Wish the Wolf Had Eaten Everyone Before Making This Film

I tend to watch some movies that the other guys would never check outand this is probably one of them. My wife and I were discussing what towatch one night and it seemed there was nothing immediate to catch ourattention, so after a little discussion we decided on this film. Shesaid "I like fairy Tales and you like Amand Seyfried, so let's watchthis one, it was decided. This is a spin on the classic fairy talelittle red riding hood, as you may have suspected. RRH takes place inan old style village where there is a history of a Werewolf killingcivilians for no reason. This has been going on for years and thevillage continuously leaves animal sacrifices to keep it at bay butthis time he killed a young girl out after curfew, why was she out,this is where the story starts to unfold.It seems everyone, including the werewolf, wanted to eat (Valerie,Little Red) Amanda Seyfried and to that I respond; Can you blame them?There is some sort of love triangle sub plot that is terrible but ithelps divert attention to different wolf suspects. In steps Solomon(Gary Oldman) as a religious werewolf hunter, who has lost his familyand has an ax to grind with the wolf. Solomon knows for some reason theWerewolf is among them and uses his deduction tactics to isolate thethreats, killing and threatening anyone in his path. He is basically amad priest. So basically the whole movie you are guessing who the Wolfis? Well who is it? I will not tell you, you will have to watch it tofind out or Google it.This movie was terrible and the only bright spot was Amanda Seyfried,not her acting but…. Gary Oldman was almost bad in this one also, no hewas bad but I think it was a bad role choice rather than bad acting.There was a strange face in the village that I had not seen for sometime and that was boy star Lukas Haas, who seems to be trying to make acomeback. He has been seen in Inception and Red Riding Hood, recentlyInception being a good choice and RRH a bad one. I do wish Haas someluck and I am always rooting for child stars to not go insane and atleast function in society.

scarehuman 2012-05-18 19:16:03

Greatly Missed Opportunity

As I exited the theater, my friend summarized it well; "The trailerwrote so many checks the movie didn't cash, but easily could have." Idon't think a better summary exists. Your enjoyment will depend on whatyou are looking for. I expected a film more in the vain of SleepyHollow, something stylish and exciting with suspense, intensity,tremendous atmosphere, however a loose interpretation of the source.The film was, indeed, stylish. Hardwicke has a great eye forcinematography, Red Riding Hood is mostly beautifully shot. I wasdistracted by the mainly shaking sequences, but that might be more todo with the fact that I am fighting a head cold and they made me sick.The costumes and sets are beautiful as well (though you'll note thattheir "snow" is just white sand), and has brilliant lighting. All inall, it is a very solid film from a technical aspect, which is why Igave it so high a rating. The performances were adequate, and most ofthe cast is terribly wasted. The biggest problem with the film is thatit doesn't know what it wants to be. I firmly believe that this filmwas Hardwicke trying to prove she can do more than Twilight, but foundherself trapped by the same teen romance melodrama that gave her thestigma to begin with. There is little suspense, and the resolution isanticlimactic, tepid, and boasting all the drama of a rerun ofScooby-Doo.

a 2012-05-18 12:47:53

a movie to skip

The movie is nothing like the trailer. Wavy handheld cameras with a lot of unnecessary close-ups, really poor script, sleepy acting - it looks more like a behind-the-scenes DVD extra than an actual feature film. The story itself is a mix of Twilight with pretty mysterious teenagers, and The Thing - except that the latter was really intense, and this one makes you yawn wondering when the next scene is about to begin.The village setup, the woods, the mountains, on the other hand, were marvellous; the rest of the movie - not worth the time watching it. The cast pretty much slept through the whole story. But then, there was no real story to begin with, just an attempt to inject trendy werewolves into a beautiful old tale, which didn't quite work out. The good news - they decided against bringing in vampires this time.

J L 2012-05-17 22:04:28

watch it when no sleeping pill near by

Red Riding Hood... re-told with good intension with one or two goodactors plus bad chemistry...Add choppy story telling, bad transitions, corny lines, awkward comicrelief, stone cold romantic angle...Then combine sprinkle of bad acting throughout, awful soundtrack,amateur cinematography, ... The list goes on and downhill...$42M budget???? Where did they spend that?Best thing about this film is that it surely be finished in less than 2hours. Worst thing is that there is nothing to look forward to...

2012-05-17 08:19:53

If I wanted "Twilight"..

I would have watched Twilight. Not only is this not a "Twilight" version of Red Riding Hood, it's really.. just a bunch of ideas thrust together in an attempt to make a Twilight version of Red Riding Hood.There were probably a dozen ways to make this movie better, and the writer didn't bother. It's one of those movies where the story absolutely sucks, and no matter how many great actors you have in it, they can't save what they're in. Don't bother buying. If you must, rent it through netflix or redbox.

