Into the Woods (2014)

[CJohn]

Discuss it!

[Gopher]

This is my favorite musical so it was perhaps inevitable that I'd be all "why didn't they do ____ or _____" but honestly this is a pretty unremarkable film. Not good, not bad, just kind of nice. Blunt is great, Corden is a wonderful fool (though cutting No More Questions takes from him a potentially career-defining scene), and Pine is potentially the MVP. Cutting the Agony reprise doesn't leave him with a whole lot to do, but he owns each scene he's in. Otherwise the cast is shaky and nothing about the direction or visual aesthetic justifies the film's existence.

[Cmasterclay]

It's good. As a theater person I'm not a huge fan of the show's music- I prefer shows like Next to Normal, In the Heights, Dreamgirls- so I wasn't offended by any changes. It keeps an even enough tone and I thought it was visually pleasing but not particularly memorable. It's worth watching for the acting- Pine is absolutely exceptional and worth watching the movie for, and Corden and the two kids blew me away, too. The big stars- Streep, Kendrick, Blunt, Depp- are all perfectly fine, too, though Depp's performance made me and everyone around me incredibly uncomfortable. It's worth watching. Pleasing, enjoyable, light on the palette. 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Cmasterclay

[Ezen Baklattan]

This is my favorite musical so it was perhaps inevitable that I'd be all "why didn't they do ____ or _____" but honestly this is a pretty unremarkable film. Not good, not bad, just kind of nice. Blunt is great, Corden is a wonderful fool (though cutting No More Questions takes from him a potentially career-defining scene), and Pine is potentially the MVP. Cutting the Agony reprise doesn't leave him with a whole lot to do, but he owns each scene he's in. Otherwise the cast is shaky and nothing about the direction or visual aesthetic justifies the film's existence.

How do you think it compares to Les Mis, in terms of translation of material? Both are two of my favorites as well.

[Empire]

Saw this and I really liked it. I am surprised I liked it so much. My favorite musical since Sweeny Todd. Blunt was the best, but Pine stole every scene he was in. The rest were good to. I would give it a higher grade, but the end dragged a slight bit. It falls just outside my top 10 for the year.

I would give it an....

A(94)

[Ezen Baklattan]

It's hard to get this material to translate well to film unless you're really loyal to the plot and themes, and given the general darkness, I was pretty scared. Well, excited and scared. However, I was relieved to find out that they mostly pulled it off pretty well. I feel like the material works because the acting is pretty great across the board. Pine, Crawford, Blunt, and Corden are particular standouts. Most fans of the musical won't really find too much to object to, and it's ultimately a fairly typical production of the show with an above average cast. Marshall somewhat weighs the film down with somewhat bland direction and aesthetics, but everything else is strong enough, including the very show itself, that it's a very fun time.

[filmlover]

Pleasantly, Disney and director Rob "Chicago" Marshall's big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's beloved and innovative fantasy musical Into the Woods mostly works, as the final product turns out to be more Sondheim than Disney (despite the presence of a bunch of famous fairy tale characters and the backing of the Mouse House, this is definitely not a movie for the under 10 set). Sure, there have been changes along the way from the stage to the screen (the character of The Narrator is eliminated completely with narrating duties going to James Corden's The Baker instead, another's fate is changed, and Jack and Red Riding Hood have been casted age-appropriately instead of asking a pair of adults to play juvenile, although many of the more suggestive lyrics have stayed put), but for the most part, this is largely faithful to the stage show while it making it feel quite cinematic from a technical standpoint. But there are definitely flaws that make the film more of a mixed bag than I wished (lol) for. In particular, Marshall makes a couple of odd editing choices and tone transitions don't always go smoothly, with the impact of the material diluted as a result. I liked the movie, but it lacks a true emotional investment that would've elevated it to a much higher level like the previous Sondheim adaptation (Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd). The cast is filled with big stars and well-known names/faces, all of whom embrace the theatricality of the enterprise, with the one most likely to get the most attention being, of course, Meryl Streep as The Witch. She's clearly having a lot of fun chewing on the scenery with Death Becomes Her-like glee, but Streep is...well, Streep. I do feel comfortable in saying this isn't one of her best performances, though. Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, etc., are all solid, while Johnny Depp comes and goes rather quickly, but the real standout is Chris Pine, who is a scream as he plays The Prince with a delicious amount of airheaded charm (my audience died over the "Agony" number). The production values/costume design are, of course, exquisite. This won't be for everyone- your appreciation of the film will likely depend entirely on how you feel about Sondheim's work- but overall, I am pleased to report that the movie is neither the trainwreck or the basterdization of its source material many feared it would be, even if it's still not anywhere nearly as good as it should've been. B

[Gopher]

How do you think it compares to Les Mis, in terms of translation of material? Both are two of my favorites as well.

