MIRROR MIRROR

Telling the story of Snow White, but adds humor, attitude and contemporary language and really go to town on the sets and costumes. It would be like "Shrek" or "Hoodwinked!" But with live actors. Somewhere between meeting the field and opening of the film, this fairy tale happy ending sadly lost her grounded. "Mirror Mirror" is a minor minor. It has its moments, many of them thanks to the late Oscar-winning costume Eiko Ishioka a stunningly inventive and over-the-top, but it's far, far from a classic.

The film is directed by Tarsem Singh ("Immortals" and "The Cell"), the movie is better known as a luxurious look than the narrative coherence or performances. He's doing a little better here in keeping the story together, but the film is still sad uneven, awkward seesawing between comedy, action scenes and visual magnificent. As they "Fairy Tales Crack" long used to appear on "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," puts "Mirror" clearly modernist twist on the familiar story of Snow White. Though the movie characters wear period clothing and wigs and bizarre live in palaces and villages that look like something out of an MGM back lot extravaganza from the 1930's (but in color), attitudes and actions are very up to date.

Snow White (Lily Collins) here is every bit the equal if not better than he was cool prince (Armie Hammer, who continues to impress), who was himself the object of lustful gaze frankly and comments by the evil queen (Julia Roberts). The dwarf who befriended Snow White now a group wisecrackers ever turning to theft after being driven out of the village by the Queen, who is anti-poor people. Sometimes, humor efforts pay off, especially in scenes between Queen silly ridiculous, holding haughty - Roberts is having a great time here, but there's nothing subtle in his performance - and the Prince of the ball a bit dim. And Nathan Lane, playing a courtier toadying to the Queen, always managed to land her laugh.

Part of the problem of "Mirror" is that the screenplay, credited to two writers and a third get credit story is all over the place. At times, it seems that the film is a satire about anxiety during aging, as the Queen frets over who is the prettiest in the country. But it also suggests a political agenda, such as the villagers say that burdensome taxes collected by the Queen being used to keep them safe, and to be about feminist, such as Snow White and Prince battle for the upper hand while fighting or crossed swords.