"It was very entertaining! Meryl was fabulous as usual. Chris Pine also really surprised me and was quite awesome. I knew nothing about the musical so there were a few surprising twists that actually made me side eye that PG rating a little bit. It's like a hard PG if there is such a thing, lol. But I do recommend it!"
^my apologies. I thought you meant that you thought it looked cheap. Hey, a recording with just piano may be nice. You'll really get to hear the music that way.
"Caught a screening last night and thought it was fine. I'll preface by saying I don't know much about "Into the Woods" so I went in kind of blindly and with low expectations but ended up liking it more than I thought. Again, I'm not sure how the stage musical goes but I think the final act was completely unnecessary and just made the whole thing feel looong. But again, an okay film.
As for performances: Merly Streep is just some kind of alien. She can do absolutely anything. With the HFPA's infatuation with her I think she's a lock to win the Globe. As for the Oscar, I wouldn't be surprised at all and believe it would be a deserving win. Other than her Emily Blunt was the only other person that stuck out to me. I wouldn't mind a lead nom for her but I doubt it'll come her way. I don't get the talk of Anna Kendrick or Chris Pine being players in the awards race. They were both great, but neither had a performance strong enough to warrant an Oscar nomination. Blunt and especially Streep owned this film and should be the only ones with a shot at nominations, with Streep (who garnerd the loudest - and only - applause during the screening for both of her big solos) being a lock and threat for the win. Also a lock: SAG Ensemble. Can't see it losing that prize."
I've heard that the tripling of roles on actors, the small set, the piano playing and not a full orchestra were very distracting.
Well, back on topic, the film seems to be getting pretty good reviews. A consistent theme we see (negatively) is that the final part drags, but that always happens with ITW anyway.
It's the worst production of Into The Woods I've ever seen. The Fiasco/Roundabout production is not worth $20, let alone $99. It's one of the worst productions of any shows I've ever seen.
The singing was not good. They are primarily actors but they played everything so over the top that it was terrible too. If you want a good Into the Woods, stick to the movie. Not everyone will agree with me but I felt that the production was reaching for the lowest common denominator.
Just saw it. I honestly don't know how much better it could be. Is it perfect? No. But it is beautifully acted (especially by James Corden, Emily Blunt and Chris Pine) and well sun, it makes use of things only the movies can (the cross-cutting in "I Wish" is so fluid and agile), it looks terrific and it captures the spirit of a very tricky show. Count me as a fan.