Breaking $70MM in its first week wasn’t a problem for this artistic expression of Snow White. The real problem focused on the production company using tall actors to play the dwarfs. The decision to digitally shrink actors was ridiculed by the “Little People of America” organization, who blasted Universal Chairman Adam Fogelson, saying it’s “…the equivalent of Universal casting a white actor to play a role written for an African-American person and digitally changing the color of their skin.”

 Despite the use of special effects to resize the actors as dwarfs, the film has already made great inroads as a cultural phenomenon, causing animators to wonder how many more animated pictures will be redone as live action films. This instant popularity drove the announcement that the sequel “Snow White and the Huntsman 2” will begin development.

The film was made very well, but it’s not your child’s Snow White due to the dark production values. Still, aside from the dark forest, the film is rather tame with the exception of the CGI rendered battle scenes. Then again, the awesome mirror effect is a bit ominous and foreboding for younger viewers and down right cool for adults.

Kristen Stewart (Snow White), gave me a flashback when she was laid out in the sleep scene, because it was so similar to her “Twilight” death scene. She of course excelled at her pouty look and salted in several moments that made you believe she was Snow White, rather than a vampire.

Chris Hemsworth (The Huntsman), brought a very different performance to the screen compared to his Thor character from “Avengers” and his George Kirk character from “Star Trek.” I’m convinced this actor can play any role given the right direction and time to develop a character.

Charlize Theron (Ravenne), was the consummate actor she’s always lived up to with great excellence. And yes, the milk bath scene raised a few eyebrows, but never pushed the film’s rating. What I found remarkable was how well integrated her aging CGI was with her true skin. Add to it her great performance, and she was believable young, middle aged, and decrepitly old.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the film is worth your time, although you may be fighting your childhood memories with this artistic version taking significant liberties. And, what I found more fascinating than the rebooting of my thoughts about the story, was how stylistically this version fits this generation, just as much as Disney’s version fit the generation viewing his classic for the first time 75 years ago.

Controversy is about to hit the conservative film market with the comedy “Blue Like Jazz.” The film, based on the best selling book by the same name, explores “non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality.” The film’s vantage point is through the eyes of a Southern Baptist boy, Don Miller, who attends the “most godless campus in America.” This film holds none of the stigmas associated with “Christian films” and will shock those who assume it’s a family film – It is not.

I chatted with Don Miller (Author), Steve Taylor (Director), and Marshall Allman (Actor plays Donald Miller) last night while the film was premiering in Nashville. The conversation was cut short when the three had to get back into the theater for a Q&A session.

Unlike the “Courageous” team who only hires people who are “right before God” to work on their productions, this film had hundreds of non-Christians in the cast. Don says, “It is not a Christian cast except for two people.” When asked how the non-Christians might have been impacted during the shoot, Marshall shared how in awe they were because “the atmosphere on the set was very different with a lot of people encouraging each other. It wasn’t like any other film I’ve been on in the past ten years.”

Steve Taylor was recently a part of some controversy relating to other Christian film producers stating online that they will never hire anyone who worked on this film. When asked more about it, Steve had nothing but positive things to say about other Christian filmmakers. He held tremendous respect for those who have made a difference through film and built the Christian film industry. Steve directed Michael W. Smith’s film “The Second Chance” and numerous music videos like the Newsboys.

Steve made it very clear that while Christian filmmakers were putting the film together, it was not going to be a family film. “The reason was simple,” says Steve. “How do you tell the story of a college kid who flees his Southern Baptist upbringing in suburban Houston to attend the ‘most godless campus in America’ without showing what that environment is like? And how can that environment be portrayed realistically in the context of a ‘family’ movie?”

During the film, Don meets all kinds of people including: gay, straight, bi, agnostic, drug-addicts, and abused. It was the Steve’s goal to show real people with real issues. However, Christians will be glad to know that everything that happens in the film leads to a scene where the true heart of the story is revealed – What some are calling the “most powerful scenes to appear in a ‘Christian film’ to date.” Spoiler alert — Don discovers through an epiphany what it really means to believe in and follow Jesus. It is a moment that most people can take to heart.