Caryn James 2012-05-16 21:31:32

A clunky mess with no tension. The servicable script needed to be directed with great flourish, but Hardwicke walks us through, so the film hits us like a snoozy lullaby.

random4ever 2012-05-16 09:18:45

not a great movie, but a fun one

its nothing special, its very funny at times tho its mostly from thescript and characters being way out of touch. the funniest part of thefilm is village dance scene which is hilarious. its a waked scene thatmakes me laugh a lot. Amanda Seyfried is a babe no matter what she isin. the stories the same old thing with a few twists that is actuallyinteresting so its not bad for the story. Gary Oldman usually rocks butnot in this flick, its the directors fault among others who made thismovie. there is some decent CGI in the film but not enough to save it.don't expect much from the wolf and enjoy the film for its good pointswhich is for a laugh even tho there trying to be serious

2012-05-13 23:27:51

Just a so so movie

This review is from: Red Riding Hood [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This was ok. Not really what I expected? If I had seen it before I would not have paid for it.

Charlotte Eliza 2012-05-13 14:15:22

A tremendously underrated film

After reading (MANY) negative reviews, I went in to see this movieexpecting it to be a mediocre flop. It's anything but.However, it's not without its (really) bad points. Let's get them outof the way before we move on.First, there's no doubt that some of the acting is TERRIBLE. I cringedwhenever Max Irons came on screen; he didn't even have that much to sayand still managed to do a crap job (I know I'm not the only one wholaughed when he threatened to kill Peter). Shiloh Fernandez wasslightly better but not by much; Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman werereally all that held the script together.Secondly, the script was mediocre to above average at best and couldhave done with more intelligent dialogue to complement the awesome plot(a little humor never hurt anyone).The healthy appearance of the village & villagers ticked me off. Callme a perfectionist, but I've seen far too many medieval-era movies tobelieve that the people in this movie are naturally squeaky- clean,their hair perfectly styled and coiffed (I'm looking at you, Valer- no,wait, that's everyone), have a vast array of colorful clothes, etc.This is a SECLUDED village in a forest in the MIDDLE ages. These peopledo NOT live in luxury. They deal with filth and grime every day whiletoiling their ass off to make bread for their family. NOBODY looked thepart, and I kept getting disappointed whenever someone came out of afight with nary a smear of dirt on their face.A point about Gary Oldman. His character started off as a bad-asswerewolf hunter but swiftly deteriorated into a crazy old man with "theend justifies the means" practically stamped across his forehead.Despite the death he deserved (sigh, Hollywood. How you've brainwashedyour audience to WANT the death of a human life) I was sorry to see himgo.***On to the good stuff!The end twist is fantastic, simply brilliant! I never suspected who thereal culprit was even though I'll probably see the hints when I do are- watch (in which I will skip all the parts Max Irons is in).I also immensely enjoyed the scenery. The helicopter flyover shots ofthe forest are mesmerizing (this is the ONLY similarity to Twilight).The village scenes are back-lit in such a way that create a fairytale-like atmosphere which was initially distracting, but eventually I cameto appreciate the blend of colors - and after all, the story IS basedon a fairytale.In addition, the couple I was rooting for get together. I'm a suckerfor romance and I was glad some people in this movie got a happy endingafter so much fear and sadness. Hollywood is by no means over the happyending cliché, but lately I've noticed that it tends to be bittersweet,which although not completely satisfying is more realistic.I LOVED the soundtrack, and although on their own I probably wouldn'tenjoy them as much, the songs work brilliantly in the movie. I didn'teven notice them while watching, too busy focusing on the scene beingemphasized. Great choices, and my only criticism might be when thevillagers are "celebrating" the death of the werewolf. The eerie songhad me thinking that the dancing and reveling was more suited inanother movie with weird cult rituals.As aforementioned, "the end justifies the means". I was intrigued howthe movie brought up the ethics of this issue. How far is enough beforeyou stop? Apparently, when revenge is meted out and Gary Oldman gets ataste of his medicine when he's bitten by the wolf and killed by hishenchman (satisfying, but bloodthirsty, Hollywood. Bloodthirsty.)All in all, Red Riding Hood is a great modern retelling of thefairytale it's based on. Even after a day I'm still thinking about itand recommending it to my friends. I'm sad to say most people over theage of thirty wouldn't enjoy this, because despite how much I liked it,in the end it all comes down to it being a teenage mock-horror movie.However, if you're willing to forgive a bit of terrible acting, then goahead and watch it. Be warned though: you're going to have to forgiveMax Irons a LOT.

2012-05-12 20:46:09

From the previous

I haven't seen that movie yet but it seems pretty interesting and closer to what was the "Red Riding Hood" tale at first. Indeed, if you read research on tales (Bruno Bettelheim or Sheldon Cashdan), they were nothing but tales as we understand them today. This is a way to bring back the purpose of stories telling from a long long time.

movielova201 2012-05-12 15:40:24

Not as Bad as I Thought

I needed a movie to rent and this was the only one i haven't seen onthe on demand menu. I heard it was terrible so i was reluctant. Idecided to rent it and i was very surprised! The movie is not THAT bad.It's definitely not the best, but it was quite entertaining. It kept meguessing until the end. The only thing about this movie is the directoris AWFUL. She directed the first twilight film and I thought that was amajor FAIL. I'm a LOVER of the Brothers Grimm stories so it definitelyhad a creepy edge. If you have nothing else to do, renting this movie isn't such a badthing. I was very entertained. Of course it didn't have the quality ofCLASSICS but it was entertaining. PLus the characters are hot so I can't complain