My Little ANNIE (2014) Review- Page 6

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 2:25pm

I'm really not. I swear.

Ask anyone who knows me....

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 2:39pm

In the beginning when they made a pun at the original ANNIE.... umm no?! Pretty much done, after that.

[taylor_kras]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 2:43pm

My roommate wanted to smash her wine glass into her face while watching this.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 2:46pm

Maybe it's because I was expecting an absolute sh!t show, that I enjoyed it. I think I was expecting to see a train wreck all the way through and I guess, for me, I didn't see that. As I said before, the movie did not need to be remade and I think a lot of people are resentful that it was. But again, for what it was I don't think it's as absolutely horrendous as some reviewers are saying. Now I'm not saying I'm going to buy this when it's released and the truth is I'll probably never have the desire to watch it again, but I'm not mad at the movie for existing like some are.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 3:04pm

Jordan, FWIW, I'm not at all resentful about 'Annie' being remade. The original's certainly a childhood favorite, but I have no illusions about it being a great film. When I first heard about the concept for this film, I was actually excited. Not for myself, but for what it signals. I think it's WONDERFUL that kids are being shown that there's more than one "ideal" and that minority characters don't always have to be considered in relation to their white counterparts, but can be valid all by themselves. Same reason I celebrate the non-traditional casting in Cinderella on Broadway. This was actually a nice opportunity to continue that narrative. Instead, it's a giant turd. A giant turd that, if it tanks at the box office after getting its (well deserved) critical drubbing, might give studios pause before investing in largely African American casts. And, then, what gets distributed? More of Tyler Perry's garbage. Now THAT'S a reason to be mad at this movie for existing.

[evic]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 3:44pm

How anyone could give this movie a good review is mind boggling. If you look at all of the components, there is nothing good about it. And the finished product is junk. The new music is awful, the original music sounds awful, the premise is ridiculous, the choreography is beyond embarrassing, the lead girl cannot sing or dance and is one note, Cameron Diaz is....you fill in the blanks, the secondary characters are absurd....anyone giving it a good review is a tool for Hollywood.

[RooMcGoo]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 1:06pm

It definitely was not THE worst movie musical, but it is far from the best. I'm still sticking with the Rob Marshall made for TV version feat. Victor Garber and Audra McDonald AND Kathy Bates AND Kristen Chenoweth AND Alan Cumming!
An Incomplete History of ANNIE

[Musical Master]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 1:24pm

@RooMcGoo, I agree. My friend and I both declared that we would rather watch the Rob Marshall directed ANNIE than this blah mess of a musical film.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 2:02pm

Yes^^ Even though it's an abridged version, I will go with the TV version as well - Alicia Morton was excellent and the rest of the cast was stellar. It stayed true to the heart and character of the show...

I heard Quvenzhané Wallis saying when asked if it was hard to be sad and cry for this movie, she said it was really hard and they even put drops in her eyes to make them water up. I am thinking, I am not naive enough to think that this has not happened before in previous versions of Annie or with other actresses in other movies. We know it happens...but saying it when you are talking about "difficult acting" just sounded so ridiculous. Isn't she up for an acting award? Personally I would keep this to myself..

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 3:27pm

This is a movie for prepubescent little girls, any review I could possibly offer is pretty much null and void since i was never in the primary demographic anyway.

[Starship]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 3:33pm

I get that it kinda sucked, but I don't understand why people still feel that it's necessary to be continually spending time complaining about it...?

[degrassifan]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 4:50pm

The 1999 version was the best film version of Annie. As for this, I knew it would get really bad reviews, but if you go in with a very open mind and know you aren't the target demographic, then it is quite enjoyable. From an adult's eye, yeah it sucks. From a child's point of view, it does what it is supposed to do -- entertainment. There were some funny scenes too. It's not the worst movie musical but it is far from the best.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 10:00pm

https://tv.yahoo.com/news/review-depressing-spin-annie-seems-210000656.html

Not sure if we trust this review on Yahoo..by someone named Drew McWeeny (yikes)..
but he seemed to have made some valid points.

