Into The Woods

First Hit:  Outside a few funny bits, I was mostly bored.

I know better than to go to musicals. They are a genre of films I find, for the most part, distasteful.

There have been a few where the music is more clearly a part of the film and its dialogue works. Here many of the lyrics seem to be developed just to create amusement all while the singer is singing the song seriously.

I kept hoping for the film to end and it just wouldn’t. Crisping it up to 90 minutes might have helped but the major issue I saw was that the filmmakers tried to take three fairy tales, create an additional fourth and then encompass the first three into an interesting story. It didn't work for me.

Anna Kendrick (as Cinderella) and Meryl Streep (as the Witch) can clearly sing. The songs failed them. Emily Blunt as the Baker’s wife can also sing well. James Corden as the Baker was expressive. I found that the singing of Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood) and Daniel Huttlestone (as Jack in the Beanstock fame) to be too much. There was simply too much singing from them. It caused me to dislike their characters. Johnny Depp (as the Big Bad Wolf) was wasteful and uninspired. And although Chris Pine was pretty much tongue-in-cheek the entire time, he was amusing. James Lapine wrote the screenplay and it failed in most all aspects. Rob Marshall directed this in a darkened unclear way.

Overall:  This was truly a forgetful film.

Horns

First Hit:  A rather unrealistic and lousy film.

This film did try to take itself seriously, however how could it? A guy growing horns out of his head? Sure. It tries to make a villain out of Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) because his girlfriend, Merrin Williams (Juno Temple) is killed near their secret treehouse. It was their hiding spot.

Previously to being found there she was last seen with him in a restaurant fighting. Telling you what they fight about would give too much away but needless to say that they have spent their life (since grade school) together and they were in love. Because Merrin is so loved and Ig vilified, he ends up growing horns which express the town’s hatred.

Radcliffe was OK in a role that really stretches the imagination but not in a way that I would recommend. Temple is devine and is the best thing in the film. Keith Bunin wrote a mostly ridiculous script and director Alexandre Aja tried to make sense of the story.

Overall:  This film was poorly conceived and barely executed better.

Winter's Tale

First Hit:  A wonderful and heartwarming flight of fantasy film that may hold some truth.

This film moves between three periods of time, current time, the early 1900’s and the mid-late 1800’s.

Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) washed up ashore in New York because his newly deported parents wanted him to live in America. So while they were leaving on a boat back to their home country, they put their son into a model boat in New York harbor (the mid-late 1800’s).

Lake is partially brought up by Humpstone John (Graham Green) and then tutored in theft by Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe) who is also an agent for the devil; in this case it’s The Judge (Will Smith). While in the midst of robbing a large home he runs into Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a sick with consumption woman who will be dying soon.

The chemistry between them in this first meeting is palpable and comes through the screen and into your lap. This love transforms him to want to stop being a thief and to open his heart to love for the first time. He thinks he’s there to save her from dying and makes a promise to her young sister Willa (Mckalya Twiggs) that he will kiss her sister and bring her back to life if she dies.

Because Lake was supposed to be the heir apparent to Pearly and Lake crosses him, Soames is out to kill Lake. Peter is fighting to keep himself safe and connected to Beverly and at one point meets her father Issac Penn (William Hurt) who accepts the thief Lake.

The film then moves to current time which has Lake not knowing who he is and trying to understand why he keeps drawing pictures of a girl with red hair on the sidewalk in Central Park. He keeps thinking that his existence is about Beverly, but soon learns that she got him to the current time and it is now about a young girl, Abby (Ripley Sobo), who is sick with cancer. Cutting across these time and generational divides with Lake is his beautiful angel white horse.

This film is about light, love and miracles.

Farrell is excellent. He does scruffy and heart-filled so very well. Findlay is very strong as the consumptive woman and love interest. Crowe is superb as the evil agent of the devil. Smith is an interesting choice as the Judge. Twiggs is sublime and incredibly endearing as the young sister. Hurt is great as the father of these two girls. Sobo is fantastic as the young girl in current time. I enjoyed seeing Green and appreciated his part. Jennifer Connelly as Abby's mother was perfect casting. Akiva Goldsman wrote a wonderful screenplay and knew what he wanted in directing this cast to tell this story.

Overall:  I thoroughly enjoyed watching this romantic film.

The Wolverine

First Hit:  Convoluted story but it is somewhat amusing.

Someone in movie land felt it was important for the “The Wolverine” to have his own movie – again. The past film “X-Men Origins:  Wolverine” focused on his earlier life. Here Logan (Wolverine – Hugh Jackman) is lost because he killed his love interest accidentally.

Here the film’s story is a vehicle for Wolverine to find himself and get out of the self-imposed isolation of the Pacific Northwest. The story the writers chose is one that dips back to where the Wolverine saves Japanese General Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) from dying during the bombing of Nagasaki. Right before his eyes, General Yashida watches The Wolverine melted and scarred from the heat and radiation of the bomb, heal right before his eyes.

For the rest of his life the General attempted to find ways for his body to reproduce itself and respond to damage, just like the Wolverine's. He wants immortality. To get it from the Wolverine, the General sends Yukio (Rila Fukushima) to find him and bring him back to Japan. The General’s granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto), who is the one who’ll inherit the General’s company when he dies, becomes a foil and someone the Wolverine opens his heart to, to love again.

But the story (outside of the bomb blast, which I thought was really good), lacked a reason to care much about the characters.

Jackman as the Wolverine was strong (physically looking) and portrayed his suffering well enough, but some scenes were just senseless and unnecessary (think 100 arrows in his back, each with a rope to the arrow shooter). Okamoto was very good and her model’s beauty was an asset while portraying the granddaughter of the General. Fukushima as the protector of the General was the most fun and interesting of the film’s characters. Mark Bomback and Scott Frank wrote an overly complex storyline to introduce bring forth the Wolverine character. James Mangold directed the film which was, at times was well choreographed, and at the other times meandering with forced action.

Overall:  This wasn’t the worth price of admission but maybe something to stream when bored some Sunday evening.

This Is the End

First Hit:  There were some very funny moments, but not enough to move it out of cheesiness. Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, and Emma Watson are playing themselves caught in a night of partying and “The Apocalypse”. To “get this film” the audience probably needs to know all the rumors about each actor so that you are in on the dialogue. For instance, at the very beginning of the film Rogen is walking through the airport and someone off camera states: “Hey it’s Seth Rogen, how come you always play yourself.” It is general criticism of Seth, of which I have the same view – he just plays himself, nothing more and nothing less. Rogen and Baruchel go to Franco’s new digs for a party when "The Apocalypse" comes. It takes them a while to figure it out and when they do, it’s funny what happens to Franco. Along the way there is a number of site and physical jokes and some are really funny.

As each person is playing themselves there’s nothing to say about their acting. Whom did I enjoy watching? Michael Cera, Emma Watson and a short scene with Tatum Channing. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote an amusing and inventive screen play while their direction was good enough.

Overall:  Nothing great but it was funny enough to enjoy.