That "Stay With Me" clip was glorious! I do think Streep's Witch will be my favorite (this Stay With Me is my favorite), and I cannot wait to see/hear her "What did I clearly say?" part!
In regards to the past/present/future screenings, I found these:
"Guess what. I just saw Into the Woods.
It was amazing. I know every single line of the show and can sufficiently call myself a diehard after I did the show two years ago. There were small script changes but nothing that made any actual changes to the script or any of the scenes as a whole.
It was perfect.
Meryl Streep SLAYED! The sadness she brought to the role and the love for her daughter….it was gorgeous.
Agony was more than anyone could rightfully wish it to be. JESUS CHRIST PINO AND HIS SHIRT.
Anna Kendrick…..was the best Cinderella I had yet seen in the role.
JOHNNY DEPP. IT WAS SO AMAZING. I was practically jumping up and down in my seat. You could almost feel a little bit of Mr. Todd leaking out and it was better that way. God I love his voice. It’s so singular.
JACK. DEAREST DARLING JACK AND HIS MOTHER. I played Jacks Mother when I did it and we made their backstory DEVASTATING. And you could really see something along those lines in their performances as well. And his rendition of Giants in the Sky WAS SUPERB. The boy who played Jack was absolutely darling.
Christine Baranski was ****ing hilarious as well. That woman is flawless I swear to god.
Costumes, set, music, acting. I honest to god could not find a single fault in the entire film.
I subsequently cried through the whole thing but you know whatever.
In conclusion guys,
get ready
to go
INTO THE WOODS."
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https://huffythevampire.tumblr.com/post/103058698338/guess-what-i-just-saw-into-the-woods-it-was Then there is this wonderfully thorough review:
" have been to a lot of screenings over the past few months and I got to see Into The Woods at one of them. It is hands down one of my favorites so far this year. I was very familiar with the musical by Sondheim/Lapine before seeing it, but I am pretty open-minded about any medium of storytelling.
The version that I saw was kind of unfinished but was screened after the re-shoots that took place. A colleague was with me who had seen an earlier screening in Jersey that was before re-shoots. He said he didn't notice much difference. Just gonna rattle off some thoughts about the film:
-The opening sequence was divine. Really tightly edited and pulse-pounding.
-James Corden and Emily Blunt have AMAZING chemistry. They are really good together as the outsiders in this whole crazy fairy-tale world. Corden is very funny and very sweet.
Joanna Gleason played The Baker's Wife (to iconic status) in the original piece and won a Tony Award for the role. Emily's work is splendid here. She sounds fantastic as a singer and her acting beats are all there. If the movie is very successful critically and commercially then I definitely could see her being nominated. I think this is a thin year for leading women and she definitely gives a great performance that will be remembered. She isn't a lock though.
-Anna Kendrick was really good too. Very funny. Her voice sounds good but I do wish she was a true lyric soprano. Cinderella's songs are so suited for a girl who can float up there. This isn't the Cinderella people are used to. It's a very interesting and feminist take on the role that people will really latch onto.
-Johnny Depp was Johnny Depp. He wasn't bad but he wasn't great either. Good thing he's only in it for a short time. His costume looks cool onscreen though. Lilla Crawford was Little Red and she was also really good. Very funny and great singer. Her film debut proves a successful one. I had some trouble understanding Daniel Huttlestone's thick-ass accent sometimes but he was good. He sings one of the most beautiful songs ever written and it's great.
-Chris Pine is FINE. I mean the camera LOVES him. Beautiful guy. I thought that was all he would bring to the character but after seeing it? HILARIOUS. He was so funny and he really went for it. The character is such an *beep* but he brought such a realness to him. I was very impressed. The other prince was ok.
-The orchestra is STUNNING. Johnathan Tunick wrote the original orchestrations for the stage play and they are back in the film version. Paul Gemignani (a Sondheim constant) conducted the orchestra for the underscoring and the songs. I mean we were just in an arthouse size but the sound was so lush and beautiful. If you know anything about acting for the musical theatre (specifically Sondheim), then you know that there are things in the orchestration that help the actor and audience understand certain things about the character. I thought they would drown out most of that with dialogue, sound effects or some other *beep* but they didn't at all. It's all there. The music is like another character in the film.
-Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep. Meryl m**********g Streep. From reading a lot of this thread I gleaned that Meryl Streep is either hated or loved here. I happen to be the latter. The reason I do love her is because she works. She understands the art form. She understands what it means to take a character apart and build him/her back up again. Her work just left me entirely dumbstruck. I have heard Meryl sing before and I thought she had a nice lovely singing voice, but she really did the work for this one. She is heartbreaking and powerful. The acting choices were just....ugh. You can't teach the kind of instincts and talent she has. Meryl just wins. I know she has haters but sorry guys, Meryl just wins. She was born to do this. People just knew her singing was gonna be like it was in Mamma Mia. They were wrong. She literally de-constructed her own singing voice to sing as The Witch. Not how Meryl would, but as The Witch would. Meryl is always good playing "mothers" too. She's won three Oscars for playing mothers. It's a role that I think is so close to her and that's why she shines there. Meryl will definitely be remembered come Oscar time but I don't think she will win. I think it's Patricia Arquette's year. BOYHOOD was a film I didn't think was all that but I do think her performance was a clear standout.
-The visual effects were done tastefully. No Alice in Wonderland or Maleficent CGI overkill. At least not in my opinion. Could be different come Christmas.
Overall I enjoyed Into The Woods very much. I can't wait to see it again. I think it could be a great success if people go into it with open minds. "Musical" is just an adjective. A genre. A story is a story.
Oscar chances are a different story though. Unless the film gets panned or has horrible box office then Meryl is a lock. If the film does good box office and gets mixed reviews then it might get Meryl and some tech nominations. No BP. If it gets great reviews and strong opening then I do believe it will make it into BP and receive nods in most categories including Best Actress for Emily Blunt. The campaign for this film is going to be serious. Disney and Marshall are very confident in the work they have done. Yes it's being promoted as a fantasy family musical but it is so much more than that. It is a film about the choices we make and their consequences. It's about death. It's about the relationships between parents and children. The power of the lessons we teach our kids whether we are there to teach them or not. It really is a profound story."
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https://awardswatch.com/forums/showthread.php?36404-The-Meryl-Witch-Pro ject-Into-the-Woods-Movie-Thread/page14
Then, these:
IGN Film Critic and Hitfix Contributor:
Matt Patches ?@misterpatches 18m18 minutes ago
[sigh of relief] INTO THE WOODS is intact. And pretty fantastic!
alexander smith ?@alexqsmith 15m15 minutes ago
some v minor (gay theater-loving loser) issues, but INTO THE WOODS is such a fantastic adaptation - captures all the charm, camp, & heart
alexander smith ?@alexqsmith 13m13 minutes ago
part of me wishes we could get an INTO THE WOODS rated R, but also cried thinking about kids falling in love with this vvv special musical
Lisa McMullan ?@LisaMcMullan 28m28 minutes ago Manhattan, NY
You guys.
@IntoTheWoods was even more perfect than I could have hoped. #IWish
#IntoTheWoods is a lavish & fun spectacle. The women are fab but darned if Chris Pine doesn't steal it. Best bet for an Oscar nod is Meryl.
https://twitter.com/davekarger/statu...94499475181568
kateyrich ?@kateyrich 9m9 minutes ago
Future underrated MVP of Into the Woods: Chris Pine.
^I found those tweets through the AW Forum.
This film is getting really good reviews! I have yet to read a bad one...
Updated On: 2/13/15 at 11:08 PM