MOVIE REVIEW: Into the Woods

Meryl Streep leads the all star cast of Into the Woods, the film version of Stephen Sondheim's 1987 Broadway musical that intertwines fairy tale stories that we all know and grew up with and this time with new characters such as Streep's The Witch to form an original story. 

When the Witch tasks a childless baker and his wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt who have great chemistry together) to find four items to reverse a curse, that's when the fun part of the movie begins. Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Lilla Crawford as Red Riding Hood and Daniel Huttlestone as Jack all have great pipes but the biggest surprise of the film was Chris Pine, who was a scene stealer as Prince Charming. Who knew that he could sing well or even be funny??!! Acclaimed veteran comic actresses Christine Baranski as Cinderella's Stepmother and Tracey Ullman as Jack's mother provide great support

as well as Johnny Depp playing Mr. Wolf in a variation of his regular quirky character that he usually does in most of his films.

The songs aren't as memorable and the second half of the film which veers towards adult territory but aided by an excellent ensemble and great cinematography and costume design by Oscar winners Dion Beebe and Colleen Atwood repsectively, director Rob Marshall redeems himself from his last musical that bombed both at the box office and with the critics - Nine. Into the Woods is his best film since the Oscar winning Chicago.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

When you split the final book of a bestselling series into two movies, it is expected that the first  would be like an extended trailer of the final one which is the pinnacle. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is just like that.  It is basically a build up to the final film which as people who had read the book would know is the just reward that the lead Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) will reap after overcoming all those trials that she encountered throughout the series. Don't expect those action packed scenes from the games of the first two movies.

What saves the film from total boredom is the cast itself. The always great Lawrence was born to play the lead character and in Mockingjay Part 1, she showed more range and depth as her character struggles to bring back into the fold the one guy she has affections for: Peeta Melark (Josh Hutcherson) who was brainwashed by the evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and amidst the PR maneuvering of the rebellion's leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and her spinmaster Plutarch Heavensbee (the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to be the face of the rebellion. Lawrence, Moore, Hoffman and the other member of the cast Woody Harrelson earned a combined two wins and 13 nominations in the Oscars. With that acting pedigree alone, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is well worth your time and ticket at the movies.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Theory of Everything

Ever since I was a kid, I always associate Stephen Hawking as a paralytic intellectual who's always in a wheelchair with a robotic voice, then after watching The Theory of Everything, which is basically his love story with Jane Wilde Hawking whose book "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" was the basis for the film, the childhood impression still stays but it added something else: that he has a heart and an inspiration for people for all ages in the best love story I'd seen in 2014.

Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables, My Week with Marilyn) was born to play Stephen Hawking with a performance that complimented his physical built to his character's eventual physical deterioration due to motor-neuron disease. Add to that with both natural charm and a sharp sense of humor, Redmayne's acting won't be forgotten once awards season starts in a few weeks from now, alongside Felicity Jones (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)'s quiet yet domineering performance as Jane the wife. Part My Left Foot part A Beautiful Mind, The Theory of Everything is one of 2014's best films.

MOVIE REVIEW: Big Hero 6

The merger of Marvel into the Disney group of companies is fully realized in Big Hero 6. Loosely based on one of it's obscure titles in enormous comic catalog, it is the story of  Hiro Hamada, a prodigy who ends up with a robot named Baymax, after his older brother tech geek Tadashi gets killed in an unfortunate accident. Together with his group of friends, they form the group hence the title to find out the truth about the incident that put them all together.

It could have been one of those generic cartoons with the themes of family love and the antagonist who wants control of the world but Big Hero 6 triumphs with a great story from a group of writers led by Don Hall (who also directed the film). He also wrote the sweet new version of Winnie the Pooh (2011) as well as 2009's The Princess and the Frog. The setting of the city of San Fransokyo also compliments the film: blending east and west, it is one of the best looking animated cities since last year's San Franjose from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. I guess that you can never go wrong with the City by the Bay!!

Disney also finds a merchandising goldmine with Baymax the robot. With it's marshmallow like body and gentle loving personality, kids who saw the film would want to have one to call their own. And unlike Disney Pixar's Cars which spun spin off films and millions of dollars of merchandise revenues to the company, Big Hero 6 is a far off better film that deserves more than what the automotive animated films franchise gets. Can't wait for the sequel.

MOVIE REVIEW: John Wick

On paper, John Wick comes off as one of those generic revenge action thrillers that can interchanged with other films on the genre. It also stars Keanu Reeves who hasn't had a big hit both in the box office and with the critics in a lead role since 1999's The Matrix which is now considered a classic.

Fortunately, the streak is now broken with John Wick, an engaging and satisfying bloodfest led by Reeves as a retired hitman who just lost his puppy given to him posthumously by his late wife, to his old co-workers and must do payback time to those who did a part of it.

With a premise like that, beautifully dark production design in a criminal underground world  plus an excellent supporting cast led by Bridget Moynahan as Mrs. Wick, Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane and Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen, John Wick is one of 2014's biggest surprises in Hollywood that puts Keauu Reeves  back in the game. It joins Speed and The Matrix as the best ones in his career.

MOVIE REVIEW: Fury

Fury is the name given on a Sherman Tank that's led by Sgt. Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) and his men gunner Boyd "Bible" Swan (Shia LaBeouf in his best performance so far since his Transformers days), driver Trini "Gordo" Garcia (Michael Pena), loader mechanic Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis (Jon Bernthal from The Walking Dead) and new guy Norman Ellison (The Perks of Being a Wallflower's Logan Lerman), as they navigate their way thru Nazi Germany in the last days of World War II. The end may be near but the enemy is still giving a fight to the finish.

Directed by David Ayer who made the commendable LA cop movie 2012's End of Watch, Fury may bear some similarity to it rather than what most people compare to which is Saving Private Ryan. The graphic gore and war violence are the only things similar to Spielberg's masterpiece. Fury is more on the camaraderie of men put together in a sea of uncertainty and danger that guarantees no happy ending for them and yet they still can engage in funny dialogues and actions and that reminded me of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena's characters relationship in End of Watch.

With some remarkable scenes, great production design and a spot on musical score by Steven Price who won last year's Oscar for Gravity, Fury is not our grandfather's World War II film, it is realistically bleak but it sure is entertaining.

MOVIE REVIEW: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

All of us have experienced bad days in our lives and for 12 year old Alexander Cooper played by Ed Oxenbould, it is just too much to bear and he wished that his family might experience it too.

Steve Carell is perfect as Alexander's dad, the ever optimistic Ben, who even after he got laid off at his work, still finds a silver lining being with his family. Jennifer Garner as right on the spot as Kelly the Mom. She is what to expect from a Disney mom: loving, caring with some crazy moments. Dylan Minnette as the hopelessly romantic older brother, Kerris Dorsey as the aspiring actress older sister and Elise Vargas as baby Trevor complete the family.

The recession and the use of gadgets and social media was integrated in the film to keep up with the times and kids in this generation would surely relate to it. Director Miguel Arteta, known for his adult comedies Cedar Rapids, Youth in Revolt and The Good Girl, does a complete turnaround from his filmography and crafted Alexander that reminds you of the old live action Disney films in the seventies and early eighties. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is one of the longest movie title we have seen so far in recent memory but it only has a running time of an hour and 21 minutes and it's packed with enough laughs and life lessons for kids of all ages.