 

Les Mis as a whole translates better, and at least Hooper was going for an aesthetic (as misguided as it was at points). Marshall doesn't direct this very well. None of the fairy tale characters feel like they at all occupy the same space. 

[Dr Awesome]

I absolutely loved this movie. The cast was stellar and it's probably one of my favorite musicals, it's as good as Chicago. I enjoyed it more than Les MIS by a landslide. The songs were stuck in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about this movie. Probably one of my favorite films of the year.

 

A-

[Ezen Baklattan]

Les Mis as a whole translates better, and at least Hooper was going for an aesthetic (as misguided as it was at points). Marshall doesn't direct this very well. None of the fairy tale characters feel like they at all occupy the same space.

While I liked it more than you did, I will agree that the direction prevents it from being as good as it could have been, and the aesthetics aren't as strong or even consistent as they ought to be. I feel like the material is strong enough that it ultimately carries the film through, along with the actors, but the film otherwise doesn't provide much new to it all.

[riczhang]

I feel like you can't say the direction is the weak link because I feel like Marshall did the best he could without sacrificing and potentiallt butchering the stage show. If you've seen the stage show live or even read some of the reviews from 1987 (in particular the NYT review (?) which was approaching scathing), the common criticism of the show is that the second act is too slow/long and messy and that the story falls apart a little after the Witch Dies after Last Midnight. (Which Meryl's version is the most brilliant part of the movie by far and definitely the definitive version of it) And I guess these criticisms have abated over the years because of the strength of the rest of the musical tides everything over and once you've seen it enough and are familiar enough with the material, these problems don't seem as big and you focus more on the music which is still extremely well done by Sondheim. So it is kind of ironic and expected that when you show the movie to a new crowd that aren't the Broadway junkies and critics that are looking at it with fresh eyes that the same criticisms pop up. I even remember in school they did a version of Into the Woods with only the first act and I think while part of it is because of how dark the second part is, it's also because the first half is the out of the world good part and the second half drags. While Marshall could've tightened it up, I feel like it would've been very difficult without sacrificing the material and most likely butchering it so I'm glad he didn't.

And obviously, for the record, I loved every moment of it. I thought that it was very true to the source material in a good way that doesn't scream stiff follow to the letter like Inherent Vice is and that the castabd acting was most incredible. Goddess is a revelation, best since at least Adaptation and probably since Evil Angels/Cry in the Dark in 1987. (Obviously Angels in America is better but that's TV HBO) Her Last Midnight was chill inducing and she plays the rest of the role just so well that she almost contributes to the pacing problem because once her and her towering performance leaves, the movie falls apart slightly more than the stage version does mostly due to the fact that you can actively feel the witch missing. By far my favourite performance over Ralph Fiennes and supporting actress performance of the year over Tilda Swinton. Meryl deserves all the awards and this is me saying this even adjusting for my Meryl bias. Like I will remember this role for ages to come. Other than that EMILY BLUNT is so fucking good, I'm rooting for her for that unlikely nod and for the probably GG win. Corden was brilliant too, they had really good chemistry. Also Kendrick was decent and Chris Pine stole thr scene in Agony and Magnussen is so fucking hot and OMG can he sing.

Edited December 28, 2014 by riczhang

[The Panda]

I really, really enjoyed this and unlike others the second act of the show was my favorite part (Although it is in the play too).  All of the acting was great, red riding hood especially surprised me because the trailers made me scared she'd be fairly wooden and she really pulled off the character and had a fantastic voice (although the kid who played Jack did outshine her in my opinion).  Blunt, Streep, Pine, Corden, and Kendrick were all very strong, the weakest in the cast was Johnny Depp, who's song was painful to listen to I might add, but given he dies off fairly quickly I was fine with that.  I was a little sad they mostly cut the narrator character, but it was understandable how he wouldn't work in the film adaption (plus no reprise for Agony was irritating).  The weakest part of the film is actually Marshall's direction and rather bland production values, had there been a stronger director at the helm this could have been a very solid A from me, but instead it's probably more of a borderline B+ to A-.  However, this was much better than I was expecting it to be (I was expecting a much hammier and watered down Disney version with the PG rating, but the dark tone and the message really stayed in tact).  

 

I am going to go with an A- instead of the B+ (which I feel is probably the more correct grade) simply because this is one of the best Broadway adaptions to happen in a while.

