MOVIE REVIEW: INTO THE WOODS

Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods is adapted in this musical from director Rob Marshall and Walt Disney Studios. Inspired by a choice selection of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, this plot centers on a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) who incur the wrath of a witch (Meryl Streep) while attempting to start a family. Subsequently cursed by the vengeful hag, the hapless couple find their fates linked with those of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick),Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) and Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) of Jack and the Beanstalk. Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, and Lucy Punch co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Rob Marshall 

Cast: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine

Release Date: Dec 25, 2014

 

Rated PG for Thematic Elements, Some Suggestive Material and Fantasy Action and Peril

Runtime: 2 hr. 4 min.

Genres: Music/Performing Arts, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Review:

Into the Woods is this year’s entry into the big budget musicals and it fairly solid success.  Rob Marshall, who directed one of my favorite movie musicals Chicago, delivers an energetic film that just enjoyable to watch and listen to.  James Corden and Emily Blunt anchor the film with the latter showing off some impressive pipes.  They share an adorable sort of chemistry together and really bring the film together on multiple levels.  Meryl Streep energetic performance as the witch shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.  Anna Kendrick and a hilarious Chris Pine make for a fun Cinderella and Prince Charming.  Lilla Crawford leaves a solid impression as a head strong Red Riding Hood.  Her encounter with Johnny Depp’s Big Bad Wolf is by far the film’s most subversive segment.  Into the Woods has great energy while we’re running through the mash up of the fairytales but then we hit the 3^rd act where the film comes to a grinding halt.  It’s not horrible by any stretch but it doesn’t have the energy of the first 2 acts as we move from the fairytales to the story’s finale.  A bit of trimming on the film adaptation would have done wonders.

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE GAMBLER

In this remake of the James Caan 1974 vehicle The Gambler, an English professor (Mark Wahlberg) who is also a compulsive gambler finds that the only people who will have anything to do with him are those to whom he owes money. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Rupert Wyatt     

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Emory Cohen

 Release Date: Dec 25, 2014     

Rated R for some Sexuality/Nudity and Language Throughout     

Runtime: 1 hr. 51 min.     

Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller     

Review:

The Gambler is a film that’s trying very hard to be something special.  Rupert Wyatt gives the film a glossy sheen, driving it through its narrative with noticeable energy.  Mark Walhberg is doing his best Christian Bale impression by losing a massive amount of weight and looking generally disheveled.  John Goodman does excellent work in a supporting role as Mafioso.  Typically all this would make for an excellent film but the results here are mixed.  I respect Walhberg’s attempts to take his craft seriously but he’s seriously miscast here as the worlds most aggressive English professor.  He gives it his best try but it doesn’t work, it’s just never believable.  It’s always good to see Brie Larson get some work but she’s saddled with a nonsensical love interest role.  We’re told she’s a genius early on but her actions throughout the rest of the film tell us otherwise. John Goodman does give us an excellent supporting turn, creating an extremely intimidating character in limited scenes.  All in all The Gambler feels like a missed opportunity because there seems to be a better film in there somewhere.

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

Peter Jackson takes cues from the appendices of The Lord of the Rings to expand New Line Cinema's Hobbit adaptation with this third film completing the epic tale of Bilbo Baggins, as played by Martin Freeman. The story opens to find the vengeful dragon Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) decimating the peaceful hamlet of Laketown as Bilbo, Thorin (Richard Armitage) and the rest of the dwarves lay claim to the Lonely Mountain. But their celebration is short-lived as Thorin grows obsessed with finding the Arkenstone. Meanwhile, Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee) battle the Nazgul in an attempt to free Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and get some unexpected help from eccentric wizard Radagast (Sylvester McCoy). Unfortunately for all involved the struggle has only just begun, because as armies of dwarves, elves, orcs, humans and goblins converge at the base of the Lonely Mountain, the fight for the future of Middle Earth begins. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Peter Jackson 

Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom

Release Date: Dec 17, 2014

Rated PG-13 for Intense Fantasy Action, Frightening Images and Intense Fantasy Violence

Runtime: 2 hr. 24 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

The final entry in The Hobbit trilogy finally pays off all the set up from the sometimes laborious previous entries.  Jackson has proven time and again that he’s a master of marvelous mayhem on an epic scale. After wrapping up the storyline from the 2^nd film, which should have be the previous entries finale, the film moves judiciously through some plot points setting up the final battle(s).  This film is the leanest of all of Jackson’s Tolkien films with a steady sense of momentum throughout.  Once the film’s battle sequences begin, they don’t stop for nearly an hour and a half.  It’s a dizzying run through every sort of battle you’ve ever seen.  The finale set in the ice and snow is the most impressive of the entire film which also packs the biggest emotional punch.  The actors have all settled into their roles by this point and each delivers strong performances with Luke Evans and Martin Freeman being the biggest standouts.  Evangeline Lilly gets a rather large chuck of screen time which is baffling since the character is not in the books and she’s saddled with a clichéd love story.  Unlike the other trilogy capper, this one doesn’t wear on too much but that’s not to say it doesn’t overstay its welcome.  Battle fatigue, even when they wonderfully crafted, starts to set in after a while.  At the very least it’s not filled with endless false endings like Return of the King, instead we get a nice send off with an aged Bilbo taking us back to the start of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: THE INTERVIEW

Dave Skylark and producer Aaron Rapoport run the celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight." When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, they are recruited by the CIA to turn their trip to Pyongyang into an assassination mission.

Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen     

Cast: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Randall Park, Lizzy Caplan, Diana Bang

Release Date: Dec 25, 2014

Rated R for pervasive language, crude and sexual humor, nudity, some drug use and bloody violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 52 min.     

Genres: Comedy, Action     

Review:

The Interview will probably be remembered for having one of the strangest releases in movie history.  The Sony cyber attack, North Korea and The Guardians of Peace all made for the cancelled then eventual release of this film.  After its strange long trek to screens, you can’t help but wonder if the film was even worth all the trouble.  The Interview is pretty much what you’d expect from Rogen and Franco.  Juvenile humor with some very strong moments scattered throughout the film.  Rogen does his usual shtick albeit playing a bit more of a straight man than usual.  Franco is over the top throughout, playing Skylark like an overgrown man child. The biggest issue is that the film never maintains the laughs for very long, you’ll have sporadic bits of hilarity followed by some fairly noticeable dead spots were the film just drags; it would have fared better with stronger editing.  The final act gets surprisingly gory for no apparent reason but it typifies the film, it serves as a perfect microcosm of the film, funny for bits but bland for long stretches.  Goldberg and Rogen seem to be shooting for Spies Like Us feel which they achieve occasionally.  It’s not the pair’s finest work and their inexperience behind the camera is evident.  Ultimately, the hype around the film will probably over shadow the film in the long run which isn’t surprising since it’s an above average comedy film at best.

C+