Into the Woods Official Movie Thread- Page 143

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:23am

It just seems that you keep basking in these "mixed reactions" that you continually mention.

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:29am

I'm waiting for the actual critic reviews to come out. Either way I will still see the film. I'm one of those people who are very cautious of film hype before the actual reviews are out. I also had way too high expectations for Les Mis so I'm keeping my expectations low for this, which is probably why it sounds like I am basking in these reactions. Not the case.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:44am

well i for one am very excited about this film coming out and already have made plans to see it Christmas day...heck it's what Jews do on Christmas...go to movies...:)...but regardless of the hype or not i want to see this movie and see it again and again...a real SONDHEIM musical on film that LOOKS AMAZING...COUNT ME IN!

[Showface]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:52am

The reviews are not even mixed. They are mostly positive with *a few* negatives, and *one* entirely negative reaction.

I have every intention of enjoying everything about this film (yes, even the I Know Things Now scene)

[Showface]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 1:11pm

NEW INTERVIEW WITH STREEP:https://entertainment.inquirer.net/157220/totally-bewitched-by-meryl-streep#ixzz3KTVi6TQI

-She apparently hangs upside down from a tree at some point!
- The pretty Witch transformation took longer than the crone

[Musical Master]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 6:05pm

At least it won't be an average musical film like ANNIE is, that's a 100% certainty.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 6:30pm

The only thing that I'm actually really worried about with Into the Woods is the tone. I hope that it keeps the overall tone of the musical. One of the main reasons I didn't like the Sweeney Todd movie (other then Depp and HBC) was that Burton made it too dark. He almost completely eliminated all of the dark humor from the story.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:03pm

I'd say the tone of the show is one of the things the movie does especially well in preserving. The balance of humor and sadness, giddy fantasy and glimpse into the apocalypse is all very well captured onscreen. Icecreambenjamin, I think you'll be very pleased on that score.

[LinManuelSondheim]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:06pm

Question, how do you get tickets to the screenings? If you RSVP you automatically get tickets? I'm confused.

[Showface]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:12pm

On the GoldDerby forum someone recently saw the screening.



It's positive!

"I saw "Into the Woods" yesterday and I absolutely loved it. It was a guild screening (not SAG which I'm sure will go nuts over it) and it went over very well. I had a feeling I would love it and I'm thrilled to say it lived up to my expectations. It is a grand spectacle and a rather faithful adaptation that carefuly toes the line between the many comedic fun elements and the darker moments of the musical. As many have stated, Streep is simply astounding. She could easily take her 4th Oscar for this one. The next standout is Pine who is utterly hysterical and I think will land a nod as well. Blunt is wonderful and could land that 5th Best Actress spot if the film gains momentum. I have no doubt it will do very well at the box office too."

http://www.goldderby.com/forum/topics/view/5291/page:26 Updated On: 11/30/14 at 10:12 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 10:20pm

"Question, how do you get tickets to the screenings? If you RSVP you automatically get tickets? I'm confused."

As a member of the Art Director's Guild, I get notices of screenings to many of the year-end awards-hopeful films here in LA. Once you RSVP to the phone number on the screening, your name goes on a list. HOWEVER, many times the screening is overbooked, so it pays to show up well in advance of the screening time to be sure you get a seat before they run out of space for all of those in line.

Funnily, the screening to INTO THE WOODS was Friday evening of Thanksgiving weekend--with lots of folks out of town I guess. I showed up an hour in advance just to be safe, but it turns out the screening was a little UNDER-attended and never really filled up to capacity. Hope that's not a bad sign for the level of industry interest in the movie...

[maila]

Posted: 11/30/14 at 11:07pm

hello indytallguy,
i sent you a private message regarding the advanced screening in chicago. thanks

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 3:42am

I considered trying to get into the screening in Chicago, but figured since it is only a week early, it wasn't worth the trouble of getting downtown and then possibly not getting in.

[Peter2]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 8:48pm

I saw it last weekend, and Someone in a Tree2's reactions are almost identical to mine. (Like him, it is not a particular favorite of mine among Sondheim's shows.) I personally love Emily Blunt. If she's different from Gleason's great performance in the original cast, you might put it down to her being English. She has a very different manner--nicer, quieter, less laconic. She's very touching, I think.

Jonathan Tunick is a genius, and Paul Geminiani conducts, so all is gloriously well in that department.

To all of the positives I would add these qualms: I think the pacing is too consistently swift, without enough variation or modulation in the tempo. The little nips and tucks in many of the songs, along with the (welcome, in my opinion) simplification and clarification of the story lines, speed the movie along, but I kept wishing for more time to settle into the songs, live in the world they create for a few minutes. Then again, maybe I just need to see it again to get used to the speed.

My biggest disappointment is that "No more" has been cut. For me, this is the most touching part of the show. What's interesting is that we see James Corden go off alone, and the orchestra plays the melody of "No more," but then the movie cuts away. So I suspect that the song was filmed, then cut. Does anybody know for sure? Might we hope the song will be restored in its home video release?

And that brings me to a third quibble: The movie ends rather abruptly. Again, maybe I just need to get used to it, but I came away with the distinct sense that somebody was breathing down the director's neck that it must come in at two hours. No lingering! So no more "No more" and we don't get that long, lovely wind-down when the plays shifts from a hyper-active overlapping of separate tales to a coming together of the remaining characters distilled now into one family in sadness and reflection and greater empathy and understanding.

