Into the Woods (2014)

3/5

Into the Woods is a musical fairy tale that revolves around a baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt) who cannot seem to get pregnant. They discover that a curse of infertility has been placed on them by the witch living next door (Streep). The only way to reverse it is to bring her ingredients from other fairy tales: Rapunzel's hair, Little Red Riding Hood's little red riding hood, Jack and the Beanstalk's white cow, and Cinderella's slipper.

The film version of Into the Woods suffers from the fact that it was made by Disney. The play's raison d'être is to satirize the overly-romanticized fairy tales on which Disney prides itself, to make them darker and dig deeper into their sentimental "happily ever afters." Disney's version is no longer edgy; all the adulteries and deaths are cleaned up and hidden so that the film will be appropriate for little kids. There is one glaring exception to this general sentiment and that is the Big Bad Wolf. Johnny Depp somehow manages to turn the character of a hungry wolf into a stalker pedophile, which would be uncomfortable to watch in any film but is downright disturbing in a Disney film.

As if that wasn't enough to ruin the movie, they cut out my favorite part. In the original production, the narrator eventually becomes part of the action and gets killed in the ensuing chaos. There is no narrator in Disney's movie. (Well, there is, but he's not a character involved in the story.) The worst!

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951265/

Begin Again (2013)

4/5

John Carney's Begin Again is a touching musical drama. Keira Knightley plays a songwriter who discovers her boyfriend, celebrity singer Dave Kohl (Levine), has cheated on her. Alone in New York, she meets up with an old friend (Corden) and they sing at an open mic night. The simple, unvarnished ballad she delivers grabs the attention of a music producer (Ruffalo) who was just fired from the studio he founded. They form an unlikely partnership and work together on a bold idea for a new album, in which every song is recorded live in the streets of New York.

If it sounds familiar, it's because it's written and directed by the same person who made Once: John Carney. The songs are tender and soulful, well-made and heartfelt. With indie filmmaking and an indie spirit, the movie as a whole absolutely delights. The big problem is that Begin Again feels so much like Carney's previous musical. That doesn't make it bad, just tired and old. The only reason I like this more than Once is that it takes place in New York and is targeted more toward American sensibilities. But redoing the same type of story filled with the same type of songs for a different time and place isn't enough. I want to see new stuff from this brilliant musical director. I want to know what else he's capable of.

The acting was fantastic. Knightley delivers another stellar performance, filled with small looks and movements that carry enormous weight to them. Her singing voice isn't bad either. Adam Levine is like her opposite, with awesome singing but mediocre acting. The rest of the cast is fantastic, somehow bringing a vivacity to the movie that gives it an instant nostalgia, like you're watching a once-in-a-lifetime event unfold before your very eyes. I think that's Carney's strongest aspect as a director, creating an urgency to his movies and compelling you to watch them. I can't wait for his next one; I just hope he brings more to the table that we haven't seen before.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/