Into The Woods Movie Reviews

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 2:52am

My review is accompanied by 21 photographs and 3 videos.
Into the Woods Movie Review and Photographs: Disney Does Sondheim

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 2:55am

NY Times review by Stephen Holden

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 8:46am

New York Post's theater reviewer Elizabeth Vincentelli really hates Into The Woods, and not just the movie


‘Into the Woods’ is an overrated musical — and we want it gone Updated On: 12/25/14 at 08:46 AM

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 8:52am

The Post's regular movie reviewer Lou Lumenick, by contrast, raved
Bewitching ‘Into the Woods’ is this century’s best musical

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 9:04am

Who the hell is this "we" Elizabeth Vincentelli thinks she's speaking on behalf of?

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 9:55am

I can't stand it when critics say "we" in reviews. Unbelievably bad writing and it completely negates anything they have to say that follows.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 10:29am

Ugh....Vincentelli.....I've seen her in interviews and just looking at her mug has me looking for the antidepressants.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 10:46am

"Who the hell is this "we" Elizabeth Vincentelli thinks she's speaking on behalf of?"

I'm tempted to say her and After Eight but I suspect they may be the same person.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 1:53pm

Adam Feldman of Time Out New York gives more of an appreciation of Into The Woods -- and includes a video of his performance as the wolf when he was a teenager!
The highs and lows of Disney's Into The Woods

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 2:48pm

Some more reviews:

USA Today - stunning but uneven
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/12/22/into-the-woods-review/19157071/

Associated Press - the magic drains as the minutes wear on
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/abbec0fb2c78490182588c297773bf5e/review-charming-cast-anchors-dark-woods

Chicago Tribute - Here's a relief: It's good. It's also a little harried
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-into-the-woods-review-20141222-column.html

[AngusN]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 3:49pm

NewYorkTheater you failed to mention Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, what did you think of her performance? She is the one performer I am really unsure of. I don't see her as Cinderella.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/25/14 at 6:13pm

Well, I include a short video clip of Anna Kendrick singing "On The Steps of the Palace," and I point out that her singing "No One Is Alone" near the end of the movie, was the final clincher for me in deciding I like this film.
I thought the whole cast was first-rate; I can't think of anybody who stood out as miscast or inadequate.
What is your problem with her?

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 2:13am

Metacritic aggregation site gives Into The Woods a score of 71 based on 33 major movie critics -- from Stephen Holden's 90 at the New York Times to Mike Scott's 40 at the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
(This compares to an Metacritic aggregation score of 89 for Birdman and a 33 for Annie.)
Metacritic Into The Woods

[AngusN]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 10:04am

New York Theater- I don't think she's pretty enough or likeable enough to be Cinderella, especially in comparison to the beautiful and charming, Kim Crosby. I also find her voice nasally and unpleasant. I would have preferred someone like Laura Osnes. I know she isn't as popular, but there are enough names in the film regardless.
I look forward to being proved wrong. ??

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 10:08am

She's the only one in the cast I have a question about, too. Going today, finally to the big screen, then coming home and watching the screener! The 1 p.m. show was 1/3 sold out at 9 a.m. This is a hit, at least for the holidays.

[Showface]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 10:08am

^Dont judge just yet. Anna Kendrick is really good! Just remember her take is not the same one that has been seen for decades now. Her Cinderella is more youthful and modern.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 11:16am

That Anna Kendrick may not be Disney-pretty counts in her favor, as far as I'm concerned, and Disney deserves to be commended for the choice. Perhaps it's true that she's not the enchanted, easy-to-fall-in-love-with Cinderella of the traditional fairy tale.. But in that way she fits the more scheming character that Lapine and Sondheim created.

[AngusN]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 12:41pm

If they created the character that way, it's strange that the pairing have, on both occasions (Kim Crosby and Laura Benanti) opted for actresses that have the 'typical' Cinderella look.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 1:17pm

"Scheming"?

[PattyO'Furniture]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 1:54pm

I won't speak to her beauty - or others' perceived lack thereof - but her (almost) last-line delivery "There are times I actually enjoy cleaning" was absolutely terrible. Her acting in the "Why did you stray?" scene was terrible. She sang "On the Steps of the Palace" pretty beautifully, though. I hated her flopping, lounging, and lying around in the scene; perhaps, though, that has more to do with Rob Marshall.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 2:09pm

that last line of CNDERELLA got huge laughs for all the right reasons in the screenings I was in...including me...it was done perfectly IMHO

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 2:23pm

beauty is in the eye of the beholder so im not going to get involved on this ridiculous debate in regards to anna kendrick's attractiveness.

i will say she did the part justice...her rendition of 'palace' was beautifully done and her delivery of the 'cleaning' line got huge laughs at both screenings ive attended.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 12/26/14 at 2:43pm

one last thought on ANNA KENDRICKS...I have never thought her a great actress, but she sings beautifully and I did like her choices with Cinderella...she made her more relatable to modern audiences and that seems in step with all the recent DISNEY princesses..

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 12:46am

Saw this today. I really loved most of it. I found the pacing to drag just a tad here and there, but I was truly enchanted most of the film.

LOVED James Corden beyond words, so lovely to watch, particularly at the end. I thought he was the biggest highlight for me. Also loved Blunt, Streep, Crawford and Huddleston. I thought Kendricks was fine, but not a wow factor.

Can't wait to go back and see it again. And then own it, and then watch it. A lot.

[RooMcGoo]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 9:28pm

Yeah the Vincentelli article was embarrassing, in my opinion. The movie was as intelligent as we could have hoped for.
An Incomplete History of Into the Woods