But on the whole, it is a remarkably faithful adaption, with wonderful performances. I don't know if it's the stuff that hits are made of, but Sondheim fans will be happy, I think.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 8:58pm

No More was not filmed

[Showface]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 10:36pm

REMINDER:
Streep will be on GMA tomorrow! Anyone think she may premiere a new clip? Perhaps some of the rap? Or will they just show "Stay With Me"?

I've also been very pleased with seeing the promos on TV!

I FOUND 2 SCREENING REVIEWS!

This is from someone who has never seen it before:

"Great movie! I don't even know where to start so I'll just list (no spoilers unless you ask)...

1. Amazing performances from everyone in the film. They picked the right cast and they all did a great job.

2. The singing! This was my first musical that I've seen in theaters and I was a little nervous at first that I wouldn't like all of the singing. Well, there certainly is a lot of singing, but it didn't bother me one bit. My favorite songs were Jack's song about the beanstalk and "with me" by the witch.

Anybody have any particular questions? I'll try my best to answer!"

Someone who has:

"Saw the film last night. After Tim Burton's peculiar "Sweeney Todd," Tom Hooper's close-up parade in "Les Miz" and whatever-the-hell this new revised "Annie" turns out to be, finally we have a well-made studio musical that is true to the spirit of the stage production yet still works as a movie. After the regrettable detour known as "Nine," Rob Marshall is back in "Chicago"-like form here.

If there were any questions as to whether the stage show could be opened up to work as a film, they are quickly answered in the film's opening sequence, the "I Wish" prologue that beautifully introduces most of the film's major characters and their wishes in a beguiling 15-minute number. From that location-based opening, we move to the soundstage and the woods, featuring a marvelously detailed production design by Dennis Gassner.

As to the reports that the film's plot was softened at Disney's request, there's not much softening here. True, one of the major characters who is killed in the stage production is spared here, but most of the other deaths and intentional blindings are still present. (Yet, with all this mayhem, the film sports the same MPAA rating as "Penguins of Madagascar.")"




Also, have we all agreed that this is the official thread, and that it shall remain so at least until the film comes out? Then we can maybe have another thread mainly for reviews that we write about it, but until then, this is the main thread? Thoughts?

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 10:50pm

Nice reviews. As more reviews come out, discussion here will inevitably turn to said reviews, another thread would not be necessary, and would not likely pick up traction. Historically, we like our discussions all kept together here. 20+ pages of discussion happens fairly frequently on the boards here, and for the most part everyone seems content with that.

[Starship]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 11:19pm

I for one would be A-OK with another thread dedicated just to reviews, especially when they're so lengthy. The movie news keeps getting lost between all the reviews.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 12/1/14 at 11:51pm

When the film is officially released, would it not be easier just to go to rotten tomatoes to read the reviews, or the backlot? That would be a huge amount of reviews, and by that point there will only be a few stand-out ones worth mentioning.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 12:20am

@Showface, when one of the reviewers said: "After the regrettable detour known as NINE, Rob Marshall is back in CHICAGO like form here"; I couldn't help but to smile like an idiot.

If he does really good on INTO THE WOODS' direction, he may be back on top and Hollywood would want him in more projects. But it didn't stop him to direct PIRATES 4 when NINE flopped badly.

He or Darren Aronofsky should direct FOLLIES, but that's wishful thinking on my part.

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 3:13am

Just letting people know they can re-post their own reviews or reviews of others that they found into this thread I made:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1078646&dt=3

And it will be for any new reviews people want to add to it. I made the thread most especially with members' reviews in mind, not outsiders' reviews, but any and all are welcome.

If not enough people show interest in it, especially after the film comes out, I will ask the runners of the boards to delete it, if everyone agrees (and if people tell me how to do that).

Why is this thread still called "Into the Woods Movie Cast" on the outside but it says "Official Into the Woods Movie Discussion Thread" on new posts? Showface did a good thing to re-name the thread...but the thread hasn't been re-named all the way through, it's still not the title of the thread. How do we get the board runners to fix this?

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 10:29am

The title has not changed on the main board because wildcard has not changed it in the first post. We don't really need the mods to change it because we all know what we are discussing here. You are starting to turn into one of those PTA moms that has to be in charge of everything. Just let things run at the status quo, man.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 11:20am

I wrote a couple of pages ago about an advance screening in Houston a week from Thursday. I should have contained my excitement until I received a confirmation email. All I got was a "sorry, we're full" message despite the fact that I replied to the invitation four minutes after I received it. $hit!

Good news from Fandango however. Our local theaters have scheduled showings Wednesday night December 24. I think that's pretty cool. The main reason I wanted to see a screening was to be be with a group of people who truly appreciate the work and not an audience of screaming kids whose parents want them out of the house Christmas morning. Hopefully I can accomplish the same thing by choosing a later performance Wednesday night.

I'm really anxious and yet a little nervous to hear the audience reaction to this thing. Many of us here will base our judgements on how it reflects and enhances the source material, but I'm afraid there's going to be a lot of pushback from the great majority of the movie-going public who know nothing of the source material and may find the story a bit of a downer. I just hope none of those people are sitting near me!

[Musical Master]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 11:46am

The clip on GMA this morning was wonderful, Meryl sells it.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 3:30pm

Have samples of the songs been released again? I see that most of all sites that had them and or are selling the soundtrack album, have the samples blocked or closed for now.