Damsels in distress

STEWART (LEFT) AND THERON. No suspension of disbelief.

KRISTEN Stewart needs all the help she can get to thwart the nefarious plans of the vain and venomous Charlize Theron in “Snow White and the Huntsman.” In Rupert Sanders’ riveting revisionist take on the fairy-tale classic, Snow White (Stewart) finds herself lost in the maze of the terrifying Dark Forest after she escapes the clutches of her sorceress stepmother, Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron), who needs Snow White’s heart to achieve immortality and lasting beauty.

But Snow White isn’t just another subservient damsel in distress. She has no intention of giving up her father’s throne without a fight. Aside from the seven dwarfs, who shield her from the queen’s salacious brother, Finn (Sam Spruell), by taking her to the magical land of the fairies, the princess has two dashing allies—her handsome childhood playmate, William (Sam Claflin), and the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who is initially tasked to kill her!

Sanders delivers a visual feast that is alternately bleak and breathtaking, inhabited by mystical monsters, nymph-like fairies and sylphs, crawling reptiles, winking mushrooms, moving trees, ghoulish shadows and other bewitching creatures that will take viewers’ breath away.

But there’s more to this film than its theatrical flourishes. In Sanders’ retelling, Snow White doesn’t always require a knight in shining armor to get her out of tight spots. She knows her way around swords, shields, bows and arrows! Moreover, Theron’s Ravenna isn’t merely a one-note angel of doom who spits fire and brimstone with not much rhyme nor reason—she is also a woman haunted by her dark past.

Our quibble lies in the casting: No spell, dark magic or special effect can hide the fact that the ravishing Theron is simply too lovely to feel insecure about Stewart’s lissome but less-than-stellar beauty. There’s no suspension of disbelief there. When the all-knowing Mirror tells Ravenna that Snow White has come of age and is now the “fairest of them all,” you know that it’s probably…malfunctioning!

‘Born to Love You’

Angeline Quinto is also a damsel in distress—albeit a clumsy one—in Jerome Pobocan’s “Born to Love You,” which tells the unlikely love story of tour guide cum translator Joey Liwanag (Quinto), and photographer Rex Manrique (Coco Martin). They fight like cats and dogs every chance they get—but, they soon discover they’re just scarred, scared individuals in dire need of some Tender Loving Care.

We expected a lot from Pobocan’s three-hanky romantic drama (because we liked “Noy,” the last film Martin coproduced) but came out frazzled by the numerous detours—a telenovela season’s worth of graceless twists—the production took on its way to its requisite happy ending, capped by a discombobulating spin on “An Affair to Remember.”

The intense Martin and the earnest but awkward Quinto come off with portrayals that don’t complement each other: The former takes everything too seriously (he feels “too heavy” even in supposedly light and tender “kwela” sequences), while the latter is too raw to be believable in her scenes.

Truth is, we like Quinto’s soulful, expressive eyes, which are as useful in her dramatic moments as they are in musical numbers—but, crying on cue isn’t the only requirement for good acting. In the business of evoking genuine human emotions, you can’t always equate “being natural” with rawness and inexperience.