 

On a very important side note, the music in this show was very yummy.  Thank you for actually casting actors who know how to actually sing (With the exception of Johnny Depp who sounds like a weird mixture of Christian Bale's Batman voice and a dying mule).

Edited December 29, 2014 by The Panda

[Leyla]

lol I was tempted to rank it an A just because of this      no really I cant.

These 2 

 

 

 

Pros

Actors all did/& sang well (Kendrick & Pine esp)

Interesting twists on fairytales

good prod design & my fav cinematographer Dion Beebe didnt disappoint

 

Cons

Too long

Songs are not memorable

Tonal switch in the last part

 

 

Btw the new Cindirella trailer was shown & ITW's Prince/Cindirella are clearly superior 

Edited December 29, 2014 by Lady of Lorien

[Blankments]

I enjoyed it. I haven't seen the stage show, so I don't really have much to compare. Blunt and Pine were standouts and I always love Sondheim's music. I was disappointed they cut Ever After though... but still, an entertaining film that I very much enjoyed. May see again when back on campus. A

[Frozen]

Overall a good movie. Loved the cast, the songs were ok. The last act moves kinda slow though and there were some plot holes. Like why can the witch bring a cow back to life but not the Baker's wife? And why can't the Witch use her magic against the giant like she can against everyone else?

 

The only part I didn't like though was the birds blinding the stepsisters. I've never seen the musical, but I assume it's in there too. It was kind of offensive really and most people in my theatre groaned at it.

[CJohn]

An epic meh. It wasn't good nor bad. Depp is in this thing for 5 minutes.

[Asyulus]

B

[Rufus Magillicutty]

My Review is somewhat truncated as I could not finish the film. About half way through I got up to pee and just never came back. I really couldn't care less about it. I'm a tentative fan of film musicals. I can't say I am a fanatic about them but there are a few I just adore.   

 

This was not one of them.

 

I have a number of complaints about this film, at least the half I saw. Chief among them was that the singing was just TOOOO damn much. There was no easing into it. No breaks between numbers. It was just one long number that never stopped. I didn't give a crap about the characters or what ever the plot was getting at. I thought the idea of intertwining different fairy tales together was interesting at first but it quickly became a huge meh fest. After endless singing and prancing around I just could take any more. And I know it's a musical but to never stop for a breath or a beat just to be in the world and characters was exhausting. Then once I was exhausted I just became irritated.

 

My next complaint would be that it all felt very contrived. Not natural to the characters. All the pippitty pippitty and dancey dance clever little rhyming dialogue was so forced. I got this annoying feeling in the back of my head like the "actors" not characters were smirking to themselves thinking "look how clever I am and how theatrically wonderful I am". The only exception being Emily Blunt. She was the only one who felt sort of real. The rest of the cast just felt pretentious. I'll give one comparison to expand on this. In Sweeney Todd (my Favorite musical) the music came from a dark painful place. All the characters were damaged and their musical delivery expressed it. the singing was mournful. Dreadful, as in - Full of dread. The singing was to express and color the characters state of mind. Where as the singing in ITW was a nonstop gimmick to have all the dialogue be sung in an annoyingly chirpy way.

 

The rest of my complaints are more nit picky in nature so I'll just end with this....

 

In the words of Peter Griffin, "I did not care for it. It insists upon itself."

Edited January 9, 2015 by Rufus Magillicutty

[darkelf]

It suffers from a somewhat unimaginative direction and it's so fucking dark (I get it, it's the middle of the woods, but please Rob, give me some damn colors) but it's still a very good movie with great music (duh) and an unpredictable plot that I felt was very refreshing. The performances were very good too, especially Emily Blunt  who is a wonder and should be given any role she wants. The kids were also good and so was Corden but I didn't fall in love with Pine like all of you and I certainly didn't think he was hilarious, he was chuckle-worthy a couple of times but not much more. Still liked him though, just like the movie.

 

8/10

 

Note: why add "...to me" to "Rapunzel, let down your hair" when Tangled already got that perfectly?? Also, Tangled trumps anything Rapunzel-related in this movie

 

Another note: this thread isn't in the archives so it should be added.

[DAJK]

Good movie that could have been great had it not completely changed directions in the last act. The music is great, the tunes of many of the songs are stuck in my head, but the lyrics escape me...

The acting was great as well. Emily Blunt is beautiful, Streep is great, though what happened exactly to The Witch character still confuses me. The duet with Chris Pine and the other prince is hilarious. Anna Kendrick has a great voice, and listening to her is a treat. However like I said, the shift in the last act took me off guard a bit, and the movie as a whole felt a bit long. The very last scene (spoiler) where the baker is telling his son the whole story is very good and emotional.

B-/B