[smallvillefan16]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 10:33pm

The 99 movie is by far the best adaptation. However, I think Alicia Morton leaves much to be desired in her singing/acting. She comes off as too sweet of an Annie. I also felt Kathy Bates underplayed the roll, but this way better than the 82 version. Hopefully, sometime in the [far, far] future we'll get an actual decent film version.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/21/14 at 2:22pm

Annie came in at $16.3 million. If there's any solace, it's that December openings can have stronger multiples because of the year-end holidays. Secret of the Tomb came in No. 2, followed by Annie.

The hack-embattled Sony needs a win, and says it couldn't be happier with Annie's performance, or the studio's decision to move up Annie by a week to build word of mouth heading into Christmas. The adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical stars Quvenzhane Wallis and Jamie Foxx and was produced by Will Smith and Jay-Z. Annie cost $65 million to make, compared to $127 million for Secret of the Tomb.

Annie was among several Sony titles illegally leaked on the Internet over Thanksgiving, but piracy doesn't appear to have hurt the film to a large degree.

"This is an incredible start for us on a very crowded weekend, and sets us up beautifully for the holidays," said Josh Greenstein, Sony's newly installed president of worldwide marketing and distribution. "Annie is a big win for the studio. We stayed focused and rallied around this film to get it out into the world."

But Annie isn't the only holiday musical targeting families. On Christmas Day, Disney's Into the Woods hits theaters.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-hobbit-five-armies-757340

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 12/21/14 at 5:40pm

I also think the 1999 version is truest to the source material. And even then, not perfect- as many have said.

That Drew reviewer guy probably got made fun of a lot as a child...

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 12/22/14 at 4:27pm

^^ With regards to the 99 version, I thought Alicia Morton was just fine for a small screen Annie.

And to my surprise, I just noticed that it's Sarah Hyland from Modern Family who plays Molly, the littlest orphan in this version.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 12/22/14 at 6:52pm

I prefer the 99 version.
It's closer to the stage play and it's not as campy as the 82 version.
I love Kathy Bates, but Carol Burnette is fantastic as Miss Hannigan.
As for the rest of the 82 cast... well... they're not great.

Overall though, both are awful adaptions of an only okay musical.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 12/24/14 at 3:02pm

Now it's at 30% at RT and staying there. It does fit with the ungodly average film as a whole.

[Broadwayhunk]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 5:20pm

Thank You. Based upon your knowledge and "taste", we now know to avoid this movie like the plague.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 1/3/15 at 11:51pm

Well, that 1 hour and 58 minutes of my life that I will never be able to get back. This film was as dull as dishwater. The story just didn't seem to work in this time period. Jamie Fox was much better than this film. Wallis was a likable lead and Byrne did what she could with the material that she was given. Diaz just did not seem to fit the role of Miss Hannigan at all. Some stage shows are just not meant for the big screen. 'Annie' worked just fine as a made-for-television film back in 1999.

[SIlver6]

Posted: 1/4/15 at 2:32pm

Thanks! I am definitely going to see this film now...a friend of mine is in it, too!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/4/15 at 2:51pm

I saw it again with a theater nerd friend of mine and I stand by that while the movie is by no means great, it's not the abysmal train wreck people "need" it to be. Diaz is a train wreck but enough elements of the film work to keep it from being a disastrous non redeemable pile of garbage, even if those elements are few and far between.

[smallvillefan16]

Posted: 1/4/15 at 6:52pm

How did you see it twice?
I'm a major 'Annie' lover, and even I know this isn't a good film. Too long, not enough musical numbers, no choreography, actors who cannot sing, overly cutesy moments between Stacks and Annie...it just missed the whole spirit and essence of what Annie is.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/4/15 at 7:00pm

Because I watched it the first time and a friend convinced me to see it again since he was paying.

And don't make it out to be like I said it was a great film. Just because I said that it wasn't the cinematic abortion a lot of people have made it out to be, people are jumping on me like I said it was going to sweep the